Listening to silence - warmth and helplessness in a silent world,
Lin Wenqing, the protagonist of the film, has become deaf and mute since he was eight years old, and the world is cruel to him. Let him hear", the world favors him again, his brothers are involved in the vendetta of gangsters and bureaucrats, but because of his physical defects, he has saved himself from danger several times. Apart from Kuanmei, he is the most uncontested among the main characters. In that dark and unforgiving world, Silent even brought him a touch of happiness and gentleness. Falling in love with Kuanmei, marrying, having tolerant friendship, and taking care of his elder brother, in the silent world of Wenqing, the wordless communication exudes a touch of tenderness, and at the same time, it is also filled with the forbearance of resignation.
The existence of Wenqing is a testament to the sadness. In post-recovery Taiwan, it is not easy to be a healthy person, and it is even more difficult to be a disabled person, to survive and fight silently in that society. He survived in the family, but as a witness to the family tragedy, when relatives and friends leave him one by one, those who are still alive at this time will bear the unbearable weight of life. This silent silence is more sentimental than any sad statement. At this time, the effect of silence is better than sound. Applied to Wen Qing, it can affect anyone's heartache without being limited by language or content. The sad song in the forbearance stirs the memories in our hearts and resonates in our hearts.
Wen Qing's camera seems to represent his character. Wen Qing, who makes a living from photography, is also characteristic of Wen Qing that the camera only records and does not speak. He can swallow social injustice and misfortune with tears, and live silently until those sufferings have turned into a helpless and submissive expression on his face. , he is the observer and recorder of the times, nowhere to resist and powerless to resist. In the last part, Wenqing took a group photo for his family of three, but this is his last memory. His expression at that time reminded me of Xiangzi, who was also in a turbulent society, full of hardships and helpless life, after all, he had to continue of.
Wenqing's world is alienated. Indifferent to the world, he eventually became involved in political events. When Wen Qing was imprisoned, his fellow inmates were called to the "trial", the music of chanting sutras sounded, and Wen Qing silently watched them put on their shoes and socks. For a few minutes, not a word sounded, only the alienated footage. , as if those souls who are about to die in the next second are meticulously doing a noble cause, preparing to die heroically. The silent scene of the defamiliarization is exactly Wenqing's world, until he waited for the two gunshots and his trial, no, he couldn't hear it, and could only silently accept the arrangement of fate.
Is it really liberating to leave? The family collapsed after the death of his brother. In order to avoid being hunted down for political events, Wen Qing took his wife and chose to leave. The silent figures of a family of three standing on the platform of the station did not preach anything to us, but just quietly demonstrated: Can we get rid of the shadow of death after leaving? What will the future life be like?
Such quietness, accompanied by deep sadness, corroded into the bones, deepening the chill of early winter.
Listen to the story - Kuanmei's soft and strong voice
If the death of the eldest brother and tolerance, the madness of the third brother, and the separation of the family are the epitome of the tragedy of the times, then the existence of Kuanmei has added a touch of warmth to this tragic era. There are not many broad and beautiful dialogues, but her gentle voice always accompanies the left and right, and runs through the entire film. A woman who is as quiet as water, with her delicate and feminine diary style, taps every word on the screen, like a poem with white characters on a black background, making the film full of poetic sadness.
The first acquaintance of Wen Qing and Kuan Mei is a beautiful picture in a chaotic world, on a peaceful mountain road, "There is already the coolness of autumn on the mountain, and the scenery along the road is very good. Thinking of being able to see such beautiful scenery every day in the future, I feel a kind of happiness in my heart. Feeling." The faint beauty is accompanied by a cool chill, and the wide beauty has an inexplicably sad and gentle voice, which makes me forget the era in the film for a while, an eternal encounter, and no one will think about how much suffering will come next. And sad, full of eyes only the desire for happiness.
