"Chinatown" is a film directed by Polanski returning to the United States four years after his wife's tragic death. The whole movie is gloomy and conveys the tone of fatalism, revealing Polanski's inherent character that cannot be distinguished from reality. The characters intend to intervene and interfere but cannot get rid of the situation of being violated, so that the whole film adopts a perspective that combines subjective and objective perspectives.
1. The combination of subjective and objective perspectives The
viewpoint is the basis of the overall audiovisual style of a film, and it is also a direct means of expressing the director's creative intentions. The viewpoint of an ordinary entertainment film is usually closed, and the principle of axis is strictly adhered to, so that the film has the closed effect of the "fourth wall", and the audience watch a closed story outside the fourth wall. However, Polanski broke the aesthetic habits of traditional genre films in "Chinatown" and tried to convey the rich connotations outside the closed system.
The so-called "combination of subjective and objective viewpoints" refers to shooting with over the shoulder, intervening in the observation of various spaces and things, just like "the mantis catches the cicada and the oriole behind", forcing the audience to enter the film together with the protagonist, and discover together with the protagonist. Explore peeping fun and crisis.
In the film, the protagonist, detective Jettis, is a snooper and an intervener, and his job is to spy and intervene in the lives of others. The fake Mrs. Morey entrusted Jettis to investigate her husband’s affair. Jettis came to the city government meeting room to listen to Morey’s opposition to the construction of the dam. In the film, Morey comes on stage, and Jettis, who is reading the newspaper in the audience, looks up at Morey. The camera is shooting from behind Jettis. The camera is tilted to the left. Over Jettis's shoulder, Morey is seen in the background. This combination of Jettes’ subjective observation and the audience’s objective perspective makes the audience fall into the film and spy on Morey with Jettes. This dual prying perspective runs through the entire department's tracking of Morey, forming a unique "peeping" and "demystifying" effect.
The film also uses many "meta-movie" elements. The so-called "metamovie" refers to a film that specifically explores the relationship between image expression and human spiritual life. For example, Giuseppe’s "New Paradise Cinema" discusses the growth of movies and people. Or explore the "mirror" complex that exists in the inner spiritual realm of human beings. In the film, Jettis uses binoculars, mirrors, rearview mirrors, etc. to spy on Morey, using the lens and "mirror" to spy on the characters, to the characters' hearts, in an attempt to penetrate more secrets of life.
3. The spatial level
of sound The sound level of the film is extremely rich, and Polanski strives to make the sound have a deep sense of realism like a picture. No matter in the detective office or in Morey's house, the sound does not appear on a level, but appears strong and weak, with a sense of space. Jettis walked through various spaces, and the assistant voices he heard felt different. When this kind of picture and sound are arranged according to the depth of the hierarchy, the authenticity is emphasized.
The most peculiar and most creative sound appears at the end of the film. When Evelyn was about to drive his daughter away, gunshots sounded, and the car stopped after a certain distance. The car horn kept sounding, followed by the daughter's scream. Jettis and the police ran over, the door opened, and Evelyn's body fell from the steering wheel.
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