Labeling this movie erotic is ridiculous in my opinion. Although I have basically never seen a movie with this theme, I still feel that the almost negligible nude mirror and pure desire in this movie have nothing to do with the word "erotica". But the label of "Uncle and Loli" itself is worth pondering. This is a very confusing perspective, and the movie has more charm because of this.
The image of the heroine is something that anyone who talks about this film cannot avoid. I have to admit that it is reasonable for Brooke Shields to be called the "Eighth Wonder of the World" when she was young. The mature and incomparably handsome face is placed on the tender body, which is just right in my opinion. And it was such a girl who met a character that almost exactly matched her, and she could show 60% of the effect without any deliberate interpretation. Coupled with Brooke Xiaosi's acting skills that made me shine, this role is a classic.
The background design of this movie is also unique. When a man, with a very pure identity, breaks into the territory of a wretched woman, what will happen? And what I love most about this movie is that it beautifies the filth and vulgarity, creating a kind of fairy tale wonderland in the dirty place. This even absurd contrast makes this love, which we think is absolutely impossible, no longer so unacceptable.
And this love is the most worthy of taste in this film. On the surface, it is definitely another standard "Uncle and Loli", and even the shadow of "This Killer is Not Too Cold" can be found. But if you taste it carefully, you will feel a little wrong. There is a scene in the movie, when the male protagonist buys a doll for Violet, she is not happy, but shouts: "Do you think of me as a child?" Quite a normal situation, but in this movie, Violet is not vexatious. Growing up in such a smoky environment, flirting, flesh, and lewdness are all around. As a precocious girl, Violet is surrounded by these women who have suffered from the bottom of the society, so she has naturally developed a pair of extremely keen eyes. In the environment of a brothel, Violet even surpassed most adults in terms of speculation about men's psychology. And when the male protagonist stepped into the brothel, he was just another easy prey for Zi (but she didn't really guess his mind, which will be discussed later).
And the male protagonist adds another interest to the plot. Every man who walks into a brothel is uninteresting in Violet's eyes. She opens with the black pianist looking around and laughing, as if in contempt for those who have no secrets in her eyes. In the environment of a brothel, she considers herself a queen, looking down on all living beings. But at this time, the appearance of the male protagonist destroyed this feeling, because this person who had no interest in the body really made her feel a little confused. And following him is another beautiful thing that symbolizes the outside world that she doesn't know about - the camera. It's no surprise that such a man would inspire so much attachment in a 12-year-old girl.
But is this really the case with the male lead? That's the genius of the movie. I started paying attention to this character when he yelled at Violet, "I just don't have time to love and hate." When I saw his undisturbed focus when he was taking pictures of prostitutes, I guessed that he was really just an art-obsessed man of few desires. But then as the plot deepened, his true colors began to show. When Violet snatches his negatives, his frantic look is clearly out of character for an adult (because it's clear Violet was just joking with him). And from the beginning to the end, facing the beauties in the hall, even if he had no idea, he didn't even have a simple communication. Or to put it more exaggeratedly, he basically does not communicate with people. From an outsider's point of view, he is a craftsman who has mastered advanced craftsmanship and is worthy of respect. But in fact, he is just a child who has not grown up living in his own world, and the camera continues his childhood for him. When he loses it, he is forced to enter a society full of interpersonal relationships that he is not familiar with. He started to panic.
The biggest manifestation of his immaturity is in love. When the prostitutes read about the masters of love, this innocent boy is very special, so he can also be nicknamed "PaPa". For Violet who was in it, his real side contained another layer of meaning. Violet's maturity is not only reflected in her face, but also in her extremely mature mind. However, in her nature, she was still that playful and coquettish girl. And this contrast created her sometimes mature, sometimes naive behavior. For her, love is simply too easy to even mention. It's like a game. Although I haven't experienced it myself, I know the mystery. And this is like having a cracked version of a game, the attractiveness of the game itself will decline. And when she saw through the male protagonist, she couldn't help but be shocked: he was simply the opposite of her. A naive soul imprisoned in a mature body will also face the trouble of character instability. But in the face of love, something that has no challenge to her, he is afraid to avoid it. How does a child know how to love?
