This slightly old-fashioned movie can actually arouse so many emotions. It is difficult to be a woman, and it is even more difficult to be a modern woman. Modern women are undoubtedly the most "victim-conscious" group, and they like to shout like Charlotte Bronte: "I love!" "I hate!" "I suffer!"
The plot of eat, pray, love It's easy to think of "The Wizard of Oz", which is a "going home" story.
A middle-aged woman suddenly realized that she had lost herself in the trivial life. In order to find a way back to herself, she chose to escape from the old environment. Liz first hoped to find herself back by indulging her appetite (Risa), but found it to be of little use; then she turned to abstinence (India: Prayer), but found it to be of little use; and finally, relying on a man's love, she found the true meaning of life It lies in "balance" - a kind of "human" life, don't indulge yourself, and don't suffer yourself (Bali·Love). Only in this way can we return to the self.
Liz is a collection of Dorothy, a lion, and a scarecrow, all in search of something forgotten.
Very romantic, but also very old-fashioned.
You know, the story goes like this: Liz ran away from home after an epiphany, first became addicted to sex and drugs, found it to be of little use, then closed her doors and indulged in some weird penance, and then a man knocked on her At the door of her home, she relies on this man's love to discover that the true meaning of life lies in "balance".
However, such a story may be difficult to attract the eyes of many white-collar workers.
Therefore, the film wisely chooses the perspective of Western/Eastern, modern lost/traditional wisdom, allowing the audience to shuttle between Italian cafes, Indian streets and Balinese fields, and then complemented by excellent pictures and soundtracks— —Desperately romantic and charming, even to the point of profound elegance.
Liz's image is simply a sketch of a female white-collar worker: stable job, stable marriage, stable social circle; highly educated, with a little dream, but become so obsessed with himself that he has to forget himself - I believe not all female white-collar workers are like this, but They all like to imagine themselves like this: maybe no one has read Mrs Dalloway, but all like to portray themselves with a character they don't know.
When the protagonist of a film matches the audience's imagination of himself, the film is half-successful.
Then another deadly element appeared: tourism. God knows how much meaning travel has been given to us, and God knows how many people, Lord Ye, like dragons, look forward to "leaving this place" every day.
So where to go? Liz's pain is due to the reality of Westernization. In order to get rid of this pain, the film decided to let her go to the "East" imagined by Westerners: traditional, undisciplined, pre-modern, and mysterious.
So Liz went all the way east.
From the United States to the east, the first stop is Italy, which is terribly romantic (people who are used to the Chinese version of the world map may not be able to turn around at once, but they can find the east after a little thinking), and then it is chaotic and full of religious flavor. India, and finally Bali, Indonesia, which is also Hindu but more human and more suitable for romantic love stories. This journey to a foreign land made Liz gradually find the so-called "balance" in the flow of "alone".
Exotic customs, religions, warm friends, wise old people, romantic encounters... everything we imagined should happen on the road has happened in the film, and the imagined self has experienced the imagined plot, how can we not be happy! And Liz wants to live where he wants to live, eat what he wants, buy what he wants, and meet whomever he wants—what else could be more perfect than this trip!
As soon as the Italian scene unfolded, I knew enough was enough for this film, it had all the appeal. It's literally a fairy tale, even more fascinating than The Wizard of Oz.
Unfortunately, from an oriental point of view, the descriptions of India and Bali in eat, pray, love are always weird. The mysterious oriental religion at the beginning of the film makes people feel uncomfortable and pretentious. I restrained myself for a long time, but I couldn’t help but think that the Balinese old man was the trustee of the local tourism bureau; and India, the most unrealistic one was that scene. Indian wedding. I don't know what the wedding customs in India are, but that wedding really reminded me of the pre-modern Orient, which has been described by countless Western writers with its rich aroma, complicated rituals, and very ornamental; the specious herbs in the last stop in Bali And medicine pushes this mysterious oriental color to the extreme. This East seems to be just a fantasy, it exists only in contrast to the West that wears Liz down.
The "balance" derived from Eastern philosophy is actually lackluster.
It can be imagined that if Liz returns to the United States, she will of course have to face all kinds of realities again, and then "imbalance" again. So if Liz wants to maintain "balance", he can only continue to stay in the imagined "East" (think about that painstakingly happy ending, Liz did not "solve" his ex-husband, etc. It's "solved", it's good to be a fictional character) - and a "balance" that needs to be maintained by an external environment is actually false and unreliable.
Having said that, this is an excellent "healing" movie for people who are exhausted in the concrete forest. But remember to never imitate what Liz did: you are very likely to get into a lot of real troubles on your trip, but you will never find a wise old man or a romantic handsome guy, and finally come back triumphant, only to find that the job is no longer available. , and everything is still the same, the troubles that should be dealt with need to be dealt with.
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