Wen | love
The Colors of Heaven was directed by director Majid Majidi and released in Iran on February 8, 1999. The film is Majid Majidi's second time to win best picture at the Montreal Film Festival after "Little Shoes" and has a high score of 8.7 on Douban.
Majid Majidi is good at seeing the world from the perspective of children's innocence, bringing simple and authentic stories into the film, supplemented by mature narrative expressions, injecting full emotions and sincere emotions, so that the audience can naturally immerse themselves in it. Truth, goodness and beauty are the essence of human pursuit, and I think this is why Majid Majidi's works have been so successful, and this "Colors of Heaven" is also one of his typical representatives.
The film tells the story of an 8-year-old blind boy Muhammad's love and thirst for the natural world, the code of life, and knowledge, although blind, he is intelligent and excellent. But in his father's eyes, he was a burden to himself and an obstacle to his own remarriage. As a result, he was sent away by his father in every possible way, and eventually led to the story of Muhammad's accident. This movie is not a tragedy, but rather
Next, I will combine my own understanding and perception to interpret this film from three aspects: plot presentation, expression method and practical significance.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > crisscrossing plot presentation: multi-perspective contrast, expressing the self-choice between luck and misfortune; layer by layer of plot direction, revealing that love is the salvation of the heart</h1>
The whole story is cut from the perspective of a child (blind), combined with the perspective of a healthy person (adult), and slowly unfolds along the narrative line of "visible and invisible", layer by layer. And into the rich body language and expressions, the use of details of the way of description, there is a strong sense of substitution, let people easily enter the plot.
1. Horizontal: Multi-perspective contrast, expressing the self-choice between luck and misfortune.
The film begins with a line: "You can see and you can't see." This sentence means a lot. Although some people can't see, they use their hearts to feel all the beauty and happiness in the world, and it is better to see than to see. Although some people can see, they are obsessed with the misfortune and darkness in front of them, and it is better to see than not to see. It is both a depiction and metaphor for the blind boy Muhammad, as well as an allusion and satire of his father, Hassan, and even a sane man.
(1) Blind (child) perspective: invisible happiness, some people can't see better than see.
The school was closed, and the father, Hassan, took his son Muhammad home. Along the way, the son felt the breeze, the temperature of the water flow, the bumps of the ears of wheat with his hands, smelled the fragrance of the flowers with his nose, and listened to the woodpeckers " clicking" with his ears. Nature is full of unknowns and novelties for Muhammad. At the same time, he corresponds to Braille with all the sound rhythms and shapes he feels, and seizes possible opportunities to learn. Because of his blindness, he loves and cherishes everything he encounters even more, and uses other senses to seriously explore and love the world. Even if the eyes can't see, he uses his heart to "see" the beauty of this world.
Back at home, Muhammad "saw" his sister and grandmother, happily touching their faces with his hands and feeling the traces of time. It turned out that after a year of not seeing, my sister had grown up, and the wrinkles on my grandmother's face had also increased. Then Muhammad took out his elaborate gifts and gave them them, which were his love and blessing for his family.
For Muhammad, who was blind but curious and loving about his surroundings, he worked hard to "see" this wonderful world in his own way, and in the process he gained a sense of happiness from nature and his family.
(2) The perspective of a healthy person (adult): Visible misfortune, some people can see better than not see.
Father Hassan took the bride price to the woman's house to propose to her, and he introduced himself to the woman that he had only two daughters, without mentioning the blind son at all. The woman was very satisfied with him and saw that good things were near. But Hassan, if he had a heart, planned to send his son away, but was opposed by his mother. Once, taking advantage of his mother's rush to a market, Hassan secretly took Muhammad away and sent him to a blind sculptor as an apprentice.
It turned out that Hassan was anxious to send his son away because he wanted to get rid of the burden of his blind son and facilitate his own continuation. In his father's eyes, Muhammad was a stumbling block on his own path to happiness and a person who hindered his own happiness.
The film illustrates the difference between visible and invisible through multi-perspective comparison, reveals the deep meaning of visible and invisible from the surface and inner levels, and tells the self-choice between luck and misfortune. Many times it is not how unfortunate we are, but that we are blinded by misfortune and desire and do not see the happiness we have. Many times it is not how much pain we have, but that we choose to amplify the pain.
