Before I started reading, I had some doubts in my heart, thinking that it should not be easy for a person to understand "loneliness". As a tool, language is often pale and powerless, and people tend to hide too deeply and speak insincerely.
But after I read it, I found that Yates didn't mention "loneliness" at all, but "loneliness" was everywhere.
It turned out that the loneliness he wanted to talk about was not poetic or philosophical, but a normal state of life that went deep into the bone marrow. He presents life as it is, which is loneliness, and there is no way to redeem it, and the end point is still endless loneliness.
He also said ruthlessly: "People are all alone, no one can escape, and this is their tragedy." It seems like a lonely author wrote a verdict to himself and all mankind.
If Richard Yates is almost ruthless towards his characters, Israeli director Alan Collerin retains a little kindness for his work, allowing those who are trapped in solitude to gain a little comfort.
Alan Collerin's feature debut, "The Band's Visit" (2007), is about an Egyptian police band who accidentally end up in a desolate Israeli town and interact with the local residents who take them in one night.
Two feuding nations, some frustrated little people, they originally just wanted to pass the night without interfering with each other, but when fate brought them together, it was inevitable that they would face the disappointments in each other's lives.
So they tried each other awkwardly and coyly. Talking too little will be cold, talking too much is offensive, the gap between strangers is like a scale with a precise scale, and they happen to be not good at it, so the process can only be awkward and ridiculous.
I laughed at those awkward moments. The director is so mean, knowing that embarrassment annoys the embarrassed the most, but he magnifies them and makes them the only laughing medicine in blue-toned movies.
In the cool night, a lot of embarrassment seems to be out of control. I really hope they can stop it, don't make things worse, close the door and sleep until the next morning and then break up.
Fortunately, loneliness is a common language, which makes them understand each other, and it is easier for people to open their hearts when they are lonely and strangers.
The words that struck me the most were those of a young Israeli man who spoke to Simon the clarinetist. Simon had a concerto that he had not finished for twenty years, and by then he had already performed it twice to Israeli men.
He hesitated and said, "You know what? Maybe your piece could end like this: I mean...not the big one, with a trumpet and a violin or something. Maybe it could end like this, that kind of... …Sudden end, no sadness, no joy, just a small room, a lamp, a bed, the child sleeping, and... Infinite loneliness.”
Sudden end.
Like this movie, it doesn't need to be consummation. The band came and left the next day, life went on, the town continued to be desolate, and the people in the band continued to have their own concerns. Just a drop of water fell into the lake, causing small ripples. But it is that little ripple that makes this film a little warmer and becomes a light comedy.
Many debut works in my impression have the problem of being too crafty or too lyrical, such as "To Youth", but "The Band Visits" is not preachy or sensational, but only presents, very restrained, even restrained to a critical point - if You are sitting next to two or more people watching together, you may feel that this is a boring movie.
So, watch it alone.
The title of this article is borrowed from a title in Yates' book, and there is no sense of disobedience at all - "Joyful with Strangers". The article is about a serious, boring, and unloving old teacher Miss Snell. It doesn't seem to be too important whether it is "happy" or "music". The important thing is that if there is anything to talk about, it is: this world is made up of lonely monsters. It's made of coffee, so don't be afraid of anyone.
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