If I say that I think "Wind River Valley" is the perfect film, will you laugh at how strange I am?
Of course, the focus may be the combination of "Hawkeye" and "Scarlet Witch", or it may be the original wildness of the ice and snow. But from the technical level of the film, whether it is the script setting, the application of the lens language, the tone setting, the emotion, the rhythm and other aspects, it is perfect.
To put "Wind River Valley" in the category of suspense films, we must first know that crime-type suspense films have faced great challenges today. Once upon a time, American-style crime suspense was highly attention-grabbing, but today's movies are so exciting that detective films need something real (so thriller-style suspense is all the rage). When a murder happens, a frustrated police officer walks through the streets, investigating bit by bit, reading everything about the situation here - if you don't want to make such a film too boring, you have to work hard.
In Hitchcock's time, suspense films could only occur in one dialogue, such as "Telephone Murder". Throughout the whole story, all the details were brought out by the dialogue, and there were only two or three scenes in which the plot happened. Like "Rope of the Soul", people who love movies are happy to taste classics, but I have to admit that people today will feel a little overwhelmed when they watch it.
Like the detective novels of the past, the Bengue faction has evolved into the tough guy faction and the new Bengue, and the suspense movie has also split into two. One is purely based on suspense and gradually developed into a psychological thriller theme, and the other is a murder that brings out the society. The status quo or the state of affairs. Of course, the boundaries of the two are also crossed. Wind River Valley is undoubtedly the latter.
The story takes place in a frozen Indian reservation. The sins of no man's land seem to be inherently eye-catching. From the perspective of the film's spiritual phenomenalism, the white snow contrasts sharply with the red blood. The sound of the wind shouting is another reaction in the human heart. The Coen brothers also considered the same in the creation of "Frozen".
The stage has been set, just waiting for the plot to play out.
Excellent film, with deep contradictions set in each individual scene. However, the murder case in the snow and ice cannot show the ups and downs of the reversal, so the relationship between the protagonist and the environment and survival has become the most perfect starting point of the film, and in fact, the director has done it most vividly.
It may be Jeremy Renner's natural scowl that brings out the character of the plot. When you see him being reticent and interacting with his ex-wife, you know this land is not easy. And Olsen's performance of the FBI girl, with her youthful appearance and silly eyes, just became a natural resource for Reina to play.
In the beginning, the hero Hunter took his son out from his ex-wife. I really don't understand why the lens shakes so much, it's so quiet at the moment, do I need to hold the camera with high shake? But it's quick to realize how brilliant the language of this shot is, the magic it secretly exerts on you, bringing you into the narrative arrangement. The shaking brings inner restlessness, like a storm, reflecting the primitiveness of this land and the survival dilemma brought by the lack of civilization.
The development of the plot did not appear strong winds and waves, but began when the hunter found the corpse. Each conversation showcases local characteristics. The land under the jurisdiction of the six policemen is extremely large, because it involves the jurisdiction of the reserved area. After the murder, it is waiting for the FBI to send personnel. ——It was a young female detective who was closest to this place. Had she not happened to be conscientious—as in the conflict with the forensic doctor—she didn't want the case to be sloppy and recalled—or maybe it would have turned into a headless case.
Fortunately, with the help of the hunter, the investigation began, and the details of the case were also unfolded. The victim's brother revealed clues to his sister's boyfriend - pointing to an oil refinery base. All that needs to be done is to go there and find out the truth. Before that, the conversation between the hunter and the female detective in the house was very shocking.
Why did the hunter leave his wife and children to live alone? It turns out that the same accident happened to his eldest daughter a year ago. And he told the story slowly, and the audience's empathy can penetrate every inch of texture.
The most amazing thing about this film is that those seemingly bland scenes have a dramatic tension that is staggering. The hunter told about the death of his daughter three years ago, and it was straightforward, but the last sentence: "You can't be careless, not even for a moment" - stabbed people to tears. Such a tragic past is revealed in the gossip about a cup of hot water at night. When the female detective finished listening to the narration, she could only clasp her hands in a daze - just like what every audience member is doing. But in fact, it's nothing.
