This is the opening shot of the movie, and it will be unforgettable for me. It is metaphorical and symbolic, it is topical, and even more original. With the ghostly and hoarse singing of TOM WAITS, it will take you into an incredible adventure story.
When I wrote some verses in the sleepless night, trying to portray the lost soul of the city prison, I couldn't find the magical and keen scanning like the camera of Jamusch. The second shot I saw was also very visually fascinating: when you look up at the roofs of the rows of buildings, their quiet windows are all floating in the sky and the river composed of floating clouds, shrouded in weirdness like a nightmare. Atmosphere.
Then, the camera led us to the wilderness without rest. The camera was like a wild horse running through the swamps formed by rain and the dilapidated low huts. The endless end of the field of vision was the endless rolling horizon, whether day or night. , As if the chaos had begun, and the wilds appeared suddenly.
Two little characters in the movie, Jack (played by John Larry) and Zach (played by Tom Weitz), appeared in their messy dens in New Orleans. Jack is a pimping male prostitute, and Zach is an unemployed drunkard, basically the kind of bad role in life. Then, both of them were sent to jail for committing some crimes, and they were both involved for no reason under the temptation of others, and they were inexplicably imprisoned. In prison, they are in the same cell as the traveler and Italian Bob (played by Bernini). The three people reached a consensus and escaped from prison, trekking in the wilderness, and accidentally crashed into the residence of an Italian woman. After a short stay, Bob fell in love with her and stayed behind. Zac and Jack returned to their lives. .
As an independent director who absolutely doesn't follow the card, the story of Jiamuxu is usually said to be "absurd and illogical", but in fact it is full of modern fables. Characters are usually people who are completely obscure about their own destiny, appear inexplicably, do not know the cause and effect, like ghosts wandering about impermanence. For example, in this movie, why Bob went to jail and how the three broke through the prison cell without explaining. As a narrator, the focus of the director is obviously not on this. It is also difficult for you to understand from the overall experience and interest of watching movies. There are only some fragmented character dialogues and scenes, constantly beating and revealing vague business images. .
1. Traveler Bob’s Paradox
As a foreigner, he wanders around the world aimlessly, constantly learning other people’s languages, recording the words he has just learned at any time, and stammers when he catches people. Talk in English and repeat some words without getting tired of it. He is the one who speaks the most and the most stunned of the three, and is also the bravest and seems to have the most positive attitude in life. It is him who proposes to escape from prison, and he is often ahead of the problem when he encounters problems, even at the expense of being taken by the other two. Gunner.
His mantra is: one should experience different landscapes and encounters in life, and never stop. But after he met an Italian woman with no language barrier, he forgot about this ideal, and quickly fell in love, stopped the pace of travel, and found himself a home.
Second,
as an alcoholic inside and outside the law , Zach is always unconscious and slow, but some of the most interesting things are often said from his mouth, such as after three people escaped from prison and the law is suppressed. He felt discouraged and empty, saying that it would be interesting to play cards and fights inside.
The three people in the movie were originally idlers and didn't care much about anything, but after they were in prison, they suddenly became aspiring: they wanted to escape, and obstacles on the road to freedom made them aware of action And motivation. Whether in prison or in the seemingly free world outside, in fact, they are all under the boundless law. When people do not feel the restraint of the law, they are free. The so-called complete freedom does not exist in surviving life. Life and life bring a lot, which is the greatest law for everyone. You can't not act according to the rules in this game. Life without any obstacles actually lacks purpose, like nothingness.
To be a human being is to live in such ridiculous absurdity, moving forward blankly and pretending to be a senseless search for passion, bringing a touch of helpless ridiculousness and comicality to the characters in the story. All their words and deeds are therefore vivid.
A plot that is quite ridiculous in the movie: During their escape, they found an empty room. When they entered the accommodation, the bed layout and the sleeping position of the three people in that room were exactly the same as in the prison.
Third, boredom has the charm of
boredom Boredom is the atmosphere often borrowed in Jamusch's movies. It can be expanded into a kind of peculiar humor and the absurd suppression that has to be contained in it. Because of boredom and lack of excitement, Jack and Zac broke the law in blind action. In prison, because of boredom, there is no second person who can find a reaction and dialogue. Jack and Zach fight. After avoiding the initial danger after leaving the prison, the two fought again because of boredom. Bob chattered because of boredom, and this kind of chatter intensified the boring atmosphere of the whole film.
When three people were playing cards in prison, Bob suddenly learned an English sentence: "screaming." So he repeated it loudly in extreme excitement. Unbelievably, Jack and Zac were also infected by him. They yelled these words together, their voices getting louder and louder, and they were snowballed by the other prisoners’ response. It is the release of energy generated after the boring atmosphere in the prison is suppressed.
After leaving the prison, life is still boring, just entering a larger prison. In the almost impossible nature, these three men vaguely find some boring fun and joy. The strange trees in swamps, jungles, and rivers are almost the signature images in every movie of Jamush. They form illusions and backgrounds. When people walk in this desolation, they only walk for walking.
Fourth, the bizarre humor and the ridiculousness of the little people
Watching Jamusch's movies, you often can't help the kind of knowing smile. He provides a perspective that allows you to look at the little people inside as if they are worried about their own destiny and understanding of others, they have a distorted and self-righteous funny, such an indispensable attitude towards life, this way The childish ignorance even when the sky is stepped down, like a bunch of ghosts amusing themselves in the dark, making you fall in love with them unconsciously.
Like in this movie, Jack’s pretending to be chic (he shakes his collar every time he wears clothes), Zach’s perverse (he doesn’t care about anything but he cares whether his strange shoes will be thrown away), the most glamorous It's the traveler Bob played by Bernini. He gets a three-time hedgehog, always throws things away, makes jokes when talking, and even asks others to borrow cigarettes in order to stop the hiccups, but he is always afraid of other people's hiccups. Eyes and movements.
Jiamuxu’s movies often use the most common and everyday occasions to give birth to the feeling of illusion. In this movie, the dialogue between two people, talking and music, you feel that you are talking about ghosts. Except for these few people, there seems to be nothing else in this world, desolate. These people seem to be living in a real life with evidence, but they will jump into illusory scenes. In this film, he once again borrowed the music of TOM WAITS, JOHN LAURIE, the simple but charming lighting design, and the peculiar use of the lens, to draw you into a bizarre story, which is also true and false, both right and wrong, false and real. , Until you have some enlightenment or sigh slightly.
View more about Down by Law reviews
