-- "Love at Sunset Twilight" film review
Vertically alive and horizontally nostalgic. - Ai Yiliang. "Forever Young"
This lyric is also the name of the album to which the song belongs. The album introduction says, "Live vertically", because people want to live, so they can stand and be perpendicular to the world, "Horizontal nostalgia", because when people want to leave this world, they are horizontal to the ground, so they are nostalgic. The amazing thing is that the long-shot technique in the movie corresponds to the passage of time while alive, and the montage technique corresponds to the recurrence of the nostalgic scenes again and again. On the theme of love, which makes people love and hate , the "Love Is" trilogy, which uses these two methods to the extreme, has become a classic. The second "Love at Sunset and Dusk", which represents the reunion, used these two techniques to make moving footnotes for this lyric. It tells us that the heart-to-heart dialogue between the two people under the long shot is one side of love, and the tacit memories of the two people under the montage are the other side of love. The two support each other, just like two people rely on each other.
The movie starts, "An Ocean Apart" sounds, "Now we are together sitting outside in the sunshine, but soon we'll be apart and soon it'll be night at noon." The accompanying picture is an alley shot and outside shooting. In fact, this alley is the scene surrounding Celine's Paris residence. And this information, the audience needs to see the end to know. Afterwards, the sound of music continued to present the street scenes of Paris scene by scene. At this time, different camera angles appeared, including overhead shots, flat shots, and elevation shots . Even more insidiously, these scenes are exactly what Jesse and Celine walk through next, and in reverse order. This arrangement of shots seems to let the audience who have not seen the back feel the romance of the city of Paris. The colors of black, gray, warm yellow, dark yellow, dark green and dark red do not make people feel depressed and sad . , but to immerse yourself in the comfort before sunset. No matter from which angle you look at Paris, pedestrians and vehicles are naturally slow, and these dark colors seem to be brewing for the reunion of the two later. Organizing the shots in the reverse order of the places the two people walked through will undoubtedly give the audience a wider space for the reverie of the story. In contrast, the flashbacks in literature will tell us the result of the story, and the flashbacks in the film can only use the flashbacks of the camera lens. The audience does not know the result, but after knowing the result, they will suddenly realize that the movie has long used the song at the beginning. And a few flashbacks tell us that Jesse and Celine will eventually meet again, will walk through these places, and they are destined to circle back to the starting point as early as the beginning, which is the first part. And although the two have gone through a lot of changes when they reunited, and the location has moved from Vienna to Paris, their love for each other has not changed, but is as romantic as the city of Paris.
Then Jesse introduced the new book to readers in the bookstore. In this small space, the director follows the principle of axis very much . Whether it is the shot of the female reader, or the shot of Jesse, or the shot of the crowd behind, or the shot of the bookstore owner on the side, it can make people feel natural, Watch comfortably.
When Jesse was asked why he wrote the book, scenes from Vienna began to appear, forming a parallel montage with the scenes in the bookstore , and every time the scenes in Vienna and Jesse introduced the reasons for writing the book to everyone, there would be a subtle connection. When it comes to "encounter", the shot is of them talking on the train, when it is mentioned "meet again", the shot is of them parting by the train, and when it is mentioned "sixteen", the shot is of Jesse asking Celine He stopped and said that he wanted to remember her young appearance well... The scenes of Vienna in this parallel montage were actually scenes that appeared in Jesse's mind, and deeply touched the audience who had watched the first part. What's even more unexpected is that it was originally just the switch between Jesse's reason for writing the book and the Vienna shot. When the line reached the phrase "at that moment", the camera did not return from Vienna to Jesse, but returned to Celine. At this time, the film's reunion officially begins, as suddenly and beautifully as their "hasty" decision to get off in Vienna at the time.
The scene where they spoke again, which they hadn't seen in nine years, was also truly emotional. In the pros and cons of this scene, the director still followed the principle of axis and expressed deep meaning with short lines . They do have a lot to talk about, but when the plane takes off in just two or three hours, they can only say hello. "How are you?" "I'm fine, how about you?" "Well, I'm fine, fine." How embarrassing and cramped in everyday conversations, but on Jesse and Celine I haven't seen in nine years , how real it seems. At this moment, Jesse couldn't hide his surprise and excitement, and he didn't speak well, while Celine, who may have been listening for a long time, seemed more calm, but both of them couldn't hide their smiles. Such a sudden reunion and a simple conversation formed a stark contrast to the nine years in which I had few in my life .
