This is a story about the growth and friendship of two girls. Seeing this bland introduction, and seeing the boring title of "My Genius Girlfriend", if you don't know its background, maybe no one is interested in opening it - except for straight men who love to watch Lala action movies .
But once you understand its background and watch the first episode, you will fall in love with it, madly and unable to fall in love with it, as if plunged into the dusty town of Naples half a century ago, plunged into two In the girl's beautiful and deep eyes, she saw a magnificent picture of a literary masterpiece dancing in front of her eyes, and when she saw an era rushing towards her face like a raging flame, she was powerless to resist and could only indulge in it.
From 2011 to 2014, Elena Ferrante, a female writer whose true identity is still a mystery, published four novels in succession, describing the half-life friendship between two girls born in impoverished neighborhoods in Naples. Known as the "Neapolitan Quartet". This year, the first novel "My Gifted Girlfriend" was put on the screen. In this drama, what you see is not just the story of two girls, but also the struggle and despair of every family in the dilapidated community, the ambition and madness of small capitalists, the social picture before the proletarian revolution. , the beautiful scenery of the city of Naples and the island, and the humanity that pervades the whole film, where darkness and light coexist.
1. Complex female friendships - chasing contests can't hide love for each other
The theme of female friendship is not uncommon. In recent years, the popular movies such as "Little Times" and "July and Ansheng" focus on female friendship, but they are full of false self and pretentious youth. And in every idol drama/family ethics drama in the past, the heroine's friend was either stupid or raped, or did everything for the heroine, or did all the evil things halfway through, in short, they were all in a fixed pattern. Set off or sacrifice, always be a stepping stone to the main line. And the drama? Women's friendship doesn't exist~ It can be said that there are only a handful of dramas that truly treat women as equal individuals, and take their care, jealousy, competition, growth and mutual sympathy as the themes, which are poetically and realistically presented. It is for this reason that the drama "My Gifted Girlfriend" is very precious. Its portrayal of female friendship is so meticulous and penetrating. Even today, when the so-called "feminism" has developed and progressed, it is still precious and sparkling. Reluctant to look away.
For a long time, there is no real friendship between women and women's friendship is fragile. What makes people think this way? From the perspective of patriarchy, women are naturally sentimental and sensitive, which makes them more vulnerable; women are naturally jealous, and excellence will only lead to hatred and slander; women value love more, and they may abandon any friends for men... ...that's the concept we grew up with, and it's so common that some people don't even realize it. Others, while shouting for the development of feminism, enjoy the small favors brought by "gender advantage". These, in my opinion, are all products of sexism because women are not treated as equals. Equality means non-discrimination and non-preferential treatment, and individual means non-generalization.
Elena and Lila, they are synonymous with fancy misfortune. Born in a low-level community, surrounded by closed-eyed civilians and bullies who rule the streets by force. Women either drop out of school early to work, or they get married and have children to do housework, and those who receive education are considered outliers. The two of them are talented and thirsty for knowledge. Lila's rebellious genes attract Elena, Elena's help warms Lila, and their friendship is established. They play together, explore the dark basement together, find the vicious Archie and ask for a doll together, save money to buy books together, and open up a new world of literature together. If friendship only stays at this level, it is too single. Human emotions are complex, and friendships become even more fascinating as other emotions intervene and change.
They are jealous of each other and compete with each other. Lila was jealous that Elena could go to junior high school, so she didn't talk to her for half a year. Elena is jealous of Lila's literary talent and is disappointed to see her teacher and Nino appreciate her. Lila is full of rebellious spirit, saying that she wants to make money to leave the poor neighborhood, Elena shows her breasts to male classmates in the bathroom, just to make money. Although Lila didn't go to school, she secretly learned Latin by herself. She read a lot of books. When Elena said she wanted to learn Greek, she taught herself first, which was better than Elena. Seeing that Lila was pursued by so many people like Pasquale, Enzo, and Marcello, Elena also wanted to fall in love, and accepted the pursuit of her classmate without thinking. This kind of competition seems childish, but it gives them the motivation to move forward, become a better self, and pursue a bigger world.
