The Clown —— Absurd surrealist tragicomedy

Lu Xun described tragedy and comedy in "On the Fall of the Leifeng Tower", saying, "It's just on the stage. Tragedy destroys the valuable things in life, while comedy tears the worthless things to people.".

When Arthur killed his adoptive mother Penny, he smiled and said, "I thought my life was a tragedy, but I didn't expect it to be a comedy.". After he personally pinched off the only love and hope in his life, the clown in the dark has completely swallowed Arthur.

If Arthur had gone to psychotherapy before, the counselor could have been more patient. If his kindness in teasing children on the bus is not misinterpreted; If his colleague Landau didn't hit a person when he was facing the dilemma of unemployment; If those three financial drunken men didn't deliberately tease and insult him on the subway; If he didn't know that Penny was not his own mother and that his childhood was not abused; If Murray hadn't maliciously imitated his performance on the show, denied his efforts and shattered his dream … then he might not have been hacked.

but what if everything?

the answer is no.

The reality pushes Arthur into the abyss of despair again and again.

It is repeatedly reported in news reports that the garbage in Gotham has filled the streets. As the camera moves, we can see that the roadside is full of garbage and rats are strung around the streets. Poor and hopeless people still live in narrow and dirty houses; The buildings in the city are the cold and dark wind of the industrial age, and there is no brightness or temperature where the lens is scanned. The miserable situation of poor, low-educated and incompetent people at the bottom has no influence on the rich and noble people enjoying Chaplin's "Modern Times" in the luxurious banquet hall, even if a group of extremely angry citizens are fighting against the inaction and indifference of the ruling managers outside the crowing.

In the film, the contrast lens is used many times, and the cruelty, coldness, darkness and blood are naked and torn out again and again for the audience, and Arthur, who collapsed at any time on the cliff, is also torn up little by little.

Of course, the director and screenwriter don't intend to make this film look like the leading characters of Hollywood blockbusters have a happy ending after going through some hardships and struggles. Instead, he pushed Arthur, a "clown", into an extreme life dilemma and darkness by surrealism, leaving him completely desperate and blackened.

? He said, "I have nothing to lose, and nothing can hurt me again." My life is just a comedy. "

? What about Arthur before? Living with goodwill and hope, Arthur will be a clown born again from hell, which will inevitably tear off the hypocrisy of social civilization and destroy unfair so-called social rules and regulations.

If Arthur's life is really a comedy, what is the tragedy?

I think the tragedy is probably what Arthur said on last Murray's program: You all know this social system too well, and you decide right and wrong, just like you decide what is funny or not.

? Another meaning of this sentence is: no matter how hard people like Arthur try to live and work well, they still can't get the attention and help they deserve; The right to speak in this society is still in the hands of a few rich people, and those who have the right to speak have always disdained groups like Arthur.

? Therefore, the value of all efforts to live in this kind of group, represented by Arthur, has already been destroyed to pieces. This is the tragedy: living is worthless.

You think that if you work hard, you can get closer to the sunshine and warmth, but the people in the pyramid are standing on high places with their hips crossed and say, Hey, friends, don't waste your energy. You are never welcome here.

? In "The Shawshank Redemption", the man has always believed in the possibility of hope and freedom in decades of unjust imprisonment, and in the end he finally escaped from prison with his knowledge and wisdom; But in this film, hope and light have always been dots in the dark, and a cold wind will be put out instantly.

? This is an absurd surreal world, and it is also a world where absurd tragedies and comedies interweave. The film reflects some realities and is higher than most. Jakun Phoenix's penetrating performance and the violent and dark artistic scenes in the film make us unable to tell which is Arthur's real world and which is his fantasy.

? But does it matter whether it is true or not? It doesn't matter. From the beginning to the end, the film leaves a lot of room for imagination for the audience. You can think of it as an R-rated film, a surreal literary film, and an anti-human and anti-social moral film. Because there are 1 Hamlet among 1 readers, however, the fact that this is a very classic and intriguing film cannot be concealed.

? At the end of the movie, when Arthur wakes up after the car accident, he opens his eyes and sees that Gotham is a chaotic scene: cars collide in series, traffic jams are chaotic, and the darkness is almost full of people wearing clown masks, some people set fire to rob, some people shoot people, and more people are celebrating the coming of this chaotic era. Arthur, as the king of clowns, drew a smiling face on his face covered with white powder with the blood on his hand, opened his hands and took a dance step with joy.