As early as the beginning of the film’s project, Diao Yinan, who once shot the aspiring Golden Bear’s "Fireworks in the Day", emphasized that one of the sources of inspiration was Nicholas Winding Refn’s "Desperate Driving", which happened to be in 2019. It just so happened that both at the Cannes Film Festival, Diao Yinan's new work "The Party at South Station" and Refn's new play "Old Fearless" also came to "party". After watching them separately, I think Diao Yinan may have gone a step further in comparison.
Different from the previous work, which focused on suspense and detection, Diao Yinan took a very bold path this time: taking style as the main axis, weakening the film's narrative function to the greatest extent. One can imagine the adventures. For many years, most audiences have been happy to accept narrative films with classicism characteristics. The plot is used to create rhythm, and an ideal ending is ushered in with the emotions and frictions of the characters. .
But he didn't do it at all this time. In addition to the beginning of a dialogue between Zhou Zenong, played by Hu Ge, and Liu Ai’ai, a swimmer, played by Gui Lunmei, that introduced the antecedents of the film. After that, there were only sporadic things as a foil, and most of the movie's impetus fell on Zhou Zenong. This role is cold on the outside and hot on the inside. Because of an accident, he will end up thinking of his wife and daughter. Through Hu Ge's interpretation, the coldness and warmth revealed in the coldness are well deduced. It is inevitable to move forward in the dark. Think of the protagonist played by Ryan Gosling in "Desperate Driving".
The emotions between the characters are also cancelled, and only a network of interests connects them, either for work and order, or for money. The characters no longer have too many psychological transitions. In short, they are like a cold sculpture, serving the style of the movie.
In the video, most of the scenes are dominated by the dark night. The neon lights on the buildings and vehicles are used as embellishments to inject endless vitality into the monotonous and silent night. The use of light and shadow is even more memorable. The return of expressionism in several places is like a dream. The dialogue between Zhou and Liu, the projection of Zhou Zenong on the wall gradually becomes smaller; when the mandarin duck building rushes up the stairs, the ingenious light makes the shadows As if running in place, he has already made a final word on the fate of the protagonist. The curtain also played an important role in the style of the film.
Sports lenses are extremely limited, most of which are based on fixed positions, but the composition is extremely clever. But this did not weaken the viewability of the film. Many precise and ingenious edits are as neat as bullets, and the combination of various local close-ups brings the cold temperament of the film to a higher level.
As a crime genre, several major fighting scenes have their own characteristics. Among them, the zoo is dominated by the sight. Through the combination of montages of the two policemen and the police and the eyes of many animals, under the low sound effect, tension is generated in an instant. After the actual gun shooting, it ends quite briefly, very neatly. . The Yuanyang Building is dominated by space. Through the complex space attached to this characteristic building, Diao Yinan can fully exert his scheduling skills. The gaps between corridors, windows, stairs and walls can be achieved through the movement of characters. We brought an extremely thrilling escape. The scene in the room where Zhou Zenong was arrested was almost purely violent. It’s no wonder that Quentin was so excited after watching the film. The umbrella spread through his abdomen, and blood splashed on the transparent umbrella surface. This violent aesthetics The spectacle is truly unforgettable.
Therefore, even such a film whose plot is weak in narrative, under the strong style and technical "processing", also exudes an extremely dazzling light. The final ending is also contrary to the normal state of genre movies. It looks weak, but it is infinite. The sudden death of the characters will inevitably think of Melville's noir films, such as "The Lone Killer." Now that genre films have been developed for decades, perhaps we should re-examine the construction mode of modern genre films.
This article was first published on the public account [Electronic Sheep Movie]
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