Came across this film by accident. Just looking at its beautiful cover, I felt it should be interesting, so I decided to watch it. Some people in the comments said, "I want to learn from Zhen Huan's biography." In fact, I felt the same way. I chose this movie because I thought it would tell a story of intrigue between girls. So, I found out that the plot was just about one and the other. I was disappointed by the dull story. But on second thought, this movie, with its quiet atmosphere and all kinds of lengthy shots, made such a deep impression on me. You could even say it scared me. But This is not the fright of the horror picture, but a chilling fear in my heart.
After watching the production footage, I came to write a review.
First of all, the biggest shock to me from this movie is that the images of almost all the characters are deeply imprinted in my mind and linger. For someone as blind as me, it's rare to be able to remember most of the characters. When watching the tidbits, I couldn't help but see a certain actor and think of his role, or fear, or regret, or hate. I just found out that the movie really did a good job of getting me acquainted with these characters. The director said she remade the film to focus on these women. To show each of them in detail, and their relationship with other people. I think that almost all of the former have been done, while only one or two main characters of the latter have done it. Through the use of various seemingly dull and lengthy shots, I saw girls who were depressingly alive. They seem to live peacefully in this pure land in the midst of war, but each of them is actually suppressing the desire in their hearts and blending with the surrounding environment.
I could see Amy's desire for a friend. Even if there are two or three children of the same age around her, she is actually very lonely and obviously can't talk to the older girls. So she would go pick mushrooms alone, hum a ditty without a main theme, and sneak into the enemy's room alone to chat with him about birds. And her decision later was because she realized that she had lost this friend. Even if she doesn't do anything. The man she thought was a friend brutally threw her beloved tortoise to the ground and roughly dragged her into the dilapidated factory building. So she didn't retain the remaining warmth for him, and when she put on the blue belt, there was no wavering in her eyes. Watching him eat poisonous mushrooms, he will not bear it. Maybe she was just too naive. You are my friend, can chat with me, I will worry about you. You hurt me, scared me, and I'll ignore old friendships, watch, and even personally send you on your way.
The one who shows the best relationship with the people around is Miss Martha. As headmaster, she was the most powerful person in the entire school. It can be seen that the children are all dependent on her (as evidenced by Amy's haste to her for help), and everyone respects her status (all call her madam). Such a person must be dignified and reliable, but the result is that the character is too dull, and all ego desires must be suppressed. Although the movie has a lot of hints, it's all because of the war years, and I think this depression is not just because of the war outside. A person who is under house arrest in a society and is accustomed to exist as a person will have such repression. She has a responsibility to protect other girls and a responsibility to insist on making rational decisions. But playing such a role means that she can't express her affection to John like others, which means that she can only suppress her own emotions blindly. So we see the headmaster's image of being ruthless and decisive from the beginning, gradually showing tenderness to John. She slowly began to accept him, attracted by his sweet words. I would drink and chat with him, and tell him something from my heart. Even, want to kiss him, want to have sex with him. For me, the choice to amputate the leg was her way of trying to keep John. Others said it was a form of revenge, or a real choice to save him. But I think she was reluctant to let him go and wanted to force him to stay, but she couldn't show her reluctance, so she could only keep him in this way. Although the factor of revenge is indeed possible, she should be more obsessed with the release of her inner desire. Later, the man who was full of sweet words suddenly raised his gun, and she realized that he would not be retained by her childish way. She finally made up her mind to get rid of him. Miss Martha is the most tragic character. She lost her man for a long time, and in the end she could not really release her desire. She leads the girls on a murder, then quietly watches the man who once made her want to free her, come and go. No regrets.
Edwina is also a rather tragic character. Her tragedy lies in her vulnerability and indecision. Edwina was a very quiet woman in the beginning. She quietly obeyed the principal and played her part. But John's compliment, "You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen", awakened her suppressed thoughts. She longed to be noticed, to be loved, to escape the cage that held her. So, she fell easily. The weak sentence, "If you don't really love me, please don't say it lightly" is her last line of defense. When the man told her affectionately that she loved him, a young girl's heart could no longer be restrained from throbbing. She fell in love with this utterly, admitting to the man she fell in love with at first sight. She was too vulnerable because John was the only light in her life. She began to pay attention to her appearance, she was willing to believe in her own beauty, and she was willing to perfect the self he admired. And in that scene of being caught in bed, her hopes were shattered. At that moment, all she had in mind was that the man who gave him hope, who said that he regarded her as the only man, was just full of lies. She pushed him down the stairs, either intentionally or not, but there was no doubt that she was deeply hurt by him. The saddest thing about Edwina was not that she fell in love with someone who couldn't love her with all her heart, the saddest thing was that she chose to approach him even after the person had hurt her. Whether it was to save her life, to protect other people, to make up for guilt, or some other reason, she still gave it up. Her love is so cheap. Even after experiencing betrayal, she still chooses to return to the light she once was, and chooses to continue to paralyze herself with such love. What's even more tragic is that she, who needs to be loved in this way, gave up on him in the end. He held her hand under the table, and said that if he was going to leave after a while, there was a hint that he would take her with him. But in the face of other people's hints, "Don't you like mushrooms?", she understood and compromised. I was actually worried about that scene. I am afraid that this desperately loveless woman will betray everyone and choose to save the man with the gun to find a safe arm. But she finally chose to betray him. She has tasted the beauty of love, she has tasted the betrayal of love, but she chose to find that beauty again. She was so sad, but she still got a kind of happiness. But what I didn't expect was that she would really give up this hope and return to that familiar cage. At the end, she instructed the girls to sew body bags in a calm tone, and there was no sadness in her voice.
