Ang Lee's world

Evelyn 2022-04-19 09:01:06

Following the film critics here, I watched "Life of Pi" in advance this morning (1112).

From "Pushing Hands", "Eating Men and Women", and "Wedding Banquet" focusing on the confusion and solution of immigrant mentality, to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Eating Men and Women" wandering between (subconsciously) respecting and reflecting on the culture of the motherland, After "Brokeback Mountain" and "Making Woodstock Music Festival" deeply immersed in American mainstream culture, until "Lust and Caution", he began to gain real freedom and can break those various (must pass) concepts. , the technical shell, really entered the depths of human nature. (Is this also a must for a Chinese living in the United States? Of course, based on my personal observation, most people stop at the stage of subconsciously admiring and reflecting on the culture of their home country).

To be more precise, I thought Ang Lee presented a process of "gradually from the outside to the inside". Before "Lust and Caution", the so-called human nature, in Ang Lee's films, was basically a forced (repressed) reaction under the influence of large external factors. Therefore, the impression that those films left on me were mainly all kinds of obvious Sexual external factors. In Lust and Caution, although the external factors are extremely complex and strong, the various internal complex modalities of human nature are even more powerful. At this time, my attention is basically focused on the hero and heroine "individual". The background is pushed far behind.

Today's Life of Pi, I think, is another big step forward. External factors are pushed to extreme abstraction, and the film actually revolves around the heart of the protagonist.

In this film, Ang Lee's perspective has transcended the fetters of factors such as culture, region, ethnicity, religion, gender, etc., and has created a complex, multi-layered, complete world that belongs only to him. Various "relationships" (human-self, human-human, human-animal, human-nature, human-religious, human-cultural...), full, smooth, real in detail, metaphorical overall, full of Compassion is a masterpiece.

When watching it, the mood is very complicated, and several emotions have been entangled with each other. This is a rare viewing experience for me personally. Sometimes I was just moved, and then fell into deep fear, sometimes I was shocked, and then I was overwhelmed by calm... At the end, looking at the tiger's back, I was infinitely disappointed.

Advanced technology has made it easier and easier for movies to become the director's purely personal work (personal imagination). At this time, the director's personal charm, depth of thinking, technical grasp, and accumulation of experience become more and more important. Ang Lee completed the above-mentioned series of films while growing up, or, with the help of this series of films, he has grown continuously! What a great job-life interaction process! (The HAPPY ENDING part in order to compromise with Hollywood and the audience is a bit redundant, but for the box office, there is no way to do it.)

After watching it, a few friends ate and chatted together. The 60-year-old American professor was moved by the fact that "everyone will be lonely in the end", the middle-aged American lady said with emotion that "the technology is awesome", the young Chinese immigrants pay attention to "the expression of Indian culture", and I admire Ang Lee's life Continuous improvement in practice.

Note: Because it has not yet been released, I will not do any spoilers and analysis of the plot.

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Extended Reading
  • Davon 2021-10-20 18:59:15

    The deep and broad ocean, the vast starry sky, the imperial decree came one after another, and the sound of Mass sounded in the depths of the swirling current. Ang Lee never indulges, he is just a gentle person, shyly telling his inner philosophy.

  • Max 2022-03-24 09:01:06

    It's been a long time since I slept so soundly. It’s really meaningless to make movies like those silly essays with full scores for the college entrance examination. The whole story is similar to the kind of "a person should have xx or xx, life should be xx or xx, life should be xx or xx". . These are still disgusting propositions for me after all. Everyone knows what I want to say, but it is really meaningless to make it into this kind of spiritual chicken soup.

Life of Pi quotes

  • Pi Patel (11: Thank you Vishnu, for introducing me to Christ.

  • Adult Pi Patel: Faith is a house with many rooms.

    Writer: But no room for doubt?

    Adult Pi Patel: Oh plenty, on every floor. Doubt is useful, it keeps faith a living thing. After all, you cannot know the strength of your faith until it is tested.