I have to say that the title of the film is translated very vividly. Compared with the literal translation of "The Beguiled" (deceived), "Under the Peony Flower" directly teaches people to imaginatively. "Under the Peony" is about how a romantic ghost died under the peony .
During the American Civil War, Colonel John McBurney of the Union Army was trapped in the woods with a leg injury and was rescued by Jane, a student at a nearby boarding school. Out of Christian mercy, Martha, the principal of the boarding school, did not immediately hand the colonel over to the Confederates, but took him in for his healing. The arrival of the Colonel brings subtle changes to the lifeless school, and the Colonel stays in the school to escape the battlefield, cleverly negotiating between the principal Martha, the teacher Edwina and the students. However, Edwina broke the colonel and student Alicia's affair, and accidentally pushed him downstairs. The colonel's leg recurred, and Martha had to amputate him to save his life. The colonel was furious and threatened to take revenge on the "madmen". To get rid of the Colonel's threat, the people at the boarding school put poisonous mushrooms on his table...
Sofia Coppola won the best director at the Cannes Film Festival with this film, but there was a lot of controversy, and was dubbed the best director in Cannes. Shallow, is the evaluation of many people on this film. Comparing her version with the 1971 version, slamming her for excluding the presence of black handmaids and rejecting some of the discussion of feminism and slavery, the whole work lacks depth. It is true that Coppola's version empties the historical background, and simply ignores various practical issues of war, religion, race, and does not have the meaning and depth that some people want. This is the director's usual style. Aside from that, I think it's a pretty cool movie.
Hot air, shady gardens, isolated boarding schools, the story unfolds in a gothic dark atmosphere. The open and secret battles between women revolving around the colonel are as tense and exciting as the gunfights and drag racing that male audiences like. There is no doubt that women's various careful mechanisms are exposed. Seemingly careless, but actually dressing up with good intentions, not wearing a brooch, wearing a pair of pearl earrings, and lazily shaking off the shawl to reveal the fragrant shoulders, it is a sign of goodwill to the colonel and full of gunpowder smell to the same sex.
The most ridiculous quarrel occurred at a dinner, when everyone was flattered over the apple pie:
Alicia: I made apple pie, hope you like it.
Edwina: Is it my recipe?
Amy: I picked the apples.
Jane: Apple pie is my favorite too.
Seven girls and one boy, of course, the most important scenes take place between the principal Martha, teacher Edwina and student Alicia. It's a dangerous game of lust. Colonel McBurney flirted with the boarding school crowd in order to escape the battlefield. He told Edwina that running away, though not brave, might be wise. Because I met her, praised her beauty, and said I love her. He discusses the war with Martha, complimenting her as a polite lady, strong and brave, for protecting the people at the boarding school. As for Alicia, a girl in the rebellious period of her youth, she would sneak into the Colonel's room and take the initiative to kiss him to tempt him. The Colonel has both sides. However, as his affair with Alicia is shattered, the casual flirt game turns into a spooky thriller. The colonel was first amputated, and finally the people at the boarding school staged a good scene of the murder of poisonous mushrooms.
It is worth pondering that the director is undoubtedly a female perspective, but the women in the play are not likable. Principal Martha is a symbol of power, and she looks like a decent lady, but she is prudish. Edwina is docile, cowardly, and indifferent. Alicia is a frivolous, coquettish femme fatale. The struggle between the three indirectly led to the death of the colonel.
At the end of the film, the colonel's body was wrapped in white cloth and parked outside the iron gate of the school, while the teachers and students of the boarding school looked blankly into the distance, as if nothing had happened. The game started by the colonel ends with the colonel's death. As a woman, the director can be said to ruthlessly reveal the extreme jealousy, selfishness and cruelty of women. However, whether it's self-deprecating or a high-profile counterattack against women's meek presupposition, I like this kind of unbelievable attitude.
Occasionally I want to stay at home and watch movies and dramas,
But I don't know what movie is good?
☟
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Analysis, no spoilers
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