2. Vertical: The progressive plot direction reveals that love is the salvation of the soul.
At the beginning of the plot, the father Hassan shows selfishness and disgust for his son. This laid the groundwork for his mother's unexpected death due to his later ruthlessness in sending his son to a blind sculptor as an apprentice, and the ambivalence of "saving or not saving" after his son accidentally fell into the water.
Havingsan's mother, after learning that her son had sent her grandson away, braved the heavy rain to look for him, and finally fainted and died soon after. The departure of his mother directly led to the failure of Hassan's marriage, because the locals regarded the death of people in the family before marriage as an unlucky thing. Having lost his marriage and lost his mother, Hassan is grieving. So he decided to take his son home.
On their way home, they passed a wooden bridge when the bridge suddenly broke, and Muhammad, who was sitting on horseback, fell into the rushing river along with his horse. This scene seems to have been staged countless times in Hassan's mind, so he did not immediately rescue his son, but stayed and watched. After a moment of psychological struggle, he finally jumped into the water. The raging waters washed them downstream, and when Hassan woke up, he ran over and hugged his son, thinking he was dead and crying. At this moment, Muhammad's hand turned golden and moved against the light.
Muhammad did not die, which heralded his rebirth. And Hassan eventually found his love for his son in the family affection, and found his true self, suggesting that Hassan has also regained his life. I think what the director wants to express is that love is the most beautiful color in heaven, the redemption of the hearts of father and son.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > expression method: through character conflict, character comparison, combined with the lens language is fascinating and thought-provoking</h1>
Director Majid Majidi is adept at creating conflict and climax of the plot, and has even been called "Spielberg of Iran". The film not only blends traditional Iranian religious culture, but also uses its own unique mirror language to tell stories from "heaven". The images of real life are outlined with simple and natural brushstrokes, revealing the good and evil of human nature.
1. Character conflict and character contrast, reflecting the good and evil of human nature.
In the film, the widowed Hassan wants to renew his love affair for himself and find "happiness" for himself by getting rid of the drag of his blind son. So he planned to send his blind son away, but was met with a series of objections from his mother and son. The contradictions and conflicts between them reflect the one-thought choice of good and evil human nature, and reveal the truth behind the direction of human nature.
(1) Father-son conflict: Only love their own father, selfishness and indifference hurt the child's young heart.
Seeing that the wedding date was gradually approaching, his father Hassan sat in a difficult position. All I had to think about all day was to send my son away and make him disappear from home. One day, he took his son with him while his mother was on a market trip, and on the way Muhammad noticed something strange and ran back, only to be easily stopped by Hassan and dragged onto the bus. Coming to the carpenter's house, the carpenter enthusiastically introduced everything to Muhammad, but Muhammad was never pleased.
Finally he cried out to the carpenter, "You know what? No one loved me, not even my grandmother, who left me because I was blind. Muhammad felt abandoned by his father and abandoned by his family. The close-up shots clearly depict Muhammad's grievances and bitterness, causing people to feel pity for him and disgusted with Hassan's selfishness.
The father puts his happiness above his son's pain, but he does not realize that his greatest misfortune lies in the barrenness of his heart. Behind his selfishness, indifference, and stubbornness is his loss of love and faith. Therefore, he will forget his father's identity, forget his responsibilities and responsibilities, and forget the love he should have for his son.
(2) Mother-child conflict: A mother's love for her grandson contrasts sharply with her son's selfishness.
3 scenes of mother-child conflict:
On the night of his blind date, Hassan said to his mother, "I want to send Muhammad to a blind sculptor as an apprentice so that he can be independent and self-reliant, and I am very concerned about his future." The mother retorted: "Are you for his future or your future?" Hassan was speechless.
Hassan sent his son back, and was questioned by his mother, and Hassan said excitedly: "I did this for his own good, what did I do wrong?" To let me spend the rest of my life caring for a blind child, I have endured for five years, what did I do wrong? I'm just a poor man, I lost my father since I was a child, who can help me, who cares about me? The mother sighed helplessly and braved the heavy rain to look for her grandson.
