"Under the Shadow". It's a bit similar to the "Undead" I've seen before. But the difference is that "Undead" is a pure comedy simile anti-war genre film with black techniques, and the male protagonist is a soldier. And "Under the Shadow" is a way of excavating the fear and even despair brought about by war through the cloak of terror.
Listening to the title, the first impression you will feel is that this is a pure horror movie. The style should be similar to that of a "Wen Ziren-style" horror film. Because I had learned about this film before, I learned that this is not a pure horror film, but a very thoughtful and realistic anti-war film. Unlike most of the real horror movies I've seen before, you're groaning in the first half of the shadows, and you're repeatedly climaxing in the middle and second half, which requires your patience to watch the full movie.
The story is about the Iran-Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War or the First Persian Gulf War, an 8-year border war between Iran and Iraq. As far as I know, there are three main reasons for the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war: first, religious disputes; second, territorial disputes; When it comes to religion, 50 million people in Iran are Shiites of Islam; more than half of Iraq's 16 million people are Shiites, but the rulers are Sunnis. In fact, the religious problem existed as early as the 1970s and 1980s, but it will only worsen to a certain extent. Like the condition, it gets worse and must be treated with injections. The contradiction between the two countries must be resolved through war. Of course, this does not exclude the United States of America contributing to it.
Then some people may be surprised, anti-war is anti-war, isn't it bad to be really anti-war? Why is this film mixed with horror elements, religious details, feminism and other factors. I think it comes down to the director's creativity and innovation. The director's creativity and innovation have not been destroyed, but have adapted and become more brilliant. The debut works are so amazing, I really look forward to the next work. The war left the greatest pain, leaving the family torn apart, causing heavy casualties, and causing the originally peaceful life to be killed in battle. This pain is irreparable and difficult to heal from the heart.
"Under the Shadow", just like "The Witch", the unavoidable external force oppresses the vulnerable and slowly drives them crazy. The missiles dropped from the sky turned into a giant symbol to divide the inside and outside, the crumbling house inside, and the bombing crisis of unknown traces outside.
The heroine in the film hopes to have a job as a doctor, but asks to be suspended, so women should stay at home. As the heroine's husband, instead of supporting her, he sneered. She was arrested at the police station because she was afraid that she would run into the street with her daughter and be hit by patrolling officers and soldiers. As you can imagine, there is no feminism at all in this country.
Regarding metaphors, I would like to say something.
Missiles: Destroy the house to pieces, like an incomplete home. It alludes to the characters' inner restlessness, panic, and even collapse.
Wind: Occurs multiple times. Especially after the mysterious death of the old man next door. Looking up, from the placement of the corpse to the window, the abrupt insertion of the missile disrupted the stable composition, and the cold wind whistled outside the window screen. It was later said that if there is wind, there must be evil spirits, but the wind usually only appears when there is information about war, such as when the air alarm is sounded.
Dreams: The heroine has had many dreams. The most typical is twice. In the first dream, the daughter said that she was afraid that she would not be able to sleep. The heroine sits up at ninety degrees vertically, which I personally think is the coolest, holding her daughter. Finally woke up from the dream, but the heroine was holding a rag doll. In fact, it was the heroine who was dreaming, not her daughter. In the second dream, the heroine found that her husband was sleeping beside the pillow. When the heroine went to see her, she was wrapped in a sheet and woke up from the dream. The former expresses that the heroine's desire to protect her daughter is very strong, but she is trapped in war and her personal ability is negligible. The latter shows that the heroine is eager to get the support of men in the war. On the contrary, men are all sent to the front line, leaving only women, old people and children at home.
The mysterious little boy in the neighbor's house: The daughter was scared and frightened, and repeatedly told the heroine that the existence of the giant was told by the little boy. But the heroine didn't believe it at all. The little boy's parents died in the war. On the other hand, it can be seen that he represents reliable information and anti-war awareness. Just like the neighbors who have fled from Tehran, they are the right choice. After the little boy also left Tehran, the heroine encountered a situation that was completely out of control.
The rag doll: The rag doll was finally found in the locked cabinet of the heroine, which had been torn apart and torn to shreds. The heroine insists that it was destroyed by the djinn and hid it. There is no djinn from beginning to end, it is the heroine who is emotionally out of control and insane who locks the ragdoll in the cabinet.
The Arab hijab: a metaphor for the loss of Muslim women's status in war. In the film, the heroine's window was shattered by artillery fire. She asked a repairman to repair the window and quickly put on a headscarf. She was arrested on the street for not wearing a headscarf. The giant turned into her husband's appearance, turned into a ball to wrap the heroine, and finally turned into a scarf so that the heroine could not escape. The Iran-Iraq war wiped out the trend that accumulated in Iran in the 1970s overnight, and the status of women is like returning to the era of "Koran" rule. Studying medicine was ridiculed by her husband. She is dissatisfied with the status quo, but she can only take off her turban when she is at home, and the power and war symbolized by the giants still give her endless oppression.
War is scarier and scarier than ghosts; it casts a shadow over people. A tyrannical government is fiercer than a tiger, and artillery fire is worse than a beast. This "Under the Shadow" shows moral courage, critical stance, and a clear cry for human freedom and independent dignity. It is indeed a clear stream in the film industry.
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