[This article was first published by the author on the "Muweier" public account, please do not reprint without the author's permission]
In 2003, Li Jian released his first solo album, which included a song: "August Photo Studio", which was inspired by a Korean film of the same name released on January 24, 1998: "August Photo Gallery". August Photo Gallery".
Years later, when Li Jian talked about his creative motives, he still showed a special feeling, "I have never been able to explain why this bland film of the same name has firmly grasped my heart and made me have the urge to act. It writes a piece of music, and dedicate it to all the friends who love it."
lyrics
The wind blows through the window of the photo studio
time slipping out the window
when i pass by this place
As if back to yesterday
you lean on my shoulder happily
Said to live every day in life like this
Hmm~ that summer
deep in my heart
rippling occasionally
Hmm~ a gradually yellowing photo
Take me back to a certain day in that certain year
Ah~
Light flashes across your smiling face
forever in the frame
This song makes me look back
That August we looked silly
when holding those old photos
I lit the cigarette that I quit and quietly wet my eyes
Hmm~ that moment
The smile that remains is forever
When love disappears in time
Photos keep you by my side forever
Hmm~ that moment
The smile that remains is forever
When love disappears in time
Photos keep you by my side forever
Ah~~
1. Narrative Skills
If you just watched the plot introduction of the movie, you will definitely think that this is a rather old-fashioned drama, nothing more than a poignant love story in the face of a terminal illness.
But the director uses clever story line design, and through the fusion of one detail after another, builds a unique prose movie with an aesthetic tone.
The film has three main clues: love, death, and the change of the seasons. The director sews these three clues into a whole with many well-thought-out details, and at the same time blends elements such as family affection and friendship, with a kind of euphemism. In a subtle way, the meaning of life itself is explained to the audience.
The following two details show how the director meticulously intertwines the two clues of love and death.
PART 1
In a heavy rain, Delin proposed a date to Yongyuan for the first time, and agreed to meet at the photo studio at 8 pm. But Yongyuan did not wait for Delin, but the old grandma who came to take pictures yesterday. The grandmother in festive clothes asks Yong Won to retake a photo of herself because she didn't show her most beautiful side when she took a family photo last night.
Yongyuan also knew clearly in his heart that this photo was probably the last photo of the old man before his life. The old man dressed up so carefully to leave those beautiful moments for the living.
Not waiting for love, but waiting for a gesture of facing death.
When Yongyuan asked why Delin didn't come, Delin said, "Suddenly I don't want to come." In the face of unfamiliar love, each of us will have such a "sudden" or hesitant, we often think about the many factors behind the love. The same is true for Delin. During Yongyuan's illness, her constant waiting and receiving letters were also a kind of hesitation, a kind of youthfulness in front of love.
In Yang Dechang's film "One One", there is also such a scene:
When Tingting and her boyfriend Fatty went to the hotel for the first time to open a room, the outgoing Fatty suddenly turned around and ran out after opening the door. It was also an inexplicable "sudden" in front of such a love.
PART 2
On the night Delin and Yongyuan Amusement Park returned from a date, the two strolled under the lights full of fallen leaves, and Yongyuan gave Delin a ghost story about dying for love.
The innocent Delin shared this story with her roommate with great interest, but she did not know that the god of death was getting closer and closer to Yongyuan, the "brother soldier".
The use of imagery
"Photo"
Photos are like a screen within a screen, using a more limited time and space to record a wider life.
"glass window"
3. Yongyuan's id and superego
Whether in front of Delin or his family, Yongyuan shows more of a "superego" attitude. Although he was terminally ill, he still smiled and faced everyone around him. Even though Delin's breach of contract had not arrived, Yongyuan still smiled and expressed his understanding with a very enthusiastic attitude.
But in the face of terminal illness, in fact, everyone will feel a sense of helplessness. This is our fear of "death" itself. Even in a character like Yongyuan, we can see this from the details. The director also learned from Yongyuan Body to convey one's own philosophy of life and death.
On a rainy day, Yongyuan ran to sleep with his father in fear, not only a fear of fear and parting, but also an awakening of childhood memories. When each of us was a child, why didn't we seek shelter from our parents on such a rainy night.
In front of the hospital bed, when his sister was about to clean up Yongyuan's tableware after eating, Yongyuan suddenly pulled the plate and insisted on swallowing all the rest of the meal. People from our parents' generation often instill in us a concept: as long as you can eat, this person is healthy. Yongyuan also wants to be like a normal person, how much he desires to keep the same enthusiasm for things as normal people.
After drinking with his friend Zhou Gao, the drunk Yongyuan told Zhou Gao half-jokingly that his time was not long, but he stopped and hid the secret in his heart. Later, in the police station, Yongyuan was angry for the first time in the film. In the eyes of a man like him who was about to die, the people in the police station who quarreled over trivial matters were nothing.
4. Voiceovers all over the place
There are a total of four voiceovers in the film, all of which are from Yongyuan's mouth, alluding to the plot of the film and thus showing the theme of the film.
1. The beginning of the video
When I was little, I often liked to sit alone in the empty playground, thinking of my mother who had passed away. It occurred to me that one day we would all be gone... Dad, sister, and all of our friends.
2. After chatting with my first love, Shiba
Maybe time will change everything, we chatted for a while, and Zhi Yong left. Before leaving, she asked me to remove her picture from the window. I think our love has become a thing of the past.
3. After getting drunk with his friend Zhou Gao
I told him half-jokingly, but I don't know how many more days I'll be able to have a drink with him like today.
4. The end of the video
I finally understand that, just like the countless photos I have seen, love will also become an eternal memory; you let me quietly leave in the beautiful love, I want to say to you: "Thank you, goodbye!"
5. Oriental Aesthetics
Director Xu Qinhao was born in Jeonju, South Korea in 1963. He graduated from the Philosophy Department of Yonsei University in South Korea and a graduate student at the Korea Film Academy. In his films, many philosophical elements are not only meticulously integrated, but also have a simple oriental aesthetic color.
In an interview, Xu Qinhao talked about how philosophy has given him a lot of help in filmmaking, which makes people constantly look for or ask why in life-why do people live? Why do people's emotions change? What exactly is love? Why does love keep changing? For Xu Qinhao's films, this kind of questioning is helpful. Philosophy is a process that helps him solve why things have changed. Not to find the answer, but to always find the why.
Xu Qinhao is also deeply influenced by traditional Confucianism. When he was in middle school, he began to study Laozi, Zhuangzi, and Confucius. In his opinion, Chinese Confucianism has shaped the basic attitude of Koreans to a certain extent. At the same time, Xu Qinhao also highly praised Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu, Taiwan director Hou Hsiao-hsien and other famous directors, but he said: "I won't copy it in detail. For me, if I talk about the influence of creation, it is more about From life, not from some movie.”
To a certain extent, this also constitutes the harmonious and different oriental aesthetic style of Xu Qinhao's films. Therefore, "August Photo Studio" also integrates the characteristics of the two masters. Like "Tokyo Story" and "Sad City", it discusses the oriental life. philosophy.
I hope you take the time to revisit this warm and moving masterpiece.
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