"Billy Elliot": regaining the dream of ballet

Clifford 2021-11-16 08:01:28

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Snow is floating outside the window of the ancient city , and the weather is very cold. Except for the sudden excitement of love from the outside world, frantic thoughts will rise. It is probably only this sluggish and empty world of light and shadow that will bring waves and excitement. Twenty years of glory flew by, and twenty years of drifting away. Twenty years later, Billy Elliot jumped into the air, drew a rainbow, and soared.

There was such a film in 2000. It came from Stephen Daldry, a fledgling English director. My impression of the film is that it was sought after by the media at the Cannes Film Festival that year, and that the best director was shared with [Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon] at the Toronto Film Festival, and more words such as ballet and inspirational.

Speaking of ballet, I remember watching a movie about ballet in 2003. It was from Robert Altman's [Ballet Life] (The Company). Altman turned his sharp and authoritarian lens language to ballet, and the film immediately glowed with intriguing magnificence and elegance. However, the elegant term ballet seems to be getting farther and farther away from me.

Regarding inspiration, probably more films will come out to serve as cases, and here I just want to say [Paradise Cinema]. If [Paradise Cinema] is full of the romance and perseverance of the Aegean Sea, with flying sycamore flowers, unrestrained rain and the echoes of the years on the plain life stage decoration, then [Ballet Dream] (Billy Elliot) has Scotland The person's broad and open mind, with extremely calm lens, magnificent music, and heart-warming dancing, tells a little-known growth process of ballet boy Billy Elliott.

The story takes place in a small town on the island of North England. It was a turbulent period when coal miners were on strike. Martial law riot police were everywhere on the streets. The miners' riots in England are not much better than the infamous English football hooligans. The blood and cynicism have just been printed on the same face, and the swearing is as powerful as the fist. In such an environment, a ballet engaged in high art, especially for an 11-year-old boy, requires so many imagination and perseverance! After a boxing training class, Billy, who was overwhelmed by boxing toss, stopped by the ballet class. His blood boiled immediately, and the gurgling music and the rhythm of the strokes from the toes gave the under 11-year-old boy the first dream and first longing in his life. Country dance teacher Mrs. Wilkens also quickly discovered Billy’s enthusiasm and talent. She invested more of her energy on Billy, watching Billy’s dancing talent gradually emerge with daily training. Music and ballet bloom harmoniously on him, and we will also smile, because ideals and reality are only one step away.

At the beginning of the film, we can see dialects such as "sissy" and "trash" everywhere, and the whole village shows rejection and disrespect for ballet. It is hard to imagine that a village that relies on mining for a living would have any good impression on ballet, even a little tolerance is too narrow. There is a wonderful thing about the film. The director uses flashback footage to convey two scenes to the audience at the same time. One is the striker miners cursing "traitors" and "cowards" at the laborers who violated the union vows, and the other is Billy under the piano. Stretch your body and dance your life among a group of girls. The director used the time-space transposition and subtly borrowed the "traitor" from the miners, and used the dual narrative technique to implicitly express the contradictions between the son and the father, art and the secular, which seems to be on Billy who is engaged in deviant activities. Come out, this also indicates the hardships and ups and downs of Billy's artistic path.

There are two types of people in the film. One is the obstructors who represent conservatism. Most of them are stubborn and conservative, dreaming that a stereotypical life is the only life choice. Billy's father is one of the representative figures. From the very beginning, he has played a role similar to a "snake hand". In his mind, football, boxing, and wrestling seemed to be the best choices for boys, so he blatantly took Billy home from the ballet school, and since then declared the disillusionment of Billy's dream. Billy's brother is also a symbol of patriarchy, but unlike his father, his brother is more in inner anxiety and realistic helplessness. On the surface, his unruly temperament seems more like a rebel, but he is not. , He vented his misfortune to the society and his younger brother Billy. On the one hand, he was dissatisfied with reality. On the other hand, he also acted as a "beater" for traditional conservative thinking. When Mrs. Wilkens came to Billy's house to lobby his father, the brother used a ridiculous and contemptuous tone to close Billy's door to his ideals tighter.