At the same time, they comfort and support each other. The first time Elena came to her period, she was at a loss. The first thing she thought of was to find Lila. Although Lila spoke coldly, she still encouraged her with actions. Lila was forced to marry by Marcello, and Elena was the only comrade-in-arms who stood by her side and encouraged her to resist. Elena suffers from poor Latin literature and self-denial because of the acne on her face. Lila not only taught her the experience to help her through the difficulties, but also seriously told her: you are the most beautiful. When Lila was betrayed by her fiance, it was Elena who stayed by her side, persuading and comforting her, smiling for her happiness, and crying for her broken dreams.
On the surface, Elena is a follower of Lila. Lila said that she wanted to make money, so she went to knock on Uncle Bully's door; Lila said that she wanted to buy books, and she went to buy books; Lila said that she wanted to make money to leave the town, and she started to go to school. But fate is terrible. In fact, Elena will be the last person. Although she is not that smart, she has been moving forward on the target. As children, the two went to see the sea together, suggesting this. Lila proposed the idea of looking at the sea and kept persuading Elena to be hesitant and timid at first, but after she decided, she bravely implemented it. The two hid their schoolbags, walked through the bridge, and ran into the distance, as if they were chasing freedom and the future. The scene was light in color, the music was cheerful, and the beauty was so sad. Halfway through, Lila realized something, maybe she realized that even seeing the sea was useless, the world was boundless, she was still not free, her destiny was like a shadow, and she couldn't break free. So she proposed to go back, but Elena showed her persistence at this time, encouraging her to keep going since she had gone so long. This dialogue is full of metaphors, and the picture also dims. The fate of the future is unknown, but the direction seems to be clear.
Elena is a staunch performer, and Lila knows that, so she said before the wedding: "You're my genius friend, you should be better than anyone". Elena carries the unfulfilled dreams of the two, and she will get better and better until she no longer follows.
2. The charismatic Lila is a beauty that combines purity and evil
Lila is undoubtedly the protagonist among the protagonists. Since she was a child, she has far surpassed ordinary people's perception of numbers and words, and has deep insight into the world of people. She is undoubtedly brave, full of desire for the outside world, trying to break through the bondage, but she is injured again and again, and even thrown out of the window. In those days, it was an honor for young girls to ride in the car of a rich boy. They could not resist the temptation of vanity, even if they were molested. While others were accustomed to and even envied, Lila revealed the truth with anger and contempt: the girl was being "played like garbage by them",
Yes, they are handsome, but can you just force someone away?
She even saw a deeper reason: because the girl was poor, she was toyed with by them. At that time she was not very good-looking, and no one understood her, except Elena. These words, full of female equality consciousness and human insight, slashed Elena's chaotic consciousness like a blade, leading the two forward. Lila's intelligence, precociousness and rebelliousness make her unique and attractive, making her more and more attractive to the opposite sex.
She is a jealous person. Marcello tried to molest Elena, she took out a knife and pressed it against his neck, using words and eyes to convince him that she would stab him to death if he dared to do so. After the strong exposure, the whole film ushered in the only second and Mary Sue plot - the playboy, the representative of the petty bourgeoisie, Marcello fell in love with Lila who threatened him with a knife (I laughed out loud at the time). He is doomed to no avail, because Lila, who is jealous of evil, has once witnessed his "evil" robbing girls in the car on the street.
Who would impress Lila? Consistent and intelligent people. The "impressed" here is not necessarily the love between men and women. For example, Pasquale, as a radical communist, his discussion of class inequality immediately attracted the young girl Lila. This is something she has been aware of but has not formed a systematic idea. You can pay attention to her eyes at that time, straight, Hidden excitement is the look in the eyes of the beloved, the look in the eyes of being attracted by common ideals and beliefs. Facts have proved that Pasquale is smart. After his confession was rejected, he withdrew with great grace and still maintained the partnership. And Stefano, her future fiancé, smart and knowledgeable, he bought Lila's shoes to show that he understood her and would give her shelter, in exchange for Lila bowing to put on his shoes, At this time, she has another kind of look, full of charm and seductive, this is the look that seduces the prey.
It can be seen that Lila is a soft-hearted person who has her own rules and will only accept people who respect and treat her kindly. When she was a child, she fought with Enzo and got her head smashed. Just because Enzo apologized, she didn't say a word when her father asked and insisted not to complain. After Elena entered junior high school, Lila was reluctant to take the initiative to approach her, but seeing Elena's sadness and weakness, she let go of her estrangement and accepted her again. The strong saker will only relax after the opponent exposes its weaknesses. However, it is easy to break through just now, and this kind of character has laid a hidden danger for her tragic fate.
