(The previous account was cancelled for some reasons, but this film has a very special meaning to me. It made me see a familiar shadow, and it can even be said that it is very similar to my own story. This article is also mine Some of my own thoughts and insights, so I still want to record it here.)
"I got a glimpse from heaven and was dumped on the streets of Assas."
With the whistling sea breeze and the dull and melodious whistle, the story begins. On the dark deck, under the dying sunrise, the story ends. At the beginning of the story, when asked where she is going, Mimi tells the Nigels that she is going "farther, farther." This sentence sets the tragic tone of the whole story. At the end of the story, Oscar said: "We are too greedy, that's all." Declared the tragic ending. He told us that all tragedies stem from human greed, but back to human beings, if we try to dig out the so-called greed, we will find that buried under the ruins of greed is the endless loneliness of human beings .
About loneliness.
Oscar's loneliness stems from abundant material conditions and illusory spiritual sustenance. Oscar inherited a considerable fortune, enough for him to move to Paris, the "grave of literature", to pursue what he calls his dream of being a writer. From here, we can know that compared to many people, Oscar does not need to work hard for life, nor does he need to worry about making a living. Perhaps it is precisely because of this that in Oscar's world, there is less worry about life for most people, but more emptiness. He needs to find a meaning for life and a decent and elegant career to fill it. Spiritually empty, so he began to pursue his dream of being a writer. It is not difficult to see that the profession of a writer has never been a means of subsistence for Oscar. It can even be said that he has put an elegant and romantic label on himself to decorate himself and integrate into the world. . After breaking up with Mimi, he regained his freedom and gave up writing, turning day and night upside down and living a life of lust; and for many years his work was never recognized and published by a publisher. This further proves the significance of the profession of a writer to Oscar. It is not so much a love for literature and writing as a resistance to the boring ordinary life and a futile filling of the abyss of lonely hearts. After figuring out Oscar's attitude towards writing, the story of him and Mimi naturally has a more reasonable interpretation.
In a way, loneliness is an eternal challenge to humanity. Therefore, people indulge in alcohol, drugs, sex, freshness and excitement are the eternal pursuit of human beings. As long as people live, they will always find ways to make fun of themselves. However, when the initial strong sensory stimulation gradually developed resistance, people became numb and empty, eager to throw away the drugs that can no longer bring fresh and exciting, eager to seek new stimulation, loneliness and The greedy nature is once again exposed. Oscar is no exception. Oscar almost frantically described his sex with Mimi to Nigel, with gorgeous rhetoric and a ferocious expression, like a crazy believer bowing down at the feet of a holy goddess and receiving baptisms again and again. This kind of religious obsession is precisely the same. It proves that Oscar's empty and lonely soul is eagerly pursuing the pleasure of the body and the shock of the spirit. When he first met Mimi on the bus, Oscar was like having the first sip of marijuana. He fell in love with this fresh and exciting sensory experience and longed to taste her deeply. So they met again, and they began to immerse themselves in the sensuality wrapped in love, enjoying day and night. Oscar is like a drug addict, sucking the extreme sensory experience brought by Mimi one by one, and like a crazy believer, surrendering to the grace of the goddess. People are lonely, so people need the company of God. When daily sex gradually became a habit, they tried new ways of sex. For Oscar, sexual abuse was like finding a new drug, which made love that gradually cooled down again. However, after fresh stimulation became a habit, resistance developed, and their sex reached the brink of bankruptcy. When the grace of the goddess became readily available, the gratitude of the believers was also wiped away, and the god was abandoned. The two began to quarrel over the trivialities of life, began to attack each other's careers, and began to abuse and fight.
For Mimi, loneliness is manifested in trying to tie himself and Oscar together forever, and most people can't bear to die alone. The most interesting point about the sadomasochism between the two is the separation of spirit and body. Physically, Mimi is the queen of Oscar sadism. But mentally it was the complete opposite, and Mimi was completely the target of Oscar's sadism. The most representative scene is when she knelt down in front of Oscar's door and begged Oscar not to abandon her. The barking of Zero's dog and Mimi's cry were mixed together, playfully interpreting the difference between the two. Equal relationship.
