Text: Savage Five Editor: Mr.Friday Photo: Internet
Friday Statement: Johnnie To's "Underworld" is divided into 1 and 2 episodes, which were released in Hong Kong in 2005 and 2006 respectively. This movie has an English name that is completely different from the Chinese name - Election, which translates into Chinese as "election". Obviously, the former is relative to the movie characters, and the latter is the events and themes that the movie is going to state.
From this point of view, this "underworld" is really a bit abnormal compared to similar films, because in my impression, almost all Hong Kong-made gangsters, police and gangsters, and young and dangerous films are all about the brotherhood of Jianghu and are full of male hormones. Hormones and aesthetic violence. How could such a "underworld" start "democratic elections"? If you can continue to delve into the film along this issue, you will find that "election" is not only what the film is about to tell, but also exists as the story support and motivation of the entire film.
Let's talk about these two abnormal "underworld" through the recent "confusion" to Comrade Huaqiang.
1. Two films tell the same thing: the election of the speaker
What is this "speaker election" that takes place within the Hong Kong underworld (called "organizations" in their own words)?
In fact, after watching the film, you can see that it is about letting a bunch of retired old men come out and sit around the table and vote for a person in charge. To put it bluntly, choose the "boss". But pay attention to one thing: they are not called the boss now, but replaced by a more civilized name - the talker. Moreover, this system stipulates that the speaker must be re-elected every two years (to avoid dominance), is this a bit closer to Western democratic elections?
This shows that the underworld in Hong Kong is also advancing with the times, and is also covering the "black" with a fig leaf.
Know that this change is more than superficial. Take a look at:
The boss in "Underworld 1" is the new talker played by Ren Dahua.
The reason why he was finally elected depends not only on his character and connections, but also not because of domineering, centralized power and monopoly. He relies on the self-control, multi-system and sharing that the associations promote under his control.
Obviously, under this kind of system, even the most uneducated and unruly big D (played by Tony Leung Ka Fai) in the play had to admit the benefits brought by this kind of system, and then gave up the idea of being the boss.
Of course, just like the various drawbacks exposed by the Western democratic system, this system is full of shameful activities such as election bribery, black box operations, gangs and even murder and arson. But no matter what, in the face of the system, those young and dangerous boys who used to rely on fists and machetes to conquer the world and seize territory still restrained a lot, and still had a bottom line. (Of course, this system may conflict with human nature, so I won't talk about it here)
2. The two movies talk about the same group of people: the underworld in Hong Kong
When it comes to the underworld and young and dangerous in Hong Kong, it is no stranger to even the mainland generation. We won't go into details here, but please pay attention to one thing: in the past, Hong Kong filmmakers were to film company bosses, in my opinion, there was no difference between the young and the Dangerous Boys to the underworld bosses.
The comrade Xiang we mentioned at the beginning is the dual role of the film owner and the helm of the society. But the duality of his personality is more than that, and the other is closely related to his "confusion between left and right".
3. The Hidden Persons in the Two Movies and Its Influence on Characters and Events
Well, this movie has the main characters (underworld) and what they have to do (choose whoever), can the story be successfully completed?
If that was the case we wouldn't have to write this article. That's no different from all the Young and Dangerous series. You must know that there are some important character relationships and backgrounds hidden in the two "Underworld". It can be said that these hidden objects are crucial to the interpretation of the entire film. At the same time, they are also the source of power for constructing the film's dramatic tension and contradictions. .
Two hidden characters appear in episodes 1 and 2 as secondary characters, they are: Superintendent Xu and Captain Shi (the director)
The reason why I say these are two secondary roles is because they don't have many roles and are easy to be ignored. But if you dig deeper into their symbolism and their relationship with the protagonist, the results will be very different. Let's see——
1. Superintendent Xu (David Jiang):
This character appeared in the first episode, and he obviously represented the group of Hong Kong police (note the former Hong Kong police). From the movie, we can see that this group is always supervising, supervising, and monitoring the underworld in Hong Kong. It feels a bit like a parent watching over a disobedient child.
You can clearly feel that the Hong Kong police are on fire in the center of the law enforcement process - you can neither eradicate the underworld like garbage, nor let them cause serious trouble. That is, you have to act according to the rules and regulations, and you have to turn a blind eye to some unsolved problems. For 100 years, the Hong Kong police and the Hong Kong underworld have probably maintained this awkward relationship.
But in any case, they restrained each other and did not favor one extreme (for example, the underworld party overthrew the electoral system or the police used the black to fight the black).
It is very strange that this Superintendent Xu and even the group he represents have almost disappeared in "Underworld 2". It was replaced by another group of forces.
