At the Cannes Film Festival this year, a film nominated by Palme d’Or has not only won high scores in the field, but it has also been popular all the way-Kirill Serebrennikov’s "Summer". The director’s work is not yet rich in accumulation, but it is also considered a regular visitor to the film festival. "The Disciples" entered the "A Kind of Concern" unit in Cannes in 2016. Earlier, "Betrayal" won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival. Nomination, and "Yuri Day" was nominated for the 2008 Locarno Golden Leopard Award, so we might as well put this ready-to-go Russian director into the camp of new directors worth looking forward to.
This film focuses on Leningrad in the early 1980s. A group of young people who have been baptized by Western rock music devote their lives to the creation of rock music with their vigorous creative power and endless energy exuding transpiration. And deduce the passion and dreams, seeking a transcendent, spiritual and free world in the imprisoned reality. The two generations of rock youths in the Leningrad rock club-the lead singer of the Zoopark band Mike Nomenko and the lead singer of the Kino band Victor Cui appreciate each other musically. Kedo and Mike's wife Natasha are in love each other.
Although the film sets time in a more sensitive period-the last "stable" time on the eve of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, it obviously does not intend to lash out at the political system and the current situation. The Gogol Theater was under house arrest on suspicion of embezzling public funds, but the real reason is divergent.) On the other hand, it is because under the cover of rock and roll clothes, the love triangle is another main thread. It is precisely because of this that although the focus of the film lies on the clarity of black and white light and shadow, the smoothness of mirroring, and the skill of scheduling, the narrative is squeezed to the thinnest state. The political background is almost defocused, resulting in the narrative being nearly flat and dominating the entire film. It is a flow of abundant emotions, and the shortcomings are also clear at a glance.
The rich audiovisual language contained in MV-style filming
Perhaps the most criticized thing about this film is that "the story is thin and boring, and the MV is made in the name of rock", which is not unreasonable. However, I believe that most of the audience will be extremely impressed with the long-shot follow-up at the opening. Starting from the window, they will follow them all the way, enter the club interior, toilets, and preparation rooms, scan the band group portrait, and finally locate on the brilliant stage. The nearly three-minute long mirror explained a wealth of information about time, location, characters, events, and major conflicts. The director's skill in the internal scheduling of the scene can be seen. The other long mirrors that follow the microphone up the stairs and enter the recording studio have the same effect.
The control and scheduling of space is a major feature of this film. Shooting of narrow indoor scenes is mostly handheld, following the movements of the characters and closely following the emotional flow of the characters, which also shows that the young people are not without chaotic emotions and living conditions. The black and white light and shadow endow this "chaos" with apparent purity and cleanliness, as if all anxiety, dissatisfaction, and resistance are washed in the perfect light, and the sharpness of criticism is also weakened. Maybe this is the director. The intention of the film is to use the words of the characters in the film: "Avoid politics and discuss nihility leisurely."
The addition of animation is another highlight. It not only enriches the visual effects, but also expresses the inner emotional struggle. For example, Mike leaves Natasha and Victor a solitary space, struggles with thoughts and sings painfully in the rainy night. The woman in red in Lou Reed's "Perfect day", like the raindrops that gradually turned into comics, eventually replaced reality with imagination. Therefore, the animation part also refers to the products of the impossible illusion. For example, the young rock and roll on the train were accused by other passengers as "enemies of ideology", and thus clashed. They imitated Sex pistols and confronted people with extremely exaggerated words and deeds in imagination. The suffocating reality environment (this section may be the most obvious direct hit of reality in the whole film). At this time, the narrator who was responsible for breaking the fourth wall raised his placard: "None of this has happened!" This fellow man looked directly at the camera, breaking the illusion, with a separation effect, and also acting as a narrative perspective. Instead of the audience entering and exiting between the scenes, just like Keaton's leap into the screen, the boundary between reality and imagination is blurred.
In addition to animation, the film also uses fancy methods such as color embedding and split screen. Some color and animation suggest inner drama; the other part is the switching of subjective viewpoints. When the biographical photographer of the Zoopark band aimed the camera lens at the band, the band members Immediately in color, it shows that their lives are dark and frustrated in daily life, but bright and bright in the selection of material.
