shameful waste

Their Finest

In 1940, the smoke of war hung over London. Catherine crossed the subway to go home, and the guy who was going to war tomorrow was flirting with a girl in a yellow skirt, and he asked for a kiss, or a hug. Catherine trotted out of the subway station after the girl in the yellow skirt. Less than three seconds after she ran out, the plane skidded overhead, and the shells exploded beside her. When she calmed down from the gunpowder smoke, she was surrounded by scattered stumps. Frightened, she stood up tremblingly, stepped over the shredded stumps one after another, and walked forward, the smoke dissipated a little bit. Only then did she find out that these stumps were modelling models in the store, and she started laughing in shock, as if laughing at how she could be frightened by these dummies. Taking a few steps forward, the smile on her face recovered a little bit. Lying in the rubble was the girl in the yellow skirt she saw a few minutes ago. She opened her eyes and the cannonball made a hole in her stomach. Katrin was upset and started vomiting.

This one is unforgettable to me. It seems to inadvertently show the cruelty and uncertainty of the war period. The combination of the scattered body of the model and the body of the girl in the yellow skirt is the same as the "movie industry" and the real life experienced by human beings.

In the war years, I don’t know when the air raid will happen, I don’t know when the office or residence will be bombed down by shells, the friends around me are pieced together one by one and appear in the morgue, I don’t know if I can see the dawn of tomorrow. . This is their life.

The film department of the central propaganda agency urgently needs a "true, optimistic story" to boost morale and give the people strength and hope to live on. In short, a movie with positive energy is needed - that's where this movie comes in.

At that moment, "positive energy" is like charcoal in the snow, and every heart of Cangyi needs comfort and treatment. They decided to tell about one of the biggest retreats in history, "Dunkirk". (The "film within a film" story in the movie is interesting, and if you're interested, you can also compare the difference between Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk" and it.)

Catherine was invited to the project by Tom and said in his conceited tone: "You need a female perspective, lines like gossiping with women." Faced with the practical difficulties of family life, Catherine initially had to accept unequal pay for equal work.

In such an era, Catherine represented calmness and elegance. Even if the war had to live in a subway station every night, she was the elegant one. Such as the atmosphere of the film conveyed by the director, such as the DNA that the British have always had in their bones.

Even if her husband doesn't listen to her carefully and indulges in her own failures and incompetence, she is gentle and supportive; but she is also angry when there is a disagreement with Tom on creation. However, the pressure of survival did not make her feel sorry for herself, nor did she complain about gender injustice in society. She worked hard to do her job and fight for her due rights at the right time. She is like an individual in any desolate age: whether the world is at war, society is injustice, or the family is breaking up, she handles herself calmly and gracefully, and handles her relationship with the world.

This is a story that was aroused by the need to "create a war-related movie" during the war years. Gender equality, war, love, and film industry production are all subtly integrated into the film.

If you are a gender equal, you will see social inequality and prejudice against women in the movies. Of course, it's nice that Tom, the conceited guy who holds such views, has also been changing as the story progresses.

You will also see the image of a strong woman who walks with wind and speaks sharply, which is different from Catherine's elegant and gentle. She is like a "ruthless overseer" of the script department, bringing concerns and instructions "from the country, from the people, and from superiors" to their script creation every time; she is a representative of "feminism", wearing a suit in the men's The world worked hard and published the remarks that "men are aggressive towards women because they are afraid that women will take jobs after the war"; she is also an observer of life. When Katrin couldn't overcome her self-esteem, the "wake up" found Katrin to chat : "Life is so impermanent, it's really shameful to waste it". Finally, she let down her hair that had been tied up, showing her other side.

If you are interested in screenwriting or the film industry, in the film you will see the writing process of the screenplay, brainstorming, card creation, plot point setting, disputes between screenwriters due to different viewpoints, and difficult cooperation, because Political demands had to be added and changed, modifications during filming until the film was presented on the screen.

