The original French title of the film is Naissance des pieuvres , which is literally translated into English as birth of octopuses, and literally translated into Chinese as "birth of an octopus".
However, the English name of the film was translated into Water Lilies, and the Chinese was also translated as "Daffodils Blossom".
Clearly, this movie has something to do with water. This is the story of three girls, and the story takes place in the synchronized swimming team.
The three heroines are Marie, Anne, and Floriane. Mary was thin, Anne was fat, and Floriana was a perfect pretty girl.
Pretty Girl Tragedy: Floriana
Floriana is the captain of the Flower Touring Team. He is beautiful and has outstanding abilities. He is the object of the boys' pursuit and the object of the envy of the girls.
It was rumored by the girls that she had slept with many men, and even said so in front of her. She neither admitted defeat nor opposed such rumors, but took the opportunity to humiliate the other party.
She later told Mary that she was still a virgin. Whether it was her boyfriend François or the team's male instructor, although they all wanted to have sex with her, she tried to refuse.
Floria grew up in such an environment, and Mary felt sorry for her, but she herself was used to such a living environment.
But if you think she's a conservative "good" girl, you're wrong again. She wants to give her first time as soon as possible, but she doesn't know who to give it to.
So she decided to go to the bar to find a random middle-aged man, and of course, let Mary, the little valet, go with her.
She hooked up with a man easily, but halfway through the matter, Mary called her away. She even happily followed Mary and ran away.
All kinds of signs have to make people wonder if she is in love with Mary.
However, don't guess the minds of teenagers, because you can never guess.
She approached Mary again and again, but finally "used" Mary. I put "use" in quotation marks because she is not simply using, she may also have feelings for Mary, but in comparison, she may still love herself more.
She gave her her first time to Mary and kept "seducing" Mary.
In the last party scene, she's courting Mary while hooking up with other men. After Mary pulled her away, she gave Mary a kiss and went back to the party to dance alone.
She can't talk about who she loves, she just needs others to love her, to be kind to her, and to satisfy her. Both physically and mentally.
Maybe she was touched by Mary once.
Growing up, she was lonely because of her beauty, and girls naturally excluded her. Men are courteous to her, but behind it is their selfish need. No one is really kind to her, no one treats her as an ordinary friend, and everyone wants something from her.
And Mary seems to be the first one who doesn't ask her anything in return, so when she feels this, she desperately wants to catch Mary.
However, she was soon disappointed again, and she felt keenly that Mary, like those people, was just chasing one of her own, and there was nothing special about it. So when Mary expressed that she didn't want her to be too close to other boys, she gave Mary a kiss to comfort Mary.
Then, she turned and fell into her own lonely world again.
She is always alone. In the final shot of the film, Mary and Anne are "blooming" in the pool, while she is alone in her own dance.
This is the most real her, the one who is always alone.
Bystander protagonist: Mary
Mary is a thin little girl in stark contrast to her friend Annie. Mary is the protagonist, but at the same time the director makes her a bystander.
At the very beginning of the movie, she went to see the performance of Huayou, and the performance of the children's group was too childish in her opinion. Just when she was about to leave, she saw the performance of the Huayou Youth Team led by Floriana, and she was fascinated at once.
I was fascinated not only by the movement of flower tour, but also by Floriana.
She and her friend Annie are both in their mid-teens, but she looks more like a child who hasn't yet developed. She didn't like her childlike body, and Floria was fascinated by the toned and gentle strength of Floria's body and the confidence that radiated from her gestures.
Her feelings for Floriana could not be simply classified as love, perhaps more of worship and yearning at the beginning. In addition, adolescents' concepts of sex and love are still in the formative stage, so we can't use the feelings that adults have stereotyped to define the feelings of teenagers.
She had always been quiet and thin, but this time she was more courageous. She told Floriana directly at the party that she liked her performance, and the next day she ran to stop Floriana and asked her to take herself into the training pool of the Flower Parade, for which she was willing to act for Floriana Liana does anything.