If Wenqing is a ninja in a sad era, then Kuanmei is a submissive in this era. Kuan Mei "tells" the story of falling cherry blossoms for Wen Qing: "Japanese love the splendor of cherry blossoms that 'wither without hesitation when they are the most splendid'. They think life should be like this. My brother once told me that in the Meiji era, there were A girl jumped from a waterfall to commit suicide. The suicide note said, I am not tired of the world, and I am definitely not disappointed, but I am afraid of such a splendid youth, once it disappears, I don’t know what to do? It’s better to be like a cherry blossom, At the most beautiful time of life, when the wind left the branches, many young people were inspired by the death of this girl and her suicide note, and at that time, it was also the era of the Meiji Restoration, and the enthusiasm was burning." Although many patriotic Young people take this story as a rhetoric for the country to dedicate its youth, but politics has nothing to do with beauty. From her light tone, I could only hear her sighing, not cynical criticism, for the cherry blossoms and the dying youth. Political changes are far away from this uncontested woman, who only sees the warmth of humanity and eternal hope in her eyes, even if it is illusory. In her eyes, the withdrawal of the Japanese colonial government was not the pleasure of revenge, but the sadness of parting with her friend Shizuko. The human touch in her heart far surpassed reality, helping her to keep her Pandora's box forever in the dark and turbulent current politics. of hope, the shining value in her weak and strong life.
Kuanmei's story is very ordinary, just a description of her life by a kind-hearted girl. Just like Annie's diary, there is no pretentious element, but it exudes a huge power of sadness. Hou Hsiao-hsien's uncut synchronic narrative makes those impetuous audiences who are eager to know the plot calm down and listen to the girl's graceful voice quietly, just like her font. Especially at the end of the film, Kuanmei wrote in a letter to Axue: "Aqian has long teeth, he smiles very well, and his eyes look like the fourth uncle. When you have time, come to the house for a walk, and Jiufen begins to turn cold. Now, the mango blossoms are blooming. The mountains are full of white, like snow." A letter from home that is so close to life, after we have a preliminary understanding of the plot, is like an introduction, leading to the sighing and sadness that had accumulated for more than two hours. It came out, but the peaceful tone made us swallow the sadness we wanted to express, and only echoed silently in our hearts. At this time, Wen Qing was arrested by the authorities, and her life and death were uncertain, but Kuan Mei had matured. At first, her preference for nature was due to her ignorance of the world, and she had observed all this with a simple eye, but now, after experiencing Shizuko's helplessness The departure of her brother, the departure of her brother's shattered dreams, and the departure of Wenqing, although the scenery in her eyes is still eternally beautiful, her understanding of life and her obedience to suffering are more in those beautiful eyes. Son Aqian was crawling around on the table, and she lovingly hugged him away. Life was still going on, and life was moving away from her, but she hoped to be with her all the time.
A weak and strong woman, because of hope, has the purity and tenderness of water.
Listening to Words - Voices from all corners The
language of social films is complex. Hokkien, Mandarin and Japanese are mixed in the dialogues of the characters, intuitively showing the tragedy of that era, just like the injustice in Lin Wenxiong's cry in the film : "We are the most pitiful people on this island, the Japanese, the Chinese, everyone eats, everyone rides, no one hurts." After years of colonial rule in Taiwan, Japanese has penetrated into the lives of the people just like the Hokkien dialect, and the word is The eloquent Mandarin is like a foreign invader, inserted into Taiwan, bringing more uncertainty, social unrest, and increased corruption. The deaths of the eldest and third brothers were all caused by the Shanghai gangs who spoke Mandarin, and Wen Qing's arrest for the "2.28" incident was also instigated by officials sent by the Kuomintang authorities from the mainland.
There are three broadcasts surrounding the "2.28" event in the film. When the incident happened, the authorities’ attitude was ambiguous, claiming that the matter was minor and calling on the public to exercise restraint; however, the public anger that had been simmering for many years was already close to the brink of eruption, and foreign speculators entered the island to seek a profit, and formed gangs to act in riotous ways; The Kuomintang entered the island to seek a right, and the corrupt dictatorship suppressed it bloody. When the incident expanded, the authorities put forward various measures to comfort the people of the island in order to delay the troops. However, when the reinforcements arrived, the authorities immediately tore off the mask of hypocrisy and launched a bloody and brutal counterattack against the social justice activists involved in the incident. Both Tolerance and Wenqing suffered bad luck because of this. In those days, young people who cherished the ideals of patriotism, but encountered despair again and again. While more and more people chose to forbear, it was only because of their persistence that more people could be protected. However, the director did not blindly criticize the cunning of the Kuomintang authorities. He had a clear understanding of the entire historical event. The "2.28" incident developed later, and even became the indiscriminate massacre and expulsion of foreigners by the islanders. Wen Qing was almost beaten as an outsider because he couldn't answer the angry youths' questions on the train. The anxious Wen Qing shouted out, "Taiwan... Taiwan... people...", so hoarse and powerless, just like the people of this island, shouting out the hope of "life" in a desperate life, and this hope Again so slim.
