The Invisible Guest
Is "staged" a poison that destroys its roots and stops the progress of the film or is it a harmless, neutral stylistic designation?
More than a hundred years after the birth of the film, half of the film history is almost written in the history of endless struggle. Originating from a scientific and technological invention, in the forest of beasts, fortresses in the forest of history and culture to fight for themselves, to preserve the name of art, film has never been a confident art, or all art is fragile and suspicious, look at the establishment of a new style in any art, even for the salvation of its own decaying fate, it is full of firm doubt and deep fear. In the first days of the film, an epoch-making breakthrough is to enter the new world of staged play from the naturalistic realistic scene display, whether it is the spectacle of Méliès's studio or the interior scene of The broken and reorganized life of Hypworth, or the beautiful and exquisite images in the art film movement, the story with strong literary significance, drama and staged have become almost the only source of nourishment that this chick can expect, and when the film trembles and breaks into the "door of art", a huge shadow hangs over it. So when the film is becoming more and more fledgling, it seems destined to complete the ultimate father-killing act.
The Twelve Angry Men
A common notion has been formed that all films with distinctly staged styles are "non-films" in some sense, at least they are suspicious. So when we're discussing Twelve Angry Men, there's always a voice that comes up repeatedly: it's funny, but it's too staged! By the time we study The Killing and The Immoral Judgment, similar voices will emerge. When it comes to "The Invisible Guest", of course, there is no escape from the torture of the same argument, as if "staged" is a movie's self-detonation button, and anyone who finds it or thinks that there is this button will presuppose the disastrous consequences. Is this really the case?
The Immoral Judgment
Let's think back to the "twelve angry men" this strong "stage style" work, some people will say that the film's impressive change in framing angle itself is the most core and grand cinematic concept, this seemingly careless design determines that this film is coordinated under the film thinking, that is, everyone often hangs on the "cinematic means". This defense may seem irrefutable, but it still struggles in the quagmire of the cinema-theatre dichotomy, and it seems to me that such an emphasis is meaningless, and the enthusiastic embrace of the theatrical stage and the literary world is never the cause of the decline of drama, like the war between film and television, the struggle between film and literature, and if we really have a serious and mature artistic point of view, it is very natural to realize that "staged" is by no means the degeneration of cinema. So, the great thing about "The StreetCar of Desire" must be the Ragtime that floats outside the window at night in the original, on the stage, in the movie, it is moving music, but here it is the embodiment of all tension and discomfort, it is in Tennessee. Williams's pen is a cloud of gas, provoking reverie, we will instinctively guess its rhythm and strength; in the drama it and the character's language, action to complete a certain collision, we enjoy a panoramic experience, the rhythm is unified, intriguing; in the film it is designed as the internal sound of the screen environment and the sound of the internal environment built by the characters, its sense of orientation is stronger, the emotional direction is more accurate, It may be at this point that we will truly discover the strong distinction and connection among the various arts, all of which are reaching the soul in some appropriate way, expecting a response.
"Desire StreetCar"
If such an evaluation premise is established, then the evaluation of "The Invisible Guest" may be more accurate. I prefer to use the term "relatively enclosed screen space" rather than "staged", a style that is not uncommon in film history, and is a precursor to everything from German Expressionist films (including later chamber plays) to Hitchcock's series of brilliant works. The closure of dramatic situations often has a model meaning, or a metaphorical meaning, and one of the most interesting recent works is "Sin House": an unabashed coincidence setting that completes the exposure of the nature of industrial civilization. This kind of film is made well is wise and foolish ("stupid" at the formal level), and it is naturally blunt and embarrassing to shoot badly. "The Invisible Guest" also has a clear and strong moral metaphor, which inherits the critical thinking of the consequences of modernity such as the distribution of roles and operating rules in modern society, while constructing a powerful source of cinematic pleasure with a firm revenge story and a subtle narrative.
House of Sin
The current film may have to reposition itself, the renewal of modern language has entered a historical stage of calm and fading, the dispute of form in my opinion needs to be put aside, as the most powerful cultural carrier on the planet, the film needs to face and undertake an important cultural mission, that is, to reshape the human soul and explore the limits of thought. Looking at today's world, accompanied by the rapid progress of civilization is human stubbornness, prejudice, depravity and struggle, if the film can let us see the whole world and the truth of mankind at this time, it is the arrival of the greatest moment of an art.
I look forward to this moment.