This is Luc Besson's tenth film, Earth Everyone knows that he swore that he would only make ten movies in his life. Whether "Angel A" is his final work remains to be tested by time, but there is no doubt that this film is not a typical Luc Besson film, except for the film's image style. Luc Besson once led the "appearance film" trend in France in the 1980s. The films he created with exaggerated colors, fast rhythms and magnificent pictures easily captured the younger generation of audiences. The combination of social awareness and emphasis on popular culture such as MTV and comics was ridiculed by the old-fashioned "Cinema Manual" as a "postcard movie". "Angel A" is indeed a postcard movie in terms of images, especially in black and white images, the city of romance is more elegant and charming, full of irresistible temptations.
Luc Besson said that the film tells a love story, the story of how Andre learned to love and accept himself. But after watching the film, you will find that this is an inspirational film wrapped in a romantic love story: the useless American businessman Andre is heavily in debt in Paris. Angel, the beautiful angel of the mortal world. With the help of her perseverance, he regained his self-confidence, recognized himself again, and faced life bravely. At the same time, he fell in love with the unattainable angel, and finally moved her with his true feelings and kept her in the world. The story is simple and familiar, seemingly lacking in new ideas, when in fact, the film is full of dark humor and moving, a film that makes people laugh and cry.
The film is full of cynicism about real life and even myths and legends from beginning to end, and the subtle irony often makes the audience who understand it laugh. At the beginning of the film, Andre, who was about to commit suicide, jumped into the river to rescue Angel, who was drowning, and complained that she did not sleep peacefully at home like others on Sunday, and ran here to sabotage his suicide plan. Angel said she couldn't sleep. Andre enlightened her, then do something useful, such as helping refugees in Africa or India. Angel asked back, why did he run so far? Andrei think about it, yes, there are poor people everywhere now. Such satire is not only applicable to depressed France, but also resonates with audiences around the world. The film's deconstruction of myths is also full of black jokes. For example, the angel lost his feathers and rushed to replenish calcium. If the film can be released in China one day, this section will definitely make Chinese audiences laugh. And the beautiful angel in the film is no longer the otherworldly and carefree elf in mythology, she has no past, she doesn't know who she is, or even where she came from, she is simply a helpless and pitiful orphan Female. It was a task arranged by God that she came down to save Andre, not her conscious behavior. The only thing she could choose was her own image. This time, she chose to be a prostitute, so the angel turned into a prostitute. At the end of the film, Andrei begged her to stay, she wept bitterly and asked the sky: God, what have I done! Andre said solemnly, Angel, don't disturb God. She couldn't help but burst into laughter and readily accepted his request.
At the same time, the film can also make the audience shed warm tears unconsciously, especially Andre's two tears, even the hard-hearted people will shed tears with empathy. The impoverished Andre sat in a luxurious hotel and didn't believe that Angel was the angel who came down to save him. Angel was forced to show his magic power. The first time he couldn't believe his eyes, he asked Angel to do it again. Falling on the back of the chair, tears flowed quickly. One can imagine the shock and excitement in a poor man who is completely disappointed with life and himself and just wants to die when he sees that miracles really exist in the world. And when he faced the mirror with Angel, Angel told him that he lacked the love of others, and when others loved him, he would give back love to others. Angel said "I love you" to the mirror, Andre said, "I love you, Angel", Angel asked him to remove his name, and then disappeared. Andre looked at himself in the mirror. He had never looked at himself so seriously. After a long, long pause, he finally said "I love you, Andre" to himself in the mirror. Under the guidance of the angel, the fool who was regarded as stupid and useless by others finally found the beauty in his heart, regained his self-confidence, and was full of hope in life. When the film was released in France, countless young male audiences wiped away tears in the dark. How many Andre's in the world have been smashed in front of reality, and they can all see their own shadows in the film.
In addition to the beauty of Paris, the two leading actors in the film are also the main highlights of the film. Jamel Debz is only 1.65 meters tall and born with a bitter face, but he is the most famous comedian in France. Through his wonderful performance, he can let the audience see his gentle, kind, and loving heart from Edrie's beard and haggard appearance. This role is just specially made for him, just like "Amelie" for Audrey Tautou. Li Rasmussen is a model from Sweden, and many people are not optimistic about her performance. I think this 1.80-meter-tall Swedish beauty has reshaped or subverted the image of an angel with her candid, lively and sexy, especially her unbridled and informal words and deeds. When she stands with Debzi, the contrast in height is comical, and the film also has occasional long shots of the two walking on the bridge one after the other to enhance the effect. Luc Besson's films are originally a combination of advertising, MTV and other popular culture image styles. When Angel's tall and sexy figure swaying models walks through the romantic capital that makes audiences all over the world fascinated, in addition to pleasing visual enjoyment Besides, what else can you be picky about, not to mention that the role of the angel itself is not lacking in profound connotations.
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