The last shot of "Late Spring" is so emotional. The old professor peeled the apple unskilledly, carefully keeping the peel continuous until the flesh was completely exposed, the peel was peeled off, and it fell to the ground. The old professor's lonely figure and lost, contemplative expression were especially vivid. The close-up of peeling an apple is reminiscent of life from the perspective of an old professor. The knife is advancing little by little. When the traditional life of the daughter and her father is over, her sweet new life (married life) is revealed. . Ozu's dialogue style is long-winded and elegant, and he advances the plot unhurriedly, leaving a lot of blank space. It's like a movie that only old people can make. The background of this film is Japan in the transitional era of old and new. How traditional values face modernity is Ozu's most important proposition. The main line of the story in the film is not complicated. In a word, it is the matter of "marrying a daughter". The heroine Noriko is a nostalgic and traditional person. She is unwilling to marry and enter the next stage of her life. She just wants to be with her old father who was widowed in her early years, and she is satisfied. She hated forgetting and betrayal of traditional morality, and accused her remarriage uncle of being "dirty" and resentful because she thought her father was going to remarry. She has pure feelings and yearnings, but she does not fight against tradition: she does not like arranged marriages, and she has a good impression of Hattori who is already engaged to others. When everyone thought she was getting married to Hattori, she laughed and told her father the truth. She's so traditional and docile, and has no complaints about Hattori's choice. Contrasted with her traditional and conservative nature is her good friend Ling Zi—a quintessential new-age "independent woman" who earns her own money, wears stylish makeup, makes western-style cream cakes at home, and drinks sweetened black tea. . Freely in love, divorced, thinking "just choose the wrong ball, you will still be able to choose a good ball", and said to Noriko, "If you are not satisfied, just divorce." She does not think that marriage is a process that requires long-term efforts. The process of obtaining happiness is a kind of happiness that can be achieved in one step by finding the right person. This is a fairly recent and modern concept of marriage and love, in contrast to the father's interpretation of the traditional concept of marriage below. But the father is very old, and even if the daughter is stubbornly unwilling to leave her father, she must have her own life in the end. What should I do? The main line question in the film looks like "marrying a daughter", but in fact it is discussing how people should let go of the current order of life and devote themselves to the next stage of life that is bound to come and full of uncertainty. More specifically, It is how traditional values face the inevitable modernity. Ozu tried to answer this question through the mouth of the old professor, through the old professor's talk about marriage and his consolation to his daughter who was about to marry: "Marriage may not mean happiness at first, expecting sudden happiness is a wrong idea, happiness is not waiting. It can only be obtained by the husband and wife working together to create a new life." He also told his daughter that his marriage with his wife had also undergone such changes. Of course, the meaning of this passage goes beyond the affirmation of the traditional concept of marriage, but what does it mean? Of course, if you use precise words to interpret it, there will be a lot less unspeakable things than the feeling of watching a movie, but I also try to explain. What Ozu said in the words of the old professor is: happiness has nothing to do with sticking to tradition or accepting modernity. Stick to the value and create a self-consistent, "not confused" life. Lingko and Hattori have a lot of inconsistencies caused by the interweaving of old and new: Hattori likes Noriko, but accepts the traditional arranged marriage. Lingzi rebelliously threw herself into the new era, but persuaded Noriko to accept an arranged marriage. As a dashing independent woman, she persuaded Noriko, who suddenly wanted to work and earn money by herself, saying, "You can't go to work without a reason. If it wasn't for your ex-husband's disappointment , I won't go to work." An interesting paradox is that this new woman, who has completely abandoned tradition in the appearance of life, seems to fall in love with the old professor who represents tradition and old things in this film. Ling Zi came to Kiko's house to find her, and because Kiko was away, she chatted with the old professor. And when Noriko suddenly arrived home, Lingzi became a little confused and stood up unnaturally, hurriedly saying that his legs were numb, and he was hesitant to speak. In the end, after sending off Noriko and drinking with the old professor, he gave the old professor an ambiguous kiss, promising to visit him often. Of course, the protagonist Noriko also responded to this proposition. He saw how harmonious his uncle and his remarried wife were together, and he changed his mind about remarriage. In any case, Noriko accepted the marriage. The shaping of the father figure is perfect. An old professor who has a thorough understanding of the inevitability of the transition between the old and the new. He firmly adheres to the traditional values and life, but also maintains peace with the new phenomenon that violates the traditional morality in the new era. The daughter who was stubborn and refused to leave gently pushed her into a new era and a new life in which she would eventually devote herself, and even told the "biggest lie in her life" for her daughter's marriage. He is Ozu's answer to the question of the times. I don't want to use Zen, philosophical and beautiful words to describe him, too light, he is the heavy, helpless but reassuring, encouraging and courageous answer that Ozu carefully set up, the answer to the question of modernity .
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