1
What movie will keep me thinking about it, of course there are many, but this Emmanuel Olmi's "Work" (also translated "Youth Troubles" and "Job" 1961) is an extraordinary talk to me . More than ten years ago, I repeatedly pulled the film, and after at least three times, I began to record while watching, and slowly completed the scenario script of the film. Although I recorded a lot of films in those years, the feeling of this film definitely made me happy and caring.
The boy Dominic is thin, even frail. He is ignorant of the world, slightly shy, absolutely obedient, and often stares at a pair of innocent eyes. Step by step is the realistic path that a young man like him must go through. The mirroring is the rigid and rigid work scene of the eight middle-aged and elderly employees. Thinking about it, it makes people shudder. This kind of stagnant water is the silent majority. They huddled together to intrigue, but they were unable to reform themselves. Rather than saying that the director sympathizes with them, it is better to say that this is the life of people in this world.
2
For the director, this is also the work in which he really established his realistic style after "Time Freeze". He uses non-professional actors and has always refused the studio. The flow of life, natural light, has the most unmarked interpretation here. "Child, after 20 years, you can get rid of that lamp's damage to your eyes." This is the most heart-wrenching sentence in that workplace. 17-year-old Dominic goes through what seems like an absurd job search and finds a job as a clerk, only to lose the girl he loves, Margaret.
Margaret's fresh and sweet smile, like the breeze, always attracted his pace. He waited quietly for her, even if it was drenched in the rain, he sang for her all the way, knowing that he was a shy boy. At home, I have to fight with my brother Franco for a rope to bind books. But for Margaret's sake, he would rather spend all the pocket money his mother gave her, buy her coffee and buy chewing gum, but was swallowed ten liras alive by the broken vending machine.
3
For Margaret's sake, Dominic doesn't care, as long as he can see her, as long as he can see her smile, as long as he can hear her soft voice, he will be very happy. They interviewed together and got hired together. Although they are both in the same company, they work in two buildings. Not being able to be together makes him so uncomfortable. He missed her, and it was like sitting on pins and needles with the messenger Terro First. He wrote the Christmas card, for fear that Trodie would see it and seemed dissatisfied, so he simply tore it up and wrote it again. Finally getting a chance to go to her building, he put the Christmas card with the other letters.
Just as she was about to leave, the door opened, and it was her who was thinking about it day and night. Dominic, it's you, long time no see. He was so happy that he didn't know what to say, just bowed his head slightly. But the management of big companies is also very strict. She said that she can't talk more. There is a New Year's Eve party on New Year's Eve. Would you like to come? He smiled and nodded. Bye then. She was about to go in when she stuck her head out and said, Merry Christmas to you! How beautiful, how bright her smile, she is his guiding light.
You know, during this time, he painstakingly searched the company's canteen, but without her, the old lady who even ate a package next to him said that they were the second wave of lunches, and we were the first wave. I see. He waited outside. She came and followed her colleague out with a smile. He backed away, afraid that she would see it. When he became a messenger, he repeatedly stared at his uniform in the mirror, even if it was indecent. For her, he begged his mother to buy him the best trench coat.
4
But he lives in Mida, a small town on the outskirts of Milan, a shantytown where everyone is poor. Italy was beginning its most rapid post-war construction and development at this time, with construction sites everywhere. Before dawn, he followed his father and younger brother on the train to the city. The mother has only the nagging of love, and the father has only the control. At the age of 17, after graduating from middle school, he spent all day at home either sleeping or playing, and finally had the opportunity to apply for a job.
This is a big company. There are a lot of people looking for jobs. This requires a rigorous interview. From mathematics, psychological tests and other things, to pass one by one, the competition test is not easy. For example, Dominic can only answer yes or no to a few questions from the doctor, "Do you mind if you don't eat at home? Do you think there is hope for the future? Do you often use alcohol to relieve your worries? Do you often get itchy? Have you ever wet the bed at the age of 14, have you ever affected your work due to excessive drinking?" These psychological tests are very funny, and their strictness is evident.
5
On the first day of the test, in the crowd, Dominic only noticed Margaret. During the lunch, the old man next to him read the newspaper news and became an announcer, which attracted a lot of laughter. He kept peeking at her. When paying the bill, he leaned over and greeted her actively. He was a little shy, but he wasn't autistic yet. Afterwards, they roamed the street together.
Lovely she let him smell the fried smell of the meal just now. He asked her why she took the French name. She laughed and said that she was picked by her elementary school classmates, and she used it later. Her real name was Antoniota. This Dominica of yours is quite suitable for you. They chatted all the way, passing the boutique, and she said she liked the kind of clothes with lots of buttons and knots. He saw a trench coat, but couldn't afford it at all.
