I heard "Requiem for a Dream" in a clip four years ago, and I have always loved the feeling that this song brings to me. When I checked the movies, I discovered that they were among the "Top Ten Banned Movies", so I never watched them. I heard this song by accident that day, and suddenly wanted to find out the movie.
Too desperate, but also too fascinating. I have never thought that a movie can give people such a strong physical intuitive feeling. It was a physical, very cold, a bitter chill from the inside out. I put on my jacket for the last twenty minutes and shivered and kept watching.
The way of subtitles and foley
The black background is drawn into the painting from top to bottom, followed by the sound of a knife, like a machete put down on a guillotine. Implied the inevitable destruction of the ending "Summer" to "Fall" and then to "Winter" the next year, only spring is missing.
When taking diet pills and drugs, the sound is an air gun.
Sarah and Red
Mother Sarah is undoubtedly the most radically changed and craziest person in the film. She went from being an ordinary mother-in-law who would sunbathe and watch TV with old ladies to a lunatic trying to stuff herself in a red dress. The red dress was worn by Sarah when her son Harry graduated from high school. She mentioned this information several times to show that it was a highlight in her life. However, only those who are dissatisfied with the reality and have no hope for the future will dwell on the past for a long time. This red dress is the symbol of her past life, the capital of her husband's love, and the chatting material she can show off with her friends. But it was precisely in order to squeeze into this red dress that she wore off her sanity and her future. The red hair was an accident for her. Originally wanted to be dyed red, she turned into a nondescript orange, just like her life, stuck in an embarrassing place, she seems to be lonely without lack of friends, indulged in TV and eager to be on the show but can't. And this hair will turn red again when she enters the space of psychedelic and imagination, close to the vividness of blood.
Sarah's refrigerator
The refrigerator is Sarah's first vision. She hadn't been exposed to weight-loss drugs. Hunger made her feel the food in the refrigerator calling her, but when she saw the photo of her son outside the refrigerator, her sanity stopped her again. We can understand that although Sarah has desires at this time, she is still controlled by her rational or enlightened emotional spirit. However, after she got the weight loss pills, the first thing she did was to open the refrigerator to eat without hesitation. At this time, she had completely ignored emotions or other spiritual constraints. It could be said that her desires, especially physical desires. Prevailed. This is also the beginning of her physical needs cannibalize her spiritual needs step by step. And what caused her to collapse later was the refrigerator rushing towards her with a big mouth open.
Sarah and TV
Sarah was a deep TV fan at the beginning of the movie. She redeemed TV more than once, and at the same time regarded that TV show as her very important thing. It was this TV show that made her addicted, gave her hope, and reminded her of the red dress that made her go into desperation. Television is a forbidden fruit, an inducement. The monotonous repetition of the words in the TV program, which seems to be brainwashed by MLM, becomes more empty and ironic as the plot develops. The most interesting thing is that in Sarah’s imagination, after she appeared beautifully on the TV show, she was embarrassed because the host and another "self" came across to the home when they found her shabby and dilapidated home. We can find that she is no longer just "dissatisfied" with her current situation, but "inferiority."
Sarah and Harry
The two had a simple and rude conversation, and Harry didn't often go home and waited for information to tell that the relationship between mother and child was not good. But the absence of the father in this family has had a great impact. However, the mother does not dominate, but the son dominates the relationship. The scene where the two talked together was so touching.
Marianne and a group photo
I think Harry Marian loves each other for sure. However, in the face of drug addiction and reality, both of them chose to succumb. The most ironic thing is that behind the photo taken by the two of them when they were most proud of their best lives, they casually remembered the phone number of the sponsor's father, which symbolized the surrender to power.
Sleeping position
The indifference of people around
I also like the group dramas in the film very, very much. The nurses in the hospital feed Sarah’s mouth without emotion, while chatting with meat jokes and jokes at the gaming table; the prison guard’s life is monotonous, repeating the same interrogation every day to release her pressure. On the prisoners; the old ladies sunbathe at the door every day, like to listen to gossip, and their days are leisurely, but few people care about Sara’s mental state...Most people in this society are even more lethargic than hysterical addicts. People are scared. This society is like a drug, deformed, and distorted. The drug addiction in this society is greater than that of individuals.
The core conflicts in the movie
Personally think it is a conflict between spiritual pursuit and physical desire. Drugs, sex, crime, and beauty are all manifestations of desire. The four main characters in the film gather family affection, love and friendship; at the same time they have dreams, hopes and longings. But they went to extinction without exception. The fundamental reason is that their desire for physiology is far greater than their spiritual pursuit.
There is too much left, so I won't talk about them one by one.
All in all, "Requiem of Dreams" is really a movie that I love and feel too much. The sharp editing, the abnormal shooting method, the amazingly mature montage, the control of the rhythm, and the superb ability of multi-line narration are all admirable.
Although it is painful, I think I will watch this movie again and again. Because this movie is just as addictive as it expresses.
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