Floriana thought Mary was a weirdo, but she took Mary into the pool anyway.
Then, using Mary as a cover, she goes on a date with Francis. Then she confided to Mary what she could not confide in with others. All this made Mary feel that Floria liked her, at least, that she occupied a special place in Floria's heart.
Floriana has always been in the lead, and Mary just accepts everything she has to offer. However, Floriana, who is in a dominant position, needs Mary's "help" very much.
She needs Mary to cover up when she is dating a guy, she needs Mary to listen to her heart, she needs Mary to "rescue" her when a man is annoying her.
Everything is "she needs".
At the end of the movie, Mary may have figured out that she only has Florian in her heart, but Florian is not the only one in her heart.
Whether she will ever return to Floriana, we don't know, but she must have figured out something.
It's like growing up, going through something, and then trying to understand something.
Perhaps she was heartbroken and left Floriana. Maybe she can't help but go back to Floria's side, but in this relationship she no longer allows herself to be dominated by the other party. Or maybe, she saw clearly everything about Floriana that she had been infatuated with, but it was just some kind of imagination she had put on her.
Of course, it is also possible that she has thought about it a lot, but she still can't figure out the matter of love.
This is the adolescent, who has stripped away the body and mind of a child, trying to escape a simple, family-defined self. But at the same time, they still find their way around in the dark chaos.
The girl who suffered the most cruel treatment was the bravest: Annie
Mary's friend Anne is also in the flower parade, but she is in the children's team.
In a group of children, her "huge" body made her appear very out of tune with those around her. Because of her appearance and figure, she has received all kinds of cold eyes around her, and she has no sense of existence in the flower parade team.
She has only one friend of Mary, and Mary has only one friend of hers. She is in stark contrast to Mary, who is too fat and always has no control over her desires.
She had been treated the cruelest by her surroundings, but she was the bravest one.
The film portrays her character very accurately. Before the flower tour performance, she was so nervous that she kept praying, and the people around her looked at her with a little contempt.
After the performance, she changed clothes. She didn't dare to change clothes in front of her teammates because she didn't bring panties. She waited until everyone left before changing clothes.
At this moment, Francis broke in unexpectedly and saw her naked.
Francis was not interested in such a fat and unassuming "child", but instead she was interested in Francis.
She was walking the dog on Francis's road to have a word with him. But Francis didn't want to talk to her.
She went to steal another necklace and gave it to Francis in front of a group of water polo boys, which made Frances proud, but Francis still didn't respond to her for the time being.
However, the brave girl's luck will not be too bad. After being rejected by Floriana, Francis runs to find Annie.
So Anne's first was given to Francis.
If you think that Annie has since become Pidianpidian's little follower, then you are wrong again.
At the last party, Francis found Annie, of course, thinking of doing it again with Annie. Before that, he also confessed to Annie, saying that he actually likes Annie.
However, Annie finally waited for her sweetheart, but rejected him after hearing the confession.
If Floria interprets "the favored have nothing to fear", then Anne interprets "the unreachable is always in turmoil".
If Annie can't get him, she will miss him. Once Annie found out that he was nothing more than that, (everyone was just for sex, no mysterious and inviolable love) then Annie didn't like him anymore.
What's more, in the process, Annie changed from a suitor role to a pursued person. Maybe she understood that she had a certain charm, or a certain ability that could be used to achieve her desires and needs. She is no longer a fat child for nothing, but a woman who can exude charm.
Her transformation should be the biggest of the three.
She is also lonely, but her loneliness is different from Floriana's. Her loneliness is forced.
Floriana's loneliness, to a certain extent, was her own initiative to choose "self-appreciation", while Anne's loneliness is entirely due to the cruelty of society to girls like her, and she has to be alone.