The other type of people is the liberals represented by Billy. Most of them have beautiful dreams of art and ideals. Even if they are secular, they are willing to continue the road of art and continue the life of art. Billy explained why he dances in the audition at the Royal Ballet Academy. It was a vague feeling that departed from bondage and pursued freedom, "flying like a bird." Under the guidance of Mrs. Wilkens, his passionate enthusiasm never ignited again and again, in the light of ballet. In Yicai, he avoided the cruelty of reality and was obsessed with art. Of course, the role of Mrs. Wilkens in fueling the flames cannot be ignored. Her words and deeds played the role of "My Captain" in [Dead Poem Society] (Dead Poem Society). On the one hand, she is Billy's dance teacher. On the one hand, she has to fight against the world and win Billy the opportunity to continue training and pursue a higher level.

However, the libertarians are exceptionally weak in the film. Whether it is Billy or Mrs. Wilkens, although their attitudes towards life are resistant, they are all weak and weak. Although Billy’s inner world was as passionate about ballet as ever, he gave up the opportunity to audition at the Royal Ballet Academy due to family reasons; although Mrs. Wilkens gave Billy a small stove secretly, it was just behind the scenes. When faced with the questioning of Billy's father and brother, she still chose to die and return to a normal life. Another weakened symbol of liberalism in the film is Billy's mother, a tombstone that seals her dreams to dust. Yes, she is no longer alive. Although the letter she left has inspired Billy who is hesitating, the legacy of the piano being smashed by her father as the firewood for heating seems to indicate the precarious status of liberalism. This is exactly the same as the image of Jenny in [Forrest Gump]. She also imagined that she was a free bird, but in the end she compromised with Forrest, who was a symbol of conservatism. Her life's wandering and miserable destiny became freedom. The epitome of the tragic fate of Christianism.

However, Billy is definitely not a replica of Jenny, and [Ballet Dream] will not repeat Jenny's mistakes. Billy's yearning for freedom and the pursuit of ideals are definitely not just a symbol. He has completed the transformation from symbol to action by himself and convinced his father with a passionate dance. This dance can be regarded as the most quintessential part of the film. Several flips, a few leaps and vigor, beliefs, ideals and hopes, they jointly interpret this colorful movement, and also jointly achieve Billy's ideal ballet dream. .

As a film full of inspirational meaning, the film is not too indulged in the production of sensational scenes. The emotions that the music generates are moderate and just right. The director's layer upon layer of emotions and the perfect grasp of the rhythm make it difficult for the audience to find emotional outlets and countless turbulent feelings flow out again and again during the film. The joys and sorrows of life, the ups and downs of family and friendship are all in it. From the joy of when Billy was young when he received the admission letter from the Royal Ballet Academy, to the beginning of his father rushing to the country streets to inform friends of the success of this world son, my tears never stopped. I seem to have been baptized by the elegy of freedom once, like a shock in the prolonged sinking.

However, if [Ballet Dream] is only regarded as a pure inspirational film, then the introverted metaphor of the film loses its due depth, and it will only remain like the Hollywood blockbuster [Mind Catcher] or [Pentium Age]. Yu kitsch's sensational and childish endeavor. The film’s relaxed and powerful emotional catharsis, timeless and beautiful lens language, and highly symbolic artistic connotations make the film extraordinary. If [Feiyue Cun’s Asylum] breaks the window with Indians and rushes out of the shackles to declare the victory of liberalism, then this The film realizes freedom, ideals and dreams with the self-awakening of a father who symbolizes conservatism. In the conflict between freedom and conservative, the struggle between ideal and reality, the director of the film Deorui did not tell the audience the conflict straightforwardly. He described Billy's roundabout growth in a tactful style and warm tone. Traces, he used Billy’s ups and downs to hit the audience’s deep heart, creating a long-lasting resonance in the characters’ hearts. He constructed a similar relationship between the illusory ballet and the real life in the country, and painted a magnificent picture for us. Ideal picture.

With the light and shadow coming and going, I lingered on the exquisite composition, opened the window lattice, and pounced on my face with a fascinating freshness. I shivered slightly and put on my coat. Father asked: "Why are you going?" "Taxue"...

04/12/27 02:02

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Extended Reading

Billy Elliot quotes

  • Mrs. Wilkinson: Please yourself, darlin'.

  • Debbie: If you want, I'll show you me fanny.

    Billy: Nah. You're all right.