An old shepherd who is about to die, a big tree, a little lamb, and a pile of charcoal form a simple, rustic, yet philosophical story element. Fran Martino's lens is like the perspective of God, overlooking, examining and observing all things in nature. Really quiet, a lot of fixed camera perspectives, a small number of close-ups, so quiet that I dozed off a little impatiently. But it is such a quiet shot that makes the picture full of spirituality in the quiet, full of the noise of life, and full of human touch. Every frame is like a poem, every frame is as beautiful as an Italian oil painting. For example, the old shepherd fell to the side of the small boulevard, and the shepherd dog turned back and looked at the old man timidly and cautiously.
In addition to the long shots, Fran Martino's scheduling of animal scenes is really a god-like existence. In the second story, the animal performances are really natural, all of them are acting. The close-up of the goat is touching in that moment, and the part where the goat goes missing is heartbreaking.
In terms of plot and picture language processing, Fran Martino has ulterior motives to add a humorous joke, which is very interesting and makes the theme of the film less heavy. For example, the shepherd dog blocked the way of a child who wanted to play, barked at the child for a while, and then took away the thing that padded the wheel of the truck, causing the truck to crash the fence of the sheepfold; the goat jumped on the shepherd's table and overturned it Basket on the table.
In the whole film, the human actors have no lines, and their performances are so simple and natural. From the perspective of narrative style, Four Times is more like a documentary, with a lens language like heaven and earth, humanistic, quiet and full of appeal and impact, and also has the keen and unique perspective of the BBC. Silent, but louder.
In addition, the film does not have a soundtrack. If a soundtrack is added, I think it will destroy the quiet beauty of the picture.
We are a stage in the cycle of ecosystems. We come from nature and eventually return to nature. We cannot surpass natural ecosystems, and even if we do, we will ultimately bear the consequences. All we can do is accept where we are and live in harmony with nature.
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