The table is one of the most important props in the film. Speculators and gangsters trade around the table. The scene of the Lin family eating together is repeated many times in the film. The table can also be a place for Kuanmei to read letters and write diaries. The director used a long take for these shots (this is what makes me unbearable for literary films... the whole family can have a meal for 5 or 6 minutes without any lines...), maybe to let us To experience the inner hope of the characters in silence, maybe just to show the real life silently. In short, in the stillness and silence, there is a kind of sadness that spreads.
Listening to music - a catalyst for sadness
There is no doubt that the soundtrack to this film is superb. Through inquiries, I found that the theme music of this film was made by the famous Japanese music master Kitaro. The grand scenes and the melody full of oriental colors endow the film with a generous and compassionate temperament. When the plot takes a sharp turn, use a rushing drum beat or a vague cry as a bridge to connect to the next scene. At the beginning of the film, when I heard the theme music, it was still a panoramic shock, but when the theme was reproduced at the end, it was covered with a sad color, just like in that era, there were the rhetoric of generous people and the rhetoric of ordinary people. Forbearance and suffering.
The other two pieces of music are interspersed with songs that we are familiar with, and they have more impact on me than the grand theme music.
On the second floor of Lin's Restaurant, Wen Xiong and a group of friends who had not seen each other for a long time talked about the fate of Taiwan and lamented the ill-fated fate of the motherland. They sang the "Trilogy in Exile" together, using alcohol to relieve their sorrows like crazy. "In which year and month will I be able to return to my lovely hometown when I am exiled on September 18? What year and month will I be able to recover my endless treasures, Mom and Dad!" The deaf Wenqing downstairs also seemed to feel the lamentations of the people upstairs. Although he couldn't hear it, he looked up into the distance, his eyes filled with confusion. What is the future of Taiwan? When can we look forward to a day of stability and prosperity? Life will go on, despair spreads alone...
The historical theme in the film can be reflected in the "Exile Trilogy", while another theme - hope in a life of despair, is in the song "Red Dragonfly" reflected. When there are only memories left to support people's desire to live, the warmth in the memories makes us reluctant to give up the hope of life. When Kanmi said goodbye to Shizuko, she recalled a relatively peaceful life in the Japanese occupation. At that time, she and her brother, Shizuko and her brother taught and studied harmoniously and calmly. A song "Red Dragonfly" paid tribute to the beautiful but gone years. The beautiful melody is now like a lament, existing in the eternal past. Just like our memories of our good childhood, is there also this song "Red Dragonfly"?
Erhu and bamboo flute seem to be elegiacs naturally. At Wenxiong's funeral, the erhu's melody concealed the family's painful cries, but the same musical theme was remembered in the next scene, Wenqing's wedding. The director always places tragedies in front of the soothing and tender scenes. The contrast between one sadness and one happiness makes the gratification that finally appeared in the film's life become even more sad. Even happy events are full of sadness.
Hou Hsiao-hsien talked about this film and said that what he wanted to make was the activities of people under the laws of nature. Writer Ah Cheng commented that the film "shows one's choices in troubled times". The childbirth scene at the beginning of the film symbolizes Taiwan in labor pains, with a new life on the one hand and suffering on the other. The upright and responsible Wenxiong, from patiently persuading him to swallow his voice, to the final outbreak and death, the tragic times did not let him go; the mad and selfish Wenliang, the times made him mad and lost; the silent Wenqing, even if he remained silent, the times were no longer there. Let him go; actively devote himself to the tolerance of serving the country and the world, and finally disappearing into the persecution of the authorities. Only Kuanmei, who is willing to endure but still has a glimmer of hope, has been waiting for Wen Qing's return.
This season is beautiful, but also tragic...
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