Looking for the Professional Film Criticism of Suzhou Creek

[Introduction to Selection Background]

Lou Ye is the sixth generation academic director of China. His films pursue survival and restoration, consciously abandon national and personal fables, get rid of the entanglement between history and culture, release people from heavy symbols and expose the true state of life. The works have a certain degree of self-satisfaction and self-enclosure, and their social life is too narrow and divorced from the real life of ordinary people. The film I chose was his Suzhou River, which won the award of the 29th Rotterdam International Film Festival (Golden Tiger Award), the "Best Film" and "Best Actress" of the 5th/kloc-0 Paris International Film Festival in 2000.

There are two reasons for choosing this film. First, because the content reflected in this film is very touching, I have watched it several times, but every time my inner feelings are very complicated. Secondly, I want to analyze the techniques of this film, especially the academic film techniques of a group of independent filmmakers represented by Lou Ye.

This film has won many awards abroad, but it has received little attention at home. But this movie, like The Devil Comes, Sunny Days and so on. , is a very good mainland art film, which is why I chose this very unpopular but artistic film.

[synopsis of the story]

This film tells the story of an ordinary photographer in Shanghai who takes pictures of others for a living. At the beginning, the Suzhou River in his eyes was a dirty river across Shanghai, and the different lives of ordinary people were being staged on both sides of the river.

One day, a bar owner found him and asked him to take pictures of the mermaid swimming in the shop. The photographer gradually became familiar with the girl who played the mermaid, and learned the story of Motor and Peony from her mouth.

Mada is a gangster postman who delivers goods. Once, the host asked him to send a little girl Peony (Zhou Xun). After several times, the motor became familiar with peony and liked it. But soon Mada was involved in a kidnapping plot, and the kidnappers tried to blackmail Peony's father into kidnapping Peony in exchange for money. The kidnapper is a friend of the motorcycle gang. They asked Mada to kidnap the peony on the way to deliver it. Motor didn't want to do this, so he was forced to agree by his friend. After getting the money, Peony knew that she had been cheated and jumped into Suzhou River in despair. The last sentence is that she will become a mermaid and never appear again. Mada was also jailed for his involvement in kidnapping.

Many years passed before he came out. But he still missed the peony, and he inquired about the peony everywhere through the delivery time. When I was drinking in a bar, I found that the waitress (the girl who played the mermaid mentioned earlier) looked like a peony flower, so I tried to get close to him. The photographer knew this and thought that the motor was robbing his girlfriend, so he found a thug and beat the motor up. Motor gradually realized that the girl who played the mermaid was not the peony he was looking for. Asked the photographer to use his relationship with the police to help him find the peony, and the photographer promised him. Soon, the photographer received a bottle of vodka with weeds and learned from the letter that the motor finally found peony in a convenience store with his help.

The photographer thought this was the end of the matter, but he was summoned by the Public Security Bureau to identify the people who died in the car accident. The motor came to the scene of the accident. It turns out that Mada and Peony drank too much vodka. While crossing Suzhou River Bridge with peony, motorcycles fell into the river and they drowned. The girl dressed as a mermaid also came to the scene and finally believed that what the motor said about Peony was true. Finally, she left the photographer to see if the photographer would look for her like a motor.

[Story Structure]

In fact, the story of Suzhou Creek is structurally mixed with two pieces of love-the love between Motor and Peony, and the love between the narrator and photographer "I" and Mei Mei. The two stories are linked by the narrator's narrative.

First love: The deliveryman Motor approached the peony for criminal purposes, but the love that followed made him feel at a loss and wondered whether he loved it or not. At the moment when Peony jumped into the river, maybe he understood what love was-at least it was Peony's love for him. After he got out of prison, Mada tried to find peony. In the process of searching, Mada met Meimei's boyfriend who looks like a peony. After many twists and turns, the motor finally found the peony that had disappeared for many years. They drank again and died unexpectedly. This is the main line of this film.

