That's how I fell in love with Wild Reed. It's just a still photo, it's emotional: two boys riding a car, the slender boy in the back seat hugs the boy in the front seat, his face is against his back, speechless silence, slightly facing the wind, two Zhang Young's face has its own direction of projection.
It has been many years since I actually saw this movie, and I was surprised to find that the imprint of the memory of that year is still fresh. The movie condenses the story before and after the stills into a piece, and the vague feeling gradually has a clear background.
France in the early 1960s was lingering in the shadow of war with Algeria. The thin and quiet Francois transfers to a new school, and Maitai, the daughter of teacher Alvaret, falls in love with him. The two became lovers who held each other's hands, and François just cited Maitai as a confidant who could talk about everything. What really attracted François was the strong and rugged classmate Serge, and the two even had an intimate night. Serge was on a whim, and François has been obsessed with his sexuality ever since. There is a new classmate in the class - Henry, an Algerian expatriate. Henry has a contempt for everything and is out of place with his eyes above the top. He is hostile to Maitai, who is a descendant of the left, but they are gradually approaching in the constant conflict.
After the exam is over, the four of them meet to go swimming. In the green mountains and beautiful waters, Francois got an answer that Serge refused completely, but they were still friends; Henry and Maitai left after falling in love, and Maitai rushed into Francois's arms and cried bitterly, beside him, Serge's silent helplessness... In
this way, this seems to be a four-cornered love story, but you won't find a little bit of vulgarity and promiscuity in the movie. Among those confused and even ambiguous feelings, it is a kind of selflessness and selflessness. of openness. Four teenage young people become each other's pursuit and each other's sustenance. In the loss they seek, there is no jealousy, no envy, comfort and mingling with each other.
Francois is the character who runs the needle in the film. With heart disease, he cannot run or jump, and his life is immersed in the nourishment of poetry and literature. He has the calmness and maturity that a person of that age would not have had. François is like the wild reed he mentioned when he quoted La Fontaine's fables in class, and his frail body contains amazing toughness. This boy with homosexual tendencies was confused by his own feelings, but he still persistently explored his own nature and naturally stretched his life. Under his kneading, several other young people who were originally conflicting with each other eventually became friends. In the indecision of friendship and love, the four of them have gradually gained tolerance, balance and flexibility like wild reeds in the process of growing up in confusion and perseverance.
Most of the French films I’ve watched before have given me the impression of talking to myself, and I’m a little out of touch when I go too far. "Wild Reed" is an exception, the story of the youth is told in a simple way, filled with a kind of flat and uncertain beauty. Even the pain and confusion of youth are all drawn into poetry and painting. There are still voices, there is the beauty of twilight.
In the pictorial of that year, "Wild Reed" occupied the position of black and white pages. Even if I have seen the film, I still have no impression of color in retrospect, it is still grayish yellow and hazy tones. Maybe the feeling of my youth has already been buried deep in the lines, and it will always be on the page of "Wild Reed"...
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