Jiao Xiongping's "New Wave of French Cinema"
"The New Wave of French Cinema" by Taiwanese scholar Jiao Xiongping is a heavy and solid work that introduces French New Wave films, and is divided into two volumes. Back then, a large number of French writers and directors provided an exciting alternative style to the film, continuing the tradition of French humanism. Truffaut, Godard, Chabrol, Rivit, Houmai, René and other French intellectuals have left maverick films such as "Broken Breath", "Four Hundred Blows", "Beauties", "Full Moon Reflecting Flowers", "Paris Belongs to Us", "Faceless Eyes", "Love of Hiroshima", "Last Year in Marionbad" and other maverick films, so that future generations can look up and marvel. It was an era of wildflowers, an era of resistance to commercial cinema and the Hollywood model, an era that faded forever, and later, like me, could only appreciate the brilliance of that generation in yellowed books. The image storm set off by French New Wave films not only affected the audience of that era, but also had a huge promotion effect on the art films of later generations, and it is not difficult to see the tribute of later directors to New Wave films. Jiao Xiongping's two volumes of "The New Wave of French Cinema" write about the past and present lives of French New Wave films in seven chapters, namely "The Tradition of French Film History: Avant-Garde, Poetic Realism to Fall", "The Establishment of Post-War Classicism", "The New Wave from Theory to Practice", "The Aesthetics and Politics of the New Wave", "The Film Manual School", "The Left Bank School", and "The Review and Influence of the New Wave". Twelve New Wave film directors such as Godard, Truffaut, Chabrol, Houmai, River, Franri, Varda, Malu, René, Mark, Rob Grillet, and Duras. They were young, avant-garde, avant-garde, revolutionary, bookish, and treated cinema as a true art. However, with the passage of time, the decadence of art cinema on a global scale makes people can only rely on the era of light and shadow that has passed away in the New Wave. The author Jiao Xiongping wrote in a sad poetry and sentimentality at the end of this book: "Can the white-haired old author and the old revolution, in the face of the young consumerist boy, can the New Wave and appearance films coexist?" Is there a renewed mindset emerging from this confrontation between humanity and materiality? Whatever the conclusion, there is no denying that French cinema remains one of the most fascinating in the world. ”
Pasolini's Images of Heresy
Pasolini is a famous Italian poet, writer and film director. As a genius poet, in 1941 he was noted for publishing his collection of poems, Religion of Our Time. As a novelist, there are novels such as "The Young Man Living" and "Violent Life" that depict the life of the poor people in Rome, which have caused great repercussions. However, his most famous and controversial work is the film 120 Days of Salo or Sodom, which is arguably the most shocking work in the history of world cinema, with an extremely bold expression of sex. Because of this film, Pasolini was brutally killed on the outskirts of Rome. Reading "Images of Heresy: Pasolini's Conversations", from which we can roughly see the extraordinary spiritual journey of a great director, linked to Pasolini's identity as an Italian Communist Party, it is not difficult to understand the critical consciousness he contains in his works. The "Trilogy of Life" (Decameron, The Story of Canterbury, One Thousand and One Nights) is Pasolini's film masterpiece, showing his deep thinking about life and sex. This talk is related to images, such as his comments on world-class directors Fellini, Godard, Kenji Mizoguchi, and Yaktati, as well as deep and interesting discussions on religious beliefs, sex and death. The way we talk face-to-face makes a great director stand in front of us and come to life. As a staunch Marxist, Pasolini developed a distance from the bourgeoisie at a young age, paying special attention to civilian life. He had long foresaw pessimistically the petty-bourgeois tendencies of society, while at the same time soberly realizing that the student movement of 1968 was nothing more than a bourgeois reform movement and not a real revolution. After all the dust has settled, we also have reason to question Pasolini's revolutionary complex. What the revolution has brought, violence and terror, killing and bloodshed, these are just the appearance, in essence nothing has changed. The revolution starts from the starting point, and it is the starting point that finally arrives. However, countless lives and blood paved the way. You // Challenge to eternal life // Become worthless and hopeless people // Become cheap goods that no one cares about // You talk about it // Tasteless // Aren't you a waste of youth———— sentimental poet, writer, and director Pasolini said.