The second love: relatively simple, mainly through the narrator's confession. Meimei is the "mermaid" who loves bars in the century-an actress who performs in a transparent water cabinet in a bar. Soon after the narrator "I" met Meimei, the two began to live together. However, the narrator may not think this is "love" at first, and he quickly responds: "Shall we break up now or after having sex?" You can see that in the new era of cohabitation, cohabitation is just, who will think about the word "love"? After the death of Mada and Peony, Meimei also left. This is the auxiliary line of the film.

[Movie Character Analysis]

1, Meimei

May often see women like Mei Mei in the city, women who don't believe in love. Maybe she has the scars of love, so she makes a living alone in a big city. The hardships of life forced her to do some menial work. She doesn't believe in eternal love, because it only exists in love stories. Finally, she left the photographer, either to verify their love, or she didn't want to continue this so-called love and wanted to start her life again.

2. Engine

Motor is not a very considerate and gentle man. It should be after Peony jumped into Suzhou River that he found himself completely in love with the little girl. Of course, there is another reason for him to look for Peony, and that is to ask Peony for forgiveness. When the peony died, his heart would never be untied. Therefore, whether peony is really dead or not, he will continue to look for it for the rest of his life.

3. Peony

Peony is a girl who has never received any affection and warmth. Her mother's early death and her father's absurdity have long been used to it, and she didn't feel really happy until she met Motor. When Mada cheated her and betrayed her love, she had no reason to live in this world, so she jumped into Suzhou River with such a calm expression. Even if we meet again later, not all of them died because of drunk driving. Can they go back to the way they were before? The answer is yes, everything can't go back, and Suzhou River has become the end, beginning and end of their lives.

Peony and Meimei are completely different people, but they become attached because they have the same face. Different family backgrounds make them very different, but they are the same on the issue of love. They all want to get an eternal love, but they are all hurt to varying degrees, and they can't escape the pursuit of love. At first, Mada approached Peony purposefully, but in the face of the death of his loved ones, he took off his mask. It turns out that he is also very persistent about love. He always believed that peony would not die, and seeking became the only reason for him to live.

4. Photographer "I"

The narrator "I" should have never really loved, even for Meimei. Even if there is love, it is only a short moment. We watched Mei Mei go out, and then he waited for her to come back. He can't finish what Motor did, because he is not a motor, he is a realistic lover, and he knows that his love with the United States and the United States will not have a result, so he finally decided to give up.

At the end of the film, the photographer overturned what he said at the beginning of the film. Mei Mei asked him: If I leave, will you find me dead? He answered uncertainly: Yes. But when Meimei finally walked at the end, the photographer said to himself: I will wait for the next love arrival.

These four words make it easy for us to think of all kinds of people in the real society. The personalities of four people and their different attitudes towards love are the objective reflection of the whole film. Reflect the uneasiness and impetuousness in reality and advocate sincerity and innocence.

[Film analysis]

Many film critics have a high reputation. Shocking shots, first-person narrative shooting techniques, two-stage plot development and characterization in Suzhou Creek are all full of the flavor of reflecting the times with the love story of Chongqing Forest, so Lou Ye has the reputation of "China Wong Kar-wai". Another film critic pointed out that the love and life of two girls with similar faces in Suzhou Creek met by chance, which is more like a variation of Chislov's The Double Life of Veronica. Let's analyze the film from many aspects.

I. Structure

Most of the film is composed of "I", a fragment of daily life seen by a photographer. So there is no "I" in the film from beginning to end. Suzhou Creek is a typical author film. This reminds me of antonioni's Days on the Clouds, which is also mixed with the director's narrative. Sometimes, the camera is recording other people's stories, and sometimes, we will become part of the story. The film is under the director's lens. The narrator of the film always tells slowly. "My camera can't lie" is explained at the beginning of the film. This structure makes people feel very clean and tidy.

