This article is a text review of the post-screening exchange of the closing film "Rust and Bone" for the online screening of "Cannes Summer Nights and Life". co-initiated.
The article is very long, but it is worth it. Hugo recommends collecting this article first and then reading it carefully~
The way the protagonist of Rust and Bone exists is through his body. When the skin of his body is crushed by reality, he is left with hard bones. Once the hard bones are healed, they are like rusted iron, but they are still hard. "Rust and Bone" is the basis of his existence, the capital of his existence.
——Li Yang, film scholar
Looking at it again after many years, I still see those very good specific work, such as scripting, directing, acting, including sound, photography, editing, etc. These have drowned me, so it is difficult for me to go Guess why the festival likes to choose him. In my opinion all this is taken for granted, there is nothing to doubt it.
- Producer Nai An
I like his soundtrack very much, the music feels very good. Sister Fruit's "Firework" has appeared in several places, including some of the music used by the male protagonist when he punches, which makes people feel that there is no age gap. It cannot be said to be particularly young, but it does not have the director's sense of age. I think it is very powerful. .
- Film critic, Electric Knight
I have a particularly clear feeling that the male protagonist Ali and the whale are a set of correspondences, both domesticated by the animal trainer played by Marion.
——Wang Yao, a film scholar & the host of the Youku live broadcast room of this online film festival
Cloud Viewing Cloud Exchange
1. Jacques Audiard
Wang Yao: First, take a moment to introduce director Jacques Audiard. He was born in 1952 and started his career as a screenwriter in 1974. He has been a screenwriter for 20 years. It was not until 1994 that he filmed his first work "Men Pain the Most" . The film was shortlisted for the Critics' Week in Cannes, won the 20th French Film César Award for Best Debut, Best New Actor (Matthew Cassowitz, later a famous director) and Best Editing Award and a nomination for Best Screenplay.
In 1996, he directed the feature film "Homemade Heroes" starring Matthew Cassowitz, Arnock Greenbug, and Sandrina Kiberan , which won the 49th Cannes International Film Festival with this film. Best Screenplay Award, Best Director Award at the 22nd French Film César Award, Best Screenplay Award nomination, and 6 other nominations, nominated for Best Actress and Best Screenplay at the European Film Awards.
The following films are more familiar to everyone, such as "The Rhythm My Heart Forgotten" in 2005 , this film won the best music award in berlin and 8 awards at the caesar awards, including best film, Best Director and more.
The one most familiar to Chinese audiences is probably his "The Prophet" (2009), which was nominated for the Jury Prize at the 62nd Cannes International Film Festival and the Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Academy Awards. He won the Best Director Award and the Best Original Screenplay Award at the 35th French Film César Awards. At the same time, the male lead Taha Rahim won the best actor at the European Film European Film Awards. You can ask Mr. Naian to talk about his cooperation with him later.
In 2012, "Rust and Bone" was shortlisted for the main competition in Cannes, and the actor won the Caesar Award for Best New Actor. The film won the Best Film Award at the 56th London International Film Festival and the Palme d'Or at the 65th Cannes International Film Festival. Award nomination, the director won the 38th French Film César Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for this film.
In 2015, Jacques Audiard wrote and directed the crime drama "The Wandering Dupin", which won the Palme d'Or at the 68th Cannes International Film Festival and was nominated for 9 Caesars Awards. His latest work is the 2018 venice international film festival where he won the best director for "The Histers Brothers" , and at the same time he won 4 caesar awards for photography, art direction, director and sound, and 5 others nominate.
On the whole, Audia's winning luck is very good, and we can talk about Audiya's directing style in a while.
Li Yang: When I was studying in France (2002-2009), I really liked this director. At that time, he had not won so many glittering international awards. He is already well-known in France because of "The Rhythm My Heart Forgot", but he has not achieved such dazzling achievements internationally as he is today. I think he's a French director who is very focused on storytelling, maybe because he's a screenwriter, or because his dad is a very famous screenwriter. His filming cycle is very long, about every 4-5 years to make a film, and he will brew the story very mature. It not only allows ordinary audiences to easily integrate into the story, but it is also a non-routine narrative.
