The film "Eyes Wide Shut" was first known because of a long, long time ago, a best-selling novel, Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code", the author connected many religious, artistic, occult, semiotic, conspiracy theory elements in series It became a thrilling reasoning story, and it was also from this book that I first learned about the existence of the Illuminati. It is revealed in the novel that many important figures in the scientific, political and business circles are its members. They almost control the entire world, organize meetings from time to time, and hold strange ceremonies...
In "Eyes Wide Shut", a mysterious organization did appear. What's even more bizarre is that Kubrick died of a heart attack five days after the final cut version of "Eyes Wide Shut" was filmed. There are rumors that he himself wanted to use the film to let the mysterious organization into the public eye. But the content of this article is not to discuss a mysterious organization or other conspiracy theories in depth, but to talk about the movie and interpret this Kubrick's last movie as much as possible with my limited perspective and understanding.
The Shaking of Middle-Class Life
"Eyes Wide Shut" was filmed in 1997. At that time, Nicole Kidman was in her thirties, and her figure was graceful. Needless to say, the first scene of the movie was to shoot her changing her dress. The clothes fell off, and the entire back was completely exposed. In the eyes of the audience, it is visually very impactful. Later, the English name of the movie [Eyes Wide Shut] appeared, and the literal translation is [eyes closed]. I certainly believe that the director did it on purpose and that anyone who sees Nicole Kidman's back won't close their eyes.
The next picture is, husband Bill and his wife dressing up, from the bathroom to the living room and then in a grand party, as the audience we also got some information, husband Bill's occupation, their living environment and various information, typical The middle-class, well-dressed, beautiful and decent. At the party, the husband and wife briefly separated, the wife met an elegant Hungarian man, they danced together, and the words were full of ambiguous entanglements; and the husband Bill was not idle, he met two models, It can be called a left hug and a right hug. They invited him to go to the "end of the rainbow" together. What is the end of the rainbow, and where is the end of the rainbow, this must be a very ambiguous statement.
When we thought this was a couple with an open relationship, this was not the case. The wife suddenly broke free from the state of confusion and ecstasy as if regaining her senses, and the husband did not go to the end of the rainbow, but helped the client Deal with tricky things that happen in the bathroom. After the party, the couple returned to their daily lives, with husband Bill working as usual, going to work to see a doctor, and his wife taking care of the children at home. Until one night before Christmas (the whole story is on Christmas Eve), the two share some marijuana, and in this "extraordinary" state, the estrangement between each other is revealed.
The two first asked about the situation on the day of the party, their respective affair, and then the husband followed his wife's words to annoy her, which probably meant, "You are very beautiful, so it is okay for a man to have sex with you. Understandable, because we all know what a man is thinking.” On the surface, this is a compliment to his wife’s appearance, but it can also be understood as, “You are also a man, do you chat with beautiful women because you also want to They had a relationship."
The husband denied this, and gave the following reasons: I love you and we are married, so I will never cheat or hurt you. At first glance, these reasons are very legitimate and reasonable, especially in line with the identity, image, and status of the male protagonist, but the wife is incredulous. The two debated. The man not only said that he would not cheat, but also believed that his wife would not cheat, and continued to give reasons: I believe in you, we have marital concerns, and you are the mother of the child. The reason is still very decent and reasonable!
At this time, Nicole Kidman performed a very exaggerated laugh, almost crazy, so that it didn't seem like a normal person's reaction. I even felt that the director was using his wife to mock her husband's hypocrisy and decency. After a wild laugh, the wife honestly explained what happened to a naval officer last summer, they had a relationship, planned the future, she went crazy for him, and even was willing to leave everything. But the complication is that while a wife falls into madness for others, she deeply loves her husband, and her love for her husband contains pain and sorrow.
From his wife's words, we can find the characteristics of this beautiful woman. On the one hand, she is brave and frank, and she dares to admit her actions even in marriage. On the other hand, she is very smart. She did not choose to use "no more" "Love your husband", but honestly reflected the contradictions in his heart, and the complexity and contradictions were then transferred to her husband Bill.
During the wife's story, the husband received a call that a patient died and he needed to go, and the debate between the two ended. On the way to take a taxi, the husband's mood could not be calm at all, and the image of his wife cheating with others swirled in his head. From this moment, his life was completely shaken. There was a crux in his heart, in other words, the inner demon.
The whole movie, in my opinion, is the process of a man "solving the demon". This man is from a good background, handsome and handsome, with a decent job, and there are many beautiful women around him. He is also very self-confident and has always been smooth sailing. But one night, his wife suddenly told him that she had cheated on him and changed to any man. It's all a blow. He can choose to divorce, but he won't, because both of the couple know very well that they have children, children make the marriage stronger, and more importantly, they still love each other, even if they have been married for many years, they are still attractive to each other , The complexity of the relationship makes it impossible for them to make a quick and clean break. This is also the case, the "inner demon" produced a series of chain reactions on this man, and the series of actions he followed were all trying to unravel this inner demon , or in other words, he wanted to indulge himself so that Take revenge for his wife's derailment, and step into the torrent of desire alone.
Step into the flood of desire
When watching the movie "Eyes Wide Shut", I thought of another movie more than once, Yang Dechang's "Yi Yi", although they come from different cultural environments, we can still see that after the middle-class family life is shaken, How men and women deal with desire, think about what these two films have in common. After stepping into the flood of desire, Bill ushered in his first level. His patient had passed away, and the deceased's daughter was at the bedside. Seeing Bill's arrival, she tried her best to hide her excitement and nervousness, but she couldn't hold back, so she made an affectionate confession.