"I can't live without you." is the starting point of all Mimi's actions, so she put down her dignity and begged Oscar not to leave her, she apologized, cut her hair, made up, cooked, and cleaned the floor, she tried her best to please he. It is not so much reluctance, but rather fear, fear of facing the loneliness of being alone. In the eyes of many people, Mimi's world is too limited, and the weight of love is taken too seriously, so that they lose their dignity. But in my opinion, if Oscar is fighting against loneliness, Mimi is escaping it. In essence, they are all fighting against the empty life, but the way they are different is that. The meaning of writing to Oscar and the meaning of dancing to Mimi are, to some extent, the same. When asked why she didn't continue dancing, Mimi replied: "Dance has to come from the heart, but my heart is broken." Writing can't fill Oscar's void, because he probably never went from the heart Writing; and dancing can't make up for Mimi's loneliness after losing her Oscar.
But I don't think the word "humble" can be easily put on Mimi's head. If we look closely, we can see that after she returned to Oscar's side again, her cooking skills, which were originally disliked by Oscar, became superb. Up, the colloquial language that was originally disparaged by Oscar has also become more fluent. No matter how she begged or revenge, her love for Oscar never changed. When she tortured Oscar, she was also torturing herself. As she said, no one hated Oscar more than she did, but at the same time, no one loved him more than her.
About human nature.
Primal desire and greed run through the entire tragedy. Oscar is not satisfied with the accustomed, readily available pleasure, greedily seeks excitement and freshness, and indulges in sensuality; Mimi is stubbornly obsessed with ease and eternity, trying to hold everything in front of him in his hand and never let go. The greedy ways in which the two were completely at odds made them both mired in the quagmire.
Human beings have the seeds of abuse and revenge in their bones. Once they are watered by something, they will grow out of control. For Oscar, it was manifested in the mental abuse of Mimi. Mimi's appearance of putting down her dignity and begging completely aroused his hunter's mentality. "Everyone has a sadistic side. If she really likes hell on earth, I will spare no effort to make her life better than death." So he started a series of injuries to Mimi, mocking her, insulting her, and making her beat him up. Abandoning the child and leaving her on the plane alone made him feel the thrill of torturing the prey. For Mimi, it was manifested in returning to Oscar two years later, leaving him half-hearted forever, restraining him in a wheelchair, having sex with friends in front of him, and hanging up the editor of the publishing house. incoming call. They tortured each other and depended on each other. It's just a little sad that Oscar's abuse of Mimi only caused Mimi's unilateral pain, while Mimi's revenge for Oscar caused her to suffer double torment.
I think there are two important reasons why this film is so powerful.
One is that the images of male and female protagonists carry traditional gender stereotypes. The man is portrayed as a flirtatious image, who likes the new and hates the old; while the woman is portrayed as an image of being attached to a man, indulging in love, and ingratiating himself. To a certain extent, the images of the male and female protagonists have gone to two extremes. When the two extremes collide, such a strong conflict occurs.
The second is that the whole film runs through an extremely pessimistic thought, that is, the helplessness that the intimate relationship will eventually lead to tragedy, and the passionate lovers will eventually tire of each other, similar to some kind of fate, people will eventually enter Marriage grave. As Oscar said: "Every relationship, no matter how beautiful the surface is, contains the seeds of tragedy." Perhaps it is such a pessimistic attitude that arouses people's panic about tragedy and escape from human nature. People lamented that it showed human nature to the fullest, but they were afraid to look directly into their hearts.
About the Indian man Mr. Axing.
He appears five times throughout the film. The first time was on deck with Nigel nodding to say hello; the second time was a conversation with Nigel and his wife at the dinner table, when he learned of their trip to India and told them that India was not what they thought Beautiful; the third time was on the windy deck, with his daughter, and said to Fiona: Children are the medicine of marriage; the fourth time was in the cabin, Nigel couldn't help kissing Mi After Mi, he happened to pass by; the fifth time is at the end of the film, he asked the little girl to come and wish the Nigels a happy new year.
In the film, this gentleman plays the image of a wise man with God's perspective to some extent. He clearly knew that the two wanted to save their numb marriage with a trip to India, and he also knew human nature. He looked down from God's perspective to people caught in a precarious marriage, trying to give them some ideas, give directions. The answer he gave was: children are the medicine for marriage. This can't help but feel helpless in the sigh, because there is no so-called wise man to tell us a novel and ingenious solution, because the so-called wise man is also a member of all living beings. Like everyone, he can no longer live in this reality. In the real world, this once again pushed the pessimistic fate to a higher level.
People are greedy because of loneliness, and they become more and more lonely because of greed. People cover their eyes and keep spinning in this circle. Many times, people's greed may be justifiable, but people's loneliness is hopeless.
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