"To Yoon Hee" is a film that is even winterer than winter.
Several important images appear in it: letter, snow, moon, smoke, cat, incense, deepening the film's cold, lonely and alienated atmosphere, carrying the two women's long thoughts spanning 20 years, and at the same time this thought is extremely reclusive and restrained, not easily revealed.
Coupled with the beautiful lens language of the director's poem and the delicate acting skills of the actors, the imagery and emotion are closely integrated, so that "Zhi Yunxi" has a special aroma.
The story tells that the heroine Yoon Hee lives an ordinary life with her daughter, and one day her daughter unwraps a "love letter" sent to her mother from Otaru, Japan. The daughter proposes to go to Otaru as a graduation trip, and during this trip, Yoon-hee finally meets Joon, who wrote to her...
The letter is the first important image that runs through the film, one to Yoon Hee and one to Yoon Hee.
The contents of the letter are interspersed in the form of narration in yoon hee and Chun's daily lives. Chun is attending the funeral during the monologue, there is no background music, no expression, and the tone of the narrator at this time plays a role in compensating for the lack of musical emotions in the visual picture.
In addition, the matter of sending letters itself has the characteristics of nostalgia, slowness, and alienation. In the era of convenient communication, handwritten letters are rare, and it takes a lot of time for a plain letter to cross the ocean. What's more, the letter was not sent by Chun, but sent by her aunt casually, and Chun wrote a letter just to express her feelings, and did not expect the other party to really receive it.
Both letters were one-sided, one was inadvertently sent, and Yoon-hee's reply was not sent at all. The letter that lacks the courage to send symbolizes the feelings of the two people, which is more important than the need for each other's feedback, and the sustenance buried in the heart.
There is a small detail that after the daughter saw the letter, she put the letter on her face and sniffed it deeply, what would the letter taste like? Like Yoon Hee said, will there be a fragrant smell when you get close?
The depiction of scent in the film appears twice, in addition to the scent that Yoon Hee said, there is also Chun's aunt who tells that her past boyfriend loves to watch movies too much, and there is always a smell of cinema toilet fragrance on her body.
Even as the years pass and the appearance changes, if you remember the unique scent of that person, you can recognize each other in an instant- "Is it Yoon Hee?" ”
The composition of the picture of the reunion of Chun and Yoon Hee is very beautiful, especially the row of lights in the wavy arc of one-third of the picture, connecting two people, like endless thoughts, gentle and affectionate, connected in the dark.
It is also one of the few warm colors in the scene shot in Otaru, although it is night, and the warm yellow light in the distance makes the picture look very warm.
Most of the pictures in Otaru are cool colors, and the original colors of the uninhabited streets covered by thick snow and the people walking alone are mostly swallowed up by the snow. As Chun portrays in the letter: "Winter in Otaru is only snow and moon, night and tranquility. ”
The snow itself will give people a feeling of coldness and loneliness, and the snow that has been falling endlessly, like the loneliness continues and accumulates, in the movie, the aunt said several times: "When will this snow stop?" ”
Obviously, I have lived in Otaru for many years, and I should not be surprised in winter, but I still ask. Chun began to disagree, thinking that her aunt was too tired to shovel snow, saying that she could shovel it quickly by herself.
The imagery of snow and the moon is similar in this film, symbolizing loneliness and desertion. The difference is that the moon also has the meaning of thoughts.
When Chun and Yoon Hee met and said only one sentence, "Long time no see", followed by a black screen of about ten seconds, when the screen lit up again, there was only one full moon, before which it was all crescent moons, and the full moon was the first time it appeared.
Walking home with his aunt, Chang Chun said, "When will this snow stop?" ”
Only people who feel lonely will ask this sentence, and only after seeing the full moon will they be more frightened, right?
Accustomed to heavy snow, crescent moon, and also accustomed to the lonely Chun, after seeing Yoon Hee, I feel my loneliness, I hope that the snow will stop, the moon will be fuller, whatever is good, I hope there will be some changes.
When will the snow stop?
When the Spring Festival comes.
Yoon Hee's daughter's name is New Year, and she is the opportunity for Yoon Hee to travel to Otaru, which also promotes the opportunity for Chun and Yoon Hee to meet again after a gap of 20 years.
Xinchun always takes yoon-hee's old camera to shoot all kinds of things, but does not take portraits, she says she only wants to shoot beautiful things.
Whether it is scenery, objects, or animals, they show the most real appearance, but people are not necessarily, and New Year has not been able to see through what Yoon Hee is thinking.
Why divorce, why pretend not to answer, why do you live so much...
During the trip to Otaru, Xinchun began to slowly understand and untie the knot, and finally took the first portrait, a photo of Yoon-hee smoking, which was expressing his long-suppressed emotions. Because it's real, it's beautiful.
The imagery of smoke appearing several times in the film is also worth mentioning, except for this time in the photo, Yoon Hee and Chun have smoked scenes respectively, expressing different emotions.
Yoon Hee dressed up and went to buy new earrings, but instead of dating, he came to the bar by himself. The bartender says that most of the guests who come alone will smoke, and Yoon-hee says in Korean that he has met old friends, ate delicious food together, and walked around.
In fact, he hid it when he heard the movement in front of the Chun family's door, closed his eyes and did not dare to come out, for fear of being discovered, and even secretly cried in the fleeing taxi.
Maybe when you light a cigarette, you can briefly say what you have been suppressing in your heart, how good it would be to really meet, eat together, and walk together.
Yoon-hee is drinking poetry alone at the bar, and on the other side, Jung-hyun is meeting Ryoko, and while she smokes, she says her true words: Just hide her life.
It is also what Chun did to herself, she has been hiding herself, living depressed, 20 years ago she did not have Yoon Hee brave, chose to escape.
In 20 years, yoon-hee, who was once brave, was defeated by life, was locked up in a mental hospital, forced to get married, and had a difficult job; compared to Chun, who hid himself alive, lived a fairly good life. From a very realistic point of view, it shows that the world cannot tolerate them, and it is most advantageous to hide.
Although it is not pointed out, it has been hinted at the same attributes of Chun and Ryoko, Ryoko's cat is called "Yue'er", Chun's cat is called "Little Whale", the two cats are really similar, and even the sitting posture is somewhat similar.
The cat wanders around when her aunt hugs Chun and Chun writes letters, or accompanies her quietly, neither intimate nor far away.
Perhaps, people who are lonely at heart and want to stay estranged from the world will have a cat?
Two letters, the next non-stop snow, the moon that is missing and the present, a person's cigarette, two similar cats, and a unique incense, it is these recurring special images that make the coldness, the sense of alienation, and the loneliness that penetrates deep into the bone marrow that echo in this film can be delicately conveyed.
In the end, Yoon Hee's reply letter still could not be sent, but she no longer punished herself, no longer felt that she was wrong, and was determined to find her own life. Even if he is not with Chun, Yoon Hee will continue to live well with longing, and the last sentence of the letter reads, "And, I still dream of having you." ”
Probably the warmest sentence on that cold winter day.
Public number: Foggy, welcome to pay attention.