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Just as I like new page numbers for computer writing, even if there are many gaps, I have to start a new page, so I can feel at ease. The English-language film "The Death of the Sacred Deer" (2017) by the famous Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos gave me the feeling of opening a new page. This is a subversive evolution from his previous horror and cult video style. Although the film is still terrifying and the music is still exaggerated, the melancholy that gradually enters is clearer than the explosion, and it is almost invisible. The film begins with a bloody surgical scene, which sets the tone of the film as sharp as a scalpel. Then, the film enters a very quiet time, and then gradually reverses.
What we see most in the film is the use of long shots with a long view, and the emotional evolution of the close-up of the character's face, so that the film will not be disordered, hurried and abrupt in the isometric distance before and after the character, but more reserved, The gentle edges and corners, but the interpretation is still merciless and cold. We saw the director's calm state of mind in "The Death of the Sacred Deer", which really has a kind of naturalness, which is in sharp contrast with his previous films. The director's past films always make people feel bad, but this time, they have done a seamless and amazingly perfect look. There is no doubt that this is the accumulation of gains and losses in his creative practice over the years.
This also shows that the same plot can make movies with different flavors, which is the special and spiritual change of artistic expression. How to find a more suitable style for the film is the most important point for the director. This involves the height of the mind, the accumulation of experience, and the more intellectual level of Zen enlightenment. "The Death of the Sacred Deer" is also the director's fourth film co-written with Esimis Felipe, after "Dogtooth," "The Alps," and "The Lobster."
Among them, "The Death of the Sacred Deer" star Colin Farrell also starred in "The Lobster". It seems that the acting skills of the Irish actor have been recognized by the director. Colin Farrell belongs to the kind of deductive temperament that is contained but not revealed, and the rhythm is grasped quite well. Interestingly, the surgeon in the film, Steven (Colin Farrell), has a thick and old black beard. This unique shape is doomed to the mysterious color of the film, with an elusive appearance. trait.
A man who is nice to everyone is very scary. What I'm talking about is terrible, that this kind of good, regardless of dregs, ends up like a scalpel in his hand, not only harming himself but also his relatives. How did Steven, who is sincere, generous and kind, get to that point. Obviously, this is a thinking proposition for a tragic movie, just like those tragic movies we have seen. Steven's kindness to the 16-year-old Martin can be described as meticulous care. Whether this implies some kind of unease and guilt is unknown.
And don't think that Steven has anything wrong with Martin. No, he was just being nice to Martin, as his own, at least on the surface. After Martin's father, who died in hospital from a heart attack a few years ago, Steven continued his relationship with Martin. The teenager seemed sensible and obedient, and Steven also bought him an expensive waterproof watch. It seems that this kind of communication is harmless, and through this kind of love for Martin, Steven also gets some inner satisfaction. The thing is, if a movie is as superficial as I said, it's not a thriller.
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Just after Steven took the initiative to invite Martin to come to his mansion, things changed completely. This is not simply to say that good intentions can be treated as donkey liver and lungs, but it means that the closeness of the heart opens Martin's mind. Contrasting self-defeating, then turned into a crazy sense of destruction. This is the most shocking thing about human nature. But this horror is invisible. Martin and Steven's ophthalmologist wife Anna (Nicole Kidman), 14-year-old daughter Ji (Rafe Cassidy), and 12-year-old son Bob, even if they knew each other. Like Steven, they were enthusiastic about Martin's arrival.
It is often said that you can see clearly when you get close, but you are actually saying that when you get close, you can't see clearly, because good feelings will cover up a lot of substantive things. This is the perverseness of interpersonal communication and human nature. A life that is farther apart is easier to identify. Ji, who participated in the chorus, has been learning the piano all the time, and the girl's love has just begun. Naturally, she is attracted by Martin, who is articulate and cool. At this point in the film, Steven and his wife Anna only have a good impression of Martin, and they don't think about anything else at all, let alone basic precautions. Ji used to ride home on Martin's motorcycle. This is of course Martin's initiative to invite Yoji, and the little girl also has a good impression of this kid. Since it is the person introduced by my father, is it wrong? Daughter will definitely think so.
Reciprocity. Since you invited me, I will invite you too. So, Martin told Steven that his mother (Alicia Silverstone) wanted to invite him over to eat her specialty dish at home in the evening. He came over without thinking. After dinner, Martin said that the TV was going to show a movie he liked, and he insisted that Steven stay to watch it, but the kid left on the excuse of being sleepy in the middle. A sofa, leaving Martin's mother and Steven. Sitting upright, he seemed to be keeping his promise and daring to read on. But Martin's mother slowly moved. First, she praised his hands as very nice, delicate and smooth, and then came over to hug him and kiss him, but he politely refused. He left quickly.
Unexpectedly, the next day, the boy went straight to the hospital, saying that he had chest pains, just like his father. Steven kindly checked him, nothing changed, and everything was normal. Martin said strangely, your son Bob said my armpit hair is not as much as yours, can you show me. Helpless, Steven had to take off his coat and lift it up to show him. Martin said more than I did. I think it would be more appropriate if you were with my mother. My mother asked you to come to my house at night. Steven said quietly that I'm busy, I love my wife and kids, can't you see I have a family.
Of course, Martin just turned a blind eye. He only wanted Steven to be his stepfather, or something else, it was really hard to guess, anyway, this kid was cheating on Steven. After being rejected, many strange things happened to the Steven family one after another, and this originally happy family became uneasy. The surgeon encounters an opponent that he really doesn't take seriously, but he doesn't expect. Martin's ruthless killer-like madness lies in the fact that you have been responsive to my requests before, why did you not agree to me this time. His paranoia corresponds to the embarrassment of Steven's six gods.
