Author: Fang Hanjun
Mike Mills' independent "Twentieth Century Woman" (2016) stars Annette Bening, who starred in "American Beauty" and "Becoming Julia" as Dorothy, the heroine of the film, who is alone after her divorce from her husband. Lives with his son Jamie. The film is set in 1979, a meaningful year, a period of transformation in American culture. At that time, Jamie was only 15 years old, in the age of youth rebellion. The mother and son of the film have crossed voices, telling the same thing, different angles, different ideas, and different states.
What is rare is that the film is filled with a sense of joy, which is inadvertent but meaningful. The characters in the film seem to be playing around at will, but all kinds of peas under one roof are actually carefully set up. Greta Gerwig, the new goddess of American independent film, starred in the film Abby, a photographer who suffered from uterine cancer, rented her home. Another girl, Jolie, played by Elle Fanning, the world-famous Neon Demon, is a childhood friend with Jamie. Every night Julie would playfully sneak out of the window to Jamie's room and sleep with him, but never in love, because Julie thought they were too familiar to feel that way.
The film pays great attention to introducing the birth years of these characters to set off the real interaction state that age brings to the characters. For example, the mother was born in 1924, Abby in 1955, Julie in 1962, and Jamie in 1964. Car mechanic William also rents at her home. These five people live together and form a vivid picture scroll. In 1979, a bland and special year in the twentieth century, it was also the year with the deepest impression of my youth. The re-release of the newly translated films was a feast for the eyes, of course, Western films. At the beginning of that year, on major events related to China, President Carter promoted the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China, and a counterattack in self-defense against Vietnam. Like China, the world has emerged from the shackles, full of vitality, full of hope, and mixed with uncertainty and confusion.
As an ignorant Jamie, a young boy, surrounded by three women, did not grow savagely, but stumbled, not only reluctant to let go of old things, but also a desire to explore new things. But the mother was a little worried about the situation of communicating with him, and hoped that Abby and Julie would share her life guidance for Jamie and take care of all aspects of life. But Jamie didn't catch a cold. Jamie likes a free and easy life and doesn't want to be controlled. When Abby and Julie heard his thoughts, they followed him.
Julie's mother is a psychotherapist. She forced Julie to take part in a teenage psychological counseling class. She was very at a loss as she listened to the students beating their chests and feet to talk about their unhappiness and worries. But Julie was wild by nature, and she told Jamie that she always liked to do outrageous things. She doesn't have sex with Jamie, but she does sex with other guys. Her only worry is pregnancy. Jamie listened to her talk, so he went to the pharmacy the next day to buy a pregnancy test. The result was negative after 2 hours.
fine. After all, Julie is still living her wild life. Even at later family gatherings, she would reveal her first sexual experience at the age of 14, which made Jamie very embarrassed, and refused to sleep with her from then on, which made Julie say do you think I am dissolute. The silent Jamie said I don't want to sleep with you anymore anyway. Abby had also told them not to sleep together before, even if there was no love, because Santa Barbara is a small city, if it spreads out, they will not find a job. Aha.
In the end, when Julie accompanied Jamie to the beach and Jamie left because of a discord, Dorothy didn't blame Julie and smiled because they were both women and knew each other as a woman Love for Jamie's different mentality.
As for Abby, it is relatively complicated. She was plagued by cancer. After graduating from the New York University of the Arts, he has been working in a newspaper office and loves photography. She developed uterine cancer because her mother took a fertility drug called DES when she was pregnant. In those years, all mothers who took this kind of medicine gave birth to daughters suffering from this kind of disease, which was really a disaster. The film is meant to suggest that this may be the unexpected price that human progress has to pay. Abby had to return to the small town to live with her mother. But her mother always blamed herself and made her unbearable, so she moved out and lived with Dorothy.
Abby enjoys photographing intimate items such as underwear, bras and birthday souvenirs. These life imprints related to women reflect her concern for life itself. Interestingly, before she fell in love with William, who was also a tenant, she specially asked William to play her role as a photographer. According to the plot she set, she asked to take a picture of her, and then said "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry!" Only then can we enter into the state of excitement of love. She needs to experience another sense of presence. Only later, she and William could not go on. William is too casual about love.
When Jamie accompanied Abby to the hospital, he waited outside. The doctor told Abby that the good news is that the cancer cells are gone, and the person is better, but because of the surgery, the uterus can't bear pregnancy, so she can't get pregnant. Life in the crests and valleys. Life is a tragicomedy. Since then, Abby has wandered between bright and gloomy. Emotional fluctuations are always related to endless thoughts. God will make people, or there are other arrangements. Through Abby's experience, Jamie also experienced more different life.
As for Dorothy and William, whom the audience was looking forward to, apart from having a period of progressive communication and dancing together, they did not enter the state after all. Because Dorothy had been addicted to smoking, she developed lung cancer and died in 1999. William returned to Arizona, married women, divorced and remarried. Julie later went to live in Paris. The most interesting thing is Abby. Xu is God's mercy. After she got married, she became pregnant with a child and gave birth to two little babies. Amidst the joys and sorrows, life is full of unexpected beauty. Just like Jamie's "Mystery of the Body", people always have too many unknowns and mysteries. How much do we know about ourselves and our peers?
1979 will always be gone, and people will always grow up.
Jamie seems happy after getting married. The film is his and his son's recollection of living with his mother. With all these bits and pieces, how can the grandson understand the grandmother he has never met. This is how life is, the ebb and flow, the coming and going, the unbearable and the magnificent, are just short-lived, only the true love is eternal! It was said in the film that being alive is hurt and hindered, just as they talked about the feminine topic of "period". Humans are emotional high-level animals, and it is normal to have uneven emotional ups and downs. Just don't indulge in your own assumptions, don't teach others at every turn, and don't get obsessed with obsession. The one who needs to adjust the psychological buttons is always his own hands that control and respect life.
This is what the film focuses on explaining. Just like the book "Sisterhood is Strength" in the film, women have become the key factor in the film. They are the masters of beauty and the guides of life. It's a wonderful women's film, and the peculiar rhythm that pervades the film is reminiscent. This is the mint scent and unique imprint only for women.
The interludes of the film are all pop songs of that era, as well as the hoarse and vigorous singing of the jazz king Armstrong and the old movie "Casamblanca" graceful in the house. Therefore, the nostalgic style of the film, the incisive interpretation, and the condensed color of the year, although full of confusion, always have a more distant and beautiful atmosphere in the block. This is not only in 1979, but also the origin of human life, such as the breeze blowing on the face, the refreshing and comfortable taste is another mellow scene in the 20th century.
2017, 2, 24
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