Rimbaud. Verlaine. This is the collision of two geniuses. A mad scourge, a blind love. ********* I first heard these two names when I was in college. With the enthusiasm of a sermon, the teacher read aloud the poems of Rimbaud, which he himself translated, for us. Rimbaud and Verlaine, the names of these two have been closely linked since I first knew them. Of course, in fact, in our textbooks full of masters of realism, there would be no Verlaine, let alone Rimbaud. Even if there is, I suspect that the description of their irreversible relationship will probably be "teacher and friend" or something, although I think "love to death" may be more appropriate to describe it. They are more flamboyant, decadent and wilder genius partners than Baudelaire. ********* In 1871, at the age of 17, Rimbaud accepted the invitation of Verlaine, who was already a famous poet at the time, to go to Paris. Verlaine had previously read Rimbaud's poem "Drunken Boat" and admired Rimbaud's talent very much. After arriving in Paris, Rimbaud lived in Verlaine's home. Verlaine was married at that time, his wife was wealthy, and he lived with his father-in-law. Except for Verlaine, Rimbaud's arrival became everyone's nightmare. He was arrogant, eccentric, and unrestrained. He basically destroyed wherever he went. Whether it was Verlaine's family or the Paris literary elite group Verlaine used to visit, they were all disgusted and fearful of him and avoided it. Only Verlaine was fascinated by him as if he had discovered a source of inspiration. The two quickly moved in together, living a life of laissez-faire, drinking and smoking marijuana as commonplace, and together "explored the entire process of sensual pleasure". Verlaine left his wife and children for Rimbaud, and the two went to Belgium and England to wander. During the crazy two-year cohabitation life, the two chased each other, hurt each other, and quarreled constantly. In 1873, during the last altercation, Verlaine shot and wounded Rimbaud. Verlaine was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison for homicide and misconduct. This wicked love has also drawn a rest. After that, Rimbaud returned home alone, and soon wrote his most famous work, "A Season of Hell", which is now recognized as a masterpiece of symbolist literature. After that, Rimbaud gave up writing. The most splendid works of his life were born before he was 20 years old, during the years of his crazy entanglement with Verlaine. Then he wandered around, went through a lot of things, and even sold arms, and finally died in Africa at the age of 37. Verlaine died in 1896, and while he was still alive, he was already famous for his poetry. Rimbaud's poetry was not widely known at the time, Verlaine was the only one who discovered Rimbaud's eternal vitality. ********* The movie "Total Eclipse Love" is from a female director, Agnesza Holland, who previously made a movie "Europa, Europa" that I like very much. But when it comes to this movie, aside from the fact that the actual story itself is enticing enough, the movie itself isn't that great. I always feel that it is a matter of fact, and I have not been able to gain eternal vitality through time like the works of the poets in the film. Perhaps the biggest highlight of the film is Leonardo DiCaprio, who was 20 when he played Rimbaud. Rimbaud, regarding his appearance, was described by some as "gentle and smart", while others said he was a "dirty boy". But if you look at the photos, Leonardo and Rimbaud are really quite similar. At that time, Leonardo was slender, immature, youthful and uninhibited, and radiant. It's not how good his acting skills were at that time, but to a greater extent, the closeness of appearance and age helped Leon so much, that Rimbaud with the face of an angel and the heart of a devil was full of fantasy by him. But once the characters get older, that feeling disappears completely, and Leonardo's incapacity, and the traces of the performance are immediately revealed. William Gaunt described Verlaine in "The Adventures of Beauty": "His eyes were a little slanted, and his appearance was like a bad guy, with sores on his limbs, and he was wrapped in disgusting rags". Verlaine in the movie is roughly like that, if not worse. David Thewlis plays Verlaine, less than 30 years old (who, I remember fondly, took the Best Actor award at Cannes in 1993), old, bald and clumsy, who is portrayed as Like an alcoholic and a coward, it's really hard to associate this image with a famous poet. He was completely dazed by Rimbaud's radiant magic, a useless appreciator and a cowardly wretched bastard who veiled violence. ********* I think, in addition to depicting a shocking crazy love, perhaps the greater value of this movie is that it allows more people to know Rimbaud and Verlaine. found it! What? eternal. It is the sun and the sea that shine together, my eternal soul watching your heart, even if the night is lonely and the day is burning - Rimbaud, "Season of Hell · Eternity"
Attached:
The films discussed in the series "The Master and His Lovers" all involve the same-sex love stories of some writers. The reason for taking such a vulgar and bloody name is actually due to various translations. It's like Wilde's translation of "The Heart is too much" is very good, but someone insists on translating it into "Wilde's Lover"; or like Maurice does not translate "Morris" and wants to translate "Morris's Lover", for fear that the audience will not understand. Delusional, just want to put "lover" on it.
The Master and His Lovers (Part 2) - "Pay Attention to Those Words"
The Master and His Lovers (Part 3) - "Wilde"
The Master and His Lovers (Part 4) - "Maurice"
The Master and His Lovers (Part 5) - "Little Dust"
The Master and His Lovers (Part 6) - "Christopher and His Kind"
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