The 2012 German, Belgian and Romanian co-production Beyond the Mountains won the Best Screenplay Award at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, with two leading actresses Christina Flutul and Cosmina Stella sharing the best screenplay. The actress award can be described as a double harvest. It wasn't a fluke, it really deserved it.
In fact, "Beyond the Mountain" directed by Munghi is an old topic. How will the relationship between religion and human nature evolve when contradictions and conflicts arise? There is enough discussion of this in the films of Dreyer, Bresson, and Bergman. Why "Beyond the Mountain" still won the favor of the judges, I am afraid its unique meaning still deeply shocked everyone.
A 140-minute feature film, focusing on what to show, is not an easy task. Not to mention the "lesbian" theme. It's not easy to get it tight or loose, because it happened in a monastery belonging to the Romanian Orthodox Church. Coincidentally, the 2013 Cannes Film Festival awarded the "lesbian" film "Adele's Story". It seems that breaking the taboo is not just a matter of the demonstrators on the streets of New York and Paris.
The Xinqiu monastery outside the mountain is all nuns except for a "priest" in his thirties. Among them, the quiet and gentle Vicita has been living here since she came out of the orphanage. On this day, Alina, a friend who grew up together in the orphanage, came here from Germany. They have not seen each other for many years, and they hugged tightly. This time, Alina wanted Vicita to go to work in Germany with her.
When the two sleep together at night, Yarina's hopes are dashed, and Vicita no longer loves her the way she used to at the orphanage, and rejects her requests for intimacy. Vickita said I love you but it's not the kind of love it used to be, I gave my love to God and gave it to my faith. Besides, the priest told her that if you leave the monastery you can't come back, because that's what the Orthodox tradition is. And if you keep her here, nothing against the gods will happen, and I don't want any scandal at the monastery.
Yalina, who was born in the countryside, is a girl who dares to love and hate. She has also learned Taekwondo before. According to the nun, she is extremely fierce. After that night, Arina thought that Vicita had transferred her love to her, and began to doubt the "priest" she called "Dad", even if she was chanting with any nun, she would be suspicious. She always believed that the "priest" and the nuns had destroyed Vicita's love for her. Under the depression and pain, his temperament exploded, and he fell into an irreversible cycle of hysteria - trouble in the monastery, abducted and sent to the hospital for treatment, then returned to the monastery, continued to make trouble, continued to be tied...
According to the "priest", she already has a devil in her heart, and there is no cure for her. She was only able to take her in under the repeated requests of Vicita, but what kind of confession, prayer, medicine, persuasion and exorcism? It's useless for Arina, who is paranoid about love, she doesn't believe in God, she only loves Vickita. Even if she agrees to the "priest"'s request and even gives up all money and personal belongings, she doesn't really believe in "God", but just to be with Vicita. But Vicita did not save her, but instead played a role in fueling the flames, although not intentionally.
Vikita's firmness in her beliefs clearly exceeded what Yarina thought. She neither promised to be with Yarina in the future, nor did she promise the love Yarina yearned for. Alina is only desperate. She really didn't know what better way to win back Vicita's love. Her personality is simple, direct and neurotic. If she doesn't have love, she will make trouble and chop down the hall with a big ax. She doesn't believe all of this. She felt that there was nothing but hypocrisy in the monastery. She told Vickita that you can't talk to me in the same way you used to, and it's just preaching. But there was nothing Vicita could do. She didn't know what would happen if it went on like this, but she felt bad.
On the cold night with the snow fluttering, Yarina continued to be bound by the five flowers. Vicita secretly gave her a knife, hoping she would run away. And in the early morning of the next day, after undoing the noose, she was sitting in the church praying, which surprised the nuns. After they all ran to see it, Yarina looked for Vicita, and fainted at a glance. died on the way.
On the third morning, when the police investigated the cause of her death, Vicita took off her black nun clothes, dressed in a grey sweater, and got into the car with the "priest" and several nuns, ready to accept the prosecution. 's investigation. When the car drove to the street that was still buried by heavy snow, the driver said that the end of winter was still a long way off. Alas, this road is always repaired. And the police officer said that's not how things work.
The world beyond the mountain is originally a world of two poles. From a religious closed world to a secular noisy world, which one is more in line with human nature, I am afraid that there is no consensus and each takes what he needs. Just the anger, injustice and pain caused by love, and finally the tragedy of despair and death, is really cruel and enough to make people sigh.
2013, 7, 9
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