Seeing this, everyone must understand. This love is not "Uncle and Loli" at all, but a hug of two incompetent people for warmth, the mutual comfort of two lonely souls who can't match their bodies. But looking at the root cause, this relationship is unequal. Men just regard this relationship as life as if they have grabbed a life-saving straw. For girls, this is just a transition, a beautiful moment destined to become a memory.
While watching the movie, I kept thinking that if the last brothel hadn't collapsed, maybe the so-called utopia would be like this. The prostitutes here are like fairies for the hard-working people at the bottom. There is no suspicion or harm to each other, and they always bring joy and enjoyment to the suffering people with a smile. And they flirt and flirt with men in such a way that it doesn't feel contrived. There are rules here too (Violet was beaten for playing with black kids), but the atmosphere is generally relaxed and pleasant. And this seems to reveal another layer of the director's intention, that is, in such an environment, it can better reflect the differences between the Violet family and other prostitutes. In such an environment, people will more or less gradually settle for the status quo, and prostitutes are even more so.
Then, we can take a look at what the Violet family is doing silently. The nurse became the maid, and the mother did not simply enjoy under her mother, but was constantly thinking about how to escape this "cursed place". I have to say that the director's casting in this movie is very elegant, not only Brooke Shields, but also the mother who chose Susan Sarandon as the heroine. I haven't seen many of her movies, but the work with Goddess Portman in "The End of the World" really caught my eye. As a photographer, the male protagonist must have a unique vision, and he first chose the female protagonist's mother as a model, so he can see her distinctive temperament. As a "heretic" in the brothel, she was destined to be ridiculed and ridiculed, but she did not back down. She understands that the most convenient way to escape from here is to cling to a powerful man, and she also understands that through her beauty and temperament, as well as her careful blessing, in this chaotic era, it is very possible to go from sex to love of. And she finally succeeded. And not to mention the heroine, when she stepped out of the man's house and walked to the station with her new family, her fate was completely changed. And for a girl who had this experience at a young age, the world would only become more and more simplified in her eyes.
Maybe I am over-interpreting the above paragraph, but I still want to say something. The heroine's family is a microcosm of the instant rapid rise of the people at the bottom into the upper class. The same low-status prostitutes, and why did they succeed? Because they are always looking for local optimal solutions, and it is precisely their seemingly hidden and insignificant ambitions that support them all the time. I don't think they deliberately teach it to their daughters, but they don't know that these are engraved in their genes and in the subtle influence of their every move. Even if Violet is not so smart, these things that were imprinted in her mind when she was a child will one day gradually accumulate with age, and finally usher in an explosion at some point. For other people who have not experienced this kind of experience, these can only be felt gradually through continuous learning and perception, and it may be a little late when they finally wake up. For some unfortunate people, it may not be experienced in a lifetime, and it will end in mediocrity.
My only dissatisfaction with this film is that it does not focus on the "married life" of the male protagonist and Violet, and does not make the audience clearly feel the inevitability of their separation. Interesting honeymoon trip, two "weird people" who are adults and children hug together for warmth, and even gave me the illusion that they would "live happily together". And this illusion was quickly broken, and I couldn't help but feel a little lost. And Zi's first sentence after briefly considering the proposal of a future "stepfather" can't help but make me feel a little ashamed of my previous reverie: "Will you go with me?" Violet, oh Violet, you really know yourself too well What do you want, and you know too well that this man in front of you can't give it to you. In the last scene of the movie, when my stepfather took out the camera, my heart still moved slightly, thinking that it would be fine even if she made a somewhat lost expression. But the fact is, she was not like that, that frozen smile, that joy from the heart, finally revealed to me the absurdity of this "amour". Only then did I feel how much bitterness the male protagonist revealed in the "Incompetent Fury" after Violet was taken away. The constant repetition of "you can't take her away" really made me feel sad, because at that moment he became a child again, and his powerlessness when the adults took his last and most precious things. too real.
Boy, don't try to tie up girls with your so-called love, because girls will grow up eventually, and what you give her is far from enough to keep her by your side. Hurry up and be a man, otherwise it's all in vain and your girl won't be yours anymore because you can't rely on it.
View more about Pretty Baby reviews
