For me, this story is "Revolt of the Clones." This story takes place in the not-so-distant future. Throughout the history of science fiction movies, its themes are not new. Clones are enslaved, then rise up and fail. . It's interesting that Yuntu sets this up as a "shocking truth" rather than a well-known fact, which makes the story vulgar, even earthy, but also greatly enhances the sense of reality. The irony of it, because each of us is being blinded, and behind that shady shroud are some shocking facts that have become the cornerstone of the modern social order.
A recent example is the instant chicken incident at a famous fast food restaurant. When the "truth" was revealed, there was an uproar, but I think the most shocking thing about the whole incident was that people were deeply shocked by it - in fact, this should be common sense. That's right. If you think about it a little, you can know the state of the modern breeding industry. All animals are regarded as workpieces and products, just like cups and spoons electric lights. It is conceivable that they endure the terrible conditions in the assembly line. For specific situations, you can watch the famous documentary "food".
However, what human beings do to animals will eventually affect human beings. It is not surprising that commercial and industrial logic will eventually lead to this result. In fact, our education has been deeply influenced by this kind of thinking. Students are more regarded as products, while schools are factories. The "standardization" of education shows that we have regarded schools as "citizen production lines". And once the clones mature, things in the cloud map are inevitable.
Those who challenge the order will eventually perish. I think, this is the "truth" that Yuntu really wants to state, and this is also the most embarrassing contradiction in human civilization (note, oh, I didn't say one). Everyone depends on order to survive, but wants to get rid of the shackles of order, and the only way here is to gain power. Modern law invented the word "right" to soften the aggressiveness of "power", but in fact it is just that people are unwilling to face the ugliness in their hearts.
In fact, we are so reliant on order that the resistance of human clones is equivalent to today's, a strange organization leading a herd of pigs to rebel against the slaughter of human beings. Of course you would say that people are people, not pigs. Well, how to define "man" is an interesting question. The relevant classic discussion can be found in Orson Scott Card's classic novel "Ender's Game" and its follow-up "Speaker of the Dead". "Aliens", "Aliens" and "Aliens", among them, Aliens can be "edible", but "Aliens" are not.
However, industrial civilization is constantly changing the definition of human beings. The desire to enslave others is written in human genes. The story in the cloud map can be said to be the future. However, there is also a desire for freedom, which is just antagonistic to the order of need and dependence. The struggle between the two has run through the history of human civilization for thousands of years, and will continue to struggle.
That's what I love about cloud maps, it tells the truth.
I see this story as the protagonist and the other stories as supporting characters. In fact, they are all good stories, and each of them can be very exciting when told alone. I want to start with the story after the "Great Destruction", because it should be the most obvious connection with the "main" story.
That story outlines a future for mankind, that is, the world has been destroyed and returned to its original state. This idea is not new, even I have written a novel with a similar theme (killed by Liu Weijia from the sci-fi world). Perhaps the point of this story is that "Xingmei", as a totem of faith, is a deified idol - this clearly satirizes all religions that worship idols, including Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism in the minds of many people. But overall, I still think it hints at the future of humanity.
You may be surprised that I have written so much without mentioning the intricate relationships in the cloud map. Maybe from my point of view, it's not that important, although maybe it's what really makes this movie great.
In my opinion, the audience doesn't need to figure out how these different stories are connected - if it was really rigorous, the writers and directors must have spent an unimaginable amount of effort. If you do figure it out, you're sure to find it less scrutinized, or at least a little stiff. But what really matters: The world is universally connected, and so many stories are all one story—another truth that the film says. The former truth is the theme of this "same story": the struggle between order and freedom. Whether it is the resistance of gay artists, the resistance of black slaves and sympathizers, the resistance of Xingmei, or the resistance of old publishers, it is one thing.
This struggle is in everyone's heart, in everyone's genes.
In addition to using dark plots to logically connect these stories, the movie also uses an illogical method, which is to switch stories when the scenes are similar, for example, when someone falls into the water in one story, it cuts to another story, and someone falls into the water. It's certainly not new (for example, "The Moment"), but it's probably relatively rare to be used so frequently in so many stories.
This technique shines brightly in cloud maps. The first is to reinforce the film's theme extremely appropriately: that things are universally connected. Maybe you can imagine that what you are doing now, your expressions, even the environment, clothing, etc., in another corner of the world, there is a person who has nothing to do with you and is terrifyingly similar to you. If you think about it carefully, you will understand that this is extremely possible, and in the history of thousands of years, this is of course inevitable.
Another benefit of this approach is that it makes the movie look good. Finally came to the topic of "beautiful". Personally, I think that looking good is the duty of a movie, just like the role of "health" to people, it is 1, and everything else is a 0 after 1. There is no good-looking, other things will be buried.
That's probably the most amazing thing about this movie, telling so many stories at the same time and telling it so well, if you've written a novel or a screenplay, you know how hard it is. I believe that this is not something that can be grasped only by experience and talent, but must also turn to "science". Human memory and attention are very delicate, and if you don't pay attention, people will forget a certain story "What were you talking about just now?" ", or "Don't care about this story anymore". Telling two stories at the same time is already walking a tightrope, and telling so many stories is like walking spider silk. I didn't forget to continue before, and the switch should be soft and not rigid. This uses the "similar scene" method above, but it is still a very challenging thing. Yuntu has done this very successfully, very successfully.
This success was finally manifested in business, which is the luck of this movie. I think, in fact, what the creator really wants to talk about is the concern about human civilization, and the story of Xingmei is actually the real core. But if it is too serious, it will make people uncomfortable to watch, and it will not be able to get a seat, so it is wrapped in a commercial skin. It's a great compromise, it's a great art.
I watched this film in the Centennial Lecture Hall of Peking University, and I took the lead in applauding when the old couple embraced and walked into the residence. But the real applause comes when everyone sees the peculiar cast list, which is obviously a surprise left by the movie. On the one hand, it implies the connection between things, on the other hand, it also tells the audience ironically: the truth you don't know There are a lot more. But I think this approach is more important to reflect the director's understanding of "acting". Actors should be able to play various roles. For most actors, this kind of talent does not So many opportunities to show it so blatantly, this film gave them a platform.
As a final note, I've been planning to write a novel that is somewhat similar to Xingmei's story, and it's frustrating that Yuntu is doing so well. Let me use this frustration to pay homage to this great film.
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