The mother was sick from the rain and lying on the hospital bed, and Hassan asked, "Do you want me to bring Muhammad back?" The mother replied, "I'm worried about you, not him." ”
The first two scenes use mid-shot and close-up shots, paired with rich body language and expressions, to reflect Hassan's selfishness. The third scene uses close-up shots to show the mother's love for her grandson and the worry and helplessness of her son's selfish desires. Through the contrast between the brilliance of maternal love and the selfishness of Hassan's human nature, the contrast of roles is formed. The plot has a strong sense of substitution, so that people's thoughts unconsciously follow the plot up and down.
2. Skillfully use the language of the lens to shape the psychology of the characters and resonate.
The most impressive point of the film is the use of lens language, the director skillfully uses panoramas, close-ups, close-up shots and push shots to describe the psychology of the characters in a subtle way, which triggers the audience's emotional resonance.
Combination of panorama, close-up and close-up:
The school was closed, and Muhammad waited for his father at school, and finally waited for his father to arrive. Close-up and panorama switch, and a sad-faced father stands in the distance. Then, switching between close-up and close-up, the father called Muhammad to extend his hand, and Muhammad groped and grabbed his father's hand, and said grievously: "You think you won't come." The father showed a sad and loving expression. The panorama, close-ups, and close-ups of this fragment portray the inner entanglement of the father's pity and disgust for his son.
Close-up:
On the way home, Muhammad felt the strength of the wind with his hands, the temperature of the river, the bumps of the ears of wheat, the faces of his sister and grandmother, etc. All of which used close-up shots to make the children's inner curiosity and joy about nature, and the miss and love for their families all jump on the screen, so that the audience was moved and warmed.
Push lens and combination of close-up, long-range and close-up:
In the film, hassan is on his way to a blind sculptor, passing through a forest, and Hassan hears a strange and terrifying sound. The director uses push shots from far and near, as if the terrifying sound gradually strikes, causing people to feel a wave of fear.
He looked around but found nothing. But the son went deep into the dense forest by himself, and Hassan did not stop his son, standing motionless, what was he nervously and paradoxically expecting? Later, when his son was stopped by a worker, Hassan bowed his head and sighed softly. The director uses a combination of long-range and close-up scenes to vividly depict Hassan's evil and slightly nervous inner world.
After the death of his mother, Hassan decided to take his son home halfway home hassan led the horse, And when Muhammad was sitting on horseback and passing a wooden bridge, the bridge suddenly broke and Muhammad fell into the turbulent water with the horse. But Hassan did not rescue him at the first time, but watched from the side of the bridge, his heart was like the waves of this river, and he seemed to be expecting something. The same long-range and close-up scenes are used here, depicting Hassan's ambivalence about whether he saved or could not save his son.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > practical significance: a tug-of-war of affection reveals the theme of "love", which guides us to fear life, see beauty, get out of darkness, and move toward happiness</h1>
The film adopts simple and delicate expression techniques, and the plot presentation of vertical and horizontal contrasts stages a tug-of-war between the father and the son, and the plot is ups and downs and layers of progress. It is a visual treat and a spiritual journey. It contains strong humanistic ideas, but also contains profound educational enlightenment and practical significance.
1. Reverence for life
One scene that was impressive was that Muhammad heard a faint bird call while waiting for his father at school, and he followed the sound, found a small bird in a dead leaf, lifted it up with his hand, climbed the tree with difficulty, and put it back into the nest. "Seeing" the bird return to the nest, he smiled slightly, causing a warm feeling to rise in the audience's heart.
Although blind, because of the love and reverence for life, even if it is difficult to move, it is difficult to find the lost bird and help it return to the nest.
In reality, how many people will really care about the life of nature? For example, hunting wild animals, stealing bird eggs, selling wild animals, etc. Those who are tempted by profit and disregard life, what does life mean to them?
Zhou Guoping said: "Loving life is the basis of happiness, sympathizing with life is the basis of morality, and reverence for life is the basis of faith." ”
When we have a lofty faith and reverence for life, we will be in awe of life, which is a power that arises from love. And when people understand the hard-won nature of life, have a reverence for life, and face setbacks and dark moments in life again, they will be less vulnerable and more tenacious. Less helplessness and cowardice, more courage and confidence to live.