Jia Xiaowei's "The Dead"
Hollywood movies erode the world and affect every corner of the planet. That kind of commercial blockbuster, with a shocking visual effect, sweeps everything. Yet some maverick directors leave us with images outside of Hollywood mode, writing about humanity, faith, love and resentment, and making films in a literary way. It sets the benchmark for the artistry of cinema and lets us know that cinema is more than just entertainment. Reading Jia Xiaowei's film essay collection "The Dead: Eight Film Masters Outside Hollywood", the eight directors of Bergman, Fellini, Tarkovsky, Antonioni, Pasolini, Godard, Buñuel, and Renai did an in-depth dissection, but with humanistic brushwork, the spiritual core was displayed, and the image picture itself was not seen. Whether it is Bergman's "still in the mirror", Tarkovsky's "dreams and delirium" or Fellini's "liar", René's "nightmare of memory", these European film directors almost unanimously reject commercialization and oppose the Hollywood film model, although they are unique to the image world, but in the end there is still a distance from the audience. I used to think that imagery was just a product of industrialization, and entertainment was the essence of film. Later, I watched some films outside of Hollywood and suddenly realized something. However, most of the essays on the film are only borrowed from the film to say things, write their own private goods, and rarely do professional analysis of the techniques, pictures, and details of the film itself. However, this kind of professional book on film technique or art must have very few readers. Non-film professionals generally do not take care of it. Therefore, the vast majority of film essays are the author's self-talk, or talk about movie stars, or talk about story drama, or talk about anecdotes outside the movie, that is, do not talk about the picture, technique, light and shadow contrast, no professional value. Reading "The Tale of the Dead", I feel that the title of the book is very ironic, the so-called European art film, in the current era of information fragmentation, can only become the undead, for people to hang, for people to sigh. And in the earthly world, we are running for life, anxious for survival, and walking through the void in the dream created by the image. Entertainment also has the function of entertainment, but it cannot be erased in one fell swoop. Perhaps God and Satan are one and the same, so that people have a choice, rather than a single passive acceptance.
Tadao Sato's The World of Kenji Mizoguchi
Japanese movies have brought us joy and surprises, such as "The Hunt", "Witness", "Happy Yellow Handkerchief" and so on. However, due to the impact of the visual image of the Hollywood model, Japanese movies no longer make us worry. Reading the famous Japanese film critic Tadao Sato's "The World of Kenji Mizoguchi", reliving the world of Japanese directors' images, I inexplicably feel an indescribable sadness. Kenji Mizoguchi, a master of female cinema, is known worldwide for his works such as "The Girl of the Western Crane Generation", "The Tale of the Rain Moon", and "Doctor Yamaji", and is good at excavating the tragic themes of Japanese women and the visual performance of Japanese art. After graduating from primary school, he stood out by relying on the hard work and diligence of the day after tomorrow. 1952's "Nishizuru Generation Girl" recreates the history of Japan on the screen in the form of scrolls and epics, and won the Best Director Award at the Venice Film Festival. In 1953, "The Tale of the Rainy Moon" won the Silver Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival. Adapted from the works of the famous writer Akinari Ueda in the late Edo period, the novel is based on the Chinese scripts "Cutting the Lamp" and "Three Words", and is known as the pinnacle of Japanese weird novels. Kenji Mizoguchi's adaptation, the Japanese characteristics of the work and Kenji Mizoguchi's unique style of mirror movement make "The Tale of the Rainy Moon" a dazzling light in the history of cinema. His works also had an influence on later French New Wave films, focusing on social realism, protecting traditional Japanese culture, and paying attention to shooting skills, all of which constituted Kenji Mizoguchi's personal characteristics. With the continuous development of the world film industry, Kenji Mizoguchi's "one-lens" long-lens photography style and concern for the fate of women will surely have an increasingly significant impact on the future. Akira Kurosawa, the director of Rashomon, has great respect for Kenji Mizoguchi, saying: "The failure of later generations to systematically study Kenji Mizoguchi is the greatest shame in the history of cinema." Also worth mentioning is the author of the book, Tadao Sato, a well-known Japanese film critic and film historian. In addition to Kenji Mizoguchi's World, he also wrote the World of Shohei Imamura, the World of Akira Kurosawa, the World of Nagisa Oshima, The History of Japanese Cinema, The Art of Yasujiro Ozu, and The Spirit of Korean Cinema.
