The Western World has received high reviews for the film: "a masterwork that stirs the soul." "It is a masterpiece of artistry, and it is a masterpiece of humanity. It is a masterpiece of determination, and it is a masterpiece of courage.)”.
The thing that stuck with me after watching it was the image of Carlyanne - really beautiful. When Xiao Qiuya saw her for the first time, she couldn't help but say, "You are really like an angel". The English introduction to the film uses one word to describe her: Gorgeous. I only know that this word is generally used as a person's name. What does it mean as an adjective? I looked through the dictionary to find out that this is a classically elegant use, meaning "beautiful, pretty, gorgeous", and it couldn't have been more appropriate for Carlyanne. In the movie, she is fresh and refined, and her hands and feet are very beautiful, which is simply refreshing. All I can think of is the white lotus floating on the water - she herself said: "Everyone can 'get out of the mud and not stain' like a lotus". The director's intention is also contained here: the lotus is the national flower of India and the holy flower of Hinduism. There's a very clever scene: after Narayan visits the widow's house and gets wet by Kalianne, it suddenly rains, and Narayan is elated on his way home, seeing everyone grinning , I bought an umbrella but it was blown onto the river by the wind, and the umbrella floated upside down on the water like a blooming lotus flower. Here, water is endowed with multiple images and connotations: the water where Kalianne twisted her clothes seems to be love falling from the sky, drenching Narayan; for the arid North India, the sudden rain means washing and Salvation, in the film to express that love is a kind of salvation for Kalianne's imprisoned fate; and the river means the power contained; the umbrella like a lotus is like Kalianne, fragile and perishable... ...Water represents too many connotations in this film, and I have never seen a film that uses water so well. For example, water can also symbolize Narayan, because Narayan's name is the incarnation of Black Sky (Krishna, Krishna), and what Kalianne believes in is the God of Black Sky (in Kalianne's view, Narayan Yang seems to be the incarnation of Krishna, and she not only loves him, but also worships him religiously); and Krishna is the incarnation of Vishnu, whose symbolic element is water.
This film is very beautifully shot, and every shot made me feel the sacredness of every inch of the land in India. Even suffering has a kind of divine beauty - the most typical scene is Kalianne walking out of the widow's house and throwing herself into Narayan's broad arms. Narayan said affectionately like an English gentleman: I'm good I love you, will you be my wife? Without saying a word, Karenne leaned down and kissed Narayan's toe affectionately - she couldn't maintain the reserved dignity of an English lady, and she was sincerely grateful for Narayan's presence in In her miserable life, she was so humble and weak, yet so pure and innocent—that is, India, the India where Naipaul was all affectionate and sharp. Everything seemed so distant and divine.
The trailer for the movie says: "Honour. Obey. But never become a stranger to love." It seems like a very moving statement, but after thinking about it after watching the movie, it doesn't seem like that. Is love really that important? A line at the end of the film says that as of 2001, there were 34 million widows in India, and most of their lives were no different from what was stipulated in the Codex of Demon Slaves thousands of years ago. In fact, this is a political film. Love is just a skin. Of course there is love between Kalianne and Narayan. Yet they are not equal, are they.
Narayan landed like a prince in the lonely world of Kalyani. He came from the upper caste class Brahmin, his family was wealthy, handsome and charming, and he was qualified as a lawyer, well educated, and advocating the idea of equality and freedom of Gandhism. ——This means that he is playing a Gandhi-style upper-class intellectual. In Indian society, he can be equated with saints and saviors. Such a person is untouchable to Kalianne, who is deeply shackled by the teachings, not to mention the love of the saints. But love really came. At first, she followed the widow's way, didn't talk to men, and left in a hurry, just like fleeing. But when she accidentally got Narayan wet, she heard Narayan happily say "drink more", so she shyly hid, and from then on confirmed the arrival of love. And what followed was hope, the hope of escaping the miserable life of the widow's asylum. It can be said that the love between them is like a prince and Cinderella, beautiful, but unrealistic, and the worst thing is, it is a forbidden love, which is a forbidden love. Not to mention that in the Indian society where the caste system is extremely refined, such love is rare. Even if true love does occur, it can't really play a role in saving it?
In fact, it is endowed with something other than love itself: for Kalianne, love brings remarriage, and only a permitted remarriage can deliver her salvation, freedom and happiness; her love must be based on marriage Premise - Unlike now, marriage is premised on love, or premise on money. Love without marriage has no effect on her poor fate. Likewise, for Narayan, love was his way of fulfilling the "truth, conscience" advocated by Gandhi, and it was the belief in equality and freedom that drove him to fall in love with Kalianne - just like Gandhi's untouchables in India ( or Untouchables) became the gods' own people, treating them as brothers like Brahmins, as a way to rescue Indian society. Narayan did the same to Kalianne. In this way, Narayan has a moral sparkle. This further adds to his importance as an incarnation of the "God of Light" (Kirku) in Kalianne's mind. For them, love is the way to save each other, and religion (or belief) comes first.
There is a "big sister" (Shakuntala) in the movie. It can be said that this movie's psychological exploration of women's self is done through her. She is a Brahmin caste - so the host "big fat woman" in the courtyard also hates her for three points and dares not embarrass her. Once, in a conversation with the priest, she asked, "What if the soul goes against the faith?" Yes, that goes to the deepest point: Narayan's love for Kalyanne is the soul's Is it driven, or driven by belief (just that Narayan follows a different belief than traditional Hindu beliefs)? It is also unclear whether Carlyanne died of despair, or of faith? The eldest sister also said: "Maybe reality is just a fantasy." Therefore, when salvation in the present life is not available, death is the only way to escape, and even if the belief of living one night is lost, it is better to transform into a man in the next life as early as possible—it can be said that she died of despair of belief, Also died of obsession with belief.
Kalianne's death made everything in Narayanjue unable to change, just like Naipaul said, "India will continue", so he was weak and hurriedly took Qiuya to escape from this world - escape is the life of most Indians manner. Perhaps because of this, until now, the various aspects of Indian society - like the widow's unchanging and tragic fate for thousands of years - have remained the same as thousands of years ago, and they are still in a stagnant pool.
There are so many connotations in this movie that are worth pondering, but I don't have much ability, so I can talk about it here.
more: http://ehongbo.blogsome.com/2007/05/26/p81/
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