Instead of treating Joaquin as a mental patient, he is an animal. There are too many dirty animals in Hoffman's lines. Every time Joaquin scuffles with people, it bursts out suddenly. That's how the beasts attack.
Why did Hoffman adopt this animal? On the one hand it is the desire to conquer, on the other hand it is self-help. Everyone in the cult society has undergone strict training and control. The "treatment" of Hua Jin in the latter part is actually a repeat (perhaps an enhanced version) of the process of joining all members. There are three main ways of training: 1. Close your eyes and walk back and forth, touch the wood and glass, and express your feelings out of nothing. 2. Seeing is empty, change the color of your eyes with your mind. 3. Be unmoved by any harsh words. Points 1 and 2 make people learn to replace reality with imagination, while 3 is to destroy human desires, which is a trilogy of castration.
(Joaquin was confused and skeptical after the new book launch, because Hoffman showed his timidity on stage, so he used the way of pacing to control his emotions, indicating that he has mastered the training method, which is also for him in the last sex scene. Pave the way for the "evaluation" of the girl in the way of a master. The press conference is a turning point in the relationship between the two.)
It can be seen from this that everyone in this society has been castrated to a certain extent. Of course, the desire cannot be completely eliminated, such as the daughter's goodwill to Huajin (later confession that the daughter was sent to the negligence correction facility), such as the wife The exclusivity of Hoffman (you can't mess with others). Everyone is in a state of sexual depression. Hoffman accepted Joaquin because of the excess vitality in his body. He is like a huge sun, able to give a dry body a spring of humanity. Hoffman’s new book uses imagine instead of recall to show that he has doubts about his theory, and the scene of riding a motorcycle in the wilderness is a return of humanity. The sceneries and camera movements of that scene are extremely exquisite. Take a screenshot. That was the moment when Joaquin and Hoffman were separated and both were healed. Joaquin's visit to Doris was an explosion of humanity.
(Of course there is ambiguity here. After looking for Doris, Joaquin wakes up in the theater (the space is limited, we will not discuss the element of the movie, nor the too special space of the theater), Joaquin Then I went to England to find Hoffman and said I had a dream. He received a call in a dream. From the attitude of Hoffman's wife to Joaquin, it can be seen that he was not invited but unexpectedly. Hoffman’s reaction and Cool Cigarette offer another possibility of interpretation.)
In the end, is Joaquin successfully brainwashed to continue preaching? Quite the opposite! Although there are many sexual cues throughout the film, the only sexual scene that is directly exposed is the last one (and it is still a female leader), just like a depressed room finally opens a skylight. Joaquin’s seemingly missionary/mind control words were spoken as flirting in bed. He used sex, or humanity, to deconstruct Hoffman’s words; he used real life and naked desires to deconstruct the rootless Belief. That is Joaquin's coming-of-age gift.
At the end, Joaquin lay like a baby on the beach next to the female statue (isn’t that the mother of the earth?), which symbolizes the birth of “human”.
You can say that this is an extreme case, but it can also be said that it is a metaphor for life by pta. Newborns are animals in essence, and they are animals with an exceptionally long lactation period. After that, they know themselves in the mirror, learn languages, accept the law, adapt to civilization, and find the fulcrum of life. Hoffman is not an arrogant leader in the film. He was actually kidnapped by the whole group. When he began to doubt himself, he regarded Joaquin as a new fulcrum, and Joaquin also regained humanity through him. Feelings. But only by throwing away the crutches can you walk upright on both legs. Hoffman's last line, coupled with the last overhead shot on the beach, isn't Joaquin the one? The savior is only himself.
The audio-visual language of pta cannot be analyzed in detail here, but only one point. Every scene, every lens movement, every focus selection, and lighting in every scene are extremely informative and aesthetically pleasing. Breakthrough. When I watched it, I felt that this was a movie that didn't need lines, because the image itself already contained all the emotions and all the semantics.
Also, I simplified the relationship between these two people. The subtle changes in their relationship can only be seen carefully. This is a waltz of two people, but in the final analysis it is still a one-act play by one person. Pta hardly uses any mirror props, maybe it is saying that the two are mirror images of each other, but this is another way of interpretation.
One more thing, I think this movie must be influenced by Kubrick’s "eyes wide shut". 1. In the hypnotic ritual of this cult, everyone can only see things with their eyes closed, including Hoffman’s treatment of China. Jin's first assessment was when Joaquin closed his eyes before seeing the memories with Doris. 2. The nude group dance in the middle of the film is hard not to feel like a direct tribute
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