1
It is also a "gangster film" in a small place. Hou Hsiao-hsien's "Goodbye to the South, South" and Jia Zhangke's "Children of Jianghu" have completely different tastes.
Hou Hsiao-hsien cares more about "space", while Jia Zhangke cares more about "time".
So "Goodbye to the South, South" is about the impetuous and stagnant world seen through green sunglasses.
And "Children of Jianghu" uses a large number of era symbols to mark the distant Jianghu in Jia Zhangke's heart.
This is just a difference in the surface image.
A deeper difference is that Hou Hsiao-hsien's films have no "enemies". If there is, it can only be attributed to "the way of heaven is not benevolent".
He took the failure of people as an internal attribute, not caused by external forces, but the innate destiny of people is to be played with impermanence.
Jia Zhangke's films have always had a clear enemy, the "time".
Xiao Wu in "Xiao Wu" lost to the era of money. He stole money, which is obviously a taboo of the era, and destruction is inevitable.
The clearest symbol in "Platform" is the train, which symbolizes a rolling new era, but the train never stops every time it passes through the town. The people here are those who have been abandoned by the times.
"Mountains and Rivers Old People" seems to be different, and tells the part of the people who got rich first in the new era. But are they really happy? No, they won the money and lost the mountains and rivers and the old friends.
Therefore, Jia Zhangke's films have always used the "time" as a target and opened fire violently.
"Children of Jianghu" is no exception.
The film is divided into three clear parts: the old rivers and lakes, the running rivers and lakes and the dead rivers and lakes.
What ultimately led to the passing of the rivers and lakes was the complete destruction of the morality of the rivers and lakes in the commercial era.
At the beginning of the film, Brother Bin made a draw at the mahjong table.
What's up?
money thing.
Lao Jia borrowed money and wanted to default on the debt. Brother Bin didn't say much. He asked Guan Er Ye's portrait to come out and solved the problem in minutes.
It shows that the rules of the rivers and lakes were above money at that time.
If you want to recognize money but not people, no.
But the speed of change of the times is always beyond imagination.
First, Brother Er Yong died tragically under the knife of a bunch of scoundrels.
Not long after, Brother Bin also suffered an accident. Two young men rushed up and crippled his leg, just because they recognized the wrong person.
Is it really wrong? unknown.
But whether it's true or not, it's an embarrassment.
If it is false, it means that some people don't take Brother Bin seriously at all; if it is true, it means that Brother Bin is no longer in the eyes of the world.
When Brother Bin came out of prison, everyone was busy making money, and no one came to pick him up.
His younger brothers were driving Bentleys to show off their power, and the former boss felt a deep sense of loss.
When "money" replaces "love" and becomes a new link to maintain social relations, Brother Bin's arena is gone.
Therefore, he abandoned Qiaoqiao, left the sad place, and changed from a so-called "Jianghu person" to a "business person".
In fact, all this has been foretold.
The most soulful scene in the first paragraph of the film is the group of gangsters gathered in the video room, smoking cigarettes, and watching the shootout together.
There were gunshots all over the screen, and two holy lights hung on either side of the screen. The people watching were all in suits and leather shoes, as if they were participating in some kind of ceremony in the church.
It was clearly a tribute.
Mourning a dying river and lake.
2
Many people ridiculed that this movie should be called "Daughter of Jianghu".
A joke, but generally good.
The highlight of the film is Qiao Qiao.
Ask a question: Brother Bin and Qiaoqiao, who is the real Jianghu person?
The answer is very interesting: Brother Bin thinks he is, but he is not; and Qiaoqiao thinks that he is not, but she really is.
There is a very important prop in the film, the gun - Brother Bin's gun.
The gun was fired three times.
The first time was on the wasteland that symbolized "Jianghu". Brother Bin held the Qiaoqiao hand and fired the first shot. And the man always hides behind the woman.
