The four-to-three hand-held scene that pops up on the widescreen of a modern theater for the first half-minute has set the tone for the entire film. This short sample shot, taken more than ten years ago, is undoubtedly the most familiar Jia Zhangke. The rough edges of daily life and the social reality of mixing and matching are blowing. Those are the expressions that have long been familiar in "Xiao Wu" and "Platform". Although they are always criticized as "pseudo-record style", these scenes and music branded with the stamp of the times are always closer to our soul than real street scenes. Deep memories, so as to complete the emotional expression and emotional expression that the director is best at.
Many people have mentioned the key point. This is Jia Zhangke repeating his nostalgia for the disorder and decadence of the old days, looking back at the ruins. That's not wrong, but they also forget that this is almost the first time those old images have appeared on the big screen. "Children of Jianghu" is more like a summary report written by Jia Zhangke for his past feelings. Nostalgic pop songs, video halls playing Hong Kong films, dilapidated minibuses, radio gymnastics and singing and dancing troupes are all labels that have appeared many times in previous works. The shaking and wandering carried by migrants, ships, and motorcycles in the Three Gorges is also the core theme that "The Three Gorges Good Man" and "Ren Xiaoyao" try to express.
Jia Zhangke will never forget the past era, which is the emotion he is most obsessed with and is good at expressing. His eyes could not escape from the absurdity provided by the conflict between the old and the new. From the national symbol in front of the mourning hall to the wedding in the streets, all of them are actually looking back on the old times with tenderness. Revolving around love-hate clutching, life ups and downs, and the changing times, even if there is occasional ridicule, it seems extremely soft because of emotion.
There is also the change of perspective that must be mentioned, that is, the philosophical speculation of "seeing and being seen". This originally originated from the end of "Xiao Wu", Xiao Wu curled up under the telephone pole, the camera suddenly turned its head and aimed at the crowd, carefully capturing their momentary loss, confusion or shame. This time, the camera also swept over the driver of the motorcycle, the passerby with a blank expression. The people inside and outside the prison car, the square dancers and onlookers on both sides of the barbed wire, and the casual street karaoke are all repeated renderings of this philosophical topic. They also remind many times of Hou Hsiao-hsien's iconic long shots, which seem to be aimless, to ensure that the viewer can fully appreciate the connotations and feelings behind the shots.
The actor's professionalism supports this expression, and the most prominent part is the scene where the small hotel crosses the brazier. The hand-held camera seems to be wandering freely and without any rules, but behind it is the exquisite and meticulous on-site scheduling, as well as the scenes of Liao Fan and Zhao Tao Er. An extremely restrained performance, they fill this featureless scene with tension, thus providing a rich emotional foundation for the narrative thread of life's ups and downs. Just like the rose held in front of the lion's cage, it is full of poetic metaphors of "there is a tiger in your heart, and you sniff the roses carefully".
Beneath these philosophical thoughts and lyrical sentiments, there are several fragments of life and emotional passages. The audience doubts and asks: Can a deliberate love story really hold up these strong emotions about the times? The lyrical success of Jia Dao also limited him to interpret the nature of society and even human nature more deeply, making him unable to touch the wider reality. Of course, if we can still maintain the courage to express our feelings in this era, we already have enough reasons to applaud "Children of Jianghu". At least, he uses such a real and delicate picture to construct an interpretation framework of affection and dignity, and outlines the different rivers and lakes in the hearts of men and women.
There is one more question waiting to be answered, and that is the director's ideal audience. The emotion comes from the out-of-tune singing of the lower-level teenage singers. Those who are really at the bottom cannot actually appreciate the aesthetic connotation of these scenes. But the people who can understand something from it are already people who are far away from this kind of life itself. The rivers and lakes are fading away, and that is the end of an era; the future is surging, and how should the wandering old souls be placed?
"Daily News" 2018.09
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