The director has commented on the three protagonists. It can be summed up as follows: Mary is the innocent and shy bystander , and Floria is the target of desire, representing the tragedy of beautiful girls . Anne was the loneliest, she was the most cruel, but at the same time the bravest .
narcissus, narcissism, echo
And the theme of the film is actually related to its name.
As mentioned earlier, according to the literal translation of the original French name, it should mean "birth of an octopus". "Octopus" means "jealousy and desire", or "possession and desire".
The director said that when you fall in love, eight long arms will stretch out of your heart. The long arms will reach out to explore in every direction, and you don't know which way you're going.
Each of us has our own octopus.
Teen love is actually ignorant and largely driven by sexual desire.
Francis is the most typical example. Florian refused to have sex with him, so he went to find Annie, who he had ignored, and in order to make Annie meet his requirements, he even told Annie without hesitation about himself. Love her.
His love is completely dominated by sexual desire.
So this movie is actually about the exploration of love in adolescence. Love in this period is also largely a complex emotion dominated by sexual desire. This feeling is a mixture of possessiveness, sexuality, friendship, love, etc.
However, I am still a little confused about the name of the film. Here I will first record my current thoughts, and I will make additions in the future if I understand them.
The English name of the film is translated into Water Lilies, which are literally translated into two words, water is water, lilies is lily (plural), and lily also means lesbian.
Water I can understand, but what is the connection between lilies and "octopus"? I couldn't find the exact information to prove it, so I had to guess that the lily bloomed in the water like an octopus stretching its tentacles.
Due to my limited ability, I don’t know French, and I have no way to see more interpretations of this by the creators, so I had to guess by myself. Not necessarily accurate, but it seems to make sense for the time being
However, since lilies/lily means lily, why is it translated into "narcissus" in Chinese? The English corresponding to "narcissus" is Narcissus, and the corresponding French is Narcisse.
So I went to check the flora again. Let's ignore the specific species for the time being and think of narcissus as a daffodil, and a lily as a lily. Thus, it can be found that both daffodils and lilies belong to the order of lilies.
Although the translation of lily into narcissus is not very accurate, it should be possible without further research. Moreover, "water lily" does not seem to sound as good as "narcissus", what's more, the Chinese character "xian" seems to have a more ethereal water charm.
Although I don't know the considerations behind these translations, I accidentally found a Greek myth about daffodils because of the translation of daffodils.
This story may not have been considered by the creators at first, but in the absence of data, I seem to be able to use this myth to interpret the film.
The word narcissism comes from narcissus. In ancient Greece, there was a beautiful boy Narcissus (Narcissus, also translated as Narcissus), he was the most beautiful man in the world, and countless girls fell in love with him.
However, he didn't know how handsome he was, because when he was born, a prophet told his family that as long as he was not allowed to see his appearance, he would be able to live in peace for the rest of his life.
So his family never let him see his face.
Although he has fascinated thousands of girls, he doesn't love anyone.
The goddess Echo (Echo) also fell in love with Narcissus, but Echo had been punished for his tongue-in-cheek and lost the ability to speak. However, if she truly falls in love with someone, then she will be able to speak again, but she can only repeat the other person's words, but cannot speak her own words.
Echo only dared to sneak behind Narcissus because she knew she couldn't tell her love to him.
One day, Narcissus discovered Echo. He asked Echo, who are you.
Echo wanted to answer, but when he said it, he was repeating what Narcissus said, who are you.
Narcissus asked again, what are you doing here?
Echo answered, what are you doing here?
Echo was deeply saddened to hear what he had said. From then on she left Narcissus and died of grief, leaving only her voice drifting in the valley all day long. So in the valley we can often hear the echo (Echo).
And what about Narcissus? Because he never loved anyone, Nemesis decided to avenge him for the goddesses. The method used by the goddess of revenge is very simple, that is, let Narcissus come to the river and let him see his own reflection.
Narcissus had never seen his face before and didn't know what he looked like. He suddenly saw such a handsome boy on the river, and he fell in love with his own reflection at once.