Bazin's What is Cinema? 》
After my interest in books gave way to my interest in movies, I started reading some books on movies. What is Cinema by the Frenchman André Bazin? As a masterpiece of ontological realism criticism, it naturally cannot be let go. Although time is like water, Bazin is very far away from this era, but his "What is Film?" " still excites me. Even if a reader does not have the same philosophical thinking about film as Bazin does, he will be completely fascinated by Bazin's interpretation of a film's case. Bazin was a great fan and critic and became a film theorist on this basis. There are few scholastic film theory constructions in his works, more film criticism, and most of his thoughts and ideas are gathered in this book What is Film? 》。 Bazin's field of attention to film is very broad, and he has made wonderful analyses of such things as photography, montage, painting, video language, Westerns, etc., all of which are closely related to the world of cinema that he is concerned with. Of course, he most valued many masterpieces of Italian neorealist films, such as "The Earth is Fluctuating", "The Bicycle Thief", "Winbelto-D", "Cabrilla Night", "Europe, 1951" and other works, which were highly praised. It can be said that Bazin was a genius in the field of film form history, and his summarization and sorting out of the contours of the development of film language laid the foundation for almost all his subsequent related thinking, and it can be said that he laid the map drawing method for his subsequent history of film language and style history. What is Cinema? Full of wisdom, sensitivity, and insight, typical Montaigne writing, it has its roots in the french tradition of thought. Bazin's film theory has influenced an entire generation, and the French New Wave director Truffaut, a loyal disciple of Bazin, said: "There is no right picture, only the right picture". Godard, another French New Wave master, said: "Cinema is the truth of 24 frames per second.". In fact, the main thing in Bazin's philosophical background is existentialism. So, Bazin's realism is existential realism. In Bazin, reality is internal. In this way, we can better understand why the reality in French New Wave cinema with Bazin as the spiritual teacher can be so subjective and arbitrary, but never succumb to any a priori notion. Speaking of Bazin, there is also a master of novels in France, Elve Bazin, who wrote famous articles such as "The Viper in The Hand".
Andrew's "Director's Vision"
From the initiator of Hollywood classic films to the masters of world-famous films, to a large number of contemporary directors with different and unique styles, the book "Director's Vision" (Jiangsu Education Publishing House, 2006, first edition) can be described as a grand gathering and graphic feast for all the great visual stylists in the history of film. The author, Jeff Andrew, is a veteran British film critic. The translator is Jiao Xiongping, a well-known film scholar in Taiwan. The subtitle of the book is also called "Meet 250 World Famous Film Directors", and its main theme is how the 250 directors of Shaosuke use the special grammatical elements of film narrative——— composition, lighting, camera movement, color, editing and other elements to express their "vision", presenting the charm and temptation between light and shadow. With more than 300 words of content each, the director's artistic characteristics are displayed, and there are criticisms of his brilliance and shortcomings. It can be said that these concise criticisms are wonderful, and the translator's translation has added a lot of color. "Of course, even if we talk about individual styles visually, the stills can only tell half the story, because they are images that don't move." When the author analyzes with those stills, as far as possible to summarize the text of the whole film and all the works of the director, and also to explain the situation before and after the picture as much as possible, this kind of writing tests the author's skills. "Director's Vision" uses graphics to elongate the details of the images, "these images are fleeting on the screen, and some details may not be noticed at all, let alone realize their importance." Unlike mainland films, which emphasize the fascination with good stories (oddly enough, the more we emphasize the importance of stories, the more mediocre the film is made), Andrew chose to evaluate based on the director's special visual style. From this point of view, the author constructs his own aesthetic criticism of cinema: focusing on the visual spectacle of the image and the personal style of the director. There are seven Chinese film directors selected in "Director's Vision", namely Yang Dechang's "Juvenile Murder Incident on Muling Street", Wu Yusen's "Blood Double Heroes", Wong Kar-wai's "Chongqing Forest", Hu Jinquan's "Heroine", Hou Xiaoxian's "Winter And Winter Holiday", Chen Kaige's "Farewell to the Overlord", and Zhang Yimou's "Red Sorghum".
