The whole film may feel cloudy and foggy, but I always feel that this is a film with a strong theme, a strong purpose and a strong aggressiveness. Most of the film has very low tonal saturation, the composition is very stable and stable, and there are few props, but it gives a sharp tearing feeling. This is undoubtedly a movie with an extremely strong style, although too much digging and interpreting a movie will make it ambiguous and obscure, but... give it a try.
1. Dove occupying magpie's nest-style competition for social resources
The story of a dove occupying a magpie's nest at the beginning of the film should be very familiar to everyone and easier to understand. What I understand is that it is used as a metaphor for the struggle for resource power and power economy. In terms of physics, the energy in this world is fixed, and the number of human beings and unit consumption capacity are growing steadily. If you want to strive for possession, someone must be forced to give up. It's "cruel", but it's part of human nature. In this way, the first point that the whole film wants to make clear, whether it is housing, food, or even the right to raise children has become a resource that needs to be competed for. And Yonder becomes the institution that corrects this scramble, "they" allocate resources on time and volume, match responsibilities, and you pay the price (training the next real estate agent) to win this fairness. Compared with the original cruel natural selection, this kind of fairness is even more unacceptable. The conclusion is whether you choose human cruelty or inhuman peace.
2. Metaphorical miniature of married life
After the two found that they could not leave, the process from the initial struggle to the final compromise can actually be regarded as the epitome of marriage. The dispute between the two began when they entered Youder. They shied their responsibilities and cooperated again, just like the daily life of most marriage operators. The fire burning down the house is also a metaphor for the complete breakdown of the marriage (family), so the predictable and completely consistent result is: children.
Almost all marriages see children as glue, the best option to save a couple's life. But can the arrival of the child really save the family? The answer is actually very complicated: I have to admit that the arrival of the child made the family of three start a regular routine, but it also accelerated the continuous deterioration of the marriage relationship internally: the father worked outside ( Digging a hole), the mother spends more time with the child, full of countless breakdowns and miscommunication, and the father is almost always absent.
Many times the bond between mother and child is easier and tougher than that of father. In reality, the reason may be due to 9 months of pregnancy and more time together, but it is also for this reason that mother and child will There are many conflicts and contradictions.
There are many details in the film to show this: controlling the time the child watches TV, preparing breakfast, imitating the voices and movements of adults, and punishing him by locking him in the car...
Even the frequent participation in the life of the two of their parents makes them extremely annoying, which is completely the epitome of contemporary family education.
And even when the male protagonist is about to die, when the two begin to recall the story of acquaintance and love, it is very similar to the scene of life and death in reality. When all feelings face death and separation, they will always eliminate all painful things, leaving only happiness and happiness. Beautiful moment.
3. Mother's identity problem
Another particularly interesting point is the self-identification of motherhood. The heroine began to repeatedly emphasize "I am not your mother", transitioned to not refuting, and denied it again before dying.
Although this process is a bit too straightforward and exaggerated, it is true that some parents will have different degrees of identification with the identities of "father" and "mother". It is related to being raised, being responsible and being responsible, the continuation of life, etc., but if you dissect this issue in detail, it will become more complicated. The relationship itself has a physiological connection. The child has a part of your genes, and he is a part of it. You, but you are completely independent of you. For many years at the beginning, you were completely unable to communicate and coexist peacefully. For many years to come, you would follow his path and feel instinctively worried for him, but in the end he was still independent of you. exist. So what does "mother" mean? There is no accurate answer to this question, and it is a question of identity.
4. Oedipus-style indirect patricide
The character setting of the film is very simple. A family of three, two men and one woman, is also completely in line with the Oedipus-style relationship, the conflict between father and son, the complex relationship between mother and son, the helplessness of love and hatred, and the impermanence of human hearts. At the end, the son hinted that his father's death could also be regarded as indirect father-killing. In fact, this relationship was buried in the beginning. When the two first entered the real estate agency, they could clearly feel the male protagonist's concern for the agency manager. The attitude of the child is more negative, and the first stage of the child's growth can almost see the similarity between him and the intermediary manager, which predicts the outcome of this indirect patriarchy to a certain extent.
5. Colorful and unbearable parallel world
The same house combination in Youder is definitely not only their family, but not in the same space, accidentally penetrated into the space of other families, and saw the child watching the parents' intercourse, the man lying in the bathtub, the crying mother, you can see In fact, everyone's life has great similarities, and the results are almost the same. Everyone plays the same role, giving people a sense of fate and powerlessness.
In addition, the color is particularly outstanding in this part. The previous low-saturation green and blue are changed to completely opposite high-saturation and aggressive red, so as to create a sense of isolation in the parallel space. The effect is undoubtedly very obvious.
6. Reincarnation
The meaning of reincarnation in the film is very clear, and everything returns to its original place and starts anew.
Due to the pity of the characters and the unfamiliarity of the closed structure, many audiences may feel uncomfortable, but in fact, let us re-examine the real life, the world itself is a large concentric circle of reincarnation, as small as birth and death, From the rise and fall of the family, to the destruction and self-repair of the ecological natural system, to the evolution and renewal of the earth, and even the birth and destruction of the universe... This world itself is another synonym for reincarnation.
Finally, let me say something that I think is a little flawed in the film.
In fact, it is a foreshadowing, and it is not very clever. When the first two people first entered Youder, it was obvious that they would definitely not be able to go back, and for the description of their process of finding a way out, the overlapping dialogue in the background sound also lowered the quality of the film a bit. , the expression is a bit simpler. Another foreshadowing, the child will inherit the mantle of the previous manager is too easy to guess, I think the director may not want to foreshadow, whether it is the weird behavior or the clothing and hairstyle is completely telling you the ending, it really makes the audience lack A thrill of passive discovery.
Generally speaking, I think it is one of the good ones in my recent movie viewing experience. It is also relatively novel in the closed space of another world and the theme of reincarnation. The things it tells are beyond the story and the turning point itself, not to be curious, and the values are also good. It's more mature and worth a look.
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