Second, the lens

The tone of the whole film is gray, and the film gives people a rough graininess. The camera has been shaking and unfolding, and narration has replaced the verbal communication of actors. I don't know if it belongs to a narration movie like aspirin. I estimate that the whole film was shot with an 8 mm or 16 mm machine, so the picture quality can't be too realistic. Sometimes, the action and rhythm of the lens are a bit strange, but even so, the shock of the picture is enough. The picture style of the whole movie is a bit like Shunji Iwai, but it is rougher than Shunji Iwai. The long shot at the beginning of the film can't be put down anyway-not to see a river through the lens, but to see a city through a river, and the love and hate that happened in a city.

Shaking out of place, the focal length has to be pulled in and pushed away, and the picture is clear and fuzzy, which really shows the story. Still pictures, long shots, close-up positions, close-up shots, his lens sense is just in contrast to director Jia's long shots. The frightened man has a contrite expression on his face, and the smiling woman has a sarcastic expression that doesn't distinguish between true and false. Water splashed everywhere, and everything quieted down and became a thing of the past. In front of the subjective lens, the close-ups and silhouettes conveyed heartily successfully set off the alternation of life and death of two girls, much like the women in the works of Japanese grotesque photographer Nobuyoshi Araki. Especially when shooting Zhou Xun's face, the changes of distance, expression and photography angle bring color to the film, which makes people admire the great role of photography technology. In addition, the film has a fast pace, strong jumping, short and concise dialogue, and the speed is not slow. The picture is rough and shaky, like people's curious eyes. Explore others and explore yourself at the same time. This is a peeping gesture, because I don't know what really belongs to me.

In the film, many scenes on the river were recorded by cameras, and the lens was aimed at the lower floors of the city. It is also a very documentary shooting method. This paragraph gives people a lot of expectations. However, at the end of this paragraph, the water reflection on the left reveals the director's intention: Zhang Ye has no intention of looking for a history and a truth in this city, and all he cares about is a mirror-like love story under the dilapidated urban landscape.

Finally, I will talk about two scenes that I find particularly shocking. First, the peony fell directly into the Suzhou River from the bridge. Second, the motor lifted the curtain and watched Meimei get dressed for a few minutes. Both scenes were shot in one go, and Lou Ye's talent was clearly written in these two extraordinary pictures.

Third, language.

1, dialogue

The film touched the hearts of the audience from the beginning. In the dialogue between men and women, the woman's voice is hoarse and the man's voice is careless.

"If I leave one day, will you look for me like a motor?" Yes

"Will you keep looking?" Yes

"Will you always find death?" Yes

"You lie ..."

This is the first shot of Suzhou Creek. It is also the main line of the film.

Then the director began a meaningful statement: "On this river, we can see friendship, father and children, loneliness, the birth of a baby, love drifting along the river, mermaid ... At the end of the river, the river flows into the sea." Then it's narration, which brings you into this sad movie.

Step 2 make a statement

(1), "I know that everything will not last forever. I think I have to go back to the balcony. I know my love story will continue. I'd rather close my eyes and wait for the next love! " .

Perhaps the last sentence of the film is the essence. This should be the choice of modern people. I don't like his choice. When can we travel around every corner of the city like a motor looking for peony and looking for our lost love from all the people we can find? Although Mada was just a gangster who vowed to go out and do something, he finally became a member of the transport workers. Although Peony is just an ordinary girl with two ponytails and red and white sportswear, although they don't have many stories, Motor can spend the next few years looking for her and looking for love to leave, which is enough. How many people can spend energy to find their own love? Modern people's view of love is contrary to that of Motor, but similar to that of the narrator. Is this a loss of love? Once, we expected a person to appear, even if it was impossible, we would wait warmly inside. When can we be like a motor, desperate to find when she leaves, looking for the whole city?

(2), "Suzhou River, a river that has precipitated the prosperity, past events, legends and all garbage of this city."

Although Lou Ye is confident when he creates movies, his narrative style and self-righteous narration through the camera always remind people of Su Tong's novels. But on the whole, Suzhou Creek is a mature film in China. The story is not dull, and the narration and dialogue are also in line with the tastes of friends who like Wong Kar-wai. The so-called carelessness has become a "classic line."

