French director François Ojon has not lost his creativity in recent years. Basically, new works appear every year, and the range of themes is astonishing: from the war history story "Franz" to the suspenseful thriller "Double-faced Lover" ", and last year's controversial attack on the religious theme "Thank God", fully demonstrating his growing directorial talent and ability to control various themes. Although this year's Cannes Film Festival was cancelled due to the epidemic, Ou Rong's new work "Midsummer of 1985" was still successfully selected for the official unit. Surprisingly, this time, Ou Rong returned to the basics, away from the heavy and depressing social themes, and returned to the story of his youth growth when he debuted in the 1990s . According to his interview with the media, he wanted to adapt and shoot this original novel for a long time, but it was not until the last two years that he got what he wanted.
As a loyal fan of Ou Rong, he will not be unfamiliar with the director's various self-saluting scenes in this new film, the summer beach , the relationship between two men and a woman , and the indispensable atmosphere of suspense , as well as his best literature . Narrative method (inevitably reminiscent of "Swimming Pool" and "Into the Room"). Using the protagonist's perspective, the film narrates the cause and effect of this youthful lover's story in an indistinguishable tone. It's just that the novelty of this theme is lacking. Although there is a mysterious character in the middle, it only brings some suspense that has nothing to do with the main plot.
The whole story revolves around a pair of young boys who meet by chance over the summer, fall in love at a rapid rate, then have a conflicted breakup, and finally a tragic death. It seems a little light and airy, except for the discussion of death , and the structure is also divided into two chapters by the death of a lover. The protagonist's fascination with death is pointed out at the beginning of the story, and it is repeatedly emphasized in the characterization. The second is to downplay the heaviness of death with a humorous tone. The protagonist disguised as a girl goes to the morgue to see his last face, and the scene where he finally sings and dances on his lover's grave continues to break the stereotype of death. This topic has repeatedly appeared in the same-sex themes in recent years, from "120 BPM" to "Like, Kiss, Run" with varying degrees of profound thinking.
However, in Ou Rong's work, the discussion of death is a bit shallow . The director seems to be not very good at such heavy philosophical thinking, so he shifts the focus to various retro atmospheres of the 1980s (motorcycles, amusement parks, Rod Stewart 's old song) and the invincible character of youth. The lighthearted, daring performances of the two new actors have naturally become an indispensable touch, leaving the deepest imprint on this youthful memoir of the 1980s.
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