I watched the re-released version of the film in 1959. The director told us in the opening sentence, "The film was shot in 1939, on the eve of World War II. It was not a study of social morality at that time, and the characters in this film were purely fictional." The words are quite "there is no silver 300 taels here". Obviously, the director felt a little proud of his film knowingly or unintentionally foreseeing the collapse of the French upper class in World War II. He had every reason to be proud. The director used emotional, The poetic and formal language of the lens paints us a picture of the French upper class full of luxury, but in fact empty and decadent. Their parties are filled with boredom, empty dialogue, vulgar drama, brutal hunts, and "tricks" (Robert's mad love for mechanical clocks). They do not have love, (“The so-called love of the upper class is the fusion of two fantasies and the contact of two bodies.”) The pursuit of friendship is only the pursuit of self-interest and the importance of preserving the so-called face. It is like a picture of "the edifice of Hu La La will collapse".
The so-called French underworld people in the movie have some kind of praise. Although the servants of the underclass society in the movie are also infected with the habit of their masters who love to gossip, they work hard and live a fulfilling life. everyday life. The only person who is shown as a villain in the movie is Marceau, a servant who is lazy and seduces his wife and daughter. He is always under the protection of his master Robert. We can even see from the director's lens language that the scenes with many upper-class figures appearing are always filled with irregular and messy crowds. Here, the director clearly implies their disunity and the essence of the rabble. But with the appearance of the ranger Schumacher and his own servants, there is always a uniform beauty in the camera. The meaning of this is obvious at a glance.
The ending of the film has a kind of "tragic irony". Two characters who are persistent in love and sincere in love in the film become the murderer (Schumacher) and the murdered (André). In this hypocritical society, sincerity is something that cannot be played.
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