In fairy tales, Alice in Wonderland should be bright and peaceful. Freaks like Tim Burton wouldn't dare make it gothic.
But at the same time, we can see adult fairy tale worlds such as "Pan's Labyrinth" and "The Rising Tide Coast", which are profound and not suitable for children.
In order to let everyone fall from heaven to hell and fall completely, today will be another fantastic and weird dark work——
"Mirror Mask"
MirrorMask
(2005)
This movie, which can be called the dark version of "Alice in Wonderland", can be said to be a big legacy of fantasy films, and no one cares. But it was nominated for the Golden Leopard Award, the highest award at the Locarno International Film Festival. Most of the works at the Locarno Film Festival are rare and weird works in the world.
"Mirror Mask" also has novel ideas. In 2005, when the special effects were still immature, you could see an incredible world in the film: human-faced cats with rainbow wings, and fish parading in the air. Swarms, monsters assembled from irregular objects, eyeballed mechanical spiders...
Such a style of painting is bound to scare the children to tears. This is the world in the painting constructed by "Mirror Mask".
The core of the story is almost the same as that of "Alice in Wonderland", but the boundary between the fantasy world and reality constructed by "Mirror Mask" is not so obvious, and it is probably more about the troubles and confusion of teenagers growing up.
The story tells the adventure of a young girl named Helena who strayed into the world in the painting.
Helena grew up in a circus. Like every classmate who entered the rebellious period of youth, Helena was fed up with being a clown all day and grovelling in front of the audience. She had no normal child's life and was kidnapped by her father's circus dream. Want to stay in the room doodling, escape "unreal life".
Unexpectedly, after a dispute with his mother, his mother fell ill unexpectedly, and his father's circus faced a business crisis. Helena was deeply remorseful, but unexpectedly entered the world of the painting. In order to awaken the Queen of Light, who had exactly the same face as her mother, she embarked on a journey...
But in my opinion, Helena's talent for graffiti is truly outstanding. The series of close-ups on the walls covered with paintings and grotesque masks are all foreshadowings for Helena's journey to another world.
The title battle between the Queen of Light and the Queen of Darkness, portraits full of dream scenes, exquisite Venetian opera masks...
The world in the painting is a hazy, dim, grotesque dream.
You can see the talking chicken, the books that will turn into somersaulting clouds if you swear at it, the park full of spiral staircases, and the surreal scenes everywhere, you can't marvel at this incredible imagination.
These abstract figures and surreal scenes are all hand-painted by director David Mackaki.
In addition to being a director , David Mackaki is also a well-known British illustrator, photographer, cartoonist, graphic designer, filmmaker and musician .
Before Mirror Mask, he also served as art director on Harry Potter: The Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire .
David Mackaki is a master of art crossover. He studied at Berkshire College of Art and Design and worked as an illustrator before he graduated. He wrote a graphic novel for Batman called Arkham Asylum in 1989. Drawing illustrations with unprecedented success.
From his early works, we can glimpse his mysterious and magnificent iconic style, and these endless illustrations are used in each of his films.
Including the previous short films and the "Moon" released at the Toronto Film Festival in 2014 , which brought together the original cast of "Mirror Mask", and now that the film technology has become more mature, the strange world in his brain has become easier to express.
Although "Mirror Mask" is his feature film debut , this does not affect the stunning feeling it brings. It is not only a visual spectacle, but also uses props, characters and other designs to connect the conflict issues throughout the film. .
Speaking of masks , in reality, Helena's youth was always wearing a mask on the stage of the circus. She always wanted to take off the mask, but in the dream, everyone except Helena was wearing a mask. mask.
The troubles of growing up also started from the comparison of various settings. At first, the scene of the mother-daughter quarrel was split in half, with a thick wall in the middle, indicating that the tension and estrangement in the relationship between the two would be difficult to resolve.
In the dream, the Queen of Light and the Queen of Darkness confront each other, both of which are played by Helena's mother, representing the two sides of her mother.
The Queen of Light is a gentle and caring mother, and the Queen of Darkness is a mother with a strong desire to control, to the extent that everything "takes orders from me".
Helena's travels are actually facing up to her relationship with her parents. Whenever she looks out the window, she can see another self-rebellious appearance in reality, yelling at her father for no reason, falling in love early, stealing things from home, punk Non-mainstream dress, advocating freedom and wanton behavior.
But she was never really independent, and when she realized that, she grew.
If it wasn't for her mother being sick in bed, she might never reflect on her own problems. How many people do not regret after the incident as Helena does when they recall the memories of the rebellious period as adults.
The softness in our heart always comes too late, and we lose the best opportunity to shake hands with our family. But your family will always understand you and give you the greatest warmth.
But maybe, it's not too late? Send a letter to your family, whether you are busy or not.
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