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After 40 minutes of the film, the first unlucky son, Bob, could not find anything wrong, like osteoarthritis, or gradually freezing people. The child just couldn't stand up, his limbs were weak, and he could only lie on a hospital bed. . Martin, who claimed to have come to see Bob, said privately to Steven that because you killed my father, you must kill every member of your family with your own hands as compensation for my pain, or your family will Couldn't walk, couldn't eat, then bled to death.
Seeing this, I realized that there was such a truth that Martin thought he had mastered, and it was related to Steven's surgery. But the turning point of the matter is the fact stated earlier. I thought this kid was just possessed by the devil, as if he had cast a spell on the Steven family, making the already weak Steven bewildered. The question is, will Martin's intimidation come to pass. At least in Martin's view, his father died in a medical accident. If it's the truth, then Steven's kindness to him is a kind of affectionate guilt compensation. But things are far from simple.
But Martin went on to date Steven's daughter, Kat. Speaking of which, let's think about it, a Euripides-esque tragedy just quietly unfolded. When Martin came to Steven's house for the first time, he followed Ji to the big tree in the garden. Ji shyly leaned against the tree and sang the beautiful song "Because we have a fire, I will let it burn." Yes, the fire of vengeance in Martin's heart has already begun to burn.
The Steven family seems to have been hit by Martin's curse magic. After 60 minutes of the film, Steven's daughter, Ji, suddenly fainted while participating in the chorus performance, suffering from the same problem as her younger brother. Now that's all right, the siblings live in the same ward. Strangely, Martin secretly called Ji and said he was downstairs. When Ji struggled to stand at the window, he didn't see the kid. Ji's mother knew about this and confiscated her daughter's mobile phone.
Steven felt that this matter was a big deal, so he told his wife the details of his relationship with Martin. But his wife asked him if he drank when he operated on Martin's father that day. He said that he only drank a little, but there would be no accident in the surgery, and anesthesia was possible. In this way, Anna found Matthew, an anesthesiologist, who vehemently denied that he drank alcohol during the operation. At her repeated requests, Matthew agreed to give her access to the surgical files, on the premise that she would help him "jump". Human nature is really hard to guess. These two are usually good friends, but Matthew actually made this strange move on the joint eye to satisfy his happy little bird.
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Since then, the wife has repeatedly accused her husband of being weak and irresponsible. For the child's recovery, she also came to Martin's house specially to ask for his forgiveness, but the boy was very calm and didn't buy her account. Unexpectedly, in a rage, the husband kidnapped Martin and threw it in his basement. At this time, the couple had brought their children home for recuperation. But Martin, who was tied up, did not give in, which made Steven completely dumbfounded. You don't need to beat me up, can I bite my arm, it's like meat sauce, I just want to show you.
Steven really met a non-human. As Steven told his wife, he used to feel that he was mentally ill and weird, but now it's unreasonable. The daughter crawled into the basement to visit Martin and begged him to forgive her father and let her recover, but he refused. Even if Anna knelt down in front of this kid and knelt down and licked his feet, he didn't move at all. His purpose is very simple, that is, to avenge the death of your two children and avenge the father. Could it be that Satan has possessed Martin. The mystery of the film also makes people fall into the fog.
In desperation, Anna secretly released Martin. This made Steven feel desperate. Seeing that poor son Bob really does what Martin said, he will eventually bleed from his seven orifices. Steven was completely out of control. In a rage, he covered his wife and children with the white cloth cover, and also covered himself, and then turned around with a long gun, playing the game of life gambling on the Russian turntable. As a result, after turning around a few times and releasing the empty gun, the son was unfortunately shot and killed. This is the fate of the Steven family.
The interesting thing about the film is that at the end, when Steven and his wife, Ji, were dining in the dark restaurant, Martin, the boy, came in with his bag as if nothing had happened, and had a face-to-face with them. The heartbroken couple got up and left, and Ji turned back and gave Martin a creepy smile. It seemed that this matter was not over yet. The actor who plays Martin is really old-fashioned, not at all green. His every move, especially his gloomy eyes, really made people shudder. He is fully integrated into the character and has a great charm.
In my opinion, a "medical trouble", or a revenge caused by a medical accident, is just an excuse. Because the film does not specify that Martin's father's death is really related to Steven's surgery. What's more lurking is that after Martin slowly comes into contact with Steven, he feels some kind of loss. Especially seeing such a happy life for the Steven family, guilt and blame are inevitable. It was Steven's fatal mistake that he felt so lonely with his mother. When this kind of assumption gradually enlarged, and Steven's attitude towards him changed, Martin's revenge was inevitable.
Think about it, what's so hard about Steven, who was originally called "The Virgin", being a good person, but causing trouble. He completely ignored the brat in the first place. Even if it is a medical malpractice, it should be resolved through legal means. It seems that it is his natural weakness that hurts him. It turns out that being a good person is so difficult in this world. Like helping an old man for fear of being deceived. The people of this world are really indistinguishable from black and white. This also shows that outside the law, there are always invisible hands, accustomed to turning clouds and rain in the dark. It does not matter whether it is just or not, it is habitually free from axioms.
What makes the film so bad is that it pits a 16-year-old fart boy against a seemingly complacent surgeon, leaving Steven in a hurry and losing his son's life. The tragedy itself has a certain allegorical flavor. There may never be a clear truth here. Or, Martin's inner Electra found a foothold in the good guy Steven. He poured all his resentment on Steven. It can only be said that Steven deserves bad luck. If we can see the world clearly, then we will truly arrive in a world of great harmony, where all the brothers are brothers. It is precisely because of the complexity of human nature that there are so many misjudgments, disputes and wars.
2017, 12, 25
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