2. Rust and bone first impressions
Moderator: Please share your impressions of Rust and Bone?
Nai An: I watched Rust and Bone in Cannes 8 years ago. At that time, I took the film to the Cannes Film Festival on a business trip. I didn’t have time to watch other directors’ films. This was the only main competition work I saw. Odia's "The Prophet" (2009) and Lou Ye's "Flower" (2011), we chose the same actor Taha Rahim one after the other. After the new film was shortlisted for the main competition, I watched it with a supportive mentality. Despite all the reviews of Rust and Bone at the time, I personally enjoyed the film very much.
Li Yang: There are many selling points in the movie. For example, the heroine is a disabled person and suffered an accident; the hero is a black boxer. On the surface, these settings are all very commercial elements, but Audia's way of telling a story is completely different. At the beginning, neither of them knew each other. They lived a very ordinary life. The director was not in a hurry to make the plot or the fate of the protagonist the core content. Point unfolds the changes in their fate, without indulging too much in the level of sensationalism, and the protagonist himself does not make people feel that they need to be sympathetic. I think this point is handled better. He expresses that when people at the bottom encounter major changes, they use their own way to reawaken the sense of strength of life or the dignity of existence.
Also, I appreciate the director's approach to the characters and the story, the way it ends is also not the end of a normal movie, it doesn't focus on the most dramatic thing, it focuses on the two characters, even though the film ends, the two's The story is far from over.
When I lived in France, I met a lot of local people, who were like the characters under the director's camera. Audia neither exaggerates them nor downplays them, it is a very ordinary French life, including the way they speak, the way they raise their children, and their attitude towards work problems. It is both realistic and accurate, which makes me very happy. empathy.
Moreover, when he talks about the specific difficulties faced by people at the bottom, it is not a simple social criticism, but the mutual comfort of two lives, and the hope of constantly rebuilding life in the face of adversity.
Electronic Knight: Indeed, Odia is not a particularly typical European director. Relatively speaking, his choice of narrative and subject matter is not the same. He later teamed up with Hollywood actors on The Histers Brothers (2018), which in some places retains Audiya's own flair, although the film's narrative and overall feel are Western-style.
Director Odia is particularly well-balanced. It is difficult to find that he is particularly strong or outstanding in a certain aspect. He has no shortcomings. The cinematography of each of his films is very good, but he is not a director with new tricks. For example, the whole film is hand-held and broken. He uses a hand-held lens, but he also has a regular lens that is serious.
When I saw this film, I was not very familiar with Audia, and I had no idea at the time that the director was in his 50s when he made Rust and Bone. Because my first impression was that it didn't look like something made by an older director. The whole film is very important because it talks about the body and vitality. It is a very dynamic film. Some older directors deliberately want to be younger, I can understand them, but the audience will feel separated by a layer when watching, but this film is very comfortable to handle.
"The Prophet" and "The Sisters Brothers" are basically very masculine films, with very strong male colors, but the female character of Marion Cotillard in "Rust and Bone" is very delicate, Quite unexpected. The director was able to show the disability of this character and her relationship with men in a particularly delicate and subtle way, which impressed me deeply.
Audience: Can the guests share their understanding of the title of the film "Rust and Bone"?
Li Yang: The way the protagonist of Rust and Bone exists is through his body. When the skin of his body is crushed by reality, he is left with hard bones. Once the hard bones are healed, they are like rusted iron, but they are still hard. "Rust and Bone" is the basis of his existence, the capital of his existence.
Electronic Knight: I think "rust and bone" can be understood in this way: the heroine has a metal leg, and part of her body is mutilated, like rust. "Bone" is more representative of the male protagonist. It is his fist, the most important part of his body, and he lives on it.
The heroine's body is rusted, and her heart is actually rusted, lacking hope. The male protagonist fights the whole world with his bones, and finally finds his home. At first he only had himself, and later he reconciled with his son, his sister's family, and got to know the heroine better.
3. The sound, picture and interpretation of Rust and Bone
Moderator: Mr. Nai An once worked with Taha Rahim, who became famous from "The Prophet". Did the film Odia have a very deep influence on him?
