As a matter of fact, it was the name of this movie, or to be more preciously, its translation version in Chinese "Illustration & Affection" (meaning "Illustration & Affection" literally) that got me interested in the very first place. A dancing flow of beautiful and delicate illustrations and stretches was certainly my initiative in downloading the movie and thus something I was expecting during it. However, funny enough, there are only a few stretches appearing, which can be described neither "beautiful" nor "delicate". But what's funnier is my focus has been subconsciously switched on to the story.
This movie is not a typical Hollywood blockbuster romantic comedy which, as we all know, includes extremely "hot"(either way works here) stars as cast, international places of interest as shooting locations, brightly beautiful colors in prints, etc. Dedication, perhaps due to the limited budget, looks more quiet, cool and down to earth. Even the jokes there sounds sarcastically funny: a writer and an illustrator get the idea for a children's book when watching a porn movie in theater.
There are quite a few other examples of such paradoxes in this movie. A pedophilia-looking senior citizen named Rudy turns out to be a kind-hearted writer who genuinely cares about children. Dressed like a desperate divorcee, he actually "fucking loves life" and looks up to its bright side more than most people around. Yes, things aren't always the way they appear, as we all know. And life, as in people's eyes, is being defined variously. Rudy's version, as he whispers at the last moment of his journey, says "Life is a single skip for joy."
At the near end of this movie is a particular shot that grabbed my attention. Looking at the two items lying in his bag, a leaf of dedication that can prove his rival cheated on the girl he loves, and the little stone that he re- found after day-and-night digging, Henry hesitates for a sec and chooses to show her the stone. I was thinking, what would I choose to show if I were him at that moment? Obviously, the dedication could easily wake her up and further stop her from being with that liar boyfriend. But does that mean she'll come back to me afterwards immediately? Does destroying my enemy mean the final victory of me?!
No, it depends not on what we destroy or deny, but on what we build and embrace.
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