The dramatic confrontation on the way to the refinery is where the climax begins—not the tumultuous tide, but a low surging like a storm. We, who love suspense films, thought we would make a strange discovery in the oil refinery, find out some loopholes through reasoning, and then discover a certain murderer... But the director seems to say that there are too many such films, let's see what should happen Well, halfway along the way, because of doubts about the language, the police and the security guards drew their guns against each other (a few policemen are the only security forces in this land). When the female detective eased the situation as the FBI, she came to the suspect's lair. You probably expect to find something in the house, but at this time, the director directly shows the past and presents the truth of the original in front of him.
So you suddenly saw the sad story: the victim Natalie went to the construction site to see her boyfriend Matt. Because they thought the roommates would not come back at night, they became intimate in the house. Matt and Natalie hugged in bed, chatting about the outside world, and I noticed that the camera was surprisingly smooth at the moment, as if unaffected by any storm. According to the setting habits of suspense films, it is generally impossible to talk about things outside the plot for such a long period, but the chat between couples in these few minutes is exactly the shocking point. Because, when we are immersed in this calm and warm atmosphere, the events that immediately come, let you understand the true theme of the film - colleagues are back, entangled in playful language, and things get out of control.
The whole plot twist, so plausible, and that's what creeps you out -- the savagery, the rascals, the jealousy, the shamelessness all burst out here. This is a transition from heaven to hell. There were no roaring zombies, no mutant monsters, and no schizophrenic hallucinations. The evil of human nature happened naturally and quickly, without any planning, nor for money or status. Six people killed their boyfriends and raped girls. The escaped girl ran wild in the snow, and finally choked to death on her own blood.
The pre-flash memory part is over, and through the clip of opening the door, we return to the present moment. A fierce battle broke out at this moment. The killer security in the house shoots the detective girl. These security guards and the police, both sides shot each other with guns. The police were all killed, while the hunters who flanked in the distance killed the security. Of course, in the end, the murderer was also killed.
From a suspense point of view, the story is so simple. Even the investigative process does not require much, nor deep reasoning. But the way in which the conflict is advanced is truly amazing. The hunter tells the story of losing his daughter; the confrontation between the police and the security guard; the review of the crime incident; It is not like the crime in "Frozen", with its irony and disdain for the world, the former wants to stand out more, and everything is one's own choice; but "Wind River Valley" is more like an ancient Greek tragedy, the root of the tragedy ——In terms of external existence, it is difficult for people to break through the constraints of innate conditions. To live here is to face this fate. Just like the hunter said to the girl at the end, it's not luck to survive, it's luck that you don't get hit by a car and lose your wallet in the city. You survived because you tried to live, like being eaten by a lion, not a hapless antelope, but a weak antelope.
When you hear this, don't think that the director is talking about the old-fashioned social Darwinism, the survival of the fittest and the survival of the fittest - on the contrary, the director doesn't like all of this and looks at it with compassion, just like the hunter in the film doesn't like lions. At first, there was a meaningful link. The hunter probed the cattle killed by the lion and told his father-in-law that the lion had destroyed the family.
Today we are too used to say that nature has its own laws, the food chain is a natural ecology, and if a lion does not eat antelope, it will not survive. Of course the director knew this, just as the hunter also saw a litter of lion cubs waiting for food. But the problem is, as human beings, we are far from the pristine wilderness, and we have evolved compassion. There is no need to interfere with the laws of animals, but the reason why people are different from animals is because of wisdom and civilization, because they learn to sympathize and love each other, and know the value of life. We can’t always see the world from God’s perspective and say that it’s the law of the jungle, and it doesn’t matter. We need to build our own home for survival. But the interesting thing is that we humans are still savage animals. You must know that there are no professional criminals in the film, and the most heinous crime actually came from temporary intentions, from a few colleagues in the same room. Like the killer complained at the end, because there is no fun and no women in this icy world. Humans have naturally turned back into beasts, and even beasts are not as good as beasts. Beasts hunt only for food, but do not kill others for the sake of "fun", but what people do is so beyond the bounds. This is also a reflection of human nature from a sociological point of view - once separated from a civilized society, to what extent can a person be sinful. At the edge of the crowd, the concept of "people" is already missing.
The reason why I admire this film is that in addition to the shooting technique and heavy theme, the advancement of the plot and the use of camera language are all worth savoring. Of course, a good movie fits into a whole in all aspects. If it is used as a textbook, this movie should be of great reference value.
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