Jay, the male protagonist who went to the western United States to the depths, is young and beautiful. Actor Kodi is melancholy, confused and full of affectionate big eyes, thin body and undisguised aristocratic romantic temperament. He is like an untimely pure lily in the wilderness. Worried that he was going to die in the next second, but full of anticipation of what kind of dreams he would bring to the sinister land. Under the blessing of luck, the little male protagonist who did not die in seconds met the old driver Silas, a western killer who had experienced vicissitudes of life, had no romance, and had strong survivability. The two people's peers are full of friction, the interestingness of conflict and running-in is highlighted, and the completely different three views collide violently and unexpectedly make people feel in harmony. However, the cruel facts experienced along the way made Jay's beautiful fantasy about the West gradually die, while his idealism slightly moved Silas's tenacious and desolate nerves. The boy's search eventually attracted the bounty hunter to hunt down the girl's family. In the battle between the girl's family and the bounty hunter, Silas was wounded and died without firing a shot, and then an even more absurd scene appeared - rushing Jay, who was going to the rescue, was shot and killed by the girl. Even before he died, the salt pot hit by the bullet just sprinkled salt on his wound. Just when we thought that idealism was dead, the camera moved to many years later, Silas and the girl lived a happy and romantic life together, and the last sentence Silas said in the film was to commemorate Jay's long-standing Philosophy: "There is more to life than survival".
The plot of the whole film is really twists and turns, I want to say it is absurd, but I can't help but be amazed. The beautiful incarnation of idealism finally dies in a cruel fate that cannot be more realistic in reality, and a rough man who only knows how to survive in reality takes up the banner of romance and starts to live with heart-is this irony, or is it a guide? Some people say that this is a movie that smashes idealism. The romance of the male protagonist has only a dead end in the dark reality. He was killed by the person he loved but did not get love. And I think this statement does not see through the meaning of Jay's existence. Jay's arrival has brought the literary atmosphere of Europe into the crisis-ridden Wild West. His existence has more or less allowed those who live here to see a glimmer of beauty, whether it is to deceive him, despise him or those who travel with him, whether Do they notice and care.
Of course, idealism without the premise of survival will hardly achieve a hospitable death in the traditional sense. When the noble boy Jay asked his beloved girl how he felt about him, the girl sent him a brother card without hesitation. The difference in class and psychological age doomed the tragic ending of the boy's dream love. But Jay was so infatuated that he came to the west alone to search for a girl, and always believed that he could find his lover. This obsession made him naive as a newborn calf and was not afraid of tigers, and it also constituted a huge space for him to change his ideas.
However, after the cruelty of reality, he did not change or grow as the audience expected. After meeting the murderous western cowboy, he still sincerely praised the song of the black people in the woods; after witnessing the tragedy in the store, he still simply trusted the literary liar Werner. Silas said in the narrative: "This kid is weird, he sees the world in a different way. For him, we are walking in a field full of goodness and hope, and what I see is that there may be a desperate man at any moment. Kill you with a slash—just a dollar to make." It can be seen that Jay has always been the embodiment of idealism. The harsh reality brought him a bad situation, but it did not destroy the belief in his heart. If such a beautiful little angel continues to live in the sinister west, maybe the romance will be exhausted, and like a hero, it will degenerate into a rough man who only knows how to survive. The director didn't let that happen. So Jay properly took his idealism and disillusioned at the muzzle of his lover. The film even added fuel to the fire so that the injured Jay was not found by the girl for a long time, and the girl and her Indian lover kissed in front of Jay.
This scene makes me want to ask, is it more cruel to let the idealistic Jay grow into a secular reality in the practice of reality, or let him stop abruptly here with his own beliefs. cruel? I think the first is more brutal. So the film's treatment is the second, because the second cruelty contains some hopeful possibilities. Jay did not die well, but he never regretted, never hesitated, his decision to find a lover. Although pure idealism cannot survive here, for those who already have the ability to survive, these concepts can bring a better way of pursuing and more vitality-this is Jay's invisible influence, and it is also at the end of the film. Silas and the girl lead in the West to marry and have children. Just like a small grass suddenly grows in the desert, such a small grass is very weak, but it may grow everywhere in parallel time, and eventually they may connect into a piece, turning the wasteland into an oasis - this is implied in the film The pursuit of civilization. In the dark humor and cruel reality, the demise of the idealistic carrier ignites the light in a larger spiritual space.
Let's talk about the rhythm of the movie. As expected of the "Western slow tune", the rhythm is really slow. Especially at the beginning, the large western scenery in the lens is matched with the light and cheerful BGM, which makes people almost delusional to watch a travel promotional film. However, after getting used to this rhythm, the whole viewing becomes comfortable. At this time, the film began to join this soothing piano piece with abruptly accelerated interludes and neat dramatic conflicts. The cruel reality in the beautiful scenery made one's heart skip a beat, as if following the rhythm of the young male protagonist, he gradually penetrated into the beautiful scenery and "eats people". The western wilderness, little by little, leads to the final climax. Except for Jay, all the people in the film died neatly and neatly. Before the audience's psychological preparations began, all the people in the situation fell down, so neatly. Human life is like a mustard. I feel that this is not only a sharp contrast with Jay's beautiful imagination, but also the director's subversion of traditional American westerns. The West here is indeed realistic enough, without the romantic love and the spirit of justice of the cowboy, some are just, survival, survival. Interestingly, the film replays the dead state of all the dead in reverse order at the end (reminiscent of "One Hundred Ways to Die in the West") - people who only want to survive are always rough in various forms Although he died, Jay, who had feelings for him, also died, but after all, he met his beloved; Silas, who had a romantic relationship in his heart, lived a happy life with the girl. This really reflects the pursuit of the value of the film.
It is really appropriate for the director to choose Fasha to play the old driver Salis. Fa shark's acting skills, one look can make the mood in place. The key is that he has a very precise grasp of the rhythm. He is always in a hurry or slow to step by step. With the first-person narrative, he slowly moves forward with the rhythm of the entire film, which fully supports Jay's character expression and the portrayal of Western reality. Space. The vicissitudes of life are a little melancholy, rough but slightly interesting, slightly revealing that his indifferent appearance is not a cold and hard temperament, which fully slows down the sudden change of his inner heart.
The film is not long, and the story structure of more than 80 minutes is quite rich. There are many interesting humorous elements and intriguing hints and omens. After watching it, there is a lot of aftertaste. The face value and the picture are beautiful, needless to say. In short, this independent film is very suitable for watching when you are in a quiet mood~
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