Recently, a friend asked me what film technique is and what is the difference between the film, TV, and video that I usually see lacking film technique in China. I didn't answer it in time. It just happened to have just watched "Mother", and by the way, I used this movie to answer my friend's question.
In the beginning of the movie, Zhentai (Jin Jiu) kicked the lights of the Mercedes-Benz, but the claims were more expensive. He lied to the police that Dojun (Won Bin) kicked the lights. Dojun also complained about why he kicked the lights. The place is to focus on the intellectual problem of Dojun's memory. In addition, the conflict in the police station also confessed that "idiot" is a sensitive word that irritates Daojun. These are the two key foreshadowings of the beginning of the movie, and the reason why the scene was designed. They are both common play skills.
After the incident, the mother (Jin Hye-ja) suspected that Zhentai was the murderer and went to Zhentai's residence to secretly search for the so-called "evidence". At this time, Zhentai returned with the girl, and the two were still having sex. The mother could only hide in the closet temporarily. Inside, watching everything that happened in the room. The next step is obviously to find a chance to sneak out and escape, but the two of them couldn’t fall asleep so quickly after having sex. There was nothing to take in the waiting process, so they gave an empty shot of the exterior of the house, indicating that the time was already up. After a while, and then cut back to the room, the two were already asleep, and the mother was about to escape secretly. Don't underestimate this empty lens, this small empty lens is very important. Of course, this is not a terrific technique, it is relatively common. In theory, it is still the logic of empty shot transition, especially the connection between the same scene before and after, which obviously has the function of expressing time here. Some people may pay attention to the tense part of the scene, but I care more about this empty shot. When you are watching a Chinese movie, the empty lens in it is usually rather dumb.
During the appeal, the lawyer drank wine and happily talked with Daojun's mother in the nightclub, to the effect of advising her mother that the case has been settled and stop making unnecessary efforts. But the line is that the lawyer first talked about something unrelated to this, the World Cup and other nonsense, saying that four years have passed since a certain World Cup, I seem to think it was yesterday, not long at all. Then the mother went in without knowing it and asked what it meant. The lawyer said that the matter of your son has already been decided, and the sentence will be four years at most. This is simply impossible in normal times. Moreover, his son has problems with his brain. Basically, he spent the past four years in the hospital. Here is a more sophisticated line technique. Generally speaking, I will say something that is not related to this but can lead to the topic of the dialogue. This is very common in Western movies. For example, Quentin's "Pulp Fiction", the two of them don't talk about business, they just want to talk about burgers from various countries and foot massages for you. However, the situation of Chinese films tends to be straightforward, so the artistic quality is greatly reduced, which shows that many creators lack the exercise of divergent thinking.
The case progressed. After Zhentai’s suspicion was cleared, Zhentai and Daojun’s mother said why the murderer had put the body on the roof. The camera suddenly cut to the top of the abandoned house where his mother was running in the rain, giving a bird’s eye view of the whole town. At this time, Zhentai’s The voice-over said that this was because the murderer wanted everyone in the town to see it, and then followed the voice-over and switched back to the scene where the two people started the conversation. Zhentai continued to analyze the case with his mother, finished speaking, and then switched back to the mother rain station. Looking at the whole town from the roof. This kind of accidental cross-editing technique can strengthen the drama, have an effect on the topic of the line, and can also resolve the audiovisual monotony caused by the long dialogue. When appropriate, inserting dialogue-related shots to enrich the amount of information and activate the viewing experience is one of the techniques of cinematic narrative, and it is also an important way to enhance the cinematic nature. This is also a commonly used method in the mature film industry, but it may be scarce in many films and televisions in China. Especially in such places, most of them will not use it. Generally, it may be to finish a dialogue first, and then The mother ran to another scene, or simply confessed the plot through dialogue, coping with or even ignoring the visual display of some details. The audiovisual language is relatively rigid and lacks a lot of artistry. Of course, the way the part is expressed depends on the creative concept of the overall style. For example, plain realism does not focus on editing, and does not emphasize the dramatic situation of appearance, but this basic topic is not shown here.
After in-depth investigation, my mother went to the waste collector to ask about the case, because at this time this person was suspected of committing the crime. When my mother went to the waste station, this person’s head was drilled in a scrap machine tossing parts, only half of his body was exposed. At this time, the mother sat down while talking. The person stood up and passed by her side. Because the mother was sitting and the camera position was relatively low, the audience could still only see the lower body of the person. This is also a common technique. The appearance of key figures maintains a certain degree of suspense, enhances the attraction and interest of watching movies, and brews drama conflicts. The man walked to the opposite side of his mother while talking, closed the door "bang", and sat down. Only then did we see the appearance of this man, who he was. Take the recent Western movie "Hunting" as an example, the biggest female villain also appeared in this way; including the appearance of the boss Masha in "Pulp Fiction"; and the appearance of Dr. Manhattan in the recent American drama "Watchmen", and even Play this technique forever. There may be differences in the specific usage, but they are similar and have the same meaning. But I really can't remember when the last time this technique was used in Chinese movies.
