"Zoom" is one of Antonioni's rare works with strong plot. Thomas' search for the truth makes the film have some elements of the type of detective films, which is more dramatic than his other works.
Apart from this line, the first thirty minutes of the film and a lot of plots interspersed in the middle are without themes; the performances of rock bands, the carnival of clowns and many other plots are extremely absurd. So, what does the director want to express with this?
------------------------------------------ 1. No theme narrative "Zoom" The story of Thomas-Jane-photos-murder is mainly about Thomas-Jane-photos-murder, but some unrelated characters and trivia are interspersed outside the main line - clown, gay, protest crowd, antique shop lady owner, two girls, painter friend and his girlfriend All debut ••• This is the director's intention. The director has created a chaotic city, where people are empty inside, alienated from others, and lose both true and false judgment and self-judgment. The people in this city can be funny clowns, wandering with the crowd without serious business; the two girls who sell their bodies for fame and fortune; the girlfriend of a painter's friend, who has an ambiguous relationship with Thomas... There is also Thomas himself. He has a surly character and interferes with the normal narrative from time to time, and we can never guess what he will do next: maybe go deep into the slum to take pictures, maybe buy a propeller and go home when he is in the mood. Jane was still on her guard, being indifferent to the two girls for a while, having sex with passion for a while, and then remembering that the murder had not been dealt with. His life is also messy. Like everyone in the city, he is lost in the real and the unreal. There is only emptiness in the heart, and sex, drugs, and wandering have become the way to get rid of the emptiness. That's probably what Antonioni wants to convey with these trivia. The director deliberately arranged the role of the owner of an antique shop. She is the only character in the film who wants to escape - to escape from the icy city, the cold high walls, and the repeated meaningless life. Thomas also tried and failed. "I want to have a lot of money and run away," he said. Audiences might think that this guy is talking nonsense again, when the truth is that every eccentric act or line of Thomas defends the film's theme. At the same time, the lines of the characters in the film are no longer used as the main element of the narrative. But the rambling dialogue has become the focus of portraying the inner world, such as Thomas' irritable nonsense, his telling Jane The truth about "his wife", the unexpected indifference of the grocery store clerk and others to him. An's use of a messy lens to describe the messy modern life, this act itself is a kind of modern art, turning the act of directing a narrative without a theme into art with a theme, and this idea happens to be a movie. the theme of reality and nothingness. 2. Absurd Narrative Absurdity is a powerful tool for criticism and satire. Antonioni is a critical master of modernism, and the absurd plots he designs often have profound connotations. Fake fashion game Antonioni's personal love of pop music like Jazz and Rock led to his later collaboration with Pink Floyd on Zabriskie Point. But Ahn's use of music in the film isn't just out of sheer liking, as he is concerned with the connection between Pink Floyd's psychedelic qualities and the Hippies movement. In "Zoom", he poignantly satirized the social people's vassalism and loss of self. Thomas was fortunate enough to witness the gang of rock "music fans" rally, the scene is extremely embarrassed. A group of spectators watched the lively performance numbly, a bit like "Ye Gong loves the dragon". Among the many people in the audience, there may only be two people who really love rock - the man and woman who dance to the music. There is a similar treatment in the MV film "The Wall" - the camera focuses on a group portrait with expressionless faces, which undoubtedly exposes a social collective loss. When the musician threw the headstock at the crowd, a group of people fought frantically. Thomas grabbed it and ran out, and the crowd caught up, but no one chased after too far. It seems that the so-called "love" is not too pious or crazy, but just a "fashion game" for urban people. Thomas ran down the street and threw the headstock randomly on the ground. Passers-by pass by, pick up the headstock and throw it aside. Music entering the hearts of urban people may only be an appearance. virtual tennis match There are many people who can no longer distinguish between reality and appearance, and Thomas is one of them. Thomas was infinitely close to the truth, but the truth slipped away in a hurry: Thomas spied the truth through photos and decided to find the truth. He had the opportunity to firmly grasp the "evidence of the crime", but because of his "misjudgment" Let the evidence be destroyed and the real world evaporate. Thomas failed, this is his personal tragedy, but also the tragedy of the society, it is precisely because of publisher Ron, who is lost in sex and drugs, that the truth cannot be communicated, and the truth cannot be manifested. Alienation from people also ensues. It is full of Antonioni's ruthless revelation of this homogenized and institutionalized modern society and its helplessness. Thomas made a choice, he picked up tennis balls that didn't exist on the ground, and it was a compromise. If "Trust your camera and track down the murder" represents the awakening of his consciousness, "pick up this tennis ball" represents the annihilation of his consciousness. The unnatural sound began to sound, and Thomas actually heard the sound of "tennis"; the camera also gave him a close-up of his face, his eyes moved left and right with the "tennis", he had voluntarily given up his judgment on reality and devoted himself to this In the virtual game, once again lost. At the end of the credits, Antonioni presents his point of view without hiding and completely naked to the audience. Both the main story and the previous unthemed plot seem to be tied to one point, and it explodes - Thomas' resistance fails, Antonioni reveals His pessimistic tendencies towards the fragmented modern society. . It is full of Antonioni's ruthless revelation of this homogenized and institutionalized modern society and its helplessness. Thomas made a choice, he picked up tennis balls that didn't exist on the ground, and it was a compromise. If "Trust your camera and track down the murder" represents the awakening of his consciousness, "pick up this tennis ball" represents the annihilation of his consciousness. The unnatural sound began to sound, and Thomas actually heard the sound of "tennis"; the camera also gave him a close-up of his face, his eyes moved left and right with the "tennis", he had voluntarily given up his judgment on reality and devoted himself to this In the virtual game, once again lost. At the end of the credits, Antonioni presents his point of view without hiding and completely naked to the audience. Both the main story and the previous unthemed plot seem to be tied to one point, and it explodes - Thomas' resistance fails, Antonioni reveals His pessimistic tendencies towards the fragmented modern society. . It is full of Antonioni's ruthless revelation of this homogenized and institutionalized modern society and its helplessness. Thomas made a choice, he picked up tennis balls that didn't exist on the ground, and it was a compromise. If "Trust your camera and track down the murder" represents the awakening of his consciousness, "pick up this tennis ball" represents the annihilation of his consciousness. The unnatural sound began to sound, and Thomas actually heard the sound of "tennis"; the camera also gave him a close-up of his face, his eyes moved left and right with the "tennis", he had voluntarily given up his judgment on reality and devoted himself to this In the virtual game, once again lost. At the end of the credits, Antonioni presents his point of view without hiding and completely naked to the audience. Both the main story and the previous unthemed plot seem to be tied to one point, and it explodes - Thomas' resistance fails, Antonioni reveals His pessimistic tendencies towards the fragmented modern society.
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