Co-produced by France, Switzerland and Germany, "Spring in the Cattle Herding Class" was released in Chinese mainland late 2004.
It tells the story of how a frustrated musician used beautiful and flexible notes to awaken the natural innocence that remained in the hearts of a group of "problem teenagers".
Here, of course, the so-called "troubled teenager" seems to be "in quotation marks".
So, a logical question is - how are these "problem teenagers" refined?
It reminds me of another famous screen image, "Young Antoine": a rebellious 13-year-old teenager who has chosen to run away from home in the midst of a rigid, authoritarian school system and a nominal family environment, as well as a cold and hypocritical social chaos.
"Young Antoine" is from one of the masterpieces of the "French New Wave", "Four Hundred Blows", which was directed by the famous director François Truffaut, and can also be regarded as a semi-autobiographical work of his.
Four Hundred Blows was released in 1959, while the main story of "Spring in the Cattle Herding Class" took place in 1949.
Not only that, the correctional home in "The Spring of the Cattle Herding Class", the "Bottom of the Pond", and the Juvenile Center in "Four Hundred Strikes" also seem to echo each other.
"Spring in the Cattle Herding Class" began in 1999, when Pierre was nearing his twilight years and was performing in the United States as a conductor.
Just before the next concert, Pierre received news of his mother's death, but he still insisted on finishing the performance.
Afterwards, Pierre rushed back to France to mourn, and judging from the photos hanging on the wall, her mother's concern for Pierre was overflowing, and she was proud of Pierre.
When Pierre was sorting out his mother's belongings, a deceased Peppino came to visit on a rainy night, and Pepino handed over the diary of Matthew, the former school supervisor, to Pierre, and the moment he opened the diary, he also brought Pierre's thoughts back to the "bottom of the pond" in 1949.
The film "Spring of the Cattle Herding Class" is very clever and interesting in the selection and setting of the viewpoint character (POV): the director superimposes Pierre's perspective with Matthew's "first-person" narrative, indirectly completing a "personal" transformation, so that from the story of Matthew, the superintendent, Pierre sees his own growth.
The so-called "bottom of the pond" is actually a re-education institution, which houses 60 children, of which Pepino is a war orphan, his parents died in World War II, and the "bottom of the pond" has become his only place.
But he had an unquenchable conviction that his father was still alive, so every Saturday he would wait at the door, waiting for his father to come and take him home.
We don't know about Pierre's father, but he had a young, beautiful single mother who was busy making ends meet.
Pierre's "unprovoked rebellion" overwhelmed his mother and simply sent him to the "bottom of the pond" because "(here) at least he could have a hot meal at noon and in the evening.".
In the film, there are several family visits, but the parents of several other children we know, with the exception of Pierre's mother, have neither appeared nor been mentioned.
For Pierre, his mother's visits did not seem to be enough to soothe his soul, and perhaps the pain of abandonment lingered, so he would say to Matthew, "I have no parents." ”
In the film, Mundane is an exception, he does not belong to the original 60 children, but as a "guinea pig" used as an experiment, he was sent to the "bottom of the pond".
On many occasions, Mundan seems a little evil, but in one scene, he becomes the child who pokes the "emperor's new clothes".
The stubborn Pierre, who refuses to concede defeat to Matthew, but cannot resist the temptation of singing, hides and sings alone, which makes Montaine, who is also rejected by Matthew outside the choir, think that he has found his companion.
He said: "We are very similar, my parents are very fucked, so is your mother, she sent you in, she wants to be happy." ”
Obviously, Pierre's case is not unique.
In fact, the tension with parents seems to be a necessary stage in the growth of adolescents.
As the child psychoanalyst Anna M. Freud said: "The normality of puberty is manifested through abnormalities." ”
This brings us to an important topic, which is the origin of the so-called "rebellious period".
The relationship between adolescents and parents is bound to undergo a turning point, from absolute authority of parents to giving children appropriate independence and autonomy.
This transformation, for many parents, is difficult to adjust, so it is often angry with their children.
At the same time, from adolescence onwards, peers began to compete with their parents in influencing the attitudes and behaviors of adolescents.
In their interactions with their friends, adolescents gradually determine what type of person they want to become and what kind of relationship they want to develop, but their anxiety about rejection is also increasing.
The synergy formed by the mutual struggle between friends and parents shapes the growth of teenagers.
Any imbalance can lead to extremely unstable emotions in adolescents, and even unpredictable and extreme behavior.
Therefore, the so-called "rebellion" is inseparable from this turbulent period in life.
The "problem boys" in "The Spring of the Cattle Herding Class" are no exception, they either lose their parents or are banished by their parents to the "bottom of the pond" like purgatory, so only among the little friends, they imitate each other and fall deeper and deeper.
So, what kind of place is the "bottom of the pond"? Can it wash away the stubbornness and willfulness of the Pierrees?
Matthew and the headmaster first met at the landing of the sanatorium, and the headmaster stood on the platform at the top of the steps, and he looked down at the diminutive Matthew under his feet, so that a tall, unreasonable image was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
The principal embraced a simple, crude principle, the so-called "behavior-reaction" mechanism, or "mistake-punishment" mechanism.