(3), "If I leave, will you come to me like a motor?"

Hearing this sentence, I suddenly feel that women are stupid when they believe in love. Just like Meimei. When she doesn't believe in the love story of Motor, she enjoys it. When she knew that all this was true, she collapsed. Mei Mei longs for love like a peony. So Meimei left. We have reason to believe that Meimei's departure is her efforts to find true love. We also have reason to believe that beautiful parting is just an escape. And the note she left was just a joke she played with herself. Mei Mei is a woman. Stupid, fragile, neurotic woman. Her choice seems to show me that I and many people around me seem to have shadows. Choosing to leave and escape is nothing more than leaving a temporary self. As a result, we are still us. Looking back, I don't know whether we fell in love with that person or love.

[Movie Theme]-About Love

Suzhou Creek is Lou Ye's masterpiece to show his talents, which is excellent in both lens and implication. It brings us a very realistic question, the authenticity and durability of love, and how we should treat love. These problems are difficult to solve, especially at present, which has special significance. The movie Suzhou Creek has brought us different visual impacts.

Mei Mei left me with a note, "If you love me, come to me". Obviously, she was shocked by the love between Mada and Mei Mei, and hoped to continue the same romance with her boyfriend. However, as the narrator, "I" is hesitant as shown in the title. On the one hand, he misses Mei Mei and hopes that he can renew his friendship with her. The other party doesn't want to find her. Because he felt that everything would not last forever, leaving beautifully was a relief, and he would rather close his eyes and wait for the next love. This ending shows the talent of the director, leaving us room for imagination and how to treat love. This ending is ingenious and quite unique, echoing the beginning of the film.

For most people, true love must be taken seriously. However, what is love, it is difficult for us to say clearly. I can feel it, but I can't explain it. Lou Ye noticed this problem and asked it out. Although he didn't answer completely, he gave a suggestion: if you love me, come to me (if you love me, come to me).

Perhaps love is not as abstruse, profound and serious as survival, death and redemption, but this cannot deny it.

It is a kind of thinking, and at most it is a different realm. Who can avoid thinking about the eternal theme of love? In the history of mankind, I'm afraid no one has the right to claim that this problem has been completely solved. Even if there is, he is also a megalomaniac or insane. However, there are indeed some people in this world who have an unprecedented contempt for love as one of the themes of literary and artistic creation. I don't know whether this contempt is due to instinctive conceit or conscious hostility.

Once upon a time, we could expect someone to appear on a street corner, even if it was extremely impossible, we would wait warmly inside. I am used to looking for the shadow of that person in the crowd, but I often see each other at a glance, but I am secretly happy. Love a person, even if you don't talk, you can love blindly, or just say a word, and that will be unforgettable. However, when can we be like a motor, desperate to find when she leaves, the search of the whole city, like last time, close our eyes and wait for the next love.

The movie doesn't tell us what love is, it can only tell us what love is and what we want from it. Would you like to continue your love story or wait for the next love? Everyone can get his own answer in his heart. Maybe there is no answer at all. I think about pure love and expectation, no one is looking for it, maybe I just miss it and can't do anything. Suzhou Creek witnessed all this.

This is the best domestic film I saw last year. In my eyes, it can be compared with western movies. Walking in the winter sunshine, its music, its shaky lens, its casual and sad dialogue, and the dirty, beautiful, warm and kind Suzhou River have been swinging in my heart and pestering me. I know I have to write it down with a pen. Of course, at this moment, this recording process is also a kind of happiness.

The name of the movie Suzhou Creek may not be important. Maybe this river is just a metaphor. Or some fragments of someone's daily life, or some spaces in our lives, places where we are in love, places where we are obsessed, places where we are lingering, and places where we are fierce; There, we betrayed, regretted, suffered and despaired; There, we grow old and die ...