Nai An: I think for sure. Many outstanding actors with potential, usually in the hands of extremely talented directors, have the opportunity to show their brilliance. Why many excellent actors are willing to cooperate with Audia, or have a good performance in Audia's films, also proves the director's ability.
We chose Taha at that time, "The Prophet" has not yet been released, it can only be said that the heroes of the directors see the same thing. Because when we first looked for him, he was just an ordinary young French actor. Very fortunately, when we decided to cooperate and started working, he won various new actor awards and actor awards one after another, such as the Caesar Award, the European Film Award, etc., and his work also won the Oscar for the best foreign language film nomination for France. A fledgling young actor can have such brilliant achievements, I believe Odia gave him a great inspiration.
Moderator: Marion Cotillard may be very familiar to Chinese audiences. She has participated in "Inception", "Life of the Rose", etc. Please talk about her performance in this film.
Electronic Knight: Marion Cotillard is very prominent in this film, and I think she may be an actress that Chinese audiences like very much. She looks very lovable and can play various roles. She has the rich and delicate qualities of a French actress, and she is very explosive. Her performance is particularly attractive, and there is nothing superficial.
For example, when they were in a nightclub, she saw that the male lead had gone with another girl, and Marion Cotillard's expression in the nightclub and when she and the male lead met again the next day had almost no trace of the so-called performance, but she could make The audience can easily feel her heart. So I feel very comfortable watching her act.
I also like the male protagonist, his role is more layered, Marion Cotillard's role is relatively simple, although she has done it with a very good performance, but this film expresses to the male lead More opportunities. Because he has to face his children, face his sister's family. On the surface, he is a single-minded personality, and he solves problems simply and rudely, but his inner things are under the surface performance. The film seems to have a double lead, but I think the change in the male lead's drama is a little more important. Marion Cotillard's role is relatively passive, first encountering an accident and then slowly standing up. But it is the male protagonist who really drives the story, and his emotional changes are presented bit by bit.
Wang Yao: I have a very clear feeling that the male protagonist Ali and the whale are a set of corresponding relationships, and they were both domesticated by the animal trainer played by Marion.
Moderator: A major feature of Odia is that he projects his inner activities and externalizes them in various ways. For example, his voice is very meticulous, and he often wins awards for sound design.
Li Yang: I also agree with the music part, and he gave the actors a lot of performance space. Most of the actors are performing in motion, and the rhythm of the camera is very fast. When the inner externalization occurs, is when a sudden violent episode and movement come to a halt. The actor speaks the most everyday things that ordinary French people say, he doesn't even have any sweet words, but once he calms down and the music starts, the audience will realize that this is his heart.
This is actually a special test of acting skills. Actors may not be very adaptable when they only perform performances, but the music gives a lot of value, including the sound design when the viewpoint changes, the design is very detailed, and it is indeed the level of European professional teams.
Electronic Knight: I also like his soundtrack, the music feels very good. Sister Fruit's "Firework" has appeared in several places, including some of the music used by the male protagonist when he punches, which makes people feel that there is no age gap. It cannot be said to be particularly young, but it does not have the director's sense of age. I think it is very powerful. .
4. Is the ending realistic or imaginary?
Audience: Please talk to the guests about your understanding of the ending?
Wang Yao: I think the ending is open-ended. I used slow playback to watch the location in Poland: Sheraton in Warsaw. Many of the slogans of the Tournament are in Polish. The camera position and angle were taken from the child's point of view, and the entire long shot looked up a little, as if giving the child's viewpoint, but the child had no viewpoint before. So I think it may be a child's imagination, or the director wants to give the audience a brighter ending.
Electronic Knight: Generally speaking, the director's works are relatively sunny. Although the front of the film is very violent, which makes people very worried, but none of his films is black to the end, especially at the end. People often say that the ending of "The Prophet" is a little too bright. One person has managed several waves of forces and lived a happy life, and there are a group of younger brothers following him. I think the characteristic of the director is that he adds some imaginative and even romantic images to his realistic approach.