But he never got a response.
Day after day, he gradually lost weight by the river, until he died. He turned into a daffodil after his death, so his name became the name of a daffodil, and the word was later derived from the meaning of narcissism.
Narcissus in this story is quite a bit like Floriana in "Daffodils Bloom", but the difference is that Floriana knows she is beautiful, and this beauty brings her It's a little troublesome, but at the same time it can be used to gain a lot of benefits for yourself.
The film also has two mirror-in-the-mirror episodes, perhaps slightly linked to narcissism and loneliness. The scene of looking in the mirror occurs in two places, the first and last communication between Floriana and Mary.
The beauty of their appearance brings them attention that ordinary people cannot reach, but it is difficult for them to fall in love with others. In more cases, they are narcissistic and lonely. Their loneliness is hard to understand for those who pursue them or hate them.
Echo fell in love with someone, but she could only repeat her lover's words, not her own. Does this look a bit like Mary?
She always followed Floria's back, what the other party said and did, even if she didn't agree, she wouldn't say anything. Whatever Florian needed her to do, she would do it, and she was willing to do it.
It may not be very accurate to interpret the film in terms of this ancient Greek myth, but the feeling of loneliness seems appropriate.
common man's sympathy
The characters in the movie have a strong sense of reality from the shape to the lines. Ordinary girls are really ordinary girls. They will not set an ordinary teenager and then they will show a very beautiful and fashionable dress. girl.
Shiny girls are also really bright, it's the kind of confidence that comes from the heart, not the blingbling feeling accumulated with makeup and foreign objects.
The director's grasp and performance of adolescent women's hearts are very accurate, so that although they may have different background cultures, you can still see the adolescent self and friends from the protagonist.
Speaking of which, I can't help but think of "My Gifted Girlfriend", which was originally the name of the first part of the "Neapolitan tetralogy" by an Italian writer. It was recently adapted into a TV series, which can be regarded as a heated discussion.
This drama tells the story of two girls living in the slums of Naples who support each other and compete with each other all their lives, trying to get rid of the environment, but they can't get rid of the environment after all.
I watched "The Neapolitan Quartet" in its entirety, even if it was just the plot, and there were so many details that moved me and reminded me of my own story.
The director of "Daffodil Blossoms" is also the director of this year's hit "Portrait of a Burning Woman". In a promotional interview related to "Portrait of a Burning Woman", the director said that the crying scene in the last scene was left to the audience. Enter and review your own life.
It can be seen that the director probably always hopes that his film can resonate with the audience.
Perhaps a large part of why I like these works is because I can see myself in these works and resonate with them.
The creators express the common feelings of people in their own culture, and I go through their culture to find these things, and then use my culture to express what I can understand, which is also quite interesting.
In these works written by women, women's kindness, jealousy, hard work, helplessness, struggle, giving up, etc., are truly presented, and they are vivid characters. Not the Virgin, nor the festive widow, nor the witch, nor the mad woman. They are just ordinary people.
Gender aside, throughout the history of our human beings, we actually started to pay attention to some big people and important people. Literary works begin with stories of gods and heroes and famous people who are the protagonists of the story.
It's been that way for a long time.
Ordinary people may become the protagonists of the story until the Middle Ages, that is, the Song and Yuan Dynasties in China. The rise of western civic literature was also produced after the rise of industry and commerce in the 12th century.
However, until the 19th century, the characters in literature were still relatively single. The closer to modern times, the more diverse the characters in literature, and the closer they are to real human nature. Human nature is inherently complex, and literature should reflect this fact truthfully.
Of course, literary works are always fictional, otherwise they are non-fiction. Documentary can also be literary, but literature itself, as the best space to explore human nature, is too wasteful to use only for documentaries.
In any case, I hope to see more domestic works that are close to reality and resonate in the future.
View more about Water Lilies reviews
