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An American in Paris (1951)
Gene Kelly's movie has only been seen in " Singing in the Rain", and now look at the equally famous "An American in Paris".
The film tells the story of a man who meets two women in Paris. A painter stayed in Paris after the end of World War II and wanted to rely on his talents to fulfill his artistic dream in Paris. He has a neighbor who is also from the United States studying music in Paris, the musician, and a French friend who is a singer. The three of them met occasionally at breakfast. The painter was selling paintings on the street, and he met a lady who was also from the United States. He fell in love with him at first sight and wanted to help the painter achieve success. Although the painter was reluctant, he agreed with the lady to help him contact various relationships and hold art exhibitions for him. Once a lady asked the painter to go to a bar for a party, but the painter became interested in a young girl in the bar and asked for her number. The next day, the painter, who was thinking about the girl, came to the girl's work place and wanted to date him. The girl who also had a good impression of the painter had to agree to the painter. From this time on, the painter dated the girl, and the painter also painted portraits of the girl with painting tools financed by the lady. In fact, the girl already has a boyfriend, and the boyfriend is the singer whom the artist knows. After a successful performance, the singer decided to go to the United States to develop and propose to the girl. The girl agreed to the singer because the singer was her savior and protected her during World War II. After learning the news of the girl's engagement, the painter was very sad and had to go to the lady. Then at the dance, the four met. After the painter said his final farewell to the girl, he imagined various scenes of him dancing with the girl. The fantasy is over, and the girl returns to the painter. It turned out that the singer learned everything when the two of them said goodbye. In this way, the film ends in the embrace of the painter and the girl.
This is a very weak musical, and the plot seems very unreasonable. The plot of the movie is simply summarized. It is the story of how the painter, as a third party, stole his friends and girlfriends with a knife, and the painter is also a spineless man with a small white face. The love between the girl and the singer is actually perfect. Although the singer protects the girl's life, their love occurs after they reach adulthood. The love between the two of them is the love of adults, and it is very rational. However, the girl abandoned her relationship with the singer for several years because of a man she met by chance, which is too unrealistic. As for the singer, the plot where he finally brought the girl back is even more bullshit. Where can there be such a generous man who can easily give up a few years of relationships? From the painter's point of view, it is understandable that he likes girls, but for love, he would rather take his friend's girlfriend, which is too immoral. Although the friendship between the painter and the singer is not deep, at least the singer has helped him - he lent the painter 300 yuan very generously, how can the painter be ungrateful? The painter is still a man who eats soft rice, and pretends not to eat the food in front of the lady, but he does not use or want it less. It sounds good on the lips, but it's actually not the case! In addition, the painter not only obtained the wealth of the lady, but also played with her feelings. When the painter has a girl, he ignores the lady, and when the girl abandons him, the painter immediately comes to the lady for comfort. It's too shameful for the painter to treat the lady as a toy, come and go! In general, the film's plot aside from being unreasonable, the rest of it is a challenge to human morality.
Not only the plot, but the themes expressed in the film are also unacceptable. By presenting the life of the male painter, the whole film shows his many contemptibles, such as hypocrisy, vanity, arrogance, and playing with women. In addition, the film also describes the behavior of the painter as a third party. I don't understand what the movie wants to express, the greatness of love? Isn't the love between singer and girl great? Or sing about love at first sight? However, love at first sight is just a way of love, there is no need to praise. In my opinion, what this movie is trying to express is: the third party is honorable, it is justified to snatch love, and the girl who robs other people is worthy of praise! And stealing a friend's girlfriend is a manifestation of courage. Of course, it's not so shameful for men to eat soft rice, and it also tells men to be as unrecognizable as painters when they are little white faces - blowing soft rice into the invisible! This kind of anti-human movie theme is very unpleasant to watch. I didn't expect such a movie to exist. Of course, the plot and theme of the movie are all set for the appearance of singing and dancing. Because, this is a musical, and it is a musical starring Gene Kelly, who is mainly about singing and dancing. Gene Kelly's movies are all about singing and dancing, and the plot revolves around singing and dancing, so you can't ask too much in these two areas, even if these two aspects are already difficult to accept.
Speaking of singing and dancing, this is the biggest highlight of the film. The four characters set in the movie are prepared for singing and dancing. The painter, pianist, singer, and girl sang different songs and dance steps on different occasions and in different moods, expressing different emotions and feelings. The painter's tap dance, the pianist's one-man concert, the singer's theater performance, and the girl's frequently changing shapes and dances in the singer's memory are all wonderful passages of the four of them. The most eye-catching performance in the whole film is of course the painter. Songs and dances of various genres such as lyrical, romantic, brisk, affectionate, etc. are presented by his performance, which appropriately expresses the mood and emotions of the characters. Gene Kelly deserves to be the king of song and dance. In the whole film, the most wonderful song and dance sequence is the fantasy of the painter at the end of the film. In this song and dance, various scenes, environments, and dance forms are constantly changing, which makes people dazzled. The costumes, shapes, set design and lighting of the actors are also extremely gorgeous. This episode is a very long visual feast.
In addition to the singing and dancing scenes, another highlight is the beautiful exterior of Paris. In the film, you can see Paris, France in the 1950s, and feel the characteristics of European classical cities. The colorful pictures show the beauty of Paris. Apart from these, the movie has nothing else to offer. The usual pictures, sets, costumes, and fake scenes can be seen in many places where the plot takes place. After watching a lot of Hollywood movies, I found that the use of such fake scenes is very common, after all, the technology is limited. However, these fake scenes can be achieved in most movies. But now, fake scenes have long been replaced by more realistic computer effects.
The cast of this film are all good singers and dancers. The light of the actor is occupied by Gene Kelly alone. Gene Kelly doesn't look handsome and doesn't sing magnetically, which is average in my opinion, but his tap dancing is really dazzling. The heroine Leslie Caron is a buck-toothed girl with protruding teeth that looks very awkward. Why can she be the heroine? Probably because of her great dancing skills, she danced with Gene Kelly, no worse than him. Nina Foch, who plays the lady, is very beautiful and has a very noble temperament, which is very in line with the image of the lady in the movie. If I were the male protagonist, I would definitely not choose the buck-toothed girl, but this blonde stunner.
In general, this is a film that challenges human morality and is unacceptable except for the singing and dancing.
Nina Foch
Nina Foch
Leslie Caron
Leslie Caron
Sequence: 0565
Flowers Dance.An.American.in.Paris.1951.BD.MiniSD-TLF
2011-09-29
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