When the two walked out of the bookstore, Jesse and Celine's clothing became the new highlight. In the bookstore, the darker environment and smaller space did not give the two people a chance to collide, but on the street, we can see that the two people's clothes have a spark in Paris at sunset. In the scene that is mainly warm yellow, Jesse wears a black coat and a yellowed shirt, Celine wears a beige coat and a black inner layer, the color not only forms a tacit understanding between the two, but also forms a kind of Compatibility with the environment .
Then, the stage of the long shot started. The long shot of the first part takes place when the two are on their way to a coffee shop. The two started chatting from the new book, chatting about the agreement between the two in Vienna at that time, and the recent situation of the two such as work. In the long shots of the first part, although there are a few shots, they are all very natural and reasonable. On the contrary, not switching may cause discomfort and lose the echo of the plot. For example, in order to ensure that the audience remembers the impression left at the beginning, the director gave up the frontal angle shot and presented it from the back angle. In addition, there are several stops during the period. For example, most of the long shots in this part are in the form of shooting two people's frontal faces, but whenever a problem occurs, the shot will stop, a It was Celine who asked Jesse if she went to Vienna, and Jesse lied to her not to go. One was that after Celine explained the reason why she didn't go, she asked Jesse why she didn't go, and found that Jesse couldn't give a reason, that is, Jesse actually went. Both shots stop just right, at the point of collision, so that readers won't be affected by the extra action of the shots when they are a little nervous.
When they got to the coffee shop, they chatted about their own experiences. Like old friends who haven't seen each other for a long time, they eagerly wanted to know what the other party did in the days when they didn't see each other, and eagerly wanted to tell them about the days when they didn't see each other. did something. What makes people laugh out loud in front of the screen is that Celine will ask Jesse what has changed in himself. Jesse says "a little thinner than before" like a worldly boyfriend, and Celine is like a worldly girlfriend and asks Questioning Jesse used to think she was fat. Indeed, the first acquaintance and reunion in the love between Celine and Jesse are extremely rare. Celine mentioned that she once lived in the United States, and Jesse was in the same city during that time after moving. However, they also have a plot that is as common as all other loves but is where the meaning of their relationship lies. This dialogue may seem old-fashioned in an idol drama, but it presents the most real epitome of the two of them, naive but beautiful . When they left the coffee shop, the camera did not follow, but stopped in the coffee shop, and as they walked out, a glass with a heart sticker in the middle blurred them, but it was clear to the audience that this Two people who don't mind smoking each other's cigarettes and lighting their own with each other's cigarettes still adore each other.
The second long shot takes place on their way through the gardens to the Seine. On this journey, they talked about their childhood, about their goals, about sex, about singing, about astrology, and about if today was the last day of their lives... Each topic alone is very weak, but each topic is very important to them. When it comes out of the mouth, it naturally makes the audience intoxicated. When it comes to sex, Jesse gets up and sits a little closer to Celine, and Celine doesn't resist. They were originally a couple who were both spiritually and physically compatible .
When they walked to the Seine River, the camera gradually zoomed out. It was no longer a close-up shot of the two of them, but a panoramic view of the Seine River . At this time, the audience saw the city view of Paris again. The sky was getting darker, and the separation of the two people was getting closer and closer, and this kind of feeling could not be provided by the previous close-up view. At this time, a plot full of "sudden" features appeared again. Jesse suddenly wanted to take Celine to take a cruise, and Celine agreed again, and after boarding the boat, he felt the Paris scenery on the boat.
On the boat, it is very special that their positions are constantly changing , just like the slightly bumpy boat and the lightly blowing wind, moving, and the camera randomly follows . The difference from the previous chat is that the topic they discussed from the time they got on the boat to the end of the movie was completely only love. Perhaps this unsettled position and camera lens represent some of the changes of the two in the past nine years. Jesse got married and had children, Celine was hurt in the relationship, Jesse was thinking about Celine until the moment before the wedding, Celine still remembered that Jesse had a little red beard... Facing a lot of changes, they regretted not exchanging contact information at the beginning, but The reunion that has already happened makes them feel that there is no need to regret it, because the place they love in each other has not changed. From the first invitation to get off, to the second invitation to get on board, the two of them told the audience that the person they thought of each other nine years later was still the same as before. We don't know if it's because of Jesse that Celine thinks the view on the boat is so beautiful, but what we do know is that Jesse must have fallen in love with the city of Paris because of Celine, pulled her aboard, just wanted to stay with her a little longer time together. The sentence "Shit" before disembarking is the most primitive and instinctive love .
