1
Xing Dingxun's Call for Love at the Center of the World (2004) has received mixed reviews to this day. She has a distinct stamp of the times, "Sony" Walkman, recording mood diary on tape, which only happened in the 1980s and 1990s. The advent of CDs and even digital technology quickly replaced it. The film is based on Katayama Kyoichi's novel of the same name. Because Xue Dingxun has been Iwai Shunji's assistant, this makes people think of "Love Letter", which also contains flashbacks of tragic and past romances, and also contains some kind of affection.
It doesn't matter whether Hongyan Mountain in Australia is the center of the world. The novels and movies are actually meant to say that where there is love, it is the center of the world for those who love each other. Yes, wherever a lover goes, there is the center of the world. Some people are entangled in whether Australia's Red Rock Mountain is the center of the world, which is a bit of a bullshit. To tell the truth, the center of the world is a false concept.
It's like, a novelist, whose novels have nothing to do with the city in which he lives, you can't say that his novels are far from reality. On the contrary, those symbolic writings that deliberately pile up the names of cities are worth our vigilance, not to mention that the substantive intervention and understanding of a city requires ten or twenty years of precipitation and collisions with different identities. , just scratching the surface. Because the essence of the novel should get rid of these virtual appearances and carefully describe human nature. This is the key point.
That is to say, all literature and art should transcend this kind of "labeled" and narrow differences, but should stand at the height of all human beings, truly care about the will and profound meaning expressed by the novel itself, and go deep into the essence of the surrounding life, rather than mind. Such empty literary concepts as "urban literature" and "worker literature". We need to emphasize more on the definition of "author". All writers, whether writing novels, poems or prose, are just "authors" rather than affixed with a certain shackled label. Stuck on your own.
2
"Calling for Love in the Center of the World" has a youthful style that is exciting enough. The alternation of reality and flashbacks is always tied to the theme of emotion. At the beginning of the film, the fiancée Ritsuko (played by Shibasaki Yukio) of Sakutaro (played by Takao Ozawa) suddenly disappeared after leaving a note. This confuses Sakutaro. The strange thing is that he did not search for Ritsuko, but reminisced about an unforgettable youthful past. This may seem a little inhumane, but it is actually a coincidental connection with Ritsuko's emotions.
Sakutaro (Moriyama Miku), who was in high school in 1986, didn't pay much attention to Aki (Nagazawa Masami), who was good at sports and acting. I don't pay attention because she is the school girl in the eyes of boys. For him, a stunned young man who always seems to have not woken up, it is something that he does not dare to climb high. But Aki caught up with him and insisted on riding his motorcycle. The love of youth is a bit nonsensical and guilty. The two made an appointment to submit articles to "Midnight Radio" together, and exchanged diaries with Walkman recordings.
3
Sakutaro has an uncle Shiger. This old guy has a deep love for the headmistress who just passed away. Although the two cannot live together, he is left alone in this relationship for a lifetime, which is really intoxicating. What's special in the film is that the Shiger asks Sakutaro and Aki to steal the ashes of the headmistress that have been buried in the tomb in exchange for their interest in the old man's love. On the other hand, Aki was set to play Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet," but was canceled because of her leukemia.
It was unfortunate for Aki to suffer from this fatal disease, but she won Sakutaro's purest feelings. The two recorded a mood diary as usual. They also went to the island to play together, but Aki's condition got worse and she fainted. Since then, she can only stay in the hospital. With the deepening of chemotherapy, her hair fell out, and the two could only express their love through the glass. But Aki has always had a wish, that is, to travel to Australia, in the wasteland called the center of the world, calling out hoarsely.
4
But before they were about to board the plane, the flight was canceled because of the approaching typhoon. This corresponds to the fact that the 29th typhoon in the film is coming. But Aki couldn't take it anymore, and she fainted again in the waiting room. Aki finally took Sakutaro's affectionate gestures and left without regrets. The film coincides with the fact that Aki was playing in the ward with a little girl, who is now Sakutaro's fiancee Ritsuko. The little girl came to the hospital every day to see her mother who was being treated.
Moreover, Ritsuko regards Aji as a lovable big sister, and Aji also recorded encouraging recordings for her. This is the last tape recording Aki recorded before his death. Ritsuko suddenly ran away from home because she discovered Sakutaro's deep love for Aki. The typhoon brought the storm and the rain, and let Ritsuko understand Sakutaro's affection for sister Aki. When he found Ritsuko in the rain, the two hugged tightly. They finally fulfilled Yaji's wish during his lifetime and came to Hongyan Mountain in Australia together.
5
It was as if Ritsuko was a continuation of Aki's life. The emotional knots in the film seem to be a little detoured and forced. In fact, this shows that all human emotions are always delayed in some way. This is the beauty and hope that still exist in life. hope. The end of an emotion is just a concept of a certain period of time, it does not mean that the emotion disappears. As between the unremarkable Sakutaro and the bright Aki, from light to thick, burning like a youthful flame, until Aki is gone. Happiness is not only in the present, but also in the future.
It seems that Sakutaro is for a promise, but this kind of agreement, with the most sincere emotional imprint, is not just a promise for the promise. Romance in youth films is not easy to shoot. The probability of being mixed with sensationalism is relatively high, in fact, this is also impossible. Originally, young people's love depends on passion, rationality should be put aside, how can you let them not be sensational, how not to be numb, or else the excess hormones will be burned. This is the beast peculiar to youthful love affairs.
The problem is not sensationalism, but mastering a degree. The "Love Letter" of peeling onions is also sensational. The memories of the female Fujiishu for the male Fujiishu in middle school were vague and scarce at first. Gradually, with the memories, the dust was brushed off in circles, and it also felt a little mysterious. This does have some similarities with Sakutaro's memories of Aki's feelings. But the emotional interaction between Sakutaro and Aki is cohesive, that is to say, there is thickness. With such a passion, "Calling for Love in the Center of the World" has its own unique style and taste.
2017, 11, 20
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