This almost predicts the future of the story. In that fight, it was Qiao Qiao who shot Tian twice to save Brother Bin, admit all the crimes, and help Brother Bin to block the "gun".
And then, Brother Bin disappeared.
During the five years that Qiaoqiao was imprisoned, he never visited and left alone.
He originally thought he was a tough guy, but in the face of the grim reality, he was vulnerable.
In fact, the rivers and lakes in Brother Bin's eyes have a "secondary" temperament from beginning to end.
He said to Qiaoqiao, "people like us will be killed sooner or later."
Qiaoqiao sneered: "I see, you just watched too much video."
What are the real "Jianghu people"?
Nothing to do with guns, nothing to do with violence.
It is essentially a principle of life, as long as this principle is fulfilled, it is a Jianghu person.
There is only one word for that principle: righteousness.
The meaning of the word is expanded to eight words: treat friends with sincerity, and report complaints with directness.
The former refers to "feelings" and the latter refers to "justice".
In the passage of running rivers and lakes, Qiao Qiao used her behavior to interpret her concept of justice of "reporting grievances with directness".
She swindled money from misbehaving men, she swindled motorbikes from drivers who wanted to "play" with her.
The most typical scene is when she beats the person who was beating the thief, and then rushes to beat the thief herself, begging for a wallet.
Because she felt that those who beat women should be beaten, and those who stole wallets should also be beaten.
One yard is one yard, this is the "justice" for her to walk the rivers and lakes.
As for Brother Bin, she has experienced a psychological transition from "feeling and righteous" to "ruthless and righteous".
Brother Bin left her and went to a foreign country, and Qiaoqiao went to Fengjie to find someone. The story seems to fall into the time and space of "The Good Man of the Three Gorges" in an instant.
And the ending is similar.
The woman just wanted the man to say goodbye solemnly, but the man avoided it. The two didn't even dance the last dance in front of the ruins, and only the ashes in the brazier were quietly burning the last trace of their feelings.
So far, Qiaoqiao's love for Brother Bin has been cut off.
Years later, Brother Bin dragged his paralyzed body and returned to Datong in despair.
Qiaoqiao took him home and took care of him as before.
Brother Bin was puzzled, "Why do you have to be ruthless to me, and still do this?"
Qiaoqiao smiled, "You are no longer from Jianghu, you don't understand."
From the beginning to the end of the film, only Qiaoqiao represents the so-called rivers and lakes, and she understands the weight of the word "righteousness".
And Brother Bin is just a self-righteous person who is ultimately wrong.
Just like in that wasteland, at the beginning, Brother Bin taught Qiaoqiao to hold a gun, but at the end, it was Qiaoqiao who taught him to walk.
The meaning could not be clearer.
Walking on the rivers and lakes, never rely on guns, but rely on the loyalty of "doing right".
In the end, Lao Pao'er left, and the chivalrous woman fell into loneliness again.
However, as long as she is there, that river and lake will survive.
3
In "Children of Jianghu", Jia Zhangke has an obvious change, he has become funny .
Although the theme of his discussion is still the tragedy of the marginalization of individuals in an era of great change, this time, in addition to warmth and sharpness, he also added some jokes.
This seems to be a good thing in appearance, but it also brings serious problems.
What is banter?
Joking is the dissolution of sadness.
To achieve the ultimate is Zhou Xingchi, who completely deconstructs sadness with jokes.
Watching Xing Ye's movies, you will find those hidden but deep sorrows in the rumination after laughing.
Another example of restraint is "Goodbye South, South."
There is only one place where the whole film is slightly amused.
The protagonist of the film is a gang leader. When he saw his younger brother messing up the house again, he scolded: "Cao, Ah Bian, you also help the boss maintain the family environment."
It's funny.
First of all it's real, a natural reaction of the character in that situation.
At the same time, it is also very sad, the little boss can't fix anything outside, and even the younger brother can't handle it when he gets home.
This is the deep sadness of this character.
