If the American continent on the other side of the ocean has always been the yearning place for many Chinese boys and girls, then since the beginning of 2015, the three works that truly presented the American border seem to show to the world that the United States is not the ideal country in the hearts of young people. Utopia.
In 2015's "Sicario", an enigmatic agent guides a rookie female detective on a morally fringe operation on the U.S.-Mexico border. In 2016's "Going through fire and water", a pair of brothers tortured by poverty began a series of robberies in the desolate and dilapidated state of Texas, fighting their doomed fate with their lives and blood. In 2017, "Hunting the Windy Valley" in the wind and snow of the Wind River Valley on the Indian Reservation in Wyoming, mixed with the coldness of the snow and the warmth of the blood, formed a new sad song. Taylor Sheridan presents a real American border state with peaceful and quiet pictures and concise narrative, and the social problems behind it are also thrown to the world without reservation. Many image symbols are grafted into the interlocking plot settings, and the theme of revenge Behind it is a helpless reflection on the living conditions of the border population.
1 A revenge story about hunting
The antagonistic setting of the dual characters of positive and negative is the enduring narrative mode of traditional American westerns for a century. The story takes place in an Indian reservation called "Wind River Valley" in Wyoming. In a state of despair and helplessness, he used his raw vitality beyond all the primitive life force to survive barefoot in the snow, but was finally taken away by the cold alone. Behind this is the pain of two Indian families who lost their daughters, and it is the eternal secret in the hearts of the murderers who are on the loose. . But the justice of the law and the power of family love will always bring the truth to the surface, and the wicked will eventually be brought to justice. The tough guy, the icy forest, the dead girl on the Indian reservation, a heartbroken hunter, an ignorant female detective Detectives, solve a case, but lead to the death of several people. This story is closer to the model of the tough guy. It is not so much that they are solving an unsolved case, it is better that they are catalyzed and promoted by the case, and they see themselves again in it, and they have to experience their hidden pain again and face themselves again. The past of escaping was transformed into a diagnosis and a vent, so that the emotions buried in him could be transpired and relieved. Lambert, played by Jeremy Renner, is a wild hunter in the snow and a father who has been repressed for a long time. The brutal rape and murder of his daughter made him cooperate with the original motivation of the work of the FBI female detective. His lines are not many. In the end, the pain of losing his daughter has turned into the wisdom to find clues, and the calmness of sniping the target is the unique calmness of a father who has experienced great trauma in life.
In the traditional binary confrontation, the national power "FBI" is extremely insignificant. She goes deep into the hinterland of ice and snow alone, with a thin and thin female image. Female detective Jane Banner is helpless beyond the reach of national power, and it is also the rule of the US border. profound reflection. The whole film uses a large number of long-range shots to show the desolate and empty field scenes, and with the chilling background music, the audience can feel the insignificance of human beings in the natural environment, creating a kind of primitive depression in nature.
2 The living state of loneliness and despair
There are only 6 police officers in the entire area of the reservation. The thin female FBI agent, the Indian residents with hostility in her eyes and the young people who have no pursuit of drug addiction, present the entire Indian area as a hopeless and cold Humanity zone. The men in this story are silent, tenacious, and rarely show their emotions. Even when they learn that their daughter was raped and killed, they still hold their arms and look indifferent when facing the FBI agent, a foreign young woman. , only when he saw his familiar friend, Hunter Corey, would he burst into tears. The moment when the two men embrace, becomes the secret core of the story, and the girl's death triggers a memory for the hero, Corey. A few years ago, his daughter suffered the same accident. At this special moment, the two fathers who have lost their love have completed a spiritual overlap and replacement of their identities. Since then, everything has changed its tone. Corey has changed from an investigator, a helper, to a father who fights for himself. The story changes the emotional focus between calmness. The dead girl became the image of her own daughter. He went to help investigate the case, and at the same time, he also wished for himself. He stood in the ice and snow, comforting the man, "I can't tell you, after a while, life will get better, it won't get better. But if you accept this pain, you can always feel the pain of your daughter. Existence." Obviously, while exhorting and persecuting people, he is also comforting himself, which is an emotional support. The memory that he has gradually sealed is activated by another fresh case, and it needs a psychological mechanism to prevent himself from being Out of control and collapse, this is also an encouragement mechanism. He found that this is an opportunity to use his own abilities to give the other party an explanation and give himself an end. The murderer who was brought to justice revealed before his death that the motive for the crime was the loneliness and boredom of life. All the local young people who were addicted to drugs and violence fell for the same reason: no goal, no hope, no future . The snow and ice covering the Indian area can melt, but when will the loneliness of the Indian area be comforted?
3 Helpless reflections on border issues
In addition to loneliness, in the "American Frontier Trilogy", there is another point throughout, that is helplessness. In "Border Slayer", ideals and reality make the female detective helpless, morality and revenge make the mysterious agent helpless; in "Going through fire and water", the fate of poverty and the dream of prosperity make the two brothers helpless, and the duty and life make the old police officer helpless In "Hunting the Wind River Valley", there are more helpless groups, such as Corey whose daughter died of unknown cause, Jane who was alone in danger, Indian youth who took drugs, couples who died tragically, and even the perpetrators themselves. In a helpless struggle. They are all struggling in their own helpless fate, but this snowfield will not sympathize with the weak, nor will it give you a chance to reform, if you make a mistake, you must bear the consequences, all the sorrow and Sin will not be redeemed, but will only be covered up by the snow and disappear forever in that whiteness. It explores the judicial conflict in the aboriginal barren land of American culture, as well as the self-salvation of individuals if they get out of the haze of tragedy. The moment the scabbard sounded, the two camps fell apart, and unrelated people were gradually tied up because of the same incident, questioning and changing their identities. When six miles away from death, the borderlands and the judicial system are divided and separated from each other, the director uses this film to call attention to the Aboriginal people in his hometown. The cruel reality is shown one by one, and the living conditions of people in the era make the audience follow it and mobilize full emotions. In the end, it was not the female detective's justice bullets and handcuffs that solved the murder, but Corey's silent and cruel lynching, and the ending was not the sweet love of the hero and heroine, but Corey and the deceased father sitting quietly on the snow. This anti-mainstream ending leaves people with infinite aftertastes and can be called a classic. A tragic reality in the final reservation is presented on the screen: a large number of Indian women disappear here every year, but usually their families are reluctant to call the police, because the police do nothing, and the government has never seriously counted the number of victims. .
"I run alone with the wind, your loving eyes are out of reach, and the winter here will never come." These soft songs have been appearing vaguely throughout the film, like a gust of wind, It's very easy to ignore him when you're right beside you. The United States, the world's most developed country, is like those eyes full of love but out of reach, but the Indians are always like children running alone in the wind. Winter does not never come, but never leaves. This child who runs alone will be buried in the wind and snow sooner or later. What is covered by the white snow is not only sin and sorrow, but also the helpless sighs of countless marginalized groups.
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