2. Captain Shi (You Yong)
In the first episode, this Captain Shi was a person sent by the mainland to Hong Kong to investigate the underworld, and he was called Captain Shi when he returned to the mainland. In the second episode, he turned into Director Shi.
He is also a person who has always been spying on and supervising the underworld in Hong Kong. But compared to the social security induced by the underworld that the Hong Kong police are concerned about, it seems that Director Shi is more concerned about the "election" thing. Specifically, what he cares about is who is the boss of Hong Kong's underworld and who can get the "leading stick".
From the point of view of military affairs, it seems that Captain Shi is a little smarter than Superintendent Xu. When the thief is captured, the king is captured first, and the ship is at the helm first. But if we take a closer look at Captain Shi's way of controlling the underworld, it's hard to say.
His method is very simple: only recognize the boss and not the person! In other words, as long as you can get into the underworld, as long as you can listen to me, then the mainland will give you the green light to make money. As for what means you use to seize power, whether to bribe elections or hack people, as long as you don't cross the line, it's not the management's business.
What's more, at the end of the second episode of the movie, Director Shi also put forward more stringent requirements for the new speaker——
4. What's Hidden in the Beginning and Ending of the Two Movies
If we take episodes 1 and 2 of "Underworld" as a whole, we can sum up its emotional tone in four words, that is: ups and downs.
Zhuang is Zhuang. The director and screenwriter used a "Hongmen oath" to open the scene, and let those veterans who established the Hong Kong underworld read the Hongmen regulations at the introductory ceremony. I don't know if you heard what they said, but I only heard two words in the whole article: brother.
Sadness is sadness at the end, although Jimmy (Gu Tianle) has become a talker, he has to sit in a luxury car full of sorrow.
Obviously, there is a price for him to make a fortune. He has to rely on others, and he has to be frightened. Anyone who has seen the movie knows that at the end, Director Shi made a request to Jimmy, the talker, to "be a talker forever". He wants Jimmy to break the Hong Kong underworld's century-old system of rotating elections, and he wants him to be hereditary autocratic. No wonder the newly appointed "boss" has a sad face.
Rather than saying that the beginning and the end are ups and downs, it is better to say that it is an excessive transformation of the morality of the rivers and lakes, and the system to another direction and rules.
Looking at Hong Kong's commercial films, if those gangster films of the last century are sub-entertainment products that stay on the narrow morality of the rivers and lakes, then this "Underworld" undoubtedly adds a touch of realism and political interference on this basis. These two things make the film in turn shrouded in a kind of panic and anxiety. It may upset viewers who are accustomed to starry and positive images. But it gives the film a unique "film noir" temperament.
Plus, the film's tonal treatment adds a "noir" vibe to this overlay.
5. The black image of "Underworld"
The film uses a lot of natural light and backlight, this is one of them;
There are no longer positive and negative distinctions in movies, all characters are criticized (even star actors), which is the second;
The ending of the film does not have a happy ending and a happy ending, but instead has an uncertain outlook for the characters and a dark and gloomy tone, which is the third.
All these elements are things that cannot be seen in ordinary Hong Kong-made commercial films. They set this "Underworld" apart from other films of its kind.
6. The possible impact of "Underworld" on the audience
In my opinion, movies about the underworld may have two effects on the audience (especially young people): one is to yearn for the underworld after watching it, and the other is to resist the underworld after watching it.
If you are a person from a previous life in the 70s and 90s, you may wish to recall the people around you and see the expressions and tone of them (including yourself) when they take the initiative to mention topics related to mixed society. Based on my own observation, to be honest, almost none of these people are not smug and secretive, even though they are still persuading others to join the society, which is not good or bad, but there is an inexplicable underworld in their bones. totem.
Why does this kind of collective phenomenon happen? I think it has a lot to do with Hong Kong-made gangster films. Why does it have a big relationship with Hong Kong-made gangster films? It's very simple. Hong Kong-made films are constantly tying up stars with Young and Dangerous, and then constantly shaping the positive image of Young and Dangerous, while at the same time passing the violent language and behavior of Young and Dangerous. Aesthetics are imposed on the viewer in a way. This was one of the reasons why Hong Kong-made films were so popular in that era.
So, what kind of gangster movie would be contradictory or closer to reality? I think it can only be achieved by tearing off the coats of good and evil, aesthetics, stardom, surreal narratives, and audiences.
From this perspective, "Underworld 1, 2" may have made some changes, which also makes it look a little different from those movies like "Young and Dangerous" and "Infernal Affairs", which is closer to reality. As the dragon in the play said:
- "I've been with the eldest brother for decades. What eldest brother, uncle, is actually a waste. Relying on the underworld to make a living, only eat, drink, prostitute, and gamble. It's right to be like this!"
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