You will see the production process of a movie at that time, the formation of the script, the finalization of the actors, the mutual assistance in the production process, and the linkage between the play and the play, which influence each other. It's just that such a film operation mode has no special reference significance in contemporary times, and is more of a historical record.

"Why do people like to watch movies?"

This question has existed since the beginning of the movie, and there should be many people who have asked this question. There will be countless answers, and there will be no standard answer.

As a screenwriter, Tom explained, "Stories are frameworks, they have their own look, purpose, meaning, all the pieces are designed, they always have some meaning. It's not like life."

This film did not give Tom more explanations. He was far away from his alcoholic father after returning from World War I, and stepped into the screenwriting industry by accident. With some prejudiced individuals, all dreams are presented in the script. His growing love for Catherine, and the transformation of his understanding, is what makes the film fascinating.

A good film and television work is harmonious and unified, no matter how many labels it has. The movie is drama, love, war, comedy. Yes, it is, and the labels are in harmony.

Some people say it's a romance movie, but I don't agree with that. The element of love can really touch the hearts of the audience strongly, but in my opinion, the part of love is only subtly arranged in the plot, it is not deliberately displayed or hidden. It's huge and heavy, of course, but it's a big part of their lives, a big part of it to face, to grab, not this movie and their whole.

The devastation that war brings to human life is never pleasant, like sudden death or accident. And life goes on, the rent to be paid every month, the bread tomorrow morning, and the dream in my heart, love, all continue.

Someday, everything will come to an abrupt end without warning. What a shameful waste of life.

At last:

This film tells us that gender equality requires women to be aware, take action, and fight for their rights. Again, it's not all about men, gender equality needs men's support.

Oh, and also, screenwriting should be a very high-status job. Ha ha.

Talk about director Basil Scherfig

Lone Scherfig is a Danish film director and screenwriter. She was a participant in the radical film aesthetic movement "Dogma 95". "Basic Tutorial" won the Jury Prize and the Fabisi International Film Critics Award at the 51st Berlin Film Festival (the same award that "The Elephant Sitting on the Floor" won); "Growing Up Education" was shortlisted at the 82nd Academy Awards 3 awards, including Best Picture.

In China, the audience prefers the director's work is "One Day" starring Anne Hathaway. (Although foreign audiences do not pay, the Rotten Tomato index is 37.) But what is surprising is that "Their Finest" is also the film, with a Rotten Tomato index of 90, which is widely praised.

Say "Dogme 95" (Danish: Dogme 95)

Dogma 95 was a movement first launched in 1995 by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vantiberg to promote a radical approach to filmmaking, arguing that films return to the original rather than to the original. Emphasizing on the technicality, they emphasize the purity of the film's composition; for those who appreciate the film that follows the Dougma 95, and ultimately care more about the plot and development of the story itself, realizing that there are no excessive artifacts.

It tries to take back the director's power as an artist. Its highest principle is truth, against all illusory elements, and emphasizes returning to the originality of the film rather than focusing on technology. Dogma 95's goal was to purify filmmaking by refusing to use expensive and spectacular special effects and post-production.

Von Trier and Vantiberg developed ten rules known as the Vow of Chastity:

1. Photography has to be done where the story takes place. Props and sets cannot be added later, if a particular prop is required for the story, a location must be chosen where that prop can be found.
2. Audio tracks can never be recorded separately from images and vice versa. Soundtracks may not be used unless the music was in the filmed scene.
3. The camera must be handheld. Any shaking or level of stability that can be achieved by hand is allowed. The cinema cannot take place where the camera exists, the photography must take place where the cinema takes place.
4. Movies must be in color. Special lighting is not acceptable. Scenes that are too dimly lit to expose have to be cut out or just use a single light source attached to the camera.
5. Optical treatments and filters are prohibited.
6. Films cannot contain superficial, false behavior. Murder, weapons, etc. are not allowed.
7. Being far apart in time and space is unacceptable, which means that the movie must take place in the present world.
8. Type flakes are not acceptable.
9. The film format must be 35mm.
10. The director cannot sign.

【Finish. 】

Text丨Photos of Yue Zhang丨Video Screenshots

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