In the picture here, the woman can be seen in the center of a strong chiaroscuro tones, as she tells her love, but also takes care of her current boyfriend Carl. With the arrival of Carl, Bill pulled out of this level and retreated for the first time.
Bill walked onto the street, looked at the intimate men and women on the street, and remembered the picture of his wife cheating on him. He was still very angry. He was very angry, and the director added another scene here. A group of gangsters bumped him head-on. For a moment, mocking him as a "girl" is a realistic bridge that reflects the protagonist's state of mind. Why are you making fun of him as a sissy? Because in the common secular concept, a wife cheating is a thing that especially hurts her husband's masculinity, that is, wearing a cuckold.
So, here comes the second level, a more direct and naked way of revenge - having a relationship with a street girl. Came to the room, negotiated the price, kissed, and was about to get to the point, when his wife's inquiry phone came, Bill answered the phone, prevaricates, and decided to terminate the relationship, but still paid the money. Why stop? There is no explanation here, but it can still be guessed. For example, he lied to his wife and felt guilty. The guilt made the previously cultivated atmosphere completely gone. For example, the rationality of being a decent person reminded him. In short, once again the whole body retreated.
There are a total of three levels set up in the movie, and every time Bill exits from the previous level, the next level he encounters will be more direct, more seductive, and more dangerous.
The third level is also the highlight of the movie. The male protagonist obtained a password through the pianist Nick. This password can go to a mysterious party. Nick claimed that many beautiful women could be seen at the party, which directly stimulated Bill. For the mysterious party, he did not hesitate to take a taxi to the closed clothing store (the name of the clothing store happened to be "Rainbow", which had to be reminiscent of the "end of the rainbow" before), and spent more money renting dresses and masks.
At the same time, he also got his wish to see amazing sights, strange rituals and large-scale multi-person group sexual behavior. A woman came to warn him and asked him to leave as soon as possible. Before he could escape, his identity was discovered. When he was about to be punished, it was this woman who came forward and was willing to be punished on his behalf. The third time, Bill got out again.
Bill came home, his wife woke up from her sleep, she cried, she had a nightmare, and in the wife's description, we will find that the wife's dream scene is exactly the husband's party experience tonight, and the woman's dream takes care of it the reality of men. In this part, people's reason, emotion and desire are intertwined and fought with each other, and it all happens in one night. The time is so compact that it is difficult to see and react . The male protagonist starts his own adventure driven by desire. The journey is like a dream with twists and turns. But even after going through this, the hero's inner demon is still there, and the psychological crux has not been able to be solved. Next is the third part of the movie. In the third part, the male protagonist is secretly investigating the mysterious organization and "solving the devil" until he begins to break down and has to reveal his experience to his wife.
How Inner Demons Are Repulsed
There seems to be some causality in this film, and every action can directly or indirectly and quickly feedback a result.
Bill's desire was like a stone thrown into a lake, and it quickly rippled. He went to the pianist Nick, but Nick disappeared; he went to the street girl, but the street girl's roommate told him that she had AIDS; he searched the newspaper and found The death of a beauty pageant model turns out to be the woman who was punished on his behalf that night; he tries to investigate the mysterious organization, finds nothing, but is threatened and warned that his family will also be punished. spread.
And in Bill's client's mouth, everything becomes indistinguishable again, the pianist disappears just to send him elsewhere, the model died because of her own drug abuse, the mysterious organization just wants to intimidate Bill and make him stop investigating . Whether this is a real reality or a fake game, the male protagonist must be confused, and of course the audience is also confused.
But I have to admit that in this adventure of desire, each level has to pay more than the last one, disappearance, illness, death... Bill became more and more afraid, until he returned home and found his wife's The mask Bill wore on the night of the party appeared beside the pillow, and Bill decided to be candid with his wife.
This is a story that begins with desire and ends with fear. The inner demon was repelled by fear, but whether it really disappeared, whether it was really dissipated, we do not know. Suddenly remembered a sentence, but forgot the source, it seems to be universally applicable to human nature, "people are more afraid of losing what they have than what they have not yet obtained" . So Bill also walked into a dead end, and this alley was fear. He asked his wife what to do, and at this time, the wife showed her wisdom again - she felt that they should be grateful, after all, they made it through, whether it was an adventure or a dream, and the reality of a night is far less than last lifetime.
For the wife's answer, the most popular and simple understanding is that if there is a problem between the husband and wife, it seems that they should try to communicate and keep honest, so that the marriage can go on. This is also the most realistic wisdom. Take a step back and continue to live your life as if nothing happened.
But why is the movie called "Eyes Wide Shut" (eyes closed) instead of "A Hundred Years of Love" or "The Way of a Husband and Wife"? Because the wife's answer contains another layer of detour. This detour is to turn a blind eye to everything that is happening in front of you, whether it is the disappearance or death of others, don't pursue it any more, return to your original life, and continue to maintain a decent middle-class , to maintain the appearance of their love. Open your eyes and close your eyes. The truth you see may only be the part of the truth that you can accept, and the unacceptable part will be turned a blind eye. This is of course hypocritical, but it is also a choice you have to make. A rather helpless way of living.
In "Eyes Wide Shut", the wake up of the hero and heroine comes from external stimuli, various incidents and threats. In Yang Dechang's movie "Yi Yi", the awakening of the hero and heroine is spontaneous. The hero meets his former first love and roams Tokyo. There is no need to do it all over again, the heroine went to the mountain to practice without success and returned to the family.
Of course, there seems to be no need to try to draw any conclusions from the film, the film is only to show, to show a situation - we, each of us, live in limited freedom, in the reality that we can touch. So, while watching a movie, I have this kind of emotion, relax, just relax a little bit, nothing is absolute.
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