For example, in "The Prophet", the dream he successfully predicted and the people who communicated with him have been killed by him. In "Rust and Bone", Marion Cotillard interacts with whales. It can also be considered imaginary. In "The Sisters Brothers", the two brothers were in the wild, and a spider entered his brother's body, and he became ill. He dreamed that his father seemed to be dismembering his mother, which may be the original matter of his parents. But in that silhouette, the father figure is like an animation, and there is a particularly long arm, which is particularly imaginative. I agree with Mr. Wang Yao's view that it is an open ending. But I also think it's an imaginary, more comfortable ending that doesn't necessarily have to be realistic.
Li Yang: I don't agree. I personally don't think you have a problem with The Prophet being imaginative because it brings the supernatural into the gangster prison genre. In the past, when we made gangster films, we often talked about reality and the principle of solving problems through violence at the bottom. But "The Prophet" added the supernatural factor, the question of faith. The supernatural has not disappeared from this world. Even though technology is very advanced, many people still believe that there is a transcendent power somewhere. He brings that power to the gangster movie, which has a different temperament.
But if there is imagination or fantasy in Rust and Bone, I feel like it would spoil its vibe. The whale scene can completely be the heroine returning to the playground, and there is more interaction, because she just had an intimate interaction with Ali, which reactivated her belief in life and herself.
In addition, I don't think the ending is imaginary. Ali used his fists to hit the ice to save his son who fell into the water. Before that, he used his fists to beat fighters. He relied on it to survive and gain dignity, and he was very happy, but saving his son One punch has more meaning.
What's great about the director is that when the audience is desperate, you look at the perspective under the water and feel suffocated, thinking that this scene will end soon, it must be a tragedy. But in the end, the ice surface was shattered. I think the male protagonist can maintain his dignity, live on his body, and let him save his son at a critical moment. One understanding is that he broke his hands to save his son, or activated his potential to save his son, making his punches harder. If activated, he could have won the championship, and the ending would also make sense.
Generally speaking, everyone thinks that he broke his hands to save his son, but why can't he make his fists harder to save his son? If he makes his fists harder, he might end up winning a championship. It's just that the director didn't want to show a story about the success of a bottom-tier American athlete, he just faltered and life had to go on. Even if they win the championship, they still have to solve all kinds of problems in life, which may be more important than winning the game.
Naian : As far as I know, Odia has some studies in literature and philosophy. It stands to reason that from the perspective of the audience, the film should not be analyzed so much, but should be felt, but when we discuss this film with a certain interpretation, I think the work has something to do with the creator's experience or experience.
Reality is clear in this film of his, and I think most of his work has a certain allegorical quality to it. Perhaps because of this, he did not use that dark and cruel narrative method, which is more in line with the viewing psychology of the vast majority of ordinary audiences. He allows the audience to see cruelty or darkness while simultaneously comforting them in a timely manner, which is important to the general audience.
Wang Yao: In the early years, when Odia was a screenwriter, including when his father was a screenwriter, he adapted many French literary works, so he also solved the problem from the generation mechanism.
5. Pay attention to marginalized people = people's livelihood movies?
Moderator: Audia pays special attention to marginalized people. For example, in "The Melody My Heart Forgot" is a gangster who wants to play the piano. Does this count as Odia's authorship?
Li Yang: I think so. Because in the early days when he filmed "The Most Painful Man" , he told two parallel stories. An old killer led a young killer to kill a police undercover officer. Part of it told the story of two people after killing the policeman, and part of it was the policeman who was killed. The story of an old partner looking for a murderer. This is an all-male story, and the profession of killer is very marginal.
The second story , "Homemade Heroes" , is about a person who especially liked anti-Japanese heroes during World War II. After collecting a lot of information, he made up his experience of participating in the resistance movement. After World War II, even if some people knew that his resume might be It's fictional, but the society needs a hero, so it takes advantage of him. This is actually a person in the cracks of history.
Including "Lip Talk" tells the story of a woman with a hearing disability. So I think basically all of Audia's stories are about marginalized people, and most of them focus on male success, which is a feature that often comes up in his films.
