Independent films: The Coen brothers are not typical independent directors. They have perfect commercial operations and a huge fan base. High-quality films and strong box office are also the guarantee of continued activity. However, people have used them as the banner of independent films for many years, not because they contacted investors and distributors themselves, nor because of their own writing and directing and their clear boundaries with Hollywood (I don’t know if they won the Academy Award this year. Will it change in the future?), but thanks to the same privileges as their idol predecessor Kubrick in Warner, almost complete final editing rights. Although they had to raise their own funds in many early movies, they were weightless and maintained a consistent style, that is, they can lower their heads like a budget, but they never allow interference in the shooting (Orson Welles never got it after "Citizen Kane" This privilege, and like Ed Wood in the tavern spit out bitterness), this also guarantees the purity and high quality of every Cohen movie. In this way, the Coen brothers are almost the happiest directors in the world.
Film noir: Noir is also the basic characteristic of Cohen's film. The Coen brothers are well-known for their appreciation of Noir Fiction and Film Noir. Noir fiction is even the direct source of inspiration for many of their films, and they themselves are regarded as iconic figures of modern Film Noir. Cohen’s blackness is reflected in their basic attitude towards human suffering. "The innocent should suffer, the sinner should be punished, and people drink blood and become humans." Ethan Coen said after filming the second film "Blood Labyrinth." Summarizes the basic characteristics of all the characters in Cohen's films, so that they have the character of Greek tragedy. In fact, like all masters, the Coen brothers repeatedly made the same movie, Odyssey of a victim, the difference is whether it is the unlucky husband in "Ice Storm" or the Barton Fink in "Barton Funk", or "The Old Nowhere to Be" In "Moss, Cohen's characters are absolute anti-heroes."
Strict regionality: This is a very obvious characteristic of Cohen. "Old Nowhere" and "Blood Labyrinth" in Texas, "Fargo" in Minnesota in my hometown, "Barton Funk" and "The Big Lebowski" in Los Angels, "Money Empire" in New York, and others are usually limited even if there is no clear place name. In a state or just a city, this can be simply observed from the regional introduction of each movie to the beginning. The story structure of Cohen's movies is closed, but using the unique regional temperament, the contrast between the city and the country, and the contrast between different cities, the director can pry into and deconstruct the various aspects of American life and the same tragedy through different keyholes.
The language that exists as an important motif: The Coen brothers are one of the few directors who use accents and language habits as important clues. You can clearly feel the dialogue accent and language structure of each of their films are so special. "Fargo" is widely used in "Fargo", the mantra repeatedly used by the policewoman, Yeah, is just like the severe weather in Minnesota. A portrayal of the lack of humanity; The Dude in "The Big Lebowski" is more typical. The open-mouthed "What the fuck" uses a lot of Dude instead of the first person. From the perspective of eternal pajamas, dude really achieved a kind of self. Harmony. Others such as Woody Allen's neuroticism in "Barton Fink"; "Lady's Killer" is always Gentle hanks; "Raising Arizona" has different styles of Texas accents, which even Cage can master; and the old Jones in "Old Nowhere" The iconic Texas accent runs through the entire movie. In short, it is almost impossible to see the standard and clear pronunciation in ordinary American films in Cohen's movies.
Fantasy color: Fantasy is the basic element of Cohen's aesthetics, which permeates the skeleton of every movie. Cohen's stories are essentially unrealistic and fantasy, and Cohen is one of the few who deliberately use lens language to further highlight the fantasy characteristics. The fantasy bowling show after Dude was knocked out in "The Big Lebowski", the absurdity of the whole New York in "Money Empire" at the end of looking down, the deliberate color rendering and extremely exaggerated character settings in "Lady's Killer", Then to the whole "Barton Funk" that can't distinguish between fantasy and reality, the "motorcyclist" and frivolous music imagined by the protagonist of "Raising Arizona", the barkeeper who resurrected like a horror movie in "Blood Maze", reality and fantasy The ambiguity is exactly Cohen's criticism.
Characters are abnormal: the protagonists of Cohen's movies have to experience Odysseus-like purgatory torment, but they have no relationship with the tragic heroes. They either have different degrees of sin or are typical anti-heroes at all, and many other characters are also the same. Marginalized extreme figures. The husband, wife, father, and killer in "Fargo" are all extreme characters that are unimaginable. Dude in "The Big Lebowski" is the opposite of the entire American dream, living comfortably in his own world, as if the hustle and bustle of the entire world has nothing to do with him. The old woman killer members were born in absurd job advertisements, and were destroyed in unimaginable murder plans and cannibalism. They are a combination of the cute and ugly sides of human nature. The capable and savvy cowboy Moss eventually killed himself and his wife for a box of money, and the coldness and principle of "the coolest killer in history" surpassed all the predecessors in the movie.
Appreciating Cohen’s movies is as difficult as appreciating Lao Ku’s movies. The diversity of elements makes the Coen brothers’ movies extremely difficult to interpret, but fortunately, Cohen’s movie continuity and the Coen brothers’ taste preferences help to a certain extent. All Cohen movies.
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