Once a child makes trouble or makes a mistake, he never asks questions, corporal punishment or confinement, and if the perpetrator cannot be found, then everyone may be seated together.
Can this authoritarian, high-pressure domestication really work? The ending has proven it all.
The headmaster suffered his own consequences: Guo Bang stole the 100,000 francs he tried to take for himself, and Mondan almost burned the entire penitentiary with a fire.
Perhaps the "bottom of the pond" doesn't just exist on the virtual big screen.
It reminds us of the "Linyi Net Ring Center" that has flourished over the years, and what is the difference between the notorious Yang Yongxin and the tyrannical principal?
What about the parents who send their children to "net ring centers"? Are they innocent?
Obviously, it's a different story.
These parents are accustomed to finding one excuse and scapegoat for their incompetence to shirk responsibility, and the online game that everyone shouts and beats has become the target of everyone.
But because of their own weakness and incompetence, they think that by taking a false hand on others, they can safely avoid the responsibility of educating and guiding their children once and for all.
Chairman Mao Zedong once said, "If you don't occupy this position of thought, others will occupy it." ”
The key is whether you can grasp the more noble and beneficial spiritual food to effectively fill the gaps in children's lives and spirits?
"Bottom of the Pond" The new school supervisor, Matthew, is obviously more than enough.
Psychologist Eriksen believes that the main task of adolescence is to form a sense of identity, and in this process, future goals and social relations complement each other.
Matthew's first question for the children was: "In order to get to know you better, I want you to write down your name, your age, and the profession you will be pursuing on a small piece of paper." ”
This undoubtedly creates an opportunity for children to reflect, ask questions and find themselves and recognize themselves, which can be said to be the same as Erickson's above views.
As Matthew put it, "I was surprised. "These children, who are hopelessly in the eyes of others, answer seriously." The career that everyone dreams of is beautiful. ”
As a result, Matthew managed to reach an ad hoc agreement with the headmaster, agreeing that he would deal with the perpetrators of the injuries to the concierge and keep the children's normal recreational activities.
However, the children did not appreciate it, and soon stole Matthew's score, but also accidentally aroused their interest in music, and was bumped into by Matthew, so he decided to start an experiment - to form a choir.
Matthew wrote in his diary: "Although it is not a great art, I aroused the interest of the children. ”
Among them was Pierre, who was handsome, had clear eyes, and had a natural voice.
However, at this time, Pierre was being punished by the principal, but he was still touched by the moving songs in the classroom and could not help but practice secretly.
Matthew found Pierre's jade, and he had an unusual tone, but when Matthew extended an invitation to him, Pierre obviously couldn't hold back, but he was strong and tough.
Matthew sees through the careful thinking behind Pierre, such as the confrontation between him and his mother, "You break discipline, fight, and get together with hooligans, which may disappoint others, but I won't." ”
In a word, Matthew finally forced Pierre to obey, and he became the only soloist in the choir.
Like the song "The Night", "The direction in the night / Is the zeal of life / Is the light of hope ... It shines at the end of the trail. ”
This was the beginning of Pierre's return to the collective, where he found a sense of belonging and honor in the choir.
Not only Pierre, but even Pepino and Guo Bang, who had incomplete pentatonic tones and could not find a tune, were not excluded, and Matthew assigned them a place in the choir so that they could fit in.
Pierre is getting better, and under Matthew's enlightenment, her mother also accepts Pierre, she hugs Pierre, and even brings him chocolates.
The only one who was not accepted, Mundane, continued to be stuck in the path of misconduct and evil.
Here, the director makes extensive use of cross-cutting techniques, juxtaposing Mundane's punishment with Matthew's composition, children's singing, and recess games, which is obviously ulterior motives.
Music is magical, it is like "spring wind and rain", discovering and nourishing the goodness and upward passion in the hearts of children.
In the movie, there is a scene where the patron Duchess visits the "Bottom of the Pond", which is also the only performance of the choir, before, because of the splashing ink incident, Pierre was deliberately snubbed, and when he performed, he leaned in the corner, lonely when isolated, and after being accepted, the look of solo singing, before and after the judgment of the two people.
In response, Matthew wrote in his diary: "In Pierre's eyes, I suddenly read a lot, pride, the joy of being forgiven, and he learned to be grateful, which was the first time for him. ”
What is the meaning behind this comparison?
It is Matthew who helps children find the higher levels of satisfaction of love and belonging, the need to be respected, the value of self-actualization, and even the possibility of self-transcendence.
It coincides with Maslow's hierarchy of needs and is in line with it.
The so-called mischief and rebellion before were nothing more than a piece of armor against tyranny and indifference, but the tolerance, patience, talent, and selfless love of The SchoolMaster Matthew melted and changed all this.
As uncle Masan, the concierge, said, "What should be complained about is these children, everyone thinks they have no cure, but it is not, they just need people to understand." 」 ”
Uncle Masan's observation and attitude are very enlightening for us to understand and tolerate the rebellion of teenagers, and the understanding, tolerance and guidance of parents are also indispensable factors to help teenagers successfully pass the rebellious period.