The gathering and separation of threesome
Compared with the dazzling audiovisual language and repeated scheduling methods, the narrative is so thin that it can be regarded as a "story without a story." There are many classics about the threesome in the history of film, such as "Ancestor and Account", "Dream of Paris", "She is Lonely Than Fireworks", "Love in June Flower", etc., all with hot love and drama The transferor of the peak circuit of transformation is unforgettable. And in this film, the casual get along, the indifferent departure, the extramarital love seems to be non-existent, and the desire to talk still rests. Compared with the wild ups and downs of their involvement in rock music, the opening and ending of this love triangle can be described as light and breezy.
"The sky leaves no trace, but the birds have already flown." The encounter and mutual appreciation of each other engraved memories in their respective lives. On the beach at night where they first met, young people who escaped the restraint of reality sang and danced. The bonfire illuminates their young and free souls. The beautiful youthful body runs in the waves. This is the beginning of all stories. This is the midsummer. Start. Natasha and Victor met on this beach full of music and wind. Victor first tried crying and surprised four people. Who could have predicted that this would be a legend that will affect the Russian rock music scene?
Hesse wrote in the "Song of Ticino": "Summer just flaps its short and greedy golden wings, and it passes away quickly." Such a description fits this romantic affair that has faded away from moral criticism. And the glorious and short lives of Mike and Victor survived. After blooming in the bright light of midsummer, they quickly disappeared, like the light of summer evening, all they can do is remember and miss, and this remembrance permeates The shadow of the light, the afterglow of the setting sun, the direction of the wind, the echo of the waves in the distance.
Victor, who almost stepped into the famous "27-year-old club" in the history of rock and roll, obviously possesses gifted guitar playing skills and keen social observation. His lyrics are full of life, close to reality, and accompanied by beautiful melody. People have good feelings. Mike and Natasha recognized the young man almost at the same time when they first met, and gradually became involved in each other's daily lives. Natasha and Victor confirm that they want to follow Iggy Pop's "The passenger" on the bus, and sing their hearts out through the mouth of the passengers.
Mike's appreciation of Victor is undoubtedly a Bole-style guide, driving the atmosphere for the first Kino band, guiding them into the underground music circle, helping them to release an album, even after Natasha bluntly expressed her affection for Victor , Mike left the space for the two of them to be alone... to weaken the emotional conflicts between the three that are easily bloody, and the focus is still on ubiquitous music. The two music wizards who have a place in the history of Russian rock and roll, because the music meets, Also separated because of music.
After T-Rex's "Children of the revolution", the contradiction became more and more obvious. Regarding the choice between heavy metal and disco, it was revealed that the creative styles of Mike and Victor were completely different. At that time, Western rock music poured into the Soviet Union, and there was a slight difference in "timeliness"-The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, David Bowie, The Who, Echo & the Bunnymen, Billy Joel...Across Britain and the United States from the 1960s to the 1980s, youths under Brezhnev’s rule received all the orders Refining categories is also an inevitable trend. In particular, the dispute between Mike and Natasha's views on Lou Reed can also reflect the differences between Mike and Victor.
The disagreement was undoubtedly revealed in a post-show interview after Kino released the album. Mike hoped that one day he could perform in the Thousands of Music Hall, while Victor only wanted to enjoy music in the small bar-so the separation was imminent. In a performance imitating Joy Division, it seemed to relive the heart-wrenching stories inside and outside the crowded performance venues. The shadows under the street lamps on all the hot summer nights overlapped, and the fermented air was full of young souls. Roaring, Keaton jumped into the screen fascinatingly, thus formally dispelling the product of imagination in his mind, and the imagination became reality.
At the end, after becoming famous, Victor sang "I know my tree will not grow for more than a week", sadly and affectionately cast his eyes on the past that disappeared like the wind, like an echo of farewell to youth , Like the first sign of the end of the era, more like a prophecy that has come to terms. These flowers that have flourished in summer will soon face the invasion of winter.
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