Introduction

Introduction | Appreciation | Review of the Story of the South

1983 color film for 93 minutes

Produced by Spanish film company elias Crechta.

Director: Victor Erice Photograph: Jose Luis Alcan Main Actor: Homero An Tonutti (Augustine) Sansos Arangulan plays Estella.

The film won the Golden Hugo Award, the S?o Paulo International Film Festival Review Award and the Bordeaux International Film Festival.

abstract

A city in northern Spain, from 1950 to 1957.

Estrella, an 8-year-old girl, lives with her father Agustin and her mother julia in a house called Seagull in the suburbs.

Augustine is a doctor. He can see feng shui and can detect where there is water underground by hanging. Augustine is depressed all day. He never talks about his past. Estella loves her father very much. When he went out, she waited for him to come back at home. In Estella's mind, her father is a mysterious figure, so she often asks her mother about her father. Estella learned from her mother that her father was from the south and was at odds with her grandfather. She knew that her father had a magical power, which made the chain suspended in the air, which made Estella worship her father very much. She often takes out photos of the southern city of Seville and studies them carefully, wondering why her father left the south and never wanted to go back.

On the eve of Estrela's first communion, her grandmother, Mrs Rosario, and Augustine's wet nurse, Milagros, came from the south to attend her communion ceremony.

At night, Milagros's wet nurse and Estella sleep in the same room. Estelle Leah took this opportunity to keep asking about the South and her father. Milagros told her that her father Augustine used to live in the hot south. During the * * * period and the civil war, Augustine supported the * * pacifists, but Augustine's father supported Franco. After Franco came to power, Augustine was put in prison. After Augustine was released from prison, he always quarreled with his father because of his different political views. Augustine could not live in harmony with his father, so he had to run away from home and settle in the north.

Estella, it's time for communion. People dressed her in a beautiful white dress and a beautiful scarf and dressed her like a married bride. Estella is most worried about whether her father will attend the important moment of his communion. Because my father never goes to church.

The church was crowded with people. In solemn music, the priest prayed for several children dressed in white and sent the Eucharist into their mouths. After the Eucharist, the children ran to their parents. Estella kissed her mother, grandmother and Milagros. She was surprised to find that her father was standing at the back of the church, smiling actively and looking at her kindly. Estelle Leah excitedly ran to kiss her father.

On the same day, Estella's parents held a celebration for her. Augustine, who has always been serious, danced with her daughter to the melodious music. Estella looked at her smiling father and felt extremely happy.

In the afternoon, Estrela's grandmother and Milagros returned to the south, but their images were deeply imprinted in Estrela's mind. From then on, she yearned for the south more.

One day, Estella found a portrait of a woman marked "Elaine Rios" in her father's study, which aroused her curiosity. So she cleverly and secretly asked her mother if she knew a person named Elaine Rios, but her mother said she didn't.

One afternoon two months later, when Estella came home from school, she accidentally saw her father's motorcycle in front of the cinema in the city center. She looked at the poster of the movie "Flowers in the Dark" posted in the cinema and suddenly found the name of Irene Rios printed on it. Driven by curiosity, she asked the conductor for a program and asked which actor was called Irene Rios. Then she went across to the cinema and stood there waiting.

At this time, the movie theater is showing the ending of Flowers in the Dark, and the role played by Irene Rios was shot by her lover. Augustine sat in the cinema, staring at the screen.

After the break, Augustine left the cinema and walked into a coffee shop silently. He sat at his desk and wrote a letter to Laura, whose stage name is Irene Rios. He hasn't contacted her for many years. He wants to know if Laura is still alive. At this time, Estella, who had been following him, came to see him.

Augustine is looking forward to Laura's reply, in which Laura poured out her loneliness and depression in those years when she was separated from Augustine. She couldn't understand why Augustine suddenly wrote to her after so many years of silence. She hoped Augustine would never write to her again.

One night, Augustine ran away from home. He went to the railway station and wanted to go to the south, but the next morning he quietly returned home from the back door. Estella found that since then, my father seems to be a different person, completely immersed in sadness and despair. He is no longer close to his daughter and family, and the atmosphere at home is depressing.