3. Is it rebellion or punishment to compromise with reality with the body?
In a patriarchal society, women have awakened consciousness and want to pursue personal values. What is the safest path?
The two heroines gave us the answer (although it was a failed answer). Lila first used force, such as throwing bricks in the street with Enzo and threatening Marcello with a knife. However, her physical weakness decided that this was not the solution at all. She wanted to make money and leave the town, so she chose to start a business, but not only did she lack Bole and start-up funds, but her father's family war against her brother directly stopped her. Later, Marcello threatened the family to pursue her arrogantly. She chose to bear it, quarreled with her father, broke with her brother, and locked herself up. In the end, in order to "completely" solve the problem, she used her femininity to display her political skills. RaStefano joined the team, which not only blocked Marcello's pursuit, but also expanded the store to realize reproduction, which in disguise fulfilled her entrepreneurial dream.
Elena was unfortunately molested by Donato. For the 15-year-old girl, it was tantamount to a disillusionment blow, not to mention that he was the father of the dream lover Nino! But Elena's strong personality was revealed at a critical moment. When she found that Donato was following in the town, she took the initiative to approach the crazy widow's son Antonio, not only lingering with Antonio in the fitting room by the sea, to cover the previous Body memory, also using him to threaten and humiliate Donato, completely cut off Donato's fantasy. Such a means, it is really amazing, it is simply admirable.
But from another point of view, these are choices of last resort. Their physical strength is incomparable, and they cannot drive away disturbing men; they have no money to stand by, and they have to endure the pressure of the people around them. To achieve their goals, they can only "borrow". In such a patriarchal society, the answer is self-evident.
This is not a long-term solution after all, and reality has given them a fatal blow. Elena had no love for Antonio, but she still rejected him. After being ignored and rejected by her sweetheart Nino, she looked at the people who were immersed in joy and realized the reality: we are ordinary people.
It's the common people fighting over food and wine, the order of the food, the service, the dirty floor on which the waiters are walking, the increasingly vulgar toasts.
The way Lila was photographed awake was even more brutal: at the wedding scene, Marcello walked in wearing her first pair of shoes. This means that Stefano not only broke his promise to her and allowed Marcello to enter the arena, but also gave him the token of their love - shoes. The fiancé in front of him, his eyes dodged at first, and then became meaningless: what can you do to me? The beautiful dream Lila thought she had built collapsed at that moment. The so-called love could not resist the temptation of profit. She was only a pawn in the hands of a man after all. The crowd was still dancing happily. Marcello walked around provocatively. She was covered in bruises and bruises, and only Elena was left. The two people who were hit by fate looked at each other and cried silently. At that moment, their eyes were saying: What should I do? ? We only have each other left.
It's nice to have you by my side in this tragic fate. But how do we go down the road?
Teacher Oliviero is the only one who sees through. She is knowledgeable and literate, lives alone, and will tell girls in class that if boys are not taught that women are not allowed to be men, or even better, they will be incompetent. She keenly discovered the talents of the two of them, encouraged them to continue to go to school, and even worked as a parent, so that Elena must study, and the money was not enough for me to help, because she knew that women must have knowledge to live more freely; After she didn't go to school but still studied hard, she asked Elena to tell Lila that she had excellent grades and that she had to learn Greek because she knew that the two girls were secretly competing, and they would make each other better; she learned that Lila gave up studying and chose to marry After becoming a lady, she refused to attend the wedding because she knew that "the beauty of the body will be short-lived in these places, as if it has never been owned", men are unreliable, and women can only rely on themselves. Her motto awakened Elena at the last minute, and made Lila think before the wedding: Why didn't the teacher come to my wedding? Am I making a mistake?
She should have an answer when she saw Marcello's shoes.
What will happen next season? In the 1960s, when the proletarian revolution was surging all over the world, what would be their fate? The seeds of revolution have long been planted in their hearts, but what choices will they make with completely different personalities? I sincerely look forward to it.
The wild trails and clouds are all black, the river boat fire is unique, and the red flames are in front of you.
PS If you ask who is your favorite male in the whole film? I will choose Enzo, he is full of warmth, he will give sweet and sour fruits to Lila, his sweetheart, and make her smile proudly.
View more about My Brilliant Friend reviews
