Almodovar is good at telling stories with color, just like in his other work "Talk to Her", the heroine's red bullfighting suit has already heralded the tragedy of her fate. In this film, not only the characters' clothing, but also the home decoration and the various colors of the natural environment have special meanings. In her youth Julieta wore a youthful indigo blue dress with bright light blond hair, and in middle age she often wore a tragic bright red top that darkened, and when she finally saw her daughter, she wore the symbol The bright rose red sweater, the hair color has changed to the original brighter hair color. These details all have obvious symbolic meanings, showing the changes in the characters' personalities and the relationships between them.
The transition of the relationship between Julieta and her daughter Antia is not blunt, from close to distant, and there are details in the film. In Julieta's account of Antia's growth experience, the close-up of her sleeping face fades in and out to the dark green sea, as if the whole person sank to the bottom of the sea. At this time, the sea is a symbol of the sea. Zoan for a living. Before the trip, Antia wore a navy blue sailor suit and hugged her father tightly. She turned her back to Julieta and let her play with her hair. This shows that Antia has developed a rebellious mentality. Hearing her father said that she would treat her as a The sailor took her out to sea, and she reluctantly left. When Antia became an adult, she was about to leave her mother to practice. At this time, her mother had painted the living room white, leaving behind the dark wallpaper of her daughter's room and aisle. The background of their conversation has been divided into three color blocks, that is, the white wall is divided in half by the dark wallpaper, and the daughter's white background is left ample, and Julieta is tightly stuck by the edge of the white color block, It's a little breathless, and that's the state of mother-daughter relationships. Antia chose to go up the mountain to practice, far away from the sea and away from her mother. Julieta spent most of her life searching for her daughter, and from the very beginning, the difficulty of the search had been foreshadowed. She drives a red car along the trail on a densely forested mountain. The colors of the green trees and the red car are very saturated, which contrasts the characters' tragedy with a comical visual effect. The big panorama shot from above makes everything seem so small, like beetles flying mindlessly in the forest, and so is Julieta's process of searching for her daughter.
In this film, many objects are foreshadowing and have deep meaning. Ava's copper core sculpture runs from the beginning to the end, and she said that the sculpture was made very strong so that it would not be blown over by the wind. This sentence is a metaphor for Zoan's subsequent shipwreck. Zoan's position in the hearts of the two women is also so heavy, but he was still blown down by the wind at sea. At the same time, when the Zuoan shipwreck was reported, a red boat was placed on the TV, with geometric shapes of red, yellow and blue standing on it. Almodóvar used this shot, which includes a small boat, to show the disappearance of the men whom the women depended on all their lives. This is a very unique expression, and it accurately reflects the delicate relationship between the protagonists. Zoan and Ava are very close. There is a wall in the house that has been raised as a red display cabinet. The cabinet is full of blue-glazed pottery on a white background. Even the tableware used by Julieta when she first came to Zoan's house is similar to pottery. , which is obviously from Ava, known as the art sculptor. Zoan would sleep with Ava, and the whole wall of the house was covered with her artwork, which showed the strong bond between them. In addition, the relationship between the maid and Zoan is also close. At first Zoan ignored the maid's unfriendliness to Julieta, and later she left wearing the clothes Zoan gave her. Her status at home is very high, not to mention that she has stayed here for more than 5 years. From beginning to end, she not only spoke in a tone of voice, but even behaved like a hostess, without the slightest servant's humility. It is worth noting that when Julieta came to Zoan's house for the first time, there was an oil painting of a maid on the wall. The tone was dark. In the painting, the maid looked sideways and looked forward, as if monitoring Julieta's every move. It also alludes to the maid's relationship with Julieta. There is also an oil painting in the film that has a similar effect, that is, when Julieta, who decided to stay in Madrid, was sorting out the keepsake, the oil painting on the left side of the picture was a middle-aged man with scars on his face, with a dark and depressing tone. It is also Julieta who is squinting at the right side. This man may be a metaphor for the combination of Zoan and her father. It is very important to her, but it also causes a serious psychological shadow and burden on her.
Zoan's encounter with Julieta was catalyzed by a number of factors, notably the courting deer and Julieta's blue dress. Blue is the color that stimulates male hormones and also symbolizes desire. Julieta said that the deer was courting, and to the audience, she was also talking about Zoan. Zoan's fiery gaze stayed on her, her delicate facial features, unique temperament, and blue stockings, he was completely fascinated by her. The fairy tales she later told in the classical literature class were the director's hint. Zoan was like Ulysses, who met the goddess Calypso, ignored the temptation, and finally chose to set sail to face countless risks, yearning for the sea, and dying shipwreck.
Julieta was also close to Lorenzo. Lorenzo published a book about Ava's sculptures, and they officially met at Ava's funeral and later got together. He was nervous and angry when he learned that Julieta was somehow staying in Madrid. At this time, the background wall was two color blocks of red and gray, with more red than gray, and the emotion of anger was still suppressed. After he asked for a glass of water, he took two steps forward. The background returned to the original red clock wall, and his mood became a little calmer. Almodovar is still a sensitive director in the light of the thin language debate supported by the change of the background color block.
Most of the soundtrack of the whole film is the heavy, depressing and tense music played by the piano and cello. It was not until the last time when Julieta went to her daughter's house that there was a more relaxed guitar sound, a hoarse male voice, soulful lyrics, and soothing shots. , The charming scenery is really touching.
This film is undoubtedly another successful work of Almodovar, which perfectly expresses the delicate emotional changes between the characters and successfully renders the complex emotions of the characters with color. Especially the close-up shot of the heroine changing roles, those dreary and lonely eyes, and the vicissitudes of life in the blink of an eye, are all unforgettable for a long time.
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