The dialogue in the car that follows is the climax of the film. Every one of Celine's ex-boyfriends has been married since separating from her, and Jesse, who gave her the most romance, was no exception. As if it was because of Jesse, Celine thought that with her, love and reality had been separated. The extremely collapsed Celine wanted to get out of the car for a while, but Jesse, who loved her, still didn't let her go. A person is very embarrassed when she collapses, but the good thing is that someone will say after her collapse, "Even if you become so angry, manic, depressed, and aggressive, I still like you, and I still want to be with you. together" . When Celine heard these words, she didn't feel that Jesse was despising her or forcibly enduring her, but because of these words she slowly laughed. After hearing "I still like you", she couldn't hold back her bright smile any longer. .
In addition to moving with sound, their silent movements are equally moving. When Celine was venting, Jesse stretched out and retracted his hand several times to comfort Celine, and when Jesse was venting, Celine also stretched out his hand, but also retracted it before touching Jesse . Maybe when those hands touch each other, we will feel warmth, but when those hands are retracted, we can feel a deeper distress and understanding. It is true that the other party may not have seen it, but in fact, the moment of taking it back is more direct and true .
At the end of the car, after listening to how Jesse still thinks of her after getting married, to tears in her dreams and so on, Celine realizes that she is not alone in having a hard time. After reading the article, Celine thought that Jesse's perfect life did not exist, but after Jesse told it, she found that it was not as good as herself. What they care about is not what the other has experienced, but whether they can still like each other no matter what happens. This "no matter what happens" in Jesse is marrying someone else, and in Celine it is disappointment in love . Perhaps the most touching thing is that in the face of what seemed so insurmountable, they still got each other's confirmation .
The final scene of the movie came to Celine's home. Before entering the home, there is a silent long shot of thirty-five seconds . During these thirty-five seconds, the two went upstairs quietly, looking at each other from time to time, only the sound of staggered shoes colliding with the stairs, without saying a word. The stairs are not wide enough to accommodate two people side by side, and the lighting is not enough. When it is dark, the wall in front of them cannot be seen clearly. Although there is no sound for these thirty-five seconds, it seems to bring the audience back to the first part when two people were listening to the music quietly in the record store, and there were two people looking at each other at that time. In this way, the director used a long shot A montage is achieved in the mind of the audience .
Finally, the song Celine sang that Jesse wanted to hear finally came. The song was called "A Waltz For A Night", and the lyrics were straightforward and simple. At this point we can't help but find out that when Jesse was writing a book for Celine, Celine also wrote a song for Jesse . What the movie tells us is that Jesse said that he wanted to write a book in order to be able to reunite with Celine. Does Celine also write songs to reunite with Jesse?
The film ends with a reversal, with Jesse watching Celine "giggling", and Celine imitating Nina Simon like a child. The two people talked for a long time throughout the film, but finally ended quietly. I think that in the last ten seconds, some people will recall fragments of their conversations, some people will wait for the plot of their reunion, and some people will listen to the songs quietly and appreciate Celine's pure and natural performance. No matter what the situation is, this film, which wins with "dialogue", has successfully moved many people with its true, profound yet romantic, unobtrusive plot. The seemingly fragmented long shots and montages are here The film blends just right, not too cruel, but also depicts the truth, not too ideal, but also full of tenderness .
It is worth recalling that after disembarking, Celine originally wanted to separate and exchange contact information, but Jesse did not let Celine finish her words at all, but created another opportunity to continue chatting, which is to send her home. . Perhaps at that time, he had already decided not to miss this chance to meet again . Therefore, as the music continues and the picture fades out, there is no suspense in the continuation of the story of the two of them, and it doesn't matter how it continues, because this dusk has made it impossible for them to be separated.
View more about Before Sunset reviews
