On October 2, "Joker" was released in South Korea, which was also one of the first regions in the world where the film was released. The excellent reputation of this Warner/DC blockbuster at the Venice Film Festival has long whipped my appetite. Taking advantage of the opportunity that I was preparing to participate in the Busan Film Festival in South Korea, I hurried to the CGV Busan West Theater that day, which is also the only IMAX theater in Busan, and watched the IMAX version of "Joker". After the movie ended, I was so excited that I still went to the box office to buy the next IMAX ticket for the "Joker".
After finishing the second brush, I was deeply moved. As Martin Scorsese said in a recent interview with the BBC, "Joker" is by no means an ordinary Hollywood superhero movie.
It has no superheroes with super powers, high technology, flying around, and no pure CG green screen shooting scenes. If the names of the DC comics such as "Gotham City", "Arkham Asylum", and "Bruce Wayne" are changed, there will be no trace of a "manifest movie". Even if the audience knows nothing about DC Comics, they will not delay understanding the plot;
It does not have a typical "villain" that must be found in the standard Hollywood business giant, and it does not have a "decent protagonist" who defeats the world's invincibles and saves the world;
What surprised me even more was that it didn't even have any action scenes, and there were no fighting scenes. There are only a handful of violent elements, and there are only three clean violent scenes, which are extremely restrained.
In my opinion, "Joker" is more like an American literary film. It is a story about how a marginalized person suffering from mental illness was forced into despair and paranoia step by step by this sad society. When a desperate person is crushed by the last straw, it will either completely collapse and disintegrate, or it will inevitably explode with huge and terrifying energy.
The following section contains "Joker" spoilers.
Arthur, the protagonist of "Joker", is a downright loser. Earn a meager salary by playing "clowns" on the streets to display advertisements. At home, he took good care of his elderly mother, and mother and child depended on each other. Arthur lost his job because he was beaten in a gang of teenagers at work, so his colleagues gave him a pistol to defend himself. However, Arthur is also considered a blessing in disguise, relying on his own efforts to perform a solo talk show in the club. He also met and fell in love with his neighbor-a single mother. Although life is embarrassing, he at least has the company of his relatives, the warmth of his girlfriend, and the assistance of colleagues. In addition, his efforts were also followed by the famous talk show host Murray Franklin, who received the latter's support, support and encouragement. Everything seems to be moving in a good direction.
But soon the audience will see that everything around Arthur has experienced a huge collapse. Regardless of the love of mothers, girlfriends, close relatives, or the encouragement of colleagues and celebrities, all kindness and beauty are vain, and the gorgeous and ethereal dreams ushered in terrible and complete shattering and disillusionment, destroying Arthur completely and completely. Everything in my heart is strong and confident.
When Arthur found his mother's file in the Arkham Asylum, he learned that he was adopted by a lunatic who was suffering from delusion and schizophrenia and tried to hurt him. The great sadness instantly wiped out all the mothers and sons who had been struggling with each other for many years. Feelings, let him kill this woman who almost ruined his life. And at this time, the illusory love constructed in Arthur's heart also burst like a beautiful and fragile bubble, no longer playing any psychological comfort, but even more sad. The double collapse of family affection and love is undoubtedly the climax of an emotional explosion in the film. For Arthur and the audience, reality finally revealed its hideous face, extremely cruel and soul-shaking.
The plot of "Joker" makes it easy to think of Martin Scorsese's classic "Taxi Driver". Yes, the story setting of "Joker" is similar to that of "Taxi Driver". The protagonist is also wandering on the margins of society, and a brightly colored female character also appears next to the protagonist, and their final choice is the same. They all raised their pistols and pressed the trigger without hesitation. Moreover, Robert De Niro starred in both movies.
Speaking of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, one cannot fail to mention "The King of Comedy." In the film, De Niro plays Rupa, a middle-aged man obsessed with talk show performances. He dreams of having his own show and receiving applause and cheers from the audience on the stage. He loves his black girlfriend Rita deeply. He regards the famous talk show host Jerry as a good friend. He repeatedly practiced the state of being a guest of Jerry’s talk show, and even dreamed of becoming famous and winning the daydream of marrying a sweet wife. . But reality also shattered the fragile dream. The host Jerry put away his polite face and ruthlessly swept the uninvited him out. In order to be on the stage of dreams, Rupa embarked on a crazy and extraordinary path.
In "Joker", Murray Franklin, played by De Niro, is a famous comedy talk show host like Jerry in "The King of Comedy". And Arthur, played by Jacques Phoenix, has a lot in common with Rupa in "The King of Comedy". Rupa became Jerry, and Arthur became Rupa. Fans of Martin Scorsese will surely smile when they see familiar actors and scenes.
In addition, "Joker" also appeared in the film and television immortal comedy film, Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times" segment. The passage that appears is exactly the famous "roller skating" scene. Chaplin in the movie, like the clown performers in reality, is using body language commonly used in the world to bring laughter to the audience. This is not only a tribute to Chaplin, but also a tribute to the clown. On and off the screen, the two "kings of comedy" sympathized and understood each other at that moment.
At the end of the film, two 1981 films "Blow Out" (Blow Out) and "Zorro, the Gay Blade" (Zorro, the Gay Blade) appeared on the billboard at the entrance of the movie theater. This not only explains the film age, but also continues the traditional setting of the series that Bruce Wayne's parents were killed after watching "Zorro".
Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why Martin Scorsese, who said that the Marvel blockbuster is a "theme park movie", would have admired "Joker" and prepared to direct the project for a time. "Joker" is really outstanding. It is not a popcorn superhero commercial blockbuster and can withstand repeated viewing. And as Scorsese said, "Joker" "has enough power and an extraordinary Jacques Phoenix." In the absence of action scenes and villains, almost all of the film is supported by the extraordinary acting skills of Jacques Phoenix. He is absolutely qualified to win the Oscar winner next year.
In the film, the image of "laugh" runs through and has three different levels: smile, force a wry smile, and laugh out loud.
When performing a talk show and receiving applause, when meeting his delusional girlfriend, and watching "Modern Times", Arthur smiled happily. When he was frustrated, Arthur stretched his index fingers into his mouth and forced a bitter smile. And this smile contrasted with the smile that Arthur made with blood when facing the chaotic street at the end. The one that appeared the most in the film was laughter. Tell the psychological counselor about the pain, the scorn of passersby on the bus, see the injustice on the subway, talk to Thomas Wayne about his mother, learn the truth about his mother, the disillusionment of his delusional girlfriend, and suffer in Jerry's comedy show Taunt... From the beginning to the end of the movie, Arthur has been laughing sickly. This kind of laughter is caused by the side effects of the drug and cannot be controlled. It is also a distorted externalization of intense psychological pain. The louder the laughter, the longer it lasts, and the harder it is to say about it. It's extremely sad.
And this sadness, "You don't understand."
View more about Joker reviews