At the end of the station, Dojun has already begun to count change, and the strange girl next to her mother’s seat also poses a coquettish gesture to attract the opposite sex, showing goodwill to Dojun, which proves that the author is using all means to express Dojun has become more and more normal. Strangers won't look at him differently. Although this girl is a group performer, it is a particularly important detail "signal" in the exact expression of things. This is also manifested at the end of Zhang Yimou’s "Living". After experiencing various times and impermanence, Fugui brought steamed buns and sent water back. A tall young man walked across the street and nodded to Fugui. If you are careful Observe that the walking posture of this young man is relatively "modern", a kind of "step" that could not be seen in the old era, and has been influenced by the new wave of ideas and foreign culture in the early days of opening up. The arrangement here has the effect of expressing the times. On the other hand, For the psychological reminder, if Youqing was still alive, he would be about this old, and he would be the age of Uncle Mantou, because the next play is a tribute to the deceased. Like this young man, the strange girl in "Mother" is by no means a group performance "arbitrarily" arranged.
The above are some traditional tips, some from the drama, the lens language, also from the photography, scheduling, or from the editing, or even the performance, in fact, sometimes a movie is It is composed of a variety of different tricks, and it does not necessarily have to have the fancy tricks and novel shooting that can be used for three days. I've only watched this movie once, and it didn't make a lot of waves in my heart. I only remember these places. There may be more skills. I didn't go into it. I won't show it here. Just for some objective and brief answers, for my friend's reference.
However, what I want to add is the deeper meaning of the film. Daojun’s IQ problem was caused by his mother’s use of acupuncture. The purpose is to make him forget the unpleasant thing he experienced when he was a child. The film was in prison when he was no longer acupuncture. A lot of groundwork has been given. It is not difficult for ordinary people to understand that there are reasons for this difficult life. Of course, these auxiliary details are not the focus of me. At the end, Dojun gave the needle box to his mother. Whether it was unintentional or intentional, the subtext is that the director used Dojun’s behavior to express "I have grown up, please rest assured" the drama situation, and his mother took the needle. The trembling hand when she was boxing means some kind of "wake up", and her departure means "letting go." Of course, some people think that the mother and son have the evidence of the other side, and they feel terrified. This is also true.
The mental control of mother to child and the psychological distortion caused by possessive excessive doting, Oedipus, etc., have always been a creative theme in the psychological field. Crossing the Boundary, as well as "Bad Boy Bobby", "Story of the Story", and even "Joker", etc., all express this theme more or less, and Bong Junhao has a more feminine level on this basis. sorrow. Unlike previous films of this kind, the director tried to explain this state from a human analysis rather than a critical point of view. In fact, he used the event itself and the process to reveal a larger motif. Suspense is just a coat. This is similar to the existentialism of "Fight Club" and the nihilism of "Old Nowhere" to some extent. This way of expressing ideas cannot be obtained by the so-called learning of film shooting skills. Rely on personal knowledge structure, comprehensive literacy, cultural background, etc. Otherwise, you can only be a high-end white-collar person in your county who uses Hollywood-level production techniques to shoot promotional videos, or the only king in your village who can use montage to control the wedding. I won't repeat it here.
At the end of the film, the artistic conception expressed by the abrupt halt of the movie in the mother’s dance and shaking shots is the same as the abrupt halt of Nakadai Tatsuya in "The Great Bodhisattva Ridge" when the 100 people cut, theoretically inherited from the "Four Hundred" The artistic method at the end of "Blow" suddenly stopped showing the inner confusion when it was released violently. At the same time, it is also the backlight shooting in this lens, which adds another layer of artistic conception to the confusion. The aura of the sun presented by the backlight often represents the height of the spirit or the brilliance of human nature, which can be seen in many movies, such as the backlight lens when the white eyebrows promised to teach the black mamba in "Kill Bill"; The religious interpretation of the backlight when Master Yuan was at his Consummation; and the sunlight above his head when Brother Hammer sacrificed in "Shocking Rescue". But sometimes it expresses a kind of "liberation" or "freedom" to break loose or no longer fetters. Of course, if you speak negatively, according to different plots or character designs, you can also understand it as intending to break the pot. I don't care about anything anymore. "Freedom" is accompanied by the element of "despair". In essence, they belong to different levels of spiritual transformation. For example, the halo of the sun above Arthur's head when he suffocated his mother in "The Joker" expresses that he has let go of his psychological burden at this time, finally freed and become himself, but at the same time he decided to go to death generously, rehearsing repeatedly at home for suicide in front of the world Scenario, but in the end things backfired. Contrary to "Joker", the director finally left this aura of "liberation" to his mother, and used the symbol "acupuncture" in the film to accelerate the escape from the confusion of reality, hoping to end the inner pain and guilt as soon as possible. From this point on Said, there are similarities and similarities. In addition, if you observe carefully, you can also find that the backlit is not the mother alone. As the camera and dance continue, the mother enters the crowd. Sometimes it is difficult to find the exact position of the mother. The halo shuttles behind each woman. This also shows that the author's creative intention to use the individual to extend to the group, magnify the mother to the group of "mothers", contains the meaning of caution.
Of course, Koreans are also very clever. They have indeed learned from the West how to integrate "national culture" into movies to achieve the purpose of export, such as the so-called Korean medicine and acupuncture, which are also insufficient in Chinese movies.
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