In short, the Oscars are keeping away from the masses year after year, the phenomenon of best picture nominees being reduced to test essays is becoming more and more serious, and political correctness has become an important indicator of winning. Just like the joke of Time.com: "Foreign language films about World War II must be nominated, after all, it is the world of Jews."
What about this year? Maybe after Xiao Lizi won the best actor, most people don't care about the best picture behind. "Focus", a name that is somewhat unfamiliar to ordinary audiences, has become the first Oscar best picture that I have been convinced by in recent years. It is still the main theme, the shadow of nostalgia, and the political correctness, but the film is telling the story with heart.
(Picture: Award-winning)
The movie is based on a true story spanning more than 30 years. People who have watched a lot of movies should know how lethal a comment based on a true story is. In 2002, the Boston Globe had a taciturn new editor-in-chief, a no-nonsense man previously known for layoffs. But the first thing he did after he took office was to mention a small report in the newspaper, and immediately suggested that the four-person team in the "Focus" column should quit their original work and write a column on this topic. What was it worth to startle him this way? Namely, the scandal of sexual abuse of children by priests in regional churches for more than 30 years. Years ago, a lawyer filed a complaint against a priest on behalf of the victim, but he tried hard on the grounds, but to no avail. Now, with the puzzlement of the new editor-in-chief, the column team has started step by step from project establishment, to investigation, interview, and finding information. This bland job eventually caused an uproar in the city's press, law, and education circles. In the end, with the help of the Victims Association and other forces, the "Focus" group completed the production of the column and disintegrated the priest's criminal system.
Ordinarily, this story is quite eye-catching at first glance. The black religious topic of "priest sex scandal" can draw people into the theater in an atheist country, and then cry in the middle of the actor Ma Jingtao's accusation. After going out, he lamented that "the society is dark and the priest is shameless" for a few days before he settled down and returned to work. It will be more interesting to play some conspiracy theories during the period, and make some collusion between the government, the court and the church! There is no big problem with this filming. Thriller, crime, politics and other elements are all available. There are similar descriptions in several places in the original book "Slumdog Millionaire".
But how long can you remember such a movie? The book of "Focus" is just right here. It clearly has a curious theme, it can obviously be made into a blockbuster conspiracy theory, and even if it can win an Oscar, it "swords sideways" and tells the story sincerely . Personally, I like "Yiyi" directed by Yang Dechang very much. The movie is scary and interesting, and "Focus" actually has similar advantages. Take the filming of the work of the newspaper office as an example, it really has a documentary feeling: at the beginning of the project discussion, the main editor confronted each other in the meeting in the office; in the middle, after a little understanding of the priest's crimes, he found a breakthrough and used the newspaper office's complete information. Find the transfer roster of priests in the database; sit around, interview and record the leaders of the victims' associations... This is a sense of boredom, but the slowness of life makes people feel even more The joy of being a journalist at work and the joy of breaking through. No project can be accomplished overnight. Doing a column is not about fighting and killing people, not being sympathetic to the world, but to face the indifferent society in front of you.
In addition to the depiction of the press, the film did not kill the education and legal circles with one stick, but directly reflected their struggle and helplessness. There are three lawyers in the film. Stanley Tucci's "dead lawyer" shows eccentricity, but in fact fights for the rights of victims regardless of his reputation; middle-aged elite lawyers have sheltered a large number of priests who molested children for many years, but they have long been in the past. Submitted anonymously to the newspaper, but unfortunately there was no reply; the old classmate of the column leader, in line with his profession, opened up the joint for the priest, and finally walked back to the light and handed over the list in his hand. As for the description of the school, although only a few minutes of conversation between Michael Keaton and the teachers, it seems to me to be a neat condensation of the film. This is an indifferent city, this is an indifferent society, everyone is just indifferent when the difficulties do not find themselves. But as long as a powerful external factor enters, people will still pick up their conscience and lend a helping hand to those in need. For newspapers, this factor is the new editor-in-chief; for society, it is the focus column. Granted, this is a film that celebrates journalists, but it also inadvertently implies the existence of "goodness" and "courage".
Back to our great journalists. When I ranked the personal top ten this year, I put "Focus" at the first place, but the reason for this position has nothing to do with Oscar, but with last year's "Booming Drummer" and the previous year's "The Story of the Boat" . When I commented on "Blast", I said that it made me rethink my country's education system. For "Edit", I like the craftsman spirit of quiet and quiet work shown in the movie. "Focus" has both of these two reasons. On the one hand, it impresses me because of the similarity between the ending and "Bai Zhou Ji" (at the end of "Bai", the dictionary editor is ready to go back to work after attending the press conference; At the end, the reporters went back to the office to answer the phone and prepared to further expose the crime)
On the other hand, it is because it has the same practical significance to our country as "Boomman". As I said before, "Focus" is like a documentary film in many aspects, such as the database in the newspaper that I have emphasized, which is a book, not an electronic information database; The work skills of the reporters, the stalking of the Armenian journalist played by Ruffalo, the patient listening and door-to-door visits of the female reporter played by Rachel, and the research of various leisure time materials are all real records worth learning. and vivid examples. This back-up resource and technique, to borrow the words of a Zhihu comment, is invaluable to new journalists. But I think of more than that. Remember the song "Knife Mouth, Mine Heart" sung by Zhang Xi in "Good Chinese Songs"? The lyrics are indeed somewhat straightforward, but they directly reflect the current state of the media in our country. In the modern age where the effect of media governance is far greater than the rule of law, what are some media people doing? What are they doing for the views, for the money? I don't understand how the domestic news media operates, and I don't like to criticize at will, but it is an indisputable fact that "the headline party is flying all over the sky". Some unscrupulous media have been accustomed to distorting facts and fabricating headlines in order to gain attention. This kind of vice has already spread from the entertainment and sports sectors to the political and legal sectors. The "college student who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for digging out a bird's egg" was a typical example of taking it out of context. We will not lack much of the good hardware shown in the above "Focus", after all, the times are progressing. But where did the social responsibility and idealistic professionalism revealed in the words of the new anchor in the movie (see the picture below) go to some media?
No movie is perfect, and Spotlight is not far from being truly "good." The plot arrangement of the whole film is a bit inappropriate. Although I personally like the last paragraph, the previous part of the newspaper is a bit rushed, and the paragraphs where the church is unobstructed and the religious female judge is willing to hand over the priest's incriminating evidence make people feel unreal. In terms of the actor's performance, Uncle Keaton did not have the madness of "Birdman", and it was a little dull. The performances of Hulk Ruffalo, Rachel McAdamas, and "Editor-in-Chief" Liev Sreiber fit the roles well, but they don't have much room to play. The film is too keen to represent the entire group of journalists and under-describes the individual. Improvements to these parts may take the film to the next level.
Indeed, in the eyes of many people, "Spotlight" is nothing more than a vulgar sentimental film or an Oscar test essay, but this time I agree with the choice of the old stubborn Kodak Theater. In my opinion, it is a real, unpretentious nostalgia, and the "positive energy" in the reporters is not boring at all.
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