From the time when Emperor Renyu declared Japan's defeat, to the end of the mainland's change of defense and the relocation of the national army to Taiwan in the final subtitle, it has only been less than four years. However, during these four years, Taiwan Island has changed hands several times, political chaos has occurred several times, and the times have changed. Under the crushing are the humble and helpless little people.
The four brothers of the Lin family in Keelung Port, the eldest brother Wen Xiong is upright and courageous by nature, and his vitality like a tiger is no match for a bullet of the ruler; the second brother was recruited by Japan in World War II in Nanyang. He surrendered to the enemy and betrayed the country in Shanghai, and was later punished as a traitor. It's funny, what enemy did you vote for, what country did you betray, when the Shimonoseki Treaty ceded Taiwan to Japan after the Sino-Japanese War, did you ever think that Taiwan is also Chinese territory, and the people living there are also Chinese citizens. The 50-year Japanese rule has brought modern civilization to this isolated island. Taiwanese in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression are Japanese or people of the National Government. Taiwan is not an orphan of Asia, where can there be a home country? Word?
Only the old fourth Wenqing, gentle and obedient, fell from a tree when he was eight years old, and since then he has been unable to hear a voice or speak. Hou Hsiao-hsien said, in fact, Wen Qing's character was not deaf at the beginning, but Liang Chaowei did not understand Mandarin, let alone speak Taiwanese, so he had to be arranged as a person who couldn't hear and couldn't speak. Precisely, in the face of the huge state's violent machinery and political turmoil, aren't individuals who are blocked in information and have no right to speak like deaf and mute?
After watching the entire film, the most impressive thing is that Hou Hsiao-hsien was very slow, very slow, blank, broken, incoherent, empty shots, less dialogue, not deliberately provocative, not critical, the whole process of watching the film did not have the urge to fill your eyes, but After watching it, I will always remember that expressionless and forbearing face, the eldest brother's fierce "fuck you", Xin Shufen's nod and smile, Tony Leung's talking eyes, the song "My hometown is Songhua in the Northeast". On the river", intellectuals chatted about state affairs in the restaurant but said taboo, "Don't talk about state affairs, just drink tea."
Hou Hsiao-hsien is Hou Hsiao-hsien. He is calm and restrained, never showing excessive lyricism, this is life itself, trivial and ordinary, not heroic, not macroscopic, so it is more real and powerful.
This is his view of history, as Spinoza said, neither praise nor condemnation nor regret, but only for understanding and knowledge.
Before he made this film, Taiwan had just lifted martial law. He was going to film "228", and he was going to use light and shadow to present the unspoken history of the past. What has Taiwan experienced, why is Taiwan like it is now, and where should Taiwan go? This is not an imaginary crude concept, and it does not even involve politics, economy, or any modern civilization that can be quantified and counted. Because only the people who live on this island are qualified to tell the history of this island and have the ability to think about the living conditions and future and destiny of the people on this island.
Hence Hou Hsiao-hsien. Compared with Ang Lee, I think he is more worthy of the title of "The Light of Taiwan".
What is history for? What is the use of remembering those sufferings? How many times have I thought about this question. But as Lord Dai said, living in a flat modern space without history, how can we know and understand our current world? Only by understanding our ins and outs can we have our future. History will repeat, and tragedies will repeat, as long as the inherent mischief of human nature remains. However, we at least need to know why we are here, this is the minimum self-consciousness of being born.
In the year that "City of Sadness" was released, an incident similar to "228" occurred on the other side of the mainland. However, until today, no one knows what happened, no one is qualified to record, and all those who witnessed it, even if they are still alive, have lost the ability to speak. That special year has become a mysterious number, appearing in the flickering words of the crowd, in the ambiguous expressions, and in the after-dinner meal of "Don't talk about state affairs, just drink tea".
Years later, a director who wanted to record all this made a film called "Summer Palace". He took the film to overseas screenings and participated in film festivals, and was banned from filming for three years by his motherland. A director who makes a living from movies has been disqualified from making movies.
Refusal to let mankind know the truth of history is the greatest humiliation to human civilization.
Today, the other side has entered the era of capitalism "entertaining to death", "228" is no longer a taboo, but has become a legal holiday, another discount shopping season, fortunately, they have Hou Hsiao-hsien, and some people think, There are also records.
As for us, we have Jia Zhangke, Wang Xiaoshuai, and Lou Ye. It's okay.
Why are we alive? Russell said, because of the thirst for love, the pursuit of knowledge, the unstoppable compassion for human suffering.
From "Once Upon a Time in Childhood" to "Love in the Wind and Dust" to "City of Sadness", this sentence may be Hou Hsiao-hsien's most suitable annotation.
Finally, let's talk about the actors. Many people say that Wang Jiawei made Tony Leung, but I prefer him under the lens of Hou Hsiao-hsien. He doesn't need any lines, his eyes speak by themselves. As an actor, he is simply too good, too good to be described as amazing. Xin Shufen is an eternal legend in the film industry, and only by disappearing from the body can she become a legend. That's the importance of white space, eh.
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