Wang Yi's "I Have Peace Like a River"
There are roughly two kinds of film reviews. A kind of saying things, saying movies about movies, generally does not mean that they are separated from the movie itself. The other is talked about by the movie, but it is pulled to other places, Wang Yi's film review is the second kind, but he goes further, and the movie only becomes a prop in his hand. On the surface, watching the film is actually writing "redemption and hope in film and television". I have peace like a river, and in my bones this is another drop of Christian tears, and all the images are just the cry of God. Wang Yi looks at the film in a way that used to be a constitutional perspective, focusing on freedom and democracy; now it's Christian tears, showing love, grace and redemption. If we cannot understand, the love of this world passes softly; if we hesitate and doubt, the peace of this world becomes a sword. As a non-Christian, how do I see the author's "watching the movie"? Or, as a reader, how do I accept the Lord's call and the warmth of my faith? Seeking truth from misfortune, the flowers in those movies are displayed, but they confirm the despair of the world. The truth on the cross is the tear of this world. Heaven was silent for half an hour, and the earth was noisy for two thousand years. Poetic words meet the rationality of faith, which makes Wang Yi's film criticism seem so different. In the reflection of electric light, the record of sorrow and joy, shock and emotion will not be too far away from us. On the one hand is the sin, bitterness and hope in the human heart, and on the other hand is the idol, sovereignty and grace of the nation and history. For example, in "Apocalypse Now: Jehovah deep in the Mekong River," Wang Yi wrote: "The difference between Japan and Germany is actually the difference between Asia and Europe. As a defeated and guilty perpetrator, Japan has never apologized and reflected as sincerely as Germany. This is something that every Chinese is obsessed with. But on the other hand, as victors and victims, China and other Asian countries have never attributed the sins of World War II to Europe, to mankind, as European countries have done, instead of asking: 'What happened to Germany?' Instead, he asked, 'What happened to Europe?' But we never ask, 'What is wrong with Asian civilization?' Why are humans so bad? We just asked, 'What's wrong with Japan?' Why are the Japanese so bad? Wang Yi's film review is not so much a film review as it is a kind of self-talk of the author's personal beliefs. In the season of words, the existence of this soul-filled voice is not necessarily a good thing. This way of writing depends on the meaning behind the text, or the implicit value that the author has not said. Everything is fate, everything is karma. There is no eternal silence, the voice of love is always there.
Hu Wenhui's "Film Archaeology"
I was very happy to receive the "Film Archaeology" sent by Brother Hu Wenhui, a Scholar in Guangdong. He had known Brother Wen Hui very early and admired his writings. The "archaeology" of "Film Archaeology" takes its broad or ancient meaning, similar to the meaning of historical hook sinking. "Film Archaeology" contains 32 articles, all of which are related to movies, but they are not film reviews, but some details in the film lead to the theme, and another intellectual excavation, the focus of which is academic interpretation. Although the author's writing style is relatively casual, he attaches importance to historical materials, which is both ideological and interesting. In terms of the way literature is cited, it is the path of academic essays. Compared with the film essays in the world, it is undoubtedly more avant-garde. "Film Archaeology" rejects the public, but it is unique in the selection of topics, historical materials or conclusions, and writes new ideas. The author humbles himself and "mines copper from the mountain", and in my humble opinion, he enters the treasure mountain and has joy. For example, the first article, "A Bird Without Feet", is taken from a line in the Hong Kong movie "The Legend of Ah Fei": "I heard others say that there is a bird in this world that has no feet, it can only fly and fly all the time, and when it is tired of flying, it sleeps in the wind, this bird can only go to the ground once in a lifetime, and that time is when it dies." Thus, the etymological semantic origin of the "bird without feet" is traced back, and all visible materials are excavated. In the article "Respective Burmese Harps," the author talks about the search for the remains of the expeditionary forces. The contrast between Japan's and U.S. emphasis on China's extreme contempt for the remains is lamentable. If there is no respect for the life of the individual, how can we talk about respect for the war dead. This is actually the reason why Greenpeace has always been cold and lonely in China. Unknown birth, unknown death. Too attached to the life of this world, and lack of respect for individual life, only the collective is the greatest, only the ultimate purpose is the greatest, and only the party interests are the greatest. The life and death of ordinary citizens, like dust under the wheel of history, become a forgotten past. All of this is related to tradition and reality. "Why defend the Bridge of the River Kwai", extended from the movie "The Bridge of the River Kwai", talks about the General Taxation Department of the Customs of the Great Qing Dynasty and the General Inspector cha Lang WeiLi of the Beiyang Marine Division, two British who served in the Great Qing. If at the moment, it is inevitable that the Internet public opinion will be scolded as a "British traitor" and betray their own country, the good British will not do it, come to China to become an official, and do their best. So the author writes with emotion: "Some people say that the British are the best rulers; then, it seems that it can also be said that the British are also the best ruled." "From the perspective of theme, "Film Archaeology" writes about natural history, politics, military, Southern Guangdong, the old films of Japan, Britain and other empires, borrows the wine glass of the movie, and pours the block of history. It not only allows us to witness the multiplicity of knowledge, but also allows us to see the untold secrets from the cracks of the smoke cloud of history.