Are you still obsessed with sweet tea? That's because you haven't seen Zhao Wenxuan's prosperous beauty in those days!
(The article was first published on the public account "Movie Madhouse", WeChat ID: dianyingfengrenyuan)
Recently, a clear stream has appeared in the online movie hot search list, that is, "Please call me by your name". Although this film still belongs to the gay-themed films that are not uncommon in Europe and the United States, it brings a fresh breath that is different from previous gay films. The film starring "Sweet Tea" Timothy Chalamet is eye-catching in terms of appearance and acting skills.
But, is "Sweet Tea" really a rare face value in gay-themed movies? Don't say anything else, in terms of appearance, the following person expresses dissatisfaction!
And this time, what I want to talk about is the debut of this little brother, the current handsome man Zhao Wenxuan, and the second "The Wedding Banquet" of the famous "Father Trilogy" directed by Ang Lee.
Not to mention other movies of the same theme, if "Call Me by Your Name" focuses on describing the fresh and beautiful love of an individual, then "The Wedding Banquet" takes the small to the big, and responds to the Chinese tradition through a Chinese and a Western gay couple. The wedding process reflects the conflict and run-in between traditional Chinese marriage customs and etiquette concepts and Western and even modern social ideology and culture. Telling a good love story can certainly move the audience, but if you can explore a certain practical significance from it, the movie will be more valuable.
The value of "The Wedding Banquet" lies in that Li An explained the conflict between the new and the old with a lively rhythm and a humorous atmosphere; in the narrative of the plot, he tried to reflect on the nature of the traditional etiquette and customs; finally, through the characters' understanding of the problem To resolve, as reasonably possible to express the main creator's views and attitudes towards this contradiction.
There are not a few Chinese-language films that express the conflict between traditional ethical thinking and sexual liberation. Fifth-generation directors of the same generation as Ang Lee have made films with this motif, such as "Da Hong Mi Store", "Inkstone Bed" and "Fengyue". However, "The Wedding Banquet" is different from these works in that it does not talk about bitterness and hatred, nor does it show the traditional system of etiquette in a gloomy way, but through the story of "fake marriage" driven by lies and accidents in a modern context , just right to ridicule the various problems exposed by traditional Chinese ethical thinking in an open modern society; it does not pile up traditional Chinese cultural symbols to satisfy the curious tastes of some Western judges, but instead reflects the subtle influence of traditional ideology and culture from the behavior and attitude of the characters The influence of the three-dimensional image of the characters and the explanation of the relationship between the characters, even the Mao sister who quit the marriage as a supporting role is vividly liked; more importantly, although it is a type of Comedy, and the whole is not depressing, not dark, and there is no terrible tragedy, but through a series of accidents and misunderstandings of the hero Gao Weitong, the gay lover Simon, the fake fiancée Weiwei and the parents who have come from afar, the audience can't laugh or cry. At the same time, it also makes the embarrassing situation of traditional ethics become obvious.
But if it is just a different tone to express this theme, then "The Wedding Banquet" is only a change of soup but not of medicine compared with those works by fifth-generation directors. During the "fake marriage" in the middle of the film, Ang Lee expressed his understanding of traditional Chinese ethics by comparing several plots. The most typical plot comparison is that for the marriage of their son, Gao Weitong's parents, according to traditional etiquette, prepared various gifts not limited to dowry for their son and "prospective daughter-in-law", and planned a decent wedding banquet for their son. However, when I arrived in the United States, I found that the marriage was only registered with the Civil Affairs Bureau, and then swore an oath in front of the witnesses. This made the old couple feel frustrated, but fortunately, the old comrade-in-arms of Gao’s father who opened a Chinese restaurant came to the rescue and helped Wei Tong to hold the wedding banquet that the old couple dreamed of. The reason is self-evident, the so-called feudal ethics is just an indirect satire on "China's vast land and resources". Due to historical reasons, there is little peace in the land of China. Barren material and backward productivity often conflict with the needs of the working people. An inadequate life does not allow men and women to have more freedom in reproduction and reproduction, but human desires can be completely fulfilled if they are not material. Therefore, etiquette has become the program of marriage, and the marriage that is valued also has a rare grand ceremony. Under the strong economic development of capitalist countries like the United States, in addition to their relatively superior material living standards, more open cultural thoughts, and relatively free views on love and marriage, the sense of ceremony in weddings is not so important.
However, Ang Lee is better than most fifth-generation directors, not only because of the number of paragraphs. After studying in the United States for many years, he was deeply influenced by Hollywood drama standards, and the narrative pays attention to succession and transformation, the character arc is complete, and the degree of completion is relatively high. What is even more rare is that Ang Lee can also combine this series of play guidelines with reflections on humanistic ethics and social phenomena (especially the discussion of traditional Chinese ethical thoughts). "The Wedding Banquet" is a work that can particularly reflect Ang Lee's advantages in this respect, especially the ending of the film - at Wei Wei's suggestion, Wei Tong decided to let Simon and him be the father of the child. This not only does not violate the marriage-related laws and regulations of Western countries, but also does not violate Wei Tong's parents' wishes for their son to get married and have children, but also maintain the emotional relationship between Wei Tong, Simon and Wei Wei. Reconciliation between two generations allows traditional marriage and same-sex love to coexist. In this way, the characters have completed their growth, the plot has a beginning and an end, and the theme has been sublimated. Ang Lee's attitude towards traditional marriage and homosexuality is ready to show: lovers of different sexual orientations are the same as lovers of different classes, nationalities, occupations, etc., their feelings And marriage and other people's relationships are equal and should be respected, but calling for freedom of love does not mean committing to combating traditional marriage ethics. After all, traditional marriage ethics will eventually be eliminated by the times. We do not praise it, but we cannot Strike, let it coexist for a short time with the freedom of love. It not only reflects the problem, but also analyzes the problem objectively and dialectically.
"The Wedding Banquet" is not perfect. It may be because Ang Lee's American classmates participated in the screenwriting. Some of the lines are too written and have a slightly more pedagogical color. Ang Lee's later works are skilled and flexible in audio-visual language. But despite this, it is still unique among gay-themed movies, and it is even difficult to copy, because anyone can tell a simple love story, including Ang Lee himself who made "Brokeback Mountain", there is never the best, only the better , but the film that can reflect on social and humanities with homosexuality as a cut and can have a high degree of completion, except "The Wedding Banquet", the author has not yet seen the second film.
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