The story of "Little Hero Toto" is very simple, telling the life experience of a man named Tony. Tony was born in a family of five before World War II. Although his family is not rich and his younger brother has Down's syndrome, his family is happy, happy and peaceful. However, from about ten years old, Tony's life has been going all the way down. He lost his father and sister in childhood, and lost his mother when he was young. Afterwards, he had a deep love but no results. When he was old, he was lonely and accomplished nothing. Life in a nursing home.
Tony had a rich son next door to his home when he was young. The two were born in the same hospital on the same day and the same year. Tony is convinced that he and the rich son were taken wrong during the hospital fire. The rich son not only stole his own life, but also lived. On the road, I have repeatedly taken away my happiness and let myself lose the one I love. Therefore, in the final stage of life, Tony decided not to dream about memories and resentment, but to stand up and become a real hero, regaining his own life.
■Although the main body of the story is simple, the shooting method is very special and full. The film develops in flashback mode, putting the ending of the story at the beginning: a shooting and murder. The protagonist’s confession is supplemented by the protagonist’s confession: admitting that he has taken the life of his enemy, a life that originally belonged to him but was exchanged because of the wrong child held by both parents at the time of birth.
After this resentment and suspenseful opening, the style of the film suddenly changed, and a spy drama called "Hero Toto" was inserted. "Hero Toto" is a famous French TV series that tells the story of Toto, a tough guy in a trench coat and a fedora, who takes the risk of annihilating the enemy. The protagonist Tony has admired the hero Toto very much since he was a child, and his name is similar, so when looking back on his life course and final brave deeds, he naturally transformed himself into a hero Toto.
However, when the film unfolds the protagonist’s life story and the truth of the event in a seemingly absurd and joyous drama, the style has changed again, and the main body of the story is presented with three narrative lines and three different narrative methods at the same time. . One of the narrative lines uses the technique of a suspense thriller, and the protagonist, who is aging and accomplish nothing, finally mustered up the courage to flee the nursing home and take steps to take revenge. A narrative line presents the fantasy of the protagonist Tony in the form of a black and white spy film, incarnate as the hero Toto, following the line to rescue his father and the enemy. The other story line uses an emotional romance film to flashback and recall the protagonist’s unfortunate experiences and love past in his childhood and youth.
This complicated and fancy narrative technique can easily blur the tonality and theme of the film, leaving the audience lost in the film’s complex fragments and reciprocating jumps. However, "Little Hero Toto" mixes this up. The style is extremely in place and meticulous, not only the theme is always clear, but the emotional atmosphere is overly smooth and harmonious in the ups and downs.
When the film shuttles back and forth between the three storylines by means of rapid and frequent flashbacks, the director uses simple and interlinked elements, such as a turning motion and a gesture of raising his hand, to connect the three storylines of present, memory and fantasy. Let the narrative always remain smooth and clear. More importantly, the director controls the rhythm in a very delicate way, using the changes in the proportions of the three narrative lines, the soundtrack and the emotions of the actors to push and pull the tonal atmosphere of the entire film.
■The protagonist Tony at the end of his life is a complete loser. He stays angrily in the nursing home, watching the most hated person in his life through the TV. The rich man became the president of a well-known group and was greatly affected by the world. Concerned, but I can only get spiritual comfort through the absurd and naive fantasy, transforming into the brave and fearless hero Toto when dreaming back at midnight.
Such a ridiculous character, with a ridiculous tone, confessed at the beginning of the film that he had shot his enemy and completed a heroic deed. It is unavoidable that people shook their heads and felt sad. However, when the story officially opens, this ridiculous atmosphere first oscillates between reality, memory and fantasy, and then gradually dissipates, entering a flesh and blood character, a real life that was once pure and once happy.
To the protagonist Tony, the neighbor's rich son Alfrey is like a mountain, always blocking the front of his own life. His family is richer than himself, he is taller than himself, and even his parents are better than his own. The only thing Tony is proud of is that he has a sister who loves himself deeply, is smart and beautiful, and hates Alefley’s family, but even this sister was eventually snatched by Alefley and died because of his jealousy.
In his youth, Tony met a woman who resembled her sister, and the two fell into a crazy and strong love. However, Tony finally discovered that this woman actually belonged to Alfley. He was in pain, he was mad, and he wept bitterly on the train going away from home. Among them, the ridiculous old Tony and the ridiculous and naive hero Toto still appear from time to time, but they don’t give people the same impression. The ridiculous gives way to the poor, the absurdity gives way to sorrow, the mediocrity of a lifetime and the bones. There are good reasons for his hatred and resentment against Ai.
It’s just that, every time a blow hits his life, Tony always turns his back and runs away from Alephlai, so he never sees Alephlai’s tears, nor the envy and loss in his eyes. . Alefley has everything Tony desires, but what Alefley really wants is always in Tony's hands. A road without a choice, a life that has not been experienced, is always infinitely beautiful, but it is only beautiful in imagination.
■ "Little Hero Toto" finally ended the whole film in a very special way. In the laughter that resounded through the earth, the protagonist Tony regained his own life in his own way, proving that he is indeed a fearless true hero. Worthy of summing up his life with the title "Hero Toto".
"Little Hero Toto" is not only a detective suspense film, a black comedy film, and a family romance film, it also has multiple tones of suspense, absurdity, sadness and joy. The film begins with feelings of resentment, gradually transitions to happiness and joy, sorrow and pain, and finally concentrates on total relief and joy. In between, the suspenseful element is like a low bassoon, whispering in the middle from the beginning, until the end does not retreat with the final truth.
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