The director of this film, Sean Baker, is good at or likes to make stories about people on the fringes of society. His work is no exception. He will see the world through the eyes/perspectives of children from poor families. "The Florida Project" begins with a scene where the girl Moonee and her playmates spit farther than anyone else, showing a disregard for the rules/morals set by adults. The way they see the world is obviously different from that of adults; and as Moonee's single mother, Halley, despite living in poverty, she still does her best to make her daughter happy and protect Moonee's innocence and Moonee's world. Unchanged; she loves her daughter perhaps more than any successful mother!
Halley, who is full of swear words, has an arrogant expression, and sticks her M towel in front of other people's doors when she is dissatisfied, looks arrogant, like a "big child" who has not yet grown up; therefore, we can understand why she would "indulge her." "Daughter Moonee's laissez-faire behavior, and even to "protect" these behaviors; and this "problem mother", although after being humiliated by her ex-girlfriend, beat her so hard that her face was swollen (a manifestation of true temperament), But when Halley walked out of the restaurant where her ex-girlfriend worked, the action of suddenly throwing away the packaged food in her hand may reflect that she also has a side that cares about friendship/love.
The outgoing Halley is in contrast to the introverted hotel manager Bobby (Willem Dafoe). It is to protect the children in the motel (he is the opposite of Halley who let his daughter go). The easy-going Bobby will come forward when he sees a malicious pedophile, but he is prone to soft-hearted, and despite repeated warnings to drive Halley and Moonee away, he will still be at the staff of another hotel. When embarrassing them, they help the mother-daughter duo out of their own pockets. The film makes the characters more three-dimensional through some small details and the performances of the actors, and Bobby's sympathy for the two protagonists may stem from his own empathy for facing family/family problems. His role as a "big parent", I hope that the hotel management will not be messed up, but I can't even handle my own family problems.
The film "The Florida Project", with its dual dimension of childlike and sad status quo, reminds me of Roberto Benigni's "La vita è bella"; When she had to "pick up guests" in her room, her daughter Moonee, who was "hidden" in the bathroom, was still able to play carefree on the surface; but from what Moonee said before "I can always see when adults are about to cry ", everyone should be able to know her precocious puberty, she must know nothing! And this is in contrast to the strong music playing outside the bathroom (the mother deliberately played the music loudly to cover up her prostitution), the picture of Moonee playing alone has a feeling of sadness and loneliness, showing Moonee (probably) not really happy. But despite this, she still threw herself into this colorful world in her eyes; even when the tree fell, it continued to grow.
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The impressive ending of the film is that the "fairy tale" constructed in reality is shattered, but the imagination of the Magic Kingdom (the heart's desire) is re-constructed. Moonee, who was almost (or seemingly) free of sorrow, cried bitterly to her best friend at this time (representing the official shattering of the real "fairy tale"); then, there was no soundtrack for this part. In the movie, there is music that can stimulate people's hearts (meaning that the film has begun to break away from the reality that it should not have a soundtrack); and the image that has been "stable" has also changed because of switching to iPhone shooting at this time. Shaking (Director Sean Baker's last feature film "Tangerine" was also shot with an iPhone, and his handling of images or forms before and after the new film seems to be the opposite of "Tangerine"). A major theme of "The Florida Project" is "Find Your Kingdom", and its brilliant ending echoes the fallen but growing tree again - reality may collapse, but "imagination" (belief) can help You, find a beautiful utopia.
"The Florida Project", which is still produced at a small cost, is still like Sean Baker's previous work. With limited resources, it has produced a lot of eye-catching pictures. For example, when Bobby lit his cigarette, the lights behind him came on at the same time (see the picture above); or near the 29th minute, four children ran from one end of the pink and purple motel to the other end of the long shot (to make the audience feel more to their freedom); and the scene of Halley and Moonee walking to the "free" buffet, the image of the mother's eyes watching her daughter feasting, which seems bland, but oozes Halley's maternal love for Moonee.
"The Florida Project", which is sharply independent from the current American cinema that is filled with works that require "political correctness", does not cater to mainstream morals or values; one of its most worthy of praise is First of all, the director did not presume to guide the audience, or stand on the "moral high ground" to criticize any group and society with many problems; this film just shows it like a Japanese haiku that does not imply its ultimate meaning, or through clever The comparison method is used to make the image "self-form" and open its meaning, so that we can watch or interpret it from different directions (such as the helicopter that appears constantly in the film, you can understand that it means that you are worried about your children, and you must always The "helicopter education model" hovering above them); and it can also trigger the audience to reflect on poverty and happiness, the "protection" of society/country and the pros and cons of free development, etc.
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