During the warm-up period of the 71st Cannes Film Festival, I wonder if you still remember "You've Never Been Here" in the Cannes main competition last year, and won the best in the 70th Cannes main competition before it was made Screenwriter and Best Actor, and nominated for the Palme d'Or.
It is true that watching such a film is exhausting, and we cannot get rid of understanding and appreciating a film from the perspective of the story, which is why many people scoff at the films of the three major European film festivals.
"You've Never Been Here" is a typical audio-visual first and second-narrative movie.
It's not that it doesn't focus on narrative, and the story has many bugs. On the contrary, the narrative of "You've Never Been Here" is very delicate and worth pondering again and again. Its narrative is like the non-linear narrative directed by Nolan, coupled with Lynne Ramsay's unique editing style, so that the inner storyline of the whole movie, the storyline that really expresses the theme is hidden, and it needs to be watched repeatedly to find clues .
In general, the film has two layers of story.
The first story, "You've Never Been Here," tells the story of a man whose childhood was affected by his father's domestic violence and hired as a senator to rescue his beloved daughter who was sold as a prostitute from kidnappers. The second story is through the hero's intermittent memories of the military and childhood and his reactions to it.
Putting these two layers of stories together can both use the latter as a motivation for the former, and connect them to reveal themes.
Some people believe that the male protagonist is because of his father's domestic violence in childhood. He killed his father and left psychological trauma, and the act of saving the little girl is trying to prevent the little girl from repeating his mistakes.
But I think "You've Never Been Here" has a deeper meaning.
The film features a plethora of empty shots of the city, including grotesque nighttime and daytime traffic, conveying a sense of psychedelic romance and destruction.
But the male protagonist is out of tune in this "prosperous" modern society. When people take pictures and share them online, they don't even want to call and contact others, and only use the phone in critical moments. When the male protagonist's mother was killed, he sent her body into the lake in the forest. This scene is also one of the most beautiful in the whole film.
These points all prove that the director intends to express his attitude towards modern social life.
There are several sex-related elements in the film, including plastic bags, the man who killed the male protagonist's mother holding hands with the male protagonist before he died, the girl's mental trance under the pedophile trade and her normality when she is with the male protagonist. This "Lolita"-like plot and all kinds of sexual innuendo discuss the ethics of sexual relations.
Of course, these are all very subjective interpretations of some individuals, no matter right or wrong, they are for reference only.
Aside from the storyline, what's more interesting about this movie is its fancy audio-visual language.
Lynn Ramsey was inspired by Bresson's handling of time and space in the film. The non-continuous editing throughout the film and the switching application of close-up and wide-angle are easy to make people play, resulting in a very heart-wrenching experience.
From another perspective, the director is creating an immersive psychological experience, allowing us to better understand the psychological state of the male protagonist.
At the beginning of the film, there is no dialogue. In the scenes that create atmosphere and emotions, Lynn Ramsey seamlessly connects the subjective and objective shots, and the skillful use of the film is amazing.
The best thing about "You've Never Been Here" is its soundtrack.
The "Angle Baby" played during the two rescues was sung by the American group Rosie and the Originals in the 1960s. The lead singer Rosie was only 14 years old when she wrote the lyrics of this song, which is the name of the daughter of the congressman in the movie. , It was written to her first love when she was young.
Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood's soundtrack is full of fantasy and modernity, coupled with excellent mixing, sound and editing, the film's atmosphere of suspension, grief, fear and so on is superb.
And if you want to say what "You've Never Been Here" is lacking, it's probably its rhythm control. Whenever a violent scene comes, the director will always speed up the rhythm without leaving the slightest suspense (although, the violent scenes of the movie are still very impactful, but not kitsch, full of different violent aesthetics), while the plot When it comes to the portrayal of the male protagonist's life, the rhythm is extremely slow. This kind of rhythm of one fast, one slow, one fast and one slow is not acceptable to everyone.
Such a movie that is full of art but not lacking in entertainment, I believe it will be the top ten of the year for many people this year, you, don't miss it!
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