The inflatable doll is the first perspective of the whole film, and more than three-quarters of the plot starts from her perspective. Through it/her eyes, examine society and life. The humanoid master (played by Joe Odagiri) asked: "Can you tell me one thing? Is everything you see in this world sad? Is there anything beautiful?" She nodded . This is naturally gratifying. A warm heart, what kind of cold can she see? She has a heart, feels pain, and knows she is a substitute for human sexual desire. After all, she is kind, with ignorant simplicity. It/she didn't know how lonely and insignificant they were when sitting on the bench with the old man and the tall buildings in front of them. Outside of its/her vision, white-collar workers with bulimia, middle-aged women who are afraid of getting old, lonely men who fly on planes... all of this presents the director’s perspective: there is warmth, and more is unsolved loneliness. "There is both love and filth and misery."
Judging from the use and function of inflatable dolls, it is a substitute. So, can it replace the emotions of its buyer Hideo (Itao Soro)? can not. It is called "Xiao Wang"-Xiu Xiong's ex-girlfriend's name, not the cartoon name on the box; it is gone, Xiu Xiong bought an inflatable doll to replace it. Xiu Xiong's emotions seem to be irreplaceable. Then, what is brought to him by his girlfriend's name + an inflatable doll is only an vent of sexual desire? If there is partial emotional satisfaction, isn't emotion/love replaceable? In addition to substitutes for sexual desire in the film, there are also substitutes for social roles (professionals). But in abstract love, besides specific sexual pleasure, can anything else be substituted? Flaubert has a saying: "...but for dedication, the love in the world is not elegant because it is too accurate." Not to mention the elegance is not elegant, Xiuxiong's stunned expression when facing the human inflatable doll A vivid and comical picture. He kept calling Xiaowang, the emotions of indulging in the past, and the pleasure brought by the inflatable doll are tied together, what is accurate, what is vague; what is replaceable, and what is irreplaceable. The only certainty is that through substitutes, his physiology has been relieved. And love and emptiness cannot be filled by substitutes. Flaubert is no exception: "... The love created by your (the beloved) gaze made me drag me through the mud, and made me waste it on an unknown person (mistress? I don’t know, shouldn’t it be a mistress)? Body."
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1. Compared with the earlier works "Magic Light", "Next Station, Heaven" and "Distance" Dark tone, even a bit cold, is Hirokazu's later works "Nobody Knows", "Non-Stop Walking", and this "Human Figure in the Air" is full of sunshine, mostly in warm colors. But what flows underneath in the work is getting more and more cruel.
2. "Phantom Light" is extremely restrained in expressing the emotion of "forever lost my love"; the story of group portraits in "Next Stop, Heaven" is ordinary and warm; "Distance" enters the world of "sinners" from the side without any criticism , To avoid inciting the audience's emotions; "Nobody Knows" is adapted from real events, which is almost a cure for the cruel reality; to last year's "Non-stop", the alienation of communication reveals the helplessness in the bones, and the end gives the audience some hope. Was it a burst of emotional accumulation that prompted Shizhi to shoot the slightly violent end of "Human Form in Air"?
3. From "Light of Illusion" to "Human Figures in Air", Shizhi's works are becoming more and more "easy to understand". Is it closer to the audience?
4. Both "Next Stop, Heaven" and "Human Figure in the Air" are fictitious, telling surreal stories with life-like images.
In a conversation between Shizhi and Jia Zhangke, Jia Zhangke said: "I am very excited after watching "After Life" because I have always wondered if a very realistic thing is extremely realistic, will there be some kind of expressionism, Abstract things, but I have never been able to do it. Seeing the video of Shizhi, he did it."
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