I see him see us see

The movie lens is nothing but a metaphor for the human eye, simulating the way we see the world, far and near, high and low, pushing and pulling. The first shot of "The Good Man in Three Gorges" is a long pan, which guides our eyes over a boatload of faces of men, women and children. This shot is very forceful, like a declaration, firmly reaffirming Jia Zhangke's ultimate concern for "every living beings". It is a pity that this long shot was less imaginative and settled directly on the male protagonist Sanming. This placement makes the long journey of the previous shot look frivolous and contrived - ah, it turns out that the circle is for this protagonist! ——However, for the director, what could be easier and less troublesome than this placement?

The paradox is that when we watch movies, we are not only watching the world, but also watching others see the world. Between the world presented in the film and the "I", there are layers upon layers of the eyes of all beings, a Bakhtin-style multi-voice system. If "The Good Man in Three Gorges" is more advanced and innovative than Jia Zhangke's previous films, it is that he went beyond the sculpting of the language of the lens and began to consciously explore the perception method of "seeing". As for the parallelism of the two clues in the film, the placement of a few surreal details, and the narration of Zang Feng's clumsiness, there are not too many highlights.

After the dust settles on the first shot, we notice that the position of the actor and his expression (the actor is too crafty) seem out of place for the passengers of the ship. Because he is just like the audience outside the screen, but an uninvited guest of the Three Gorges. We see him in the Three Gorges, and we also see the Three Gorges he sees. Therefore, Jia Zhangke took the trouble to make Sanming (and Shen Hong) stop for a long time with their backs to the camera, as if it was an invitation signal, asking us to stand behind him (her) and watch the dense river and the treacherous mountain city with him (her). The last time, we and Sanming watched the people walking on the tightrope between the two tall buildings from a distance. This glance is like a chisel, piercing the famous wall between the audience and the actor with one stab. Previously, the audience was nothing but the ghost looking into the window on the cover of "Legend", but Sanming's intentional or unintentional stare when he turned around actually pulled us in from the window and became the same panicked characters in the play. What's worse is that Sanming is gone, the film is over, and we are still in shock and have nowhere to hide.

I see, I see him, I see him and we see. Seeing and being seen, me and him, we and them, after all, are the same.

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