Therefore , this joke is in place, it has no sense of design, it is interesting, and it reflects the fate of the characters.
Looking at "Children of Jianghu" from this point of view, Jia Zhangke can't have the acme of Xing Ye, nor the delicacy of Hou Hsiao-hsien.
His handling of several comedy paragraphs has seriously dispelled the tragic, and at the same time has a strong sense of design.
Whether it's Qiaoqiao's dad reading the big-character posters, the comical treatment from words to accents; or Zhang Yi's bad-hearted man, who wears Fan Wei's upper body from the very first appearance, and looks like I must be "buying and kidnapping".
The most unfortunate thing is Xu Zheng's passage.
I believe that many viewers do not understand, what is the purpose of the film's arrangement of such a funny character as Xu Zheng? And why did Qiaoqiao fall in love with him?
In fact, it could have been a very emotional passage.
I still remember at the beginning of the film, Qiaoqiao and Brother Bin talked about going to Xinjiang to open a small business and live a stable life, but it didn't happen in the end.
After the two broke up, Qiaoqiao met Xu Zheng, the owner of a small shop who was going back to Xinjiang, on the train.
In fact, Xu Zheng represents "another possibility of life".
If Brother Bin went to Xinjiang at the time, he would probably be Xu Zheng now.
So Qiaoqiao wanted to be with Xu Zheng for a while, just to find the life that she might have had but was lost forever.
It was originally very affectionate, but as soon as Xu Zheng came up with a mouth full of UFOs, all the emotions flew away.
Is this Jia Zhangke's intention?
I think yes.
Even you can't understand it as an attempt at typing.
Obviously, in a film that resorts to sadness, it is an unwise choice to try to make a comedy genre.
So why?
I think it exposes a deep anxiety of Jia Zhangke, the incomprehensible anxiety about the proposition he cares most about.
In "The Good Man in Three Gorges", this anxiety is expressed as a "flying saucer" constantly flying by, which can be summed up in one sentence: He feels powerless against reality and has to seek surreal answers.
In "Children of Jianghu", this anxiety is not only reflected in the "flying saucer", but also in the "joke".
When you encounter a problem that you really want to solve and you can't ask for it, people often use a joke to comfort themselves, "It's not that important."
This is self-deprecating and self-healing.
Jia Zhangke has been extremely miserable since he started studying astrophysics.
In the interview, he said: No matter what the problem is, as long as no new viewpoints can be put forward, there is no way to seek understanding and form a consensus on a larger level.
Just as he watched this society rush forward, constantly sacrificing the fate of individuals and even a generation.
This is the inevitability of history, and there is no way out.
He couldn't give an answer, and he had to keep his powerlessness in the film and use humor to console himself.
4
In "Children of Jianghu", Jia Zhangke's powerlessness is permeated everywhere.
This powerlessness is reflected in his grasp of the "sense of time flow". Although the film spans 18 years, it still feels stagnant.
Maybe it's just because the tragedy of each era is similar.
This sense of powerlessness is more reflected in his handling of the end of the film.
This process can go in many directions, but none of them jump out of the answer he once gave.
For example, you can let Qiaoqiao dance "YMCA" again in the ballroom, which is "The Old Man of the Mountains and Rivers".
You can let Brother Bin and Qiaoqiao live the most boring life after returning to Datong. This is "Platform".
You can also let Brother Bin beat people to prison, drag his half-crippled body to sing "A Life of Light Drunkenness", which is "Ren Xiaoyao".
And what is the real ending of the film?
Under the gaze of the camera, Qiaoqiao's body is constantly blurred, and finally freezes, becoming a stare.
Isn't this an enhanced version of the ending of "Xiao Wu"?
It's just that the "figurative crowd" is replaced by the "abstract age".
Jia Zhangke can no longer provide new answers to the propositions he cares about most.
This is his personal predicament.
Maybe it's the plight of this era.
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