The funny thing is that when he invited her to drink coffee, many people accidentally knocked off the spoon. When he was at a loss, she said just use mine, and she helped him stir it, as if the sugar cubes melted into his heart. The lad was delighted. They passed the construction site and looked at their watch. The exam was about to begin. He took her hand and ran back desperately, through the green belt of the park, and was scolded by the administrator, Xiong.
6
Not all the people who take the test can pass, on the contrary only a few pass, the man who can't do the math problem is not good. They are lucky. She became a typist, and he became a messenger for the administration. Trotti, the old messenger, always told him a lot of big things. The retired old man came to work as usual, and got off on time when the bell rang. After a lifetime of classes, I can't stand it at home. After a lifetime of classes, I eventually became a slave to work.
Just like the workplaces all over the world, they are fussy, mean, playful, and run against others, but in that closed space where rewards and punishments are clearly defined, they are more struggling than sitting there to work. It is the third time that the middle-aged woman has been reprimanded for being late for work. Who knows the grief behind her. The man who always waits for everyone to write and wants to be a writer secretly after get off work, and the man who sits in the dark in the last row and has to turn on the lights, and the lights are on and off... Each of them has a bittersweet story. Shi, but can only waste time with a salary in these mixed days.
7
When the amateur writer died suddenly, the vacant position was replaced by Dominic, who finally became a clerk from a messenger. But the old people who sat at the end were chattering. They thought you were a hairy guy. As soon as you came in, you took the seat, and we were still behind. This is not fair. As soon as the boss hears it, all right, Dominic, the last seat is yours.
In the workplace, seeing so many unpleasant things, the guy doesn't even bother to compare. It's nothing more than staying up for another 20 years, nothing more than turning on the lights to work, although it hurts the eyes, it is much better than the reception room outside. What's more, the young man's heart was full of the girl Margaret at this time, as long as there was her, he could sit anywhere, as long as he was here. Hope is really the only source of human life. It is better to be here than to be bored at home all day long, not to mention the beloved girl.
The director worked in a power company in his early years, and he has a deep understanding of the seniority ranking in the workplace, as well as the invisible squeeze in the huge space. He said, "Work should not be a curse on people, on the contrary, it should be an opportunity for people to express themselves. But under the organization of society, work has become a pain." So he was handy when shooting. The key is that his grasping degree is really great, and the mirror image of the master appeared at the beginning of the filming.
8
"Work" is as simple and quiet as the previous work "Time Freeze", indoor and outdoor, from the street to the shantytown, it is calm and orderly, the sense of rhythm is flowing, and it has a high artistic quality. The kind of pervasive niche interest makes people laugh and is extremely chewable. So, I say it's a different style of realism than De Sica, the later Abbas is closer to his films.
Some have praised his films, from the 1950s to the 1960s, as a link between De Sica's Bicycle Thief (1948) and Mike Nichols' The Graduate (1967). bridge. But in my opinion, "Work" shows his extraordinary temperament. It contains a hint of sadness in its calmness, but never shows it. That's exactly what's so awesome about director Olmi.
9
New Year's Eve arrived, and after getting the approval of her mother, Dominic went out wearing the best-looking trench coat. When I came to the company dance scene, the first old couple who came, saw him with flowers and wine and let him go over and sit with them. The dance started, and everyone came one after another. The young man looked through the autumn water, but there was no Margaret. People danced happily, and he sat there pitifully. A fat woman smiled and said why don't you dance, come on, dance with me.
He had to dance with her, forget about all that unpleasantness, and play with everyone, which is also very fun. The New Year's bell is ringing, but where will the girl he loves celebrate. This love at first sight may be like bye bye. Maybe the girl received his Christmas card, and after thinking about it, she quit. This is a real world, the girl saw the ruthlessness of the workplace just like him, and she had to consider and choose. Although the guy is alone, he won't care too much, but he will feel heartache.
Think how much Dominic loves her. On the first night, after they went shopping together, he put her in the car and watched her car go away, so much so that he was so excited that he got on the "obsolete" train and waited for a long time before he found out, but He could only walk home. As he walked, he sang "Goodbye, little girl, I was desperately looking for new words to express, but it's like it's raining, and I'll cry with you..." His mother couldn't believe it when he heard him singing a cheerful song. Is his son Dominic, yes, it's him. But he will never see her again, and he will not sing any more. Everything will go with the wind.
2017, 7, 11
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