Electronic Knight: The director's masculinity is still very strong. He mainly writes male protagonists, struggling to survive and change themselves, but they have no big goals. They fight step by step without giving him any presets. When I first watched "The Prophet", I would compare it with "The Godfather", but "The Godfather" is a grander narrative, and "The Prophet" is very personal, emphasizing many times to live for oneself. In many cases, the protagonist does not have a particularly conscious, subjective, and grand goal, but the little person's inner strength is particularly strong, so he has a very inner sense of power.
The director also has a display of violence, not an external display like Quentin's violent aesthetics, but an internal one. When "The Prophet" begins to put the blade, it makes people a little physically uncomfortable, but then the audience will understand that he is using his body to keep himself alive, and he betrayed his body to maintain balance in all aspects.
The film's description of physical pain and discomfort is particularly delicate to the director, including the fact that after the hero and heroine had an unpleasant experience in the nightclub, the hero's hand was still injured when they met again. From time to time, the director shows the protagonist's pain in the body and his will to conquer the pain, seeking the feeling of "I'm still alive" from the pain, which is very prominent and strong, which is why I prefer the director.
Nai An: I think he is one of the best French directors who combines authorship with so-called viewing and marketing.
From the story to the narrative, including the capture and movement of all the details, it shows the basic skills of an excellent director and production team. Even so, I think that if this basic skill has to be brought out, it may be because there are a little more bad movies today. But at the level of European production, I think these are the basics.
Audia does have its own unique style. Rewatching it after 8 years, no matter in terms of creation or production, revisiting it gives me some new feelings. The performances of all actors are on the same level, including children. For example, in one scene, when Ali's child touches the protagonist's prosthetic leg, the relationship between their characters, their emotions and artistic conception, as well as their role in promoting the plot, are all on the same level. Especially in place. This is also what I particularly admire about the director.
Moderator: Mr. Li Yang once wrote in his thesis that many directors in French-speaking countries operate on the genre of livelihood films. I think this film should also be regarded as a livelihood film. It talks about the issue of class. What do you think?
Li Yang: Influenced by American films, screenwriters generally think of stories with strong heart and impulse, such as crime stories.
However, many European art directors use a de-narrative method to express the state of people. I think Minsheng films are quite special among French films. They have stories, but they are not very commercialized, stereotyped stories with violently conflicting plots. But the audience can see it, because it is related to everyone's life and the problems that each other will encounter, such as medical care, education, housing, etc. Whenever such a question arises, the audience thinks about their life situation together through the film. This point is more prominent in France, which can be understood as a people's livelihood film.
For example, the Darney brothers' films are all about people's livelihood issues: immigration, housing, unemployment, etc., which are neither crimes nor purely artistic expressions.
"Rust and Bone" also has aspects related to people's livelihood issues. It is about the lives of marginalized or disabled people. The focus is not on how the society can help them, how social workers and insurance can help them get out of their living difficulties, and the film only mentions insurance companies paying compensation. . Although it is a topic of people's livelihood, this film is still about the life force and life dignity of the people at the bottom.
They are the people at the bottom, the victims of people's livelihood problems, but they are not passively bearing these disasters and difficulties, they are not waiting for life, like the protagonists who are constantly beaten on the ground and rubbed on the ground, but rely on their own strength to fight back . Through sex, love, boxing, no matter what kind of method, he has to face the sun again. At the level of life, no matter how much setbacks he encounters, he can still stand up and still live like a person. Because they at least have the right and the ability to find a part of the splendor of life belonging to the bottom people.
The male protagonist is better, because he has nothing to resist fate, he only relies on his body and punches. When encountering family problems, he relies on his body to find a job; when he encounters problems with children, he manages the children roughly; when he wants to make more money or realize his own value, he goes to boxing. The relationship between him and the heroine is also because he can help her swim, and can soothe the content that the broken body cannot achieve through the excess energy of the body.
As living beings, two people actively resist the aspect of fate, which touches me even more.
Moderator: He also likes to use animal imagery in the film, the elephant in "The Wandering Dipan" and the whale in this film. I would also like to ask you, why do film festivals like directors like Audia?
Electronic Knight: I think Odia is indeed a very good director, and I like it very much, but I am a little more critical. I think his works are not so far from the masters, and they are more atmospheric and distinctive than contemporary ones. There is a gap in the director of the film, but he is very balanced, comprehensive, expressive, thematic, and has social and political topics.