Time flies, Estrella has grown into a girl of 15 years old. One noon, Augustine suddenly went to school to find Estella, and then took her to a fancy restaurant for dinner. Father and daughter have not sat so close for many years. Estella could not restrain her doubts and asked her father who was Elaine Rios. However, Augustine simply said that he didn't know this person, only knew a person who looked like her. Soon, Augustine committed suicide in the suburbs. Estella found out that her father had called Nan before committing suicide, but she didn't know who answered the phone. When Estella was sad and lonely, Grandma and Milagros wrote to ask her to go to the south. Estella went to the mysterious south that he had been longing for for for a long time with excitement.

Distinguish and appreciate

It is difficult for movies to express the hidden feelings of the characters. However, The South, which was made by Spanish film director Victor Erice, was a convincing success. In this film, he uses light, shadow, color and sound to show the lonely and depressed environment and ideological burden of the hero Augustine to the fullest. The film breeds strong emotional dark waves in the slow rhythm, which has an impact on the audience.

The story described in South takes place between 1950 and 1957. The film does not directly describe Augustine's bumpy fate, but objectively expresses his anguish and misfortune through the memory of Augustine's underage daughter Estella with children's eyes and thinking. The film profoundly reveals the social, family and personal reasons for Augustine's self-destruction, and creates a character image that the audience will never forget.

Just before dawn, Estella's bedroom was still shrouded in darkness, with only the window in front of the bed showing dark blue light. Estella woke up slowly in the barking of dogs, flustered footsteps and heartbreaking cries, and the faint light shone on her face. She sat by the bed and took out the curtain left by her father Augustine. She looked at it affectionately and tears welled up in her eyes. She seems to have known that her father left her forever and left this world where sorrow can never be solved. Facing the overhang in his hand, Estella's thoughts flashed back to her childhood ... The film began its narrative in this melancholy tone.

The structure of South is divided into three parts, which shows Augustine's emotional changes from shallow to deep. The first part highlights Estella's love for her father and the intimate feelings between father and daughter. Through Estella's recollection that his father took himself for a ride on a motorcycle and taught himself to use mysterious outriggers, it is concluded that Augustine, who has supernatural power, is unhappy because of social and family reasons, but his love for his daughter is heartfelt, and her daughter occupies a very important position in his life. At this time, Augustine has not lost the courage to live.

Estella's first communion is the first part of * * *. On this day, Estella dressed in white gauze and dressed like a bride. Her grandmother and her father's wet nurse also came from the south to attend the celebration. Estella, who was very excited, was worried that her father, who had never been to church, would not come to attend her communion ceremony, but her father actually violated his living standard for his daughter and participated in this important activity. At the family celebration, Augustine danced with her daughter accompanied by beautiful music. Estella, in high spirits, saw a rare smile on her father's face, and his old, godless eyes shone with joy. Young Estella, immersed in happiness, has vaguely realized her father's inner loneliness, but she doesn't know why. She kept looking for answers, trying to solve the mystery in her heart.

The second part shows the secret of Augustine's inner world and his contradictory mentality. Shortly after Estrela took communion, he accidentally found a portrait of a woman in his father's collection, which was covered with "Irenee Rios". She wants to know who this person is. One day, she saw the name of Irene Rios on the poster in front of the cinema and found her father watching a movie starring Irene Rios in the cinema. After seeing her father coming out of the cinema, she wrote a letter to the cafe. At this moment, sensitive Estrela has realized that Irene Rios has an unusual relationship with his father. The director made a meaningful arrangement here, implying the relationship between Augustine, Estella and Irene Rios (real name Laura). Augustine loves Irene Rios deeply, Irene is a movie star, and Estrela means star in Spanish (Augustine decided her name before Estrela was born, and Estrela's ring is also a star). This part shows that although Augustine and Irene Rios have not been in contact for many years, Augustine can never forget her. When he saw the movie starring Irene, there was a wave in his heart. He wanted to know the current situation in Ireland, so he wrote her a letter.

