I often wonder what kind of film makes sense. This is a commonplace but unavoidable topic. Of course, each film has its own meaning, the substance, direction and connotation are different, and the meaning becomes very different. There is no doubt that Jeff Nichols' "Love" (2016) must have a special and extraordinary meaning. This "Love" is not Gaspar Lo's heavy-duty 3D "Love". This is an adaptation based on the real human rights case in the United States, "Lowan Incident" ("Lowan v. Virginia Case"), changing the history of black and white prohibiting intermarriage.
As an excellent cinematographer, Adam Stone shot all 5 of the director's previous films, making the images particularly concise. Moderation is a must for still photography. It stands to reason that such a "shouting" event can be shot in a violent way, but the director used a cold treatment. The director has carefully studied the documentary film about the incident in 1965, and visited the parties involved in the incident. Sadly, both the male and female protagonists of this event have passed away. But after careful consideration, the director decided to shoot in a quiet way.
I often say that intense plot, good at dealing with a very quiet way, that is a more awesome ability. If a movie doesn’t know how to hide, don’t leave blank, and don’t know how to keep it simple, there will be no innovation at all. With these few points, the movie can be described as tranquil and poetic. This is the standard by which I have always judged the quality of movies, no matter how famous they are. Director, if you can't pass this test, don't think of me saying his movies are good. Because this is the biggest difference between film and other arts. Mirror languages must be economical. The problem is, short shots don't mean saving, and long shots don't mean procrastination, but that everything must be just right and have an aftertaste.
Back to the film, Jeff Nichols, born in 1978, graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts. Survival", "Sludge", etc. Joel Edgerton, who plays the leading actor Richard in "Love", has the face of a Slav, as hard and rough as a shale rock, and is the kind of powerful actor who slowly makes plays. In New South Wales, Australia, starred in "Star Wars Episodes", "The Great Gatsby", "Pharaoh and the Gods" and other films.
The film stars Ruth Negga of his black wife Mildred, born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1982, to an Ethiopian father, an Irish mother, and a black father at her 7th birthday. Died when she was young, she graduated from Trinity College in Dublin, and since 2004 starred in "Missionaries, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." and other films. Presumably playing this role by her adds an indescribable personal experience, or in other words, it is no longer suitable for her to play.
In fact, there is another movie about the taboo of black and white love in 2016, that is, "United Kingdom" starred by the famous British actress Pike Chunhua and directed by Ama Asante. It is about the 1940s. The true story of Selez Kama, the largest tribal chief, marrying Ruth Williams, a white British girl, was opposed by the two governments at the time, causing a lot of criticism until Selez Kama became the founding country of Botswana in 1966 President, this black and white match is slowly subsiding.
Maintaining the purity of race comes from human nature. You and I are born with this hobby. Therefore, it is not as simple as discrimination, especially when it comes to identity, equality and rights, defending the purity of this "race" become very political. Richard, a white guy, is a dutiful farm boy. Outside of work, he likes to race cars. In 1958, the countryside of Centrale Po, Caroline County, Virginia, was peaceful and peaceful. The folk customs here were simple and black and white were mixed, not as distinct as black and white in other areas.
Under this ethos, Richard fell in love with Mildred, a black girl, and they went to Washington, D.C., to complete the wedding, knowing that interracial marriage was prohibited in Florida. At that time, the states that generally banned interracial marriage in the United States were mainly concentrated in the southeast. This corresponds to the pattern after the "Civil War", and the prohibition of interracial marriage is actually a reflection of the fact that the identity of "black slaves" has not been truly liberated.
When Richard returned to his hometown with his wife and was enjoying the sweetness of love, he was sued. The police arrested Mildred and Richard, who were pregnant, late at night on the grounds that they had violated state law. Richard was released on bail and the sheriff sternly warned him, this is God's law, you were born in the wrong place, whites are whites, blacks are black, don't mix, don't be with your wife again, or you'll be sentenced . His wife was released on bail by her family after a week in custody.
