Text/Wood Bell
Watching old Japanese movies, from beginning to end, it seems to only talk about one thing, eating, going to school, gossiping when men drink at izakayas, women chatting at the door, and slowly telling the same theme. The pace of the film is very slow, but every character appears as if life is reproduced, like every ordinary day we spend, never fast forward, not jumping.
"Late Autumn" and "The Taste of Saury" tell the story of the daughter who can't bear to live alone and refuse to marry her father, and the daily trivia and small talk in the play all revolve around this content, but it is not boring, because there is a strong family affection running through. "Good Morning" is easy and fun, a pair of brothers (primary school students) in order to let parents buy a TV, after failing to reason with their parents, the father let his son talk less, and the sons decided not to talk anymore and caused a series of misunderstandings. In the end, the parents compromised and bought back the TV set, which made the movie have a strong sense of humanity and warmth. "Floating Grass Story" is more touching, telling the story of the protagonist Xihachi and his son's warm little happiness. "Mother" tells the story of the father being persecuted in World War II, the mother raising two daughters, the whole drama from beginning to end, no matter what kind of suffering comes or the disaster is coming, the mother is smiling when she speaks to her daughter, the voice is gentle, the movement is gentle, but it conveys strong strength. These old movies narrate warm family affection, from which you can truly feel that family harmony stems from the family's daily companionship and mutual care.
There is a movie that is a little closer to the time is "The Quiet Sea of That Summer", which is about love, there is no passion shot, just the summer seashore, they are slowly falling in love, real and simple, warm people's hearts. It is a pair of deaf and mute people, and the male protagonist Mao stumbles upon surfboards and becomes obsessed with surfing. Without the guidance of a teacher, he went to the beach to practice on his own, repeatedly failing and even being ridiculed by other surfers. Shigeru's girlfriend Takako always smiled and watched Shigeru's clumsy practice. There is a recurring scene in which Shigeru and Takako carry their surfboards to the sea one after the other, step by step without haste, and the picture is monotonous and serene. Mao went to participate in the surfing competition, did not hear the competition committee shouting that he was on the field and missed the game, did not get upset, and went back to continue training. Takako gave him a warm and down-to-earth smile without blame. She did not cry hysterically after the loss of Mao, as quiet as ever, looking back and smiling as before, which made people sad and hopeful. Step by step, she walked on the road to the sea with her surfboard in her hands, her steps calm and serene.
Look at these "slow" movies and the mood will be soft. Speaking of slow, do you think of slow sloths? I have to say again, this is not called slow, it is called calm.
Source: Yangtze Evening News Editor: Zhang Chenye