Religion is involved in "The Prophet", showing the living conditions of Muslims from the perspective of gangsters, but he does not focus on religious issues like some directors. He's mostly still telling people, telling stories, and having a strong character. Ordinary audiences are also very fond of him and can see his works. At the same time, his artistic level is very high, photography, soundtracking, editing are all very interesting. For example, he has very broken, fast takes, but also long takes of European directors, and he blends it especially well.
Nai An: I don't know why the festival "needs" Odia. Personally, I think it's logical from the performance of all his works. My angle may be slightly different because I am neither a film festival editor nor a film critic. We all make films, so I don't think it matters whether he is a master or not. What I see is the brilliance of each of his works and his good intentions.
Looking at it again after many years, I still see those very good specific work, such as scripting, directing, acting, including sound, photography, editing, etc. These have drowned me, so it is difficult for me to go Guess why the festival likes to choose him. In my opinion all this is taken for granted, there is nothing to doubt it.
Li Yang: I am a bit of a researcher on French films. Odia is my personal favorite, and is a relatively mature director in all aspects. He does not make films very often, and he was 42 years old when he made his first work. Cannes selects 3-4 French films into the competition every year . Each of Odia’s films is impeccable in every aspect and can represent the standard of French films, and his topic selection does not overlap with other directors. , each time talking about different people and things, it feels unexpected, and the characters are very vivid, without feeling that he is purely imaginary or made up. After the audience leaves the cinema, they will meet similar characters in their lives, which I think is difficult, but Audia did it.
In the final analysis, Odia is very good at photographing people, and the people he photographed are not one-way. For example, in "The Rhythm My Heart Forgot", a gangster who works for a real estate company, learned the piano when he was a child, he thought. It is entirely possible to pick up the piano dream of childhood again, and open up the side of his humanity.
Audia particularly respects the different aspects of human nature, and he constantly enriches people in his stories, which is very moving audiences and film critics.
6. Audience Q&A
Q1: What experiences did the guests have with the online film festival "Cannes Summer Nights, Summer Life", and what is the significance of the online film festival?
Li Yang: This event is very meaningful. I hope to bring the sense of ritual in the cinema to my home, but I'm sorry to tell the truth, my own experience is very limited.
Nai'an: I think the significance of this week's activities may not be able to replace watching movies in theaters, but at least it can make everyone feel or believe that movies still exist. Even in such a difficult and extraordinary time, we can still watch movies and have discussions, which is far more important than where to watch movies.
Electronic Knight: There are a lot of online movie viewing activities this time, I think they are all very meaningful, just like Mr. Nai An said, first of all remind us not to forget the movie, don't lose the enthusiasm for the movie, and relive it together work. Indeed, Cloud Viewing cannot replace the experience of watching movies in theaters. I have always believed that watching movies in theaters is the bottom line of the entire industry. Maybe the cinema will change, but it can't become a purely online thing, we are now in a very unusual period.
Q2: Have you noticed the innovative measures of the major film festivals during the epidemic? Can you share them?
Li Yang: I think the innovation during the film festival is valuable, but it is of little significance. After all, the epidemic has had a great impact on the film industry.
Electronic Knight: There are many initiatives at the festival, and I think its influence will be revealed in the future. Now we are surviving, trying to figure out how to deal with some of the difficulties in front of us. But in the long run, the impact on the director's creation, the impact on the investor's mentality, and the impact on the film selection attitude are currently invisible. It may take two or three years before we can see how the epidemic has affected the film industry. Including the thinking we get from the movie, and our understanding of life, must be very different from before the epidemic. Continuing to pay attention to movies is actually to pay attention to our own lives.
Q3: When will Mr. Li Yang's new book and Mr. Nai's film be available to the audience?
Li Yang: I have been writing a book about the history of the Cannes Film Festival with my wife, Teacher Xiao Xi, for seven or eight years. We strive to publish it as soon as possible. Thank you for your concern.
Nai An: Regarding the new film, we expect the epidemic to pass quickly (laughs).
For the original text, see "Heguan Image": https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/cch_cciVm54aq8YXOcaBkA
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