an inevitable tragic journey

Johnathan 2022-04-21 09:03:19

【Repetition of cause and effect】

The density of the film is so great that it tells a 20-year story in a continuous and rich manner.

All the reasons for life are untangled little by little through the flashback movie narrative, all kinds of life on the road seem to be traceable, and individual changes are constantly being understood and explained.

Repeatedly painful right foot, constantly reminding himself of the girl who came home who he killed by mistake in the war years; the child's bluffing roar at himself, the behavior of his criminal father who had terrorized him; the wife and broken marriage beside him, and The first love that can never be returned or obtained;

【The first beauty】

The characters full of lies, violence, backsliding, indifference, and filth once caused physical discomfort, and made people feel depressed and uncomfortable for a long time, until the last ten minutes saw the beauty of his life at first. That was also a person with romance, dreams, love and hope, with gentle hands and eyes full of love.

So sadness starts to kick in, and then my mind starts to reminisce about the movie backwards. Come to think of it, from the time when the first love in the army was smashing the mint candy that he kept for himself, his hands began to be no longer gentle, his life began to fragment, and the individual became worldly and indifferent. Until the end, he finally became that completely different self, both actively and passively. In the end he said that he seemed to have been here before, and this flashback may be his last memory lying under the railway, back to the original tears.

【Inevitable Tragedy】

Flashbacks are a sad structure, and when you think about it, it seems inevitable that it will be tragic.

From the camera, every train journey has sporadic passers-by, and a track keeps moving forward, but it seems that this tragedy is inevitable. Who is the person or people who pushed him to death, even if there is cause and effect everywhere, with the participation of times, times, events and characters, but there is no disposition. Slowly flashback the movie, plus the piecing together of memories, when this tragedy is repeated in my mind, it brings great stamina, great sadness, powerlessness and fear.

What kind of you have you become, do you still remember how beautiful you were in the first place?

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Extended Reading
  • Viviane 2022-03-20 09:02:49

    Li Cangdong's representative work. The film shows the process of a pure and kind-hearted literary and artistic youth who degenerates into tyranny and indifference and leads to destruction due to social harm and character weakness. The pure flashback fragment spanning 20 years, the white space and the echo are just right. When time and memory are like a train traveling backwards from despair to hope, the sadness has also become heart-wrenching tears. Xue Jingqiu's acting skills are astonishing as heaven and human, and his melancholic soundtrack and long shots have achieved the ultimate. (9.5/10) [2021.6.13. SIFF Daguangming 4K repair three brushes] There are still many new discoveries, and the touchingness has not diminished. Each sentence of the lyrics also has a reference, which is consistent with the character's experience and the questioning of fate. The echoes of various details are really subtle, including the image of the hand. Many places are both realistic and can be read as symbols or metaphors. Each section of train and mint in different forms needless to say. Cycling around and injured legs and feet are meaningful. Except for the transitional passages where the train goes backwards, there is no off-picture soundtrack. The final freeze frame + crescendo train sound, you can even read the whole film as a near-death experience or a small theater in the brain before death.

  • Roberta 2022-03-20 09:02:49

    Phantom limbs: hallucinations produced by people who have lost limbs, just like the lost limbs are still attached to the torso. ——This is Li Cangdong's ruthlessness. Those permanent defects can't be recovered even if it is rewinded. The cruel thing is time and self.

Peppermint Candy quotes

  • Yongho: It's leaking, in a new place. Last night, the rain fell on my forehead, as I lay in bed. You, sit down! Fucker! This isn't a game, sit! Isn't the way I live pathetic? Wonder why I live this way? Although I don't know who sent you, I want to talk with you.

  • Yongho: Do you think life's beautiful?