The movie "The First Cow" , named after a cow , is very suitable for viewing during the Spring Festival this year. It is the Year of the Ox. The gentle narrative and soft images are suitable for enjoying on the sofa before the holiday.
summary of the story
The story takes place in Oregon, USA in the 19th century. People were looking for opportunities to make a fortune in the west. At this time, a chef, Kuqi, met Jin Lu, a Chinese immigrant who also came to look for opportunities. The two hit it off and made a cake together with a cow. Business.
Rarely slow and reckless
The film opens with a sentence from William Blake's "Proverbs of Hell": Birds have nests, spiders have webs, and people have friendship. In a few simple sentences, the elements included in the film are revealed, and the core of the film—human friendship is laid.
Then there is the scene of a big ship slowly passing by. This unusually slow scene seems to be a threshold quietly set by the director. If you can survive this minute, then there is a way to watch the whole film and enjoy the unique fun of the film. This is a tone of director Kelly Reichardt 's work, focusing on small cuts in a story, with little ups and downs, and time flowing slowly and arbitrarily.
For example, in this film, the characteristics of western films are completely absent: cowboy heroes, vast wasteland, robbers gunfights, gold rush, etc., only the primitive forests that restore nature to the extreme, gloomy and dilapidated towns mixed with various people, and the two protagonists are still inconspicuous. the "workers".
The rhythm of the film is slow and soothing, but it does not feel boring and long at all. The natural scenery in the lens makes people relieve pressure and tension, wash away the impetuousness in their hearts, and tend to be mentally empty.
The scene depicted in it even has a similar temperament to the pastoral fields in Tao Yuanming 's poems, "In the deep alley where dogs bark, crowings and mulberry trees are up", it is just transformed into the vast forests of North America. This period of viewing time away from mobile phones and social networks is completely immersed in the power of images, very relaxing and enjoyable, so it is a rare slow and arbitrary .
Tenderness redefines
The two protagonists of the film are not typical . Kuqi is not a burly man who hunts down his prey, but a soft-hearted cook who loves to bake. Jin Lu is not a treacherous and cunning Chinese businessman, but a loyal, simple and business-minded man. Entrepreneur. There is no devaluation, contradiction and conflict between the two male protagonists, but a harmonious relationship, subverting the traditional characterization, breaking through the common stereotypes of gender and race , and showing a unique human concern and femininity .
The two people living at the bottom did not lose their original innocence in the sophistication, but maintained a rare gentleness and kindness , as well as a little honesty and innocence . Even if the environment is dirty and sinister, you can still have the taste of planting flowers in a broken house; if the front foot is chased, the back foot can still have a beautiful dream of making a fortune. The ordinary camera records these daily activities: fruit picking, sewing, baking, chopping wood, cleaning, the hope and courage of life are still changing in the cruel reality, and the friendship that supports each other brings warmth and strength to both parties.
Kelly Reichardt infuses male characters with patterns and activities that are common among women, and we find it different, but still interesting and moving. For example, men can also tell bad jokes, not to show their humor or to gain the favor of women; two men can chop wood and clean instead of unnecessary competition on masculinity.
In an interview with MUBI, Reichardt believes the film contains both the innocence of capitalism and the innocence of brotherhood . Therefore, the movie redefines the tenderness of a tough man. The simple tenderness itself can also be a masculine trait, which does not need to be triggered by women, but exists naturally and applies to all people.
Although such a trait seems out of place in the wild and barbaric western world, and is even too honest and upright, and it is easy to end up being bullied, but relying on the cooperation and small brains of the two, Ku Qi and Jin Lu still found their own position and way of making a living .
history repeats itself
The 19th century was undoubtedly an era of coexistence of opportunities and crises. While some people gained a lot of wealth through colonial exploitation and monopoly of technological resources, others were being exploited and persecuted, and the natural environment was being over-consumed. Just like the evaluation of the arrival of the first cow in the film, when human beings acquired the ability to change nature, he began to try to play the role of God .
History is always strikingly similar. Although the movie restores the 19th century, it is not much worse today. In another setting, the same thing is still happening. The era of new and old, full of opportunities, is like an insinuation of the Internet era. Jinlu and Kuqi's entrepreneurial ideas echo the enthusiasm and ambition of contemporary entrepreneurs. Everyone feels a change in life, but they may not be able to seize the opportunity to become a rising minority .
It's just that in this era, when people are all too familiar with the manipulation of power and capital, even if they have a keen awareness of potential opportunities, it is difficult to have the naivety of believing in opportunities and the drive to do what they say. Self-righteousness persecutes dreams, turning them into foolish delusions .
This is why the two people in the movie can arouse people's empathy and love, because people cherish the innocence they once had, and they once felt surging in the face of hope. The two bones appearing at the beginning of the film seem to be right A pure and unadorned mourning of the past. The film itself is a tender poem, to friendship and innocence .
The picture comes from the Internet, invaded and deleted
The article was first published on Toutiao/Public Account: Daily Laboratory of Fresh Fish
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