2. See the good
In the film, Muhammad's love and exploration of nature is tireless and emotional. This is reminiscent of children's curiosity about the world, and they are always better than adults at capturing the subtle beauty and happiness of the world. Because they are humble and sensitive to everything in the world, they can see the beauty that we adults don't see.
This also enlightens us to learn from children, learn to maintain a keen grasp of everything around us, and learn to pay attention to the small happiness and small beauty around us. Because this is not only the love of life, but also an effective way to achieve happiness.
3. Get out of the darkness
In the film, after being sent to a blind sculptor, Muhammad cries to the carpenter: "The teacher said that God loves the blind more because they cannot see." And God is also invisible because it is everywhere, and you can feel Him and touch Him with your fingertips. So I keep touching the world with my hands now, hoping to feel the presence of God... But my world is still dark, and I don't see the colors of heaven. ”
Saint-Exupéry said: "Only the mind can see everything, and the most important things, which are invisible with the eyes." ”
Muhammad did not see the colors of heaven because his father abandoned him and mistakenly believed that his grandmother had also abandoned him. His young heart was wounded, he could not feel the love and warmth from his father or even his family, so his world fell into darkness.
At the end of the film, Hassan sees his son have an accident, but his heart is entangled in "saving or not saving". One thought of heaven, one thought of hell. In the pull between good and evil in human nature, in the contradiction between love and disgust for his son, he finally chose the former and chose to go into the water to save his son. At that moment, he finally broke through the shackles of selfishness and desire in his heart and awakened the long-sleeping love in his heart. Muhammad did not die, they were both "born again" of each other. It can be seen that love is the salvation of the soul, a light that guides us out of our difficulties and out of darkness.
4. Towards happiness
In the film, Hassan describes himself as a poor man who lost his father at an early age, his wife died early, and a blind son who hindered his remarriage. In his view, all this was the source of his misfortune. But in fact, the root of his misfortune lies in the barrenness of his heart, selfishness and indifference occupy his heart, and the love is consumed little by little. More importantly, he focuses too much on his own misfortunes, thus ignoring the love and happiness that exist around him.
American management psychologist Benjamin Schwartz once proposed: "All bad things, only if we think it is bad, will really become unfortunate events." ”
Therefore, happiness and unhappiness are subjective feelings and self-determination. In the film, Hassan chooses to pay attention to his own misfortune, so he can't see the kindness and wisdom of his blind son, can't see that he has a kind and kind mother and two lovely daughters, and can't see that he has a warm home. By focusing on what he thinks is "unhappiness," he loses sight of the happiness he already has.
It is impossible for everything to go smoothly in a person's life, and depression, happiness, sadness, and laughter are the essence of life. Whether you are happy or not depends a lot on how you look at it. Tagore said, "The world kisses me with pain, but I sing in return." Since it is impossible to change the established factors, embrace the happiness of the present, strive to create the happiness of the future, and be a person with the ability to be happy.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks</h1>
The whole film uses multi-angle description, layer by layer of plot presentation, the use of character contrasts, character conflicts and flexible camera language to tell a story of love and hate between father and son. From the sad plot to tell love and warmth, from the good and evil human nature to explore the power of faith, from the fortunate and unfortunate internal and external conflicts to highlight the timeless theme of "love", the film expresses delicate, simple, warmth and love with the ups and downs of the plot flowing out, straight to the heart, it is enduring, far-reaching.
The reason why we don't feel happiness is often not because we are really unhappy, but because we focus on our own unhappiness. This misfortune is constantly magnified, and finally it is resentful and even degenerate into evil. We all know that the source of happiness is love. Just like the protagonist of the film, Muhammad, although he has lost the light, he has a love for nature, a love for life, and a love for his family. As able-bodied people, when we think of Muhammad at the low point of life, a warm feeling will arise in our hearts and burst out of an upward force. As Lincoln said, "You determine how happy you are, how happy you are." This is also what the director wants to tell us: when we are in misfortune, love is a light in our darkness, guiding us out of pain and towards happiness.
I am heart-to-heart love and grow up on the road. What are your thoughts on this movie? Welcome to leave a message, comment, thank you all the way.
#影视杂谈 #