Alicia is the only character I don't really understand. She hated such a life of growing vegetables in class every day. She is eager to get out of this school and see the colorful world. She is somewhat similar to Edwina, but the difference is that she can fully devote herself to this hope, just enjoying the present moment and not demanding the future. She could secretly kiss this strange man under the pretext of going to the toilet while she was praying. She could not be afraid of everyone's eyes, climb into his bed at night, and happily enjoy the indulgence of sex with him. This young girl dared to take risks and pursued at the age when she was in love. She didn't hold back for a long time, but when she saw John for the first time, something throbbed in her heart. She was simply following her innermost voice. And what I don't quite understand is why she would choose to give him a chance to get a gun. She chose to obey him, not because of his threats, because a disabled disabled person can't hurt her in any way. Her obedience was because she hoped that the person who had given her the kind of physical fellowship would continue to like her. The ending was not cruel to her. She just lost a person who let her taste the forbidden fruit, and she was just at an age when she just tasted the pleasure of abstinence, which means that she will meet many people who can give her pleasure in the future.
Finally, let's talk about John, the hero. His aura has always been strong. From the appearance of a weak sheep in need of help at the beginning, to the image of a lover, to a beast who is exhausted, his characters have always been interesting. At first, I didn't quite understand what he wanted, but after thinking about it, I thought he just wanted to stay in such a "safe" place where he could feel all kinds of pleasing by girls. He only went to war for money, implying that he did not want to participate in the war and did not care which side won or lost. Such a hungry need for money shows that his previous life was not good. To come to such a place, surrounded by all kinds of girls in the Mood for Love, and each and every one of them trying to please him, should be like heaven. He wanted to stay, of course. As the only male in this small piece of land, his arrival not only aroused the girls' yearning for the opposite sex, but also a stone that fell into the calm lake, causing waves. A novelty outsider, worthy of the tedious, day-to-day life that makes a bit of sense. Both students and teachers start to dress up because one person will notice their beauty. The girls practiced singing and playing the piano, and finally got an audience. The seemingly calm and alienating relationship makes the girls open up to such a talkative and amiable man, and talk about things that are usually not understood by others. John's presence at this place, at this time, and impartiality just happened to be a novelty toy in everyone's mind. He is very dangerous and is an enemy soldier, so he needs to be sneaky to enter his room, which gives a sense of rebellion to the girls who obey orders. His presence was incorrect and would disappear at any moment, which gave them a sense of urgency, as if not fighting for it would soon be gone. He faced the occasional threat of being handed over to the soldiers, which gave the girls a sense of purpose that they could protect him and defend his place in the school. And John, enjoying it all. He can say something to please every girl, from the cold headmaster to the amiable Amy. It was as if he could see through the bed what everyone here needs, Edwina's vulnerability, the headmaster's repression, Amy's loneliness, and Alicia's desire. According to his judgment, he slowly "attacks" all of them, enjoying their admiration while pleasing them.
What he didn't expect was to be pushed down the stairs by the betrayed Edwina and lose a leg. Heart-piercing pain, loss of a leg, and also become a disabled person who is disliked. Although he hated the principal who cut off his leg the most, he still threatened everyone. He hates, hates women's flattery and affection, and hates women's ruthlessness. From his words, I realized that cutting off that leg was definitely not as simple as saving him. If it's because of the fear of bleeding from a ruptured wound, wouldn't cutting off a leg lose more blood? I don't understand this logic. That's why he hates these women, hates them for choosing to destroy him after all kinds of flattery. He really terrified me at this point. Grim face, and deep hatred in his eyes. I thought he was going to kill one of them, or all of them. But he didn't.
At the last dinner, he still apologized gently, saying that he would leave soon. Knowing the truth, I can't help but feel sorry for this man. His passion or fault made him break Edwina's heart, but if we ignore the fact that the scumbag wanted to have sex with more women, he didn't hurt anyone after all. He didn't point the bullet at anyone, and he didn't even rape Amy when he was the most angry. Such a man, driven mad by a group of women, was finally poisoned mercilessly, and then threw his body to the enemy for disposal.
I really didn't expect this ending.
Another thing that struck me about the movie was the gloomy picture. It was a bright picture at the beginning, and it got darker as it went on. Gothic dark, white nightdress, blood, dim old house. This kind of weirdness makes me terrified. Because many shots are too quiet and too verbose. The creaking sound of the door being opened, the girls in beautiful dresses in the dim light, even the green garden. These shots need to be tasted slowly in order to taste their true taste.
It's a shame, I don't think I'll watch it a second time for a long time. Because, it really creeps me out, especially the ending. A man like that scares me, and so do these women.
Perhaps what really scares me is human nature and human heart. If I read such a depressing story over and over again, I will collapse.
(Speaking of which, I haven't seen the original, so I can't compare. But even for this remake, I think a lot of details are handled well. Although the plot is indeed weak, after all, time is spent on slowly savoring the gloom. Overall, I like it, although I personally don't really like these kinds of stories.)
(The rating seems to be a bit low, so I'll give it 4 stars. I originally wanted to give it 3 stars, because I don't particularly like it.)
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