If I were to recommend a movie to pass the time, then I would definitely not recommend this "Han Branch Sparrow", because even if I watched it seriously, it would be hard not to be struck by this bland and somewhat strange narrative Style persuaded.
But in fact, in the current environment where more and more commercial films appear, people's patience is becoming less and less. It seems that I am only willing to accept the kind of story that lays out every detail and shows every emotion vividly.
But it's not just entertainment that makes movies an outlet for our lives. What's more moving is the blank space, the things we accept and digest ourselves from the film. It's not something that tells us directly, it's a part of ourselves that we need to explore and think about.
The entire film consists of 39 scenes, each of which is a long shot, and the people under the lens are mostly bloated and fat, moving slowly, with a thick white foundation on their faces, and most of the time their faces are expressionless.
The film does not tell a story with a plot, but a variety of life situations linked by two itinerant businessmen who sell funny toys walking through the streets. There are couples, couples, friends, and some alone.
In fact, when I saw the middle ancient Swedish king Carl XII and his army enter a modern tavern, my first impression was that this movie was shot like a dream. I dream every day, and the dream is this kind of illogical but self-consistent scene. Watching this movie is like watching the story from a god's perspective in a dream. Characters from different eras can appear in the same space at the same time, which is wonderful and interesting.
The two businessmen went everywhere to sell happiness, but in fact they were not happy themselves, they cried a lot, and they were easily angered, and the people they met were silent and numb. The almost still shots like paintings and the low-saturation lighting make people feel depressed and have some cold sadness with a Nordic flavor.
There are several phone calls in the film, with different people saying "I'm glad to hear you are fine" with a blank face, full of sarcasm, just like we are behind the screen of our mobile phone, making a lot of calls. "Hahaha" but never laughed.
In fact, life is like this. Real life without acting is so cold and trivial. Those moments when I am alone, where there is so much happiness, most of them are silence, daze, walking from one end of the room to the other, or just mechanically swiping the cold screen.
As director Roy Anderson said at the press conference, this is a tragedy with a bit of Dostoevsky-esque dreaminess, but with humor and philosophy.
The film also has a subtitle called "Reflections on Existence". The director wants to use this non-linear narrative to break the limitations of time and think about the meaning of life. There is death in this sense, but mostly trivial life.
People argue with each other, comfort each other, push each other away or hug each other, from birth to death, from beginning to end, the show will never stop.
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