All the old memories are disappearing and disintegrating, the familiar streets are sprayed with the thrilling word "demolition", the old houses are smashed and torn down by iron hammers, people who have lived in Fengjie for most of their lives are running to unpredictable distances, in the face of the stormy waves of the times , the people of the reservoir area who have no right to choose silently bear the reputation of good people, and move around with regret and reluctance.
Qian Zhongshu has this sentence in "Besieged City": "You are a good person, but useless." Yes, he can't even keep his own house and land, and he has to take a family with him when he is old Wandering around, what is the use of such a good person?
Brother Xiao Ma must have never read this book, but he has his own cognition. He has become a bad guy in the eyes of the world, a troubled youth who wanders aimlessly at the bottom of society. There is his dangling figure at the pier in Fengjie, his dashing gesture of lighting a cigarette with a newspaper in the Tangren Pavilion Hotel, and his stubborn appearance talking about the morality of the rivers and lakes next to the demolition ruins, but in the great torrent of change, his life has changed. Like duckweed ants, they are at a loss, full of powerlessness.
While indignant at the fact that there are no good people in Fengjie, he looks forward to revitalizing the morality of the rivers and lakes, holding two guns to realize the dream of personal heroism. If you follow the routine of Hong Kong films, you may be able to shoot a "Wharf" to tell the legend of how a small gangster became a big guy in the arena. But in Jia Zhangke's film full of documentary style, all this will not appear. Brother Ma's real destiny is to be a thug for the demolition team, to be a horse boy to a bigger gangster, and to distribute white rabbit toffee to his so-called brothers. , you can drive to Yunyang for 50 yuan to settle a person. Fighting is his normal life, and it is also what he thinks is the morality of the rivers and lakes.
Such little gangsters are too real. There is no violent aesthetics and personal heroism like "The True Color of Heroes". What we see is just blind obedience to the history of small people in a state of chaos. , like the people around us who are mixed up.
Brother Xiao Ma is not named Ma, and no one knows his real name. He did not choose to be a good person, but his final ending was the same as Chow Yun-fat in "The True Color of Heroes", who died in a violent and tragic fight. He is Sanming's only friend in Fengjie. Although such a friend is of no use to Sanming, he only knows how to imitate the bragging and nonsense of one brother and another Jianghu, but his final death will indeed make him People feel a trace of sadness.
The appearance of Pony Ma appeared shortly after the beginning of the film. When Sanming came to Fengjie from far away Shanxi to look for his wife and daughter, he was dragged all the way by Pony in a white shirt and sunglasses. Maybe he wanted to do something. A good man, took Sanming away from the right and wrong place to watch the magic show, but Sanming broke free and was forced to watch the show for blackmail.
When Sanming was taken away by a bigger local snake, Little Ma had no choice but to let go and stand on the side in relief. It can be seen here that Brother Ma is not as heroic as Brother Fa, he can only succumb to reality and watch Sanming being blackmailed by another gangster.
The intersection between Xiao Ma and Sanming began at that moment, and after that, the two became inextricably linked. When Sanming, who was looking for Yaomeier, was taken to the Tangren Pavilion Hotel opened by Boss He on a motorcycle, he reunited with Brother Ma again in the dilapidated and cramped room.
Brother Xiao Ma obviously had a deep memory of the strange faces from outside. He looked at Sanming and asked, "Brother, have you learned magic?" The deliberate sarcasm at this moment had no effect on the calm Sanming. Just like the next time he made gestures and clamored that this was his territory, these malicious dismounts were ignored by Sanming throughout the whole process, leaving only the cool pose of Xiao Ma.
If you run into a bloody or grumpy person here, it is estimated that Brother Xiao Ma will be beaten, but he is lucky to meet a good man like Sanming.
When Sanming turned and left, he went back to the room to "seek people" to Boss He again, imitating the addicted pony brother to ask Sanming for cigarettes. When Sanming handed the cigarettes, he didn't forget to put on his sunglasses and let Sanming set fire to himself. But what if you don't have dollars, you can also use old newspapers on the table! Brother Xiao Ma has had enough addiction to be a hero, and he is good at numbing himself, and he has been greatly satisfied in the spirit of swallowing clouds and mists, as if he feels that the era of all-powerful Jianghu belongs to Brother Xiao Ma.
But soon the reality made him understand that the rivers and lakes are not so easy to mix. When Ma Zai's life is fighting and killing, he may not be able to do better than others, especially when he encounters more powerful and more gangsters. Brother Ma could only curl up in a small woven bag begging for mercy. In this society where the strong eat the weak, it is difficult for a good person to be a bad person, and it is not easy to mix.
But the shirtless little brother didn't lose his temper. After being rescued, he was a hero again. He was saddened by the decline of the rivers and lakes and the lack of morality. Just like the old Fengjie old town in the wet and rainy, the society has changed. The nostalgic person of affection is outdated and will eventually be abandoned by the times. In his eyes, Sanming's cell phone ringtone "Good People Live Safely" is a huge joke. Where are there any good people now? The whole society is fighting for their own interests. There is no good person in Fengjie anymore. I don't know what he said. Did he ever count himself in the category of a good person?
Little Ma's Ringtone is "Shanghai Beach", which was popular in the 1980s and 1990s. It is the theme song of a gangster-themed drama starring Fage. When the opening song plays, it is easy to bring people into the era of the Republic of China when there are many gangs. At this moment, Brother Xiao Ma fantasizes about becoming another Xu Wenqiang, but today's society no longer breeds the soil for them to grow up. It's okay to be a little gangster who has nothing to do, but it's impossible to become a gangster hero who does big things. Brother Ma will live in his imaginary world of rivers and lakes until he dies, and his life is worth 50 yuan.
Sanming's farewell to Brother Xiaoma happened in a noisy and dilapidated street. The high-spirited Brother Xiaoma led a group of brothers to go to Yunyang to settle a person. The reward was 50 yuan, which was equivalent to Sanming's hard work for a day. , is also the last price tag of a fresh life. Seeing this is really heart-wrenching, the humble little brother who is as thin as dust and ants has no idea that his life is about to come to an end.
He hurriedly distributed white rabbit toffee to Sanming. Fighting and hacking people was a very exciting and happy thing for him. Although there was no US dollar bill, it was no problem to distribute some candy to the brothers. Do you remember Big White Rabbit Toffee? The best in candy, many people's sweet memories are in these three words.
Sanming's last goodwill exhortation did not result in a happy ending for Brother Xiaoma. The picture of Brother Xiaoma sitting in the car and waving his hand will always be fixed in Sanming's mind. Satisfied.
Brother Ma did not come to the agreed dinner party. The song "Shanghai Beach" played countless times but no one answered. During the day when it was raining heavily, Sanming finally heard the song in the collapsed ruins, and finally found Xiao Ma. elder brother. But it was too late. It wasn't because of an accident that Pony was buried in bricks. He was killed by another group of people in the fire.
Brother Ma who was on the road didn't have a friend to pay his respects to him, only Sanming silently lit three cigarettes to bid him farewell. There is no longer a little brother in Jianghu, and there is no legend about him. People will only look at the fun and say that someone was killed in a fight somewhere, and no one cares about who died. Before long, Brother Ma will be forgotten along with the city, but Sanming will always remember.
Too many silent good people and unassuming bad people will eventually pass away silently with the silent river. Who will remember those old towns that sank under water and the stories that once happened on this land?
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