Augustine received a reply from Irene (Irene calmly told him about her life). He wanted to abandon his wife and daughter and go to Eloni, but when he got to the train station, he hesitated. The next morning, Augustine quietly returned to his home. Since then, his relationship with his daughter Estella has changed. Augustine kept silent all day and shut himself in the attic. His relationship with his daughter has become very cold. He wants to change his life, but he doesn't have the courage to face the reality. He sank deeper and deeper into the mire of feelings.

The director also arranged a * * in this part: in order to attract Augustine's attention and care, Estella couldn't get out under the bed. Mother telephoned anxiously for her everywhere. It's getting dark, and Estella is still hiding under the bed. She hopes that her "disappearance" will attract her father's attention, and she hopes that his father will come out to find her. Under the bed, she heard her father touching the floor with crutches in the attic, which shocked Estella's heart. The persistent Estella failed in this invisible contest with her father. In disappointment and pain, she deeply realized the great changes in her father's feelings.

The third part shows Augustine's process of seeking emotional liberation. As time goes by, Estella has become a girl of 15 years old. One day, Augustine invited his daughter to a big hotel for dinner. He wanted to restore his intimate relationship with her, but found that his daughter had grown up and the rift between them was difficult to repair. Augustine's meeting with his daughter can be regarded as his farewell to her, and it can also be regarded as the meeting that made him determined to die.

The third film, like the first two films, still does not describe Augustine's emotional changes positively, and Augustine's death is just a scene of corpses everywhere. But the audience can deeply feel the great pain in Augustine's heart through Estella's sight, and his emotional burden directly hits the audience's heart.

In the south, there is neither the Spanish Civil War nor Franco's autocratic rule, but the political symbol of the south is very distinct. Augustine once lived in Seville, a beautiful city in the south. When I was young, I was a leftist supporter and fell in love with the beautiful Laura (played by actress Irene). After the civil war ended and Franco came to power, Augustine was put in prison. After being released from prison, Augustine could not find a permanent job, and his political views were different from those of his father who supported Franco's regime. He often quarreled and finally had to run away from home. Augustine can't marry Laura he loves. He married a docile and hardworking Julia, ran around with his wife and daughter, tried to find a regular job (the Augustine family was on the train at the beginning of the film), and finally settled in this northern town. The film attacks Franco's theory from the side and makes the audience realize that Franco's dictatorship is the social cause of Augustine's melancholy death.

The artistic features of the South are highlighted in the use of color and light. The tone of the whole film is low, with dull khaki as the keynote. The light of the picture is delicate, and the dark parts are rich in color levels. Many shots are like intriguing oil paintings. The protagonist Augustine is often in the shadow, and the shape of light and shadow enhances the artistic appeal of the film. Augustine taught his daughter to carry water and Augustine stayed alone in the attic and beat the floor with crutches, which fully illustrated this point. This treatment of color also highlights a mysterious atmosphere.

"South" fully mobilized the expressive force of sound and deepened the theme by using the audience's hearing. For example, at the beginning of the film, dogs bark, flustered footsteps and Agustin's wife scream, but there are no dogs, runners and Agustin's wife in the picture. These stereos are enough to put the audience in a state of panic and surprise.

The sound in "South" is not a simple counterpoint between sound and painting, but an important creative means, which makes the sound infinitely expressive.

"South" has a mysterious color. Apart from the mystery formed by the use of light, color and sound mentioned above, the character Augustine created by the director itself is a difficult mystery. Augustine is a doctor who saves lives, but he can't cure his heart disease. He has supernatural power (he can detect the secrets of nature, that is, looking for groundwater by hanging). In Estella's mind, he is like a mythical figure, but he can't control his own destiny.

This film based on the novel of the same name shows people's complex emotions through children's eyes and ordinary daily life. The director made full use of the language of the film. There is little dialogue in the whole film, the picture composition is unique, and there is a mysterious and melancholy atmosphere in the film. Due to financial problems, the South only completed the content of the North, and the South did not appear on the screen.

Victor Erice, the director of this film, graduated from the Spanish Film Research and Experiment Institute. He has made several films, but he has great influence. The Spirit of the Beehive (1973) directed by Erice shows the unpredictable real society with children's eyes and won the Golden Shell Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. 10 years later, he directed the south, still showing the society and depicting people's emotions with children's eyes.