The most notable feature of "Birdman" is that the whole film is almost a continuous long shot from beginning to end. Film editing is traditionally divided into two major factions. One is realism represented by French film critic Bazin, which is expressed objectively with as little editing and human interference as possible; and thematic montage editing represented by Soviet director Eisenstein . Almost from the beginning of the film's birth, editing began to serve film storytelling. Meili Ai and Griffith created continuity editing and classical editing respectively, that is, omitting extra fragments to explain the plot and expressing causality and emotions through close-ups and cross-editing. But Eisenstein went a step further and directly used unrealistic lenses to collide with reality lenses to highlight abstract themes, turning movies into literary works, which can be prose poems, not necessarily stories about time and space. Bazin is tit-for-tat. He believes that movies should return to the original and the author's subjective interference should be minimized. For example, editing should be as few as possible. One of the specific manifestations is long shots.
But the long shot of "Birdman" is not the same as the long shot of realism advocated by Bazin. Obviously, many of the long shots of "Birdman" were spliced artificially with special effects, which fully reflected the director's intention. In other words, the long shot here is not an attempt to reduce interference by the author, but a way of expression by the author. Why has to be this way? Combining the content of this film, we can guess one or two: this film is about an out-of-the-box popcorn star who wants to create a real artistic achievement on the stage, and there are also stages from the stage repeatedly in the film. A major feature of stage plays is that, apart from the curtain, there is no editing. Is it possible to imagine this breathtaking pseudo-long lens as a stage play in the life of the protagonist (at least this period)? And the long shot gave the audience a deep sense of fatigue (at least I felt it), and also reflected that this is a tiring and bitter story.
Even the curtain of the stage play is vividly simulated in this movie. Have you noticed the very unique soundtrack in this film? Most of the time, it is the background vocals. First, it reflects the sound characteristics of the same period of the stage play. Second, the noisy background sound also reveals the protagonist's inner irritability and fatigue. However, every time a paragraph ends, there will be a drum set, and then the camera will often stop in a still empty space for a while before continuing to the next paragraph, is it like a break in a stage play?
You can say that this is the director's dazzling skills, but it is forced to pretend to be very high, and it also allows the form and theme of the film to be unified in the carrier of the stage play. Stage plays have always been considered more artistic and more compelling than Hollywood popcorn movies, and this movie is also mercilessly taking a lot of Hollywood popcorn stars (Robert Downey Jr., Jeremy Renner, etc.) , The protagonist Reagan also became popular by starring in the superhero popcorn series "Birdman" (Michael Keaton happened to also play the old version of Batman), but he has not been reconciled and wanted to do something through the stage play. The real art". The stage play in which he devoted all his efforts is called "When We Talk About Love, What Are We Talking About". It tells a story about a person who longs to be loved never gets love and eventually self-destructs. This is exactly the trouble Reagan encountered. He loves his stage play career so much that he neglected his wife and daughter, he took all the money, he claimed that this is his real career, and at the same time he yearned to be loved, supported by his family, and affirmed by his colleagues. , Praised by public opinion, worshipped by everyone.
However, whether in or out of the play, this is not easy or flattering. Passers-by only wanted to take a photo with the birdman of the year. The female reporter with big breasts only cared about whether he was injected with pig semen to beautify, and Lei Jinren could only cause a sensation by running naked. Professionals don’t buy it. The other lead actor Mike recklessly didn’t put him in the eyes, and even got his daughter. You, and the kind of people you represent, rely on being pampered and self-righteous, without formal training, but trying to create really blasphemous art." His daughter also warned him that no one would care about the stage plays decades ago. , And you can’t even use Twitter. The most terrible thing is that this is not necessarily a case of being talented but not knowing the goods. Reagan is probably an entertainer who wants to be an artist, but his talent is really limited. He longed to be loved and couldn't.
In other words, this longing to be loved and not being loved is the misalignment of a person's view of oneself and others' view of oneself. In the final analysis, it is a failure to recognize oneself. There is always a voice in Reagan's mind, it is from his famous character Birdman. The image of this birdman symbolizes the "big, noisy, fast" Hollywood superhero movie, a symbol of Reagan's past success, and his drunken imagination now, a symbol of vanity, a split personality, and abandoning the pursuit of return. The idea of lying down on the way to make money, in short, symbolizes all the images of Reagan's inability to recognize himself.
In fact, the birdman also has a more culturally meaningful symbol, that is, Icarus in Greek mythology. The main deed of Icarus was flying into the sky with wings made of wax, and eventually died because of flying too high and melting his wings by the sun. The meaning of this myth is not that the Shu dog barks and knows the sky, but a kind of tragic, desperate idealism. This is in line with the image of Reagan in this film. Why do you think this is Icarus? He appeared at the beginning and end of the movie, and the meteor with burning wings was him.
