Towards the end of World War II, Italy was tied to a German chariot, playing tricks on the tiger and helping the tyrants. In addition to Hollywood blockbusters, most of the Italian cinemas at that time were war propaganda films under the control of the Mussolini regime that praised fascism, and then a small number of white telephone films and calligraphy films. The former focuses on reflecting the elegant bourgeois life, while the latter hides in the old paper pile and devotes itself to adapting literary masterpieces.
It is precisely because they are not satisfied with such a false and contrived style that progressive Italian filmmakers put forward the slogans of "Give me back to ordinary people" and "carry the camera to the street", and advocate the production of films that express the life, emotions and talents of the nation. "Reality" has become the pursuit and aesthetic consciousness of the main content of film works. Live-action shooting, natural lighting, sports shots, non-professional actors, etc. provided material support for Bazin's long-take theory. In "Luo", except for the priest and Pina, all are played by non-professional actors. The significance of these techniques is not only to exert the photographic nature of the film, but also to tap the time and space potential of the film. The revolution of the art form of film promoted the in-depth content and thought of Italian neorealism.
Showing details is an important means of expressing true film aesthetics. The film begins with a series of rich details to show the real state of people's life in the post-World War II period. When the priest was about to go out, the German soldiers broke in and took out a gun to the priest. Just when the audience was nervous, the situation turned around. This shows that the fascists have betrayed each other. In the bread grabbing incident, the priest had to give up his integrity to participate, and the police also returned to the identity of ordinary producers, reflecting that unemployment, poverty, starvation, disease, and death are seriously threatening the survival of ordinary people.
Visconti believes that "Neorealism is first and foremost a matter of content." The critic Sani said, "Only when Neorealism is understood as a general movement of some artists to express the life and spiritual outlook of the Italian people can the new realism be truly defined. The meaning of realism." Although these films reflect the lives of ordinary people, they reveal the common and collective experiences of millions of Italians.
Encyclopedia Britannica makes a specific analysis of the subject of Italian neorealism, and points out that it mainly reflects the thinking of four basic issues of human existence:
1. Oppose the political chaos caused by war and invasion;
2. Oppose starvation;
3. Oppose the plight caused by poverty and unemployment;
4. Oppose the disintegration and degeneration of the family.
In contrast to Hollywood's depiction of dreams, Italian neorealism emphasized unfair social structures and distorted relationships. Neorealist films generally only ask questions without giving answers, and people cannot get rid of the predicaments they face. The writing of the collective experience of the nation, the expression of the promise of happiness, and the shaping of the heroic image make "Luo" a mythological element while recording history.
In the decades of development, Hollywood has established a mature narrative-meaning production mechanism, which has reduced the sharp contradictions of modern society into understandable binary oppositions without any trace, and used a series of coding mechanisms such as the stitching system. (such as cut-off shots) Illusion eliminates contradictions and provides an equally illusory outlet for our thoughts, emotions and behaviors, and integrates the cultural connotation of modern society into the circular closed structure of mythology, thus making the audience feel unified and balanced. The comforting bleak hope took on a mythological quality. Although this dreamy narrative mechanism has always been attacked by realists, it is undeniable that it is based on the scientific analysis of the audience's viewing psychology, which is also verified by the longevity of Hollywood for a century.
Stendhal said that art should bring people the promise of happiness and make people see the prospect of a better life. Although it is necessary to keep people awake in the special era of suffering, the spirit of realism is necessary, but the promise of happiness is also indispensable. . Therefore, before and after World War II and during the economic crisis, Hollywood films can quickly occupy the global market. The success of "Luo" also lies in the fact that it does not exclude Hollywood's narrative method and meaning production method, and its distinctive tendency still makes people full of hope for the future. At the end of the film, the children who witnessed the execution of the priest supported each other and walked away in grief and indignation.
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