Xiaokang adjusted all the clocks he could see to Paris time. Xiaokang’s mother thought that the dead Xiaokang dad came back to see her. Xiangqi cared about the whereabouts of her watch. Xiaokang’s father hooked the floating box and walked to the Ferris wheel.
In the afternoon when it rained suddenly, I watched another Tsai Ming-liang movie - "What Time Is There Over You". I think it's a movie about missing. Because it is longing, it is fantasy, untouchable, and wishful thinking.
Xiaokang’s mother’s thoughts of Xiaokang’s father are strong, and Xiangqi’s thoughts of her hometown are reliant. In order to connect these two characters, Xiaokang’s thoughts are twofold—the hidden thoughts of her father, and the thoughts of this one in Tianqiao. The woman who bought his watch and gave him a cake was overtly missed. Missing wraps the world of each character, can't see each other, can't give it, and piles it up in the body. Perhaps, the black suitcase floating on the lake, the full black suitcase, is loaded with this kind of feeling that is not in decline.
The image of this suitcase also appeared in the subsequent work "A Cloud in the Sky". Although it is not this one, because it is white, it seems to be related to what it is trying to convey. Because there is a problem with the order of watching, I am very clear about the relationship between these three movies - "What Time Are You Over There", "The Overpass is Missing", and "A Cloud in the Sky". The correct order should look like this, but I read it the other way around. The ciphers arranged in sequence are the lines about the watch: Xiangqi bought a Xiaokang watch before going to Paris; Xiangqi, who was returning to Taiwan, asked "The one who sold the watch on the overpass, do you know where he went?"; Xiangqi asked Xiaokang" Are you still selling watches?" It can be seen that in Tsai Ming-liang's films, the dialogue is rare and precious, and it will only be told if it is too important.
It is Cai Mingliang's trademark to express a clear story line with very little dialogue, and he likes this seemingly loose, substantive and highly logical expression. You have to pay attention to what appeared in the previous shot, maybe which object will be implied in the next shot and play an important role; don’t be confused about the abrupt things in the previous shot, the next shots will naturally explain. The expression of daily actions, the use of props, and the open-hearted setting make Tsai Mingliang's films fascinating and interesting, at least I think so.
I watched Xiaokang's dad walk to the dining room, served dumplings, sat down, smoked, called Xiaokang, turned to the balcony, and moved the flowers and plants on the balcony to the other side. After careful observation, I knew that these actions were telling stories. The expression of language is only exaggerated and uncontrollable, but the action cannot lie. Language is fast food, every sentence is delivered to your ears, whether it is spit narration or profound quotations, it will imprison you, but actions will not. Everyone's unique movement habits convey to your eyes and stimulate your unique cognition, because those small movements can't be whitewashed by no amount of language. It is guessed that Cai Mingliang wants to show the living conditions of human beings on the screen in a way of giving up nonsense. Behold, the world flutters before your eyes.
In addition to the way of expression, the content expressed in Cai Mingliang's films is also more inexplicable due to the different ways. Since it is not expressed in words, it is difficult to describe in words. Cai Mingliang said that there is nothing incomprehensible, and it is right to have the feeling of touching. Things have not been encountered, but feelings have been carried, and it is difficult for people who do not experience them to understand. I can cry when I watch "A Cloud in the Sky", but others can't. That's because I understand what the heroine's mood is, but I can't say it or not. After reading "What Time Are You Over There", I flipped out "A Cloud in the Sky" and skipped directly to the part that made me cry. Still sad and sad, I understand, I understand, I understand.
Watching Tsai Mingliang's movies in a row made me familiar with Xiaokang's body, who often appears in the image of underwear. I know where there are scars on his body. Xiaokang is an actor, but it makes people think that he is a passer-by, because the performance is too natural. The first movie I watched was the river, and it was only halfway through that I was sure that he was the male protagonist. At that time, I thought that this male protagonist was too miserable. To take on such a difficult role, I even thought that he really suffered from neck diseases. It was only after full contact that he found out that he was miserable from beginning to end, and had been miserable for more than ten years.
Maybe Xiaokang and Cai Mingliang can't tell who changed who. When Cai Mingliang inadvertently let the wandering Xiaokang participate in the performance of the unit drama, they never separated again in the movie. Several movies after that constitute the whole life after Xiaokang. Cai Mingliang also said in the radio interview of the new film "Dark Circles" that the fixed use of Xiaokang as an actor, through years of cooperation on the screen, is actually a manifestation of the development process of life. The director, the actors, and the audience grow and age together. He thanked Xiaokang for dedicating his life to his film. I think Xiaokang should also thank him, because Xiaokang himself has also started to be a director. If it weren't for that encounter, Xiaokang would probably always be just a passerby in life.
The memory of this summer in 2007 seems to be watching a lot of Cai Mingliang's movies, and I'm going to watch them all and keep watching. River, Long Live Love, Teenage Nezha, The Overpass is gone, A cloud in the sky, What time is it over there? After reading it, I will read it again in chronological order of the age of the well-off. It's not easy to find a movie that matches your aura, and it's even harder to find a series of such movies. Thank you for meeting Cai Mingliang this summer.
Cai Mingliang highly recommended it to me, saying that I would definitely like it, which prompted me, who was lazy, to look for it. Thank you lowly.
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