For a long time, the Coen brothers held high the banner of independent film and created a series of films with narrative and video styles that are different from traditional Hollywood. The films of the Coen brothers are full of helplessness, ridiculousness, irony and metaphors, and "Murder of Green Toe" is no exception. It has profound spiritual connotations in a simple image style.
"Murder of Green Toe" is a film created by the Coen brothers in 1998. It tells the story of a vagrant named Duye who loves bowling and gets involved in a kidnapping case. In order to help the rich man find his abducted wife Bonnie, the governor dealt with various forces, but finally found that the so-called kidnapping was nothing more than a farce written and directed by the rich man Le Bockey and his wife Bonnie.
Unfolding the story based on a kidnapping case is the consistent style of the Coen brothers. The kidnapping here is very absurd. Bonnie was considered kidnapped when she was out on a trip. All the perpetrators stayed out of the incident, and innocent little people who had nothing to do with the incident were victimized. The Coen brothers reflected the injustices of the real society and the ups and downs of the little people from a ridiculous story-- The innocent suffer, the sinner is punished, and people drink blood to become people.
In addition, the positioning of the characters is full of legends. Master Du's appearance is sloppy and non-trivial, and his life is very lazy. And it is the image of such a marginalized group that assumes the identity of a redeemer, wanders around all forces, and assumes the role of a "hero". The protagonist encounters a turning point in his life that changes his destiny, but the director is not willing to give the audience a clichéd heroic growth history, but implements the "anti-hero" thinking to the end. Master Du appeared in every important scene of the film, but did not do any practical and useful work. In addition to full of nonsense and complaints, Master Du was best at cowardly compromising pressure on either side. All this proves that Lord Du is still the loser, and all the fantasy experiences are just passing glances. The spiritual essence of the "anti-hero" makes everything that happens absurd and ridiculous.
Film noir has obvious characteristics. Swear words, kidnapping, violence, etc. are all indispensable elements. These elements are full of rhythm and powerful in traditional movies. They are eliminated by the comedy form of "Murder Green Toe". , But produced a different kind of irony, forming a unique style of black humor.
Violence, as the most typical black element in the film, occupies a large space in the film. One of the most prominent is the partner of the Governor, Walter, a violent, nosy and aggressive Vietnam War veteran. The background of the story is set during the Gulf War. Water is a typical representative of the aftereffects of the war. He is irritable, always aggressive and proud in his language, but at the same time he is very weak in his heart. The director reflects on the ravages of war on human spirits through Walter's series of offensive language and irritable emotions.
In addition, the fusion of comedy and black collided with deeper ideological connotations. In the film, the vicissitudes of life-suffering car of Lord Governor bears most of the jokes together with the protagonist. As one of the few property of the Governor, it is hard to escape the doom of destruction. In the film, Walter smashes the car indiscriminately, but the owner fights back but breaks the troubled and troubled car of Lord Governor. Here, the performance of Walter's violence, coupled with the subsequent comedy reversal, relieved the shock of violence and strengthened the play's interest.
"Film is the best tool for expressing dreams, emotions, and instincts." The director showed the audience a story of true and false intertwined with dreams and reality. In the film, there are not only the specific images in the dream of Lord Du, but also the truth and falsehood of everything the Lord experienced in the film. In the film, there are two dreams of Lord Du, wandering between bowling balls and girls. It seems that the story is out of touch with reality, but it is actually a hint of the relationship between reality and Maud. The confusing and confusing dreams are also metaphors of reality.
In addition, the neutral metaphor of the film enriches the connotation of the film. In dreams, bowling is a metaphor for sexual organs; Master Du wanders under women's skirts to show women's openness to sex; bowling lanes symbolize the female reproductive system, and bowling balls symbolize the male subject, so the whole process of bowling is sex itself. Based on this, the three single men who love bowling all use the bowling imagery as a substitute for their spiritual partners or female roles.
In addition to the very explicit expressions of sex in the dream, the film has also repeatedly positioned the role of the character in relation to sex work. Among them, Bonnie belongs to a group of erotic fans and enjoys using sex as a tool to satisfy herself and make money. The most direct and simple expression of sex satirizes the porn industry's poisoning of people in society.
The Coen brothers' films are the epitome of society in a specific environment, and the ideological connotation and spiritual essence reflected in it are also very realistic. "Murdering Green Toe" conveys a series of reflections and reflections on society-anti-hero nihilism, anti-war ideological connotation, discussion of the ambiguity of reality and illusion, and the ruthless flogging of the porn industry.
The Coen Brothers' "Murder of Green Toe" expresses their helplessness and reflection on society with its "anti-hero" fantasy story, ironic black humor, illusory dreams and explicit sexual metaphors.
references
[1] Liu Le. When the Coen brothers met nihilism[J].Film Literature, 2016, 11:79-81.
[2] Chen Jiaming. The nihilism of modernity--a brief discussion on Nietzsche’s critique of modernity[J]. Journal of Nanjing University (Philosophy, Humanities and Social Sciences Edition), 2006 (03).
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