The four-line development of the film reveals the problems of layers of American society. The hand-cranked way of shooting increases the sense of reality and also shortens the distance between the audience and the characters. Among the four lines, one is a musical boy who does not understand his parents (especially his father), trapped in the music and online world, and thinks he can find a sincere friendship (or love?) in the online world, and finally hangs his neck because of trickery Suicide; a young man newly lost his mother, lived with his detective father, and also had intergenerational problems, so he made fun of it. On the other side, the couple lost their son, so they "broken the line". Due to the online fraud, the wife's secret hidden behind the Internet was revealed, and the husband discovered the more real wife who was hiding behind the Internet. The reporter pursued the video boy and wanted to report on the inside story. They gradually developed love for each other, but finally disconnected because of the female reporter's betrayal and use of the video boy.
These themes are common in American Hollywood films: alienation of middle-class families in capitalist society, father-son discord in single-parent families, school/online bullying, alienation between husbands and wives in the metropolis, and the pursuit of career excellence at the expense of others , take advantage of the trust others have in you. The state of "broken line" is deeply rooted in people who are in close contact, and what the movie wants to tell is that the state of "broken line" is not due to the development of social media, but is originally based on the whole society. in the structure. How can a lawyer dad understand a son who loves Ridgewood and RadioHead because he has an innate view of achievement? Gan Tan's father is also strict with himself and others, and it is easy to turn the home into a prison-like space. Looking closely, isn't the achievement and discipline here the foundation of stability and improvement in American society? The couple who have lost their son can see the castration of males in American capitalist society: the husband is originally a navy, and he can only become a tool in a huge machine after returning to China. The main body has been cut to nothing, and he can only cheat on the Internet. Get back his male position. In the end, the line of female reporters couldn't be more obvious. In a capitalist society, everything can be sold, and everyone has a price for everything. The boys in the video have already made it clear enough to the female reporters at the beginning of the movie.
As for social media, the film is indeed a platform for generating new relationships: musical boys looking for identity and friendship online; bereaved mothers looking online for comfort and support from bereaved fellows; female journalists and videos Boys also gradually build trust through online interactions. In the end, however, these relationships are all broken: the musical boy's sense of identity comes from other people's pretense and pranks, the bereaved mother's only substitute for online comfort, and the female reporter just wants to find help The story of her career.
So far, the layers of "broken lines" have led to violence between people, and the climax of the movie shows that violence: the father of the musical boy finds the house of the prank boy and scuffles with the father of the other; The man confronted the man who secretly chatted with his wife online, and the long gun was about to fire; the female reporter was exposed to the mask of selfishness, and was pushed to the ground by the leader of the man who was entangled in the video. The film deliberately uses slow motion to magnify the violence of the gang in front of the audience. However, how to deal with this entangled and violent ending?
In narratology, after the climax, the end of the story is usually called the "end" or "resolution". In "Broken Lines", the film does not stop in the afterglow of violence, but chooses to "reconciliation" after the violence. Here, we see the musical boy's family hugging each other again, believing that each other is the most loved person in their lives, and the bereaved couple seems to have broken the ice in their hearts and have a chance to start over. Reconciliation can be a kind of "fortune" in narratology; in theology, it is generally called "reconciliation". After the video man fiercely said that he didn't need redemption, the director mercifully put down the "reconciliation" tail at the end of the movie. "Reconciliation" is not a "fortune", on the contrary, it is the beginning and beginning of a new relationship.
The original text was published in "Time Forum" No. 1355 (August 18, 2013)
Author: Tan Yinuo
View more about Disconnect reviews
