The animated movie "Wolfwalker", which many people are looking forward to, has finally been released.
If you like the masterpieces of previous years, "Song of the Sea" and "The Breadwinner", then you may have a sense of déjà vu when you see this film.
Yes, the production team of this film, like the previous two, is from the Irish animation studio "Cartoon Salon".
The studio's founder, Tom Moore, is the most famous hand-drawn animation creator since Hayao Miyazaki and is also known to fans as the "European Hayao Miyazaki".
He co-directed with Rose Stewart on the Secrets of the Book of Kells, Song of the Seas, and Wolfwalker, as well as the Irish Legend Trilogy.
As the finale of the trilogy series, Wolfwalker won 37 international awards and was nominated for 110 awards, including nominations for Best Animated Feature at this year's 93rd Academy Awards, and even as an animated film, it was selected as one of the top ten films in Time Magazine's 2020 list.
As an animated film that can win many awards, in addition to bringing us beautiful visual effects, it also injects thinking about nature and the legacy of Irish history, and the strong humanity also makes the film very enjoyable.
01
Wolfwalker takes place in Kilkenny, Ireland, and is set in the context of Irish history, setting the timeline in 1650, the real history of the expedition of the British protector Oliver Cromwell to Ireland.
The film tells the story of the friendship between the little girl Robin and the wolf walker Miba.
At that time, everyone was full of fear for wolves.
Because of his ability, Robin's father was appointed as a werewolf hunter and worked for the high-ranking protector.
The 11-year-old Robin is lively and brave, and although he is young, he hopes to become a wolf hunter like his father, but his father does not think so, he only hopes that his daughter can live in the city safely and grow up happily.
One day, Robin goes on an expedition to the Enchanted Forest and accidentally meets The Wolfwalker girl, Miba.
At first, the two men did not give in to each other, seeing each other as great enemies, and the birds she raised were dragged away by Miba.
As the two people gradually become acquainted, Robin discovers that the red-haired girl Miba only looks fierce on the surface, but in fact, she is kind and cute at heart.
And Miba also has a powerful magical function, that is, it can heal wounds, and even when people are mistakenly injured by wolves, they will risk being caught and use superpowers to save these injured people.
And Robin found that since being bitten by a wolf, his body has also begun to undergo a series of changes, such as being able to transform his soul into a wolf in his sleep, having magical powers, and being able to communicate with the wolf clan.
Both Miba and her mother have this ability, and the two girls soon develop a friendship.
Miba will take Robin to play near the wolf's den and show her the mysteries of the forest, but Robin will worry that Miba will be found and harmed by humans.
Good times are always so short, and on the occasion of parting, Miba tells Robin that her mother has disappeared for a long time.
Hearing this, Robin vows to help Miba find her mother and agrees to meet again in the forest tomorrow night.
Back at home, Robin is out of his sleep and transforms into a wolf.
Unbeknownst to his father, he raised his crossbow in an attempt to shoot the wolf that had suddenly broken in.
In a hurry, Robin quickly escaped and went to the mysterious castle, where she found that Miba's mother was actually imprisoned here.
Due to his appearance, the people in the city were panicked, and everyone regarded the wolf hunter as the number one enemy.
In order to lure the wolves into their presence, the Protector decided to behead Miba's mother to set an example.
At the critical moment, Robin bravely stepped forward and let the people of the whole country know the truth.
There is no need to say much about the reunion ending.
02
In fact, if you just watch the content of the movie, it will be easy to interpret it as an ode to the feelings of mutual trust between human beings, and an inspirational story for human beings to dare to rebel against fate.
But in fact, if the film is linked to the entire Irish cultural and historical context, this film is actually a political metaphor.
In many versions of Celtic legends, wolves do not appear as villains and evils as we traditionally think of them.
They may incarnate as wolves, their husbands, or they will become healers, and they will repay their kindness and redeem themselves.
There are also versions of the story that state that the sinful Irish were ruled by the English for being punished by God, and predicted that the people after the atonement would eventually become wolves against the English.
Therefore, under the premise of this background, the political and historical display of this film is also self-evident.
The arch-villain in the film, the Protector, alludes to the British Protector We mentioned earlier, Oliver Cromwell, who was also a British colonist at that time.
Robin, Miba, or Wolf were all irish people who had been invaded.
The confrontation between the two sides, and even the slaughter of the wolves by the protectorate, is also a retrospective of the history of England's invasion of Ireland.
Of course, in the end, the Miba family and the Robin family merged into one to find a new home, which is also the embodiment of the director's romantic idealism.
This way of thinking about problems from the perspective of each other and understanding each other's emotional expression makes the whole movie pattern a lot bigger.
In addition, the director presents the construction of his utopian world in the way of hand-painted aesthetics.
For example, in the town where Robin lives, the director mostly uses rigid horizontal vertical lines to create, with gloomy black and dark colors as the main colors, suggesting that under the harsh and ruthless management of the rulers in that era, the people lived like the walking dead every day, bored and dull, and also reflected the violent acts of that era and the people's sense of fear.
The forest where Miba lives is a gorgeous color dominated by green and bright colors, the wolves in the forest, or other creatures are like elves, giving people infinite vitality, and the whole magical forest is full of freedom and vitality.
When Miba becomes a wolfwalker, the picture turns golden again, and its visual impact not only makes the audience deeply immersed in the beautiful picture, but also implies that hope is the driving force of life, and the gears of social history are also rolling forward and turning.
03
If you dig deeper into the theme of this film, you will find that the film also emphasizes the rebellion against patriarchy and self-awakening consciousness.
In the movie, the father often let Robin stay at home and be safe.
Luobin, who lives with a mask, does not want to become an appendage of men in the patriarchal society, and she desperately wants to break through the cage of patriarchy and resist the oppression of women under the patriarchal society.
Unruly, she incarnates as a wolf walker in her dreams, and also hints that the long-suppressed female freedom will eventually have a chance to be released.
But at the same time that she could really be herself, she became her father's hunter and even the enemy of the whole city.
The author uses a compassionate and objective perspective to present that it is not easy for women to break the barriers of losing themselves and obtain equal rights and independence.
It may even become a martyr's object for female pioneers in a patriarchal society.
As more and more people began to have this awareness, fathers and some people began to slowly accept this transformation.
They have changed from advocates of rights to rebels against the oppression of the powerful, equalizers who love and protect women, which is also a social and ideological progress.
The film is called Wolfwalker, which is actually a carrier of patriarchy and feminism.
It also shows that only those who truly respect women from the bottom of their hearts can become the masters of society and the leaders of the people.
As one of the trilogies of Celtic mythology, the director aims to show the relationship between man and nature through the history and culture of Ireland.
The world in which Miba lives represents the beauty and splendor of primitive civilization, and the town where Robin lives is the prototype of industrial civilized society, and the final merger of the two also hints at the integration of the two, but away from the hustle and bustle, looking for a new habitat also implies that the conflict and contradiction between the two will exist from beginning to end.
Rooted in the depths of the heart, the love for the history and culture of the country and the nation has enabled the director to have an observation of the current society, a reflection on the heavy history, and a fairy tale to express his desire to pursue freedom and live in harmony with nature.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that Tom Moore referenced many of Ireland's ancient collections of books and prints in order to create an authentic hometown culture.
In terms of audio-visual, Bruno Cules, the soundtrack master of "The Spring of the Cattle Herding Class", was invited to create it by himself, and the effect was evident, which completely promoted the development of the plot and the growth of the character through music.
Five years of grinding a sword, "Wolf Walker" is indeed worthy of praise around the world. If you haven't enjoyed it yet, you can go to the cinema to enjoy this visual feast.