There are two distinct worlds in "Underground": the world on the ground is experiencing real historical changes, and the people living in it witness the cruel reality, witnessing the liberation and disintegration of a country; the underground world is self-contained. Basically isolated from the world, even the time it has experienced has slowed down under the arrangement of its manipulator. The only connection between the "underground" and the outside world is the series of air defense warnings, instructions and suffering performances that Comrade Migao "performed" for the realization of his conspiracy. Correspondingly, the film's image system is also divided into two distinct units: the world on the ground has a unique texture under the irradiation of natural light, although many scenes take place at night, the real light from nature gives everything a clear outline. , This is definitely different from the image of the underground part. From the moment Xiao Hei wears his family to the Mi Gao’s refuge and enters the underground world for the first time, the underground world appears to be in a state of lack of light in visual images. Due to the small space, the "underground" initially felt very congested, and there was no obvious boundary and order between objects. This was changed after Mi Gao built a secret arsenal in accordance with the instructions of "above".
Above and below ground, a real world and an imaginary utopia. The huge basement in the movie is easily reminiscent of Plato's famous cave metaphor. Like the people in the cave who looked at the shadows on the wall and mistakenly thought they were real objects, the "underground" people's concept of "reality" was completely based on the various information that Michael brought to them. Here, the information transmitted from the outside through a single channel has the meaning of "light". In Christian theology, God used language to create this world. Everything in the world becomes meaningful because of the goodness of God, and people become the primates of everything and the spirits of the universe because of God's reason. Therefore, the existence and meaning of human beings, the greatness and insignificance of human beings are all determined by God a priori. If there is no God’s reason, God’s glorious light on all things, man can only be in the nameless darkness forever.
As one of the basic elements of constructing images and expressing meaning in movies, light is often used to confirm such Christian theology. In the works of masters such as Bresson, Fellini, and Delaire, the top light on the face of close-up figures is often used to show the state of being favored by the gods. The metaphor of the actual use of light in the movie "Underground" is somewhat blasphemous. There is indeed a difference in visual light between the earth and the underground world, but the light of the earth world only makes this world appear colder because of its clarity, which is contrary to the redemptive color of light in Christian theology. The underground world lacks a light source in the physical sense, so what does the movie use to dispel the chaotic darkness and symbolically give meaning to the world? It is precisely the "instructions" from above that Michaela concocted, carefully planned performances again and again. It is the information from above, these virtual lights "illuminate" the underground world. This light is the indistinguishable noon and midnight sung in the lyrics. People only know that it shines from the sky, and suddenly they feel the value of their existence. This powerful irony is where the audience feels the tremendous dramatic tension created by the director Kusturica.
This reversal of the meaning of light originated from Kusturica's reflection on the relationship between ideological Christian theology and communism. The decline of Christianity in the modern world makes theology an ideological tool and is used by various social thoughts. The most intimate aspect of communist doctrine and Christian Illuminati theology is that it emphasizes that the meaning and value of the individual is fully endowed by the party, no matter how intelligent and insightful an individual is, as long as his ideas and the party’s line , Principles, and policies that are inconsistent, will be deprived of the legitimacy of existence. An individual has no sense of generating capacity. He can only dissolve in the collective, and can only wait for the party's luck. This is exactly the same as the doctrine of Christian theology that emphasizes that the value of the individual can only be found from God.
In addition to the wonderful allegory of light, there are many images in "Underground" that hint at the similarities between communism and Christianity in spiritual character. For example, when Ivan walked out of the ground and wandered for several years and finally found out that his own brother had deceived him, and he had lived completely in an absurd trap for 20 years, he finally hanged himself in the church. At this time, the camera switched to the location, showing the magical church towering amidst the war. A huge white bird flew out from the position of the bell tower of the church, drawn from the upper boundary of the frame, and disappeared suddenly-when the ideals of communism finally broke down, the Holy Spirit also left the world. Also, Michael and his wife were eventually killed by soldiers during the war. The two lighted bodies in the wheelchair circled ghostly around an inverted cross. On the cross, Jesus seemed to hang upside down—when communism was on the ground. After Michael, the agent of the world, who was actually a liar and conspirator, was finally killed (symbolizing the final bankruptcy of communism), the Christian faith represented by Jesus was also overturned in response.
However, in these two scenes, Kusturica geniusly surpassed the allegory he had been playing in this three-hour movie, and suddenly reversed his cynical attitude towards communism and Christianity, and brought people down. Putting this world into a state of being abandoned by God and in need of redemption, and sublimating resentment with compassion!
As a director who grew up in Western Christian culture, and as a director who lives in Yugoslavia, a communist country, Kusturica's feelings for both are complicated. At midnight in this world where beliefs are generally declining, value is lacking, and the gods are escaping, as a conscientious European intellectual, Kusturica cannot but feel the emptiness and absurdity of the real world and the urgent need for redemption. The Christian tradition is obviously unable to do this job, even though it has been so glorious in history. As a nation-state, Yugoslavia was once under the grip of communism after being baptized in World War II. When this iron grip finally slackened, a huge hidden danger that was originally suppressed-ethnic conflicts eventually led to the disintegration of this country. The pain of history has intensified the reflection of intellectuals, making them not only need to explore the way out of the nation and the country, but also need to summarize the communism that has accompanied this country for decades and express their attitudes.
At the end of the film, the director arranged for all the characters who had previously lived underground to pass through a narrow waterway to a meadow by the water, and flocks of cattle and sheep followed them. People resolved all their grievances and sat around a long table drinking and having fun. The camera slowly shook everyone, and finally stopped on Ivan's face. He turned around and said to the audience: "..., there was a country before..." Communism is indeed a myth about the country and the nation, so the "underground" should always be just underground, and it's always self-contained. As a result, that piece of grass where everyone reveled was stripped away from the mainland and floated in the sea in isolation. The same is true for Christianity. Does the herd of cattle and sheep imply that this meadow is the beautiful land of Canaan promised to the Jews by God in the Old Testament? In this sentimental scene, Kusturica received symbolic salvation both politically and religiously.
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