From the beginning of the shooting star, the movie uses a lot of surreal techniques. Reagan was suspended in mid-air when he first appeared. The birdman said, "How did we fall here? This is a garbage dump, and we don't belong here." The illusion and reality are becoming more and more blurred. In the first half, it is just like this. In the second half, he appeared to accompany him in person. Even Lei Jinren had the illusion of jumping from the top of the building and flying like a birdman when the sun was in the sky. In the end, the madman survived, and it was Leigen on the stage on the verge of despair. The moment the fake act was done, and the real gun was fired on his head. At this moment, the surreal techniques that blur the reality and the illusion are brought together to one point, and a unity is achieved inside and outside the play.
Fortunately, after he blasted his nose off his fake act, he succeeded and found himself. You see he wears gauze on his nose, like a birdman's mask. Taking off the gauze and locking the birdman in the toilet is to say goodbye to it completely. How did he succeed? Let's look at the subtitle of the film-"the unexpected virtue of ignorance" (the unexpected virtue of ignorance). My personal understanding probably means that Reagan blurs reality to the extreme, and finds himself in an unconscious state, that is, "creates unexpected beauty." Even the mean critic said that he unconsciously reached a state of surrealism.
On the night of the hangover, Reagan met a man who seemed more frustrated by the roadside, and read aloud the passage from Shakespeare’s stage play "Macbeth": "Tomorrow, tomorrow, another tomorrow , Stepping forward day after day until the last second; our yesterday, but illuminating the way to the soil of death for fools. Go out, go out, short candlelight! Life! It’s just a walking shadow, a clumsy actor gesticulating on the stage. He retreats silently after appearing for a while; it’s a story told by a fool, full of noise and commotion, but looking Not much meaning!" It's like Regan's story in this stage play.
At this time, I think about what I said above. The long shot implies that Reagan’s own story is a stage play, and he understands the director’s good intentions to create a play-in-the-play that is intertwined with each other.
The predicament of this drama in which I long to be loved and hard to find myself is not just for Reagan alone.
Edward Norton’s Mike is a drama madman. He is confident on the stage, doing whatever he wants, even getting an erection, in order to find his true self. When he arrives in reality, he will not hold it for a long time, avoiding feelings (to Reagan’s daughter Sam ).
Sam, played by Emma Stone, is a typical American cool girl image. Behind this image is also a typical childhood lack of love, especially from Reagan's paternal love, so he is particularly rebellious and contaminated with drugs, sitting On the edge of the high-rise balcony, at a loss. In order to avoid harm, she only pretends to be cool to hide herself, and from Truth or Dare, she evasively expresses her desire for love.
Leslie, played by Naomi Watts, dreamed of being a Broadway actress since she was a child, but when she achieved this day, she still felt that she was still the little girl who longed because she was never recognized and Love. The other actress, Laura, is even more obvious. She loves Reagan deeply, but she does not get Reagan's love. Even the critic, who always used a few labels to suppress other people's works and defend her so-called art, is it also an expression of lack of love?
was so long before I knew it, because there is so much content that can be analyzed in this movie, and there are a lot of content that are beyond the scope of my understanding. And after I talked for a long time, I summed up a big framework: a stage play symbolized by a long lens, and a surreal approach that blends in and out of the play, all for the purpose of expressing the dilemma of the characters' desire to be loved and hard to find themselves. There are countless symbolic details in this movie, which can be interpreted in various ways.
For example, Reagan goes through a corridor full of colorful lights to buy spirits, doesn't it symbolize traveling through the glorious past to numb himself? The film fully shows the chaotic, maze-like backstage of Broadway Theater. Does it also symbolize Reagan’s maze-like heart? Daughter Sam used the roll paper as a metaphor for the shortness of human history. She was talking about her experience of detoxification. At the same time, she was telling her father to face the limitations of her ability? Reagan streaked in Times Square. Did he satirize such a scandal to get attention, or did he allude to the need to go all out to make a big thing? (Later, I really saved my money with a real gun). As for the inexplicable ending, if you want to be realistic, you can say that he fell to death, if you want to be illusory, you can say that he turned into Icarus and ascended to heaven. There are also very interesting and purely surreal opening and closing scenes. I have already said that the meteor in the sky symbolizes Icarus. What about the dead jellyfish on the beach? In the film, Reagan also mentioned the experience of committing suicide by jumping into the sea but suffering from the painful sting of a jellyfish. Does it symbolize that he encountered the same painful pain as a jellyfish stung and finally defeated it?
Of course, there are countless points that I haven't mentioned. These are my personal interpretations, not necessarily the director's vision. But the director's vision may not be the standard answer. It's like when you appreciate a painting in an art gallery, the most taboo thing is to check the interpretation and analysis in the textbook, the so-called standard answer. And the key is when you stare at this painting, what do you think of yourself, what kind of beauty you feel, this feeling is different for everyone, and then you can look at other people’s interpretations to combine your own understanding with Feel. Of course, you can also dislike it. This is the way to appreciate art, and it is also the joy and beauty of art appreciation.
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