They were in love and married, it was impossible not to be together, and when they reunited again, the police arrested them again. Richard hired a lawyer, Frank, to avoid a year or more in prison only by pleading guilty. At the trial, they had to plead guilty and promised to leave Florida and not return for 25 years. What a harsh and ruthless law this is. They had to go to a relative's house in Washington for temporary shelter. Richard goes out as a bricklayer during the day. He remembered that he had bought a piece of land in his hometown and was going to build a new house for them to get married, but now he can only abandon it there.
The wife was upset. She said that she wanted her mother to deliver the baby herself. This custom is very similar to some traditional villages in China in the past, where daughters-in-law or elders deliver children when daughters-in-law give birth. Richard decided to take the plunge and drove his wife back home late at night. After the mother-in-law who seldom speaks gave birth to her daughter-in-law, she gently said to her son that you should not marry her. As a result, the police arrested them for the third time. This is indeed cruel to Mildred who has just given birth. Fortunately, attorney Frank took the blame and said he allowed them to come back. They had to leave again for a foreign country.
Time flies, and 10 years later, they have three babies, Sidney, Donald and Peggy. Encouraged by well-wishers, she wrote to Supreme Attorney Lincoln, which went to the American Civil Liberties Union, appointing a young and brave lawyer, Cohen, to defend them. He urged them to sue the state of Florida against interracial marriage, saying it would rewrite American history and save countless young people in the same predicament. With such a sense of mission, Cohen immediately joined another lawyer to appeal the case to the Federal Supreme Court.
Enthusiastic Cohen also called in reporters from the media such as "Life" magazine and reporters from New York TV to report the life of their family, which was feared and suffered from discrimination and humiliation, which caused a national shock. Finally, the Supreme Court ruled: Florida's law against interracial marriage violated the U.S. Constitution, and stated that marriage is an inherent right of citizens, and no one can block their legitimate freedom of marriage under any excuse. At the same time, the films are cross-presented, forming a strong contrast between the Supreme Court and the villagers. For this day, they have been panicking for ten years.
As a result, the unwritten rule prohibiting interracial marriage was also repealed in other states in the United States at the same time. They can finally build a house on their own land. Unfortunately, seven years later, Richard was killed by a drunk driver and his wife never remarried. Mildred died of illness in 2008. She has previously said in interviews that her time with Richard was very happy.
Speaking of this, I think Chinese people should really learn this sentence: "Marriage is the inherent right of citizens, and no one can use any excuse to block their legitimate freedom of marriage." Those who often use morality as an excuse to say to others about marriage Those who make irresponsible remarks, and even try their best to prevent others from getting married, should reflect on their own bad behavior. As long as they are married within the scope of the "Marriage Law", others, even their relatives, have no right to intervene.
The film's presentation in such a quiet state mainly cuts into this law that violates human nature, and gives the pair of hard-working mandarin ducks the fear and unease under the spiritual imprisonment, just as the wife said when she saw the playful children, I hope they never grow up, because when they grow up, the discrimination and squeeze they feel is even more severe. Even Richard saw a small car coming, he was so scared that he told the children to hide, it was actually a friend who came to visit them, and he asked his friend why you were driving so fast, because only the police car that arrested them drove so fast.
The two actors are really great. They don't show their emotions, they don't feel sad, they don't show their hurts, they don't cry, they don't pound their chests and feet, they only have the slightest pain that goes deep into their skin. Obviously, the 38-year-old director has the mirror image of a master, and his cooperation with the photographer is indeed as seamless as he said.
Undoubtedly, this is one of the few films in recent years that is extremely matched in terms of artistic level and ideology, and it is extremely rare. Therefore, I said at the beginning that this is a very meaningful film, not limited to the particularity of the event itself, but refers to the mirror expression of the film as a whole, that is, the high degree of unity of form and content, which can be called impeccable perfection .
2016, 11, 29
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