Million Dollar and the Bitter Worm Girl is a 121-minute film produced and distributed by Nichiren Pictures in Japan. Written and directed by Yuki Tanada and starring Yu Aoi and Mirai Moriyama, the film was released in Japan on July 19, 2008, with a Douban rating of 8.0.
Why is such a niche film so highly rated?
It is because in this typical Japanese youth film, there are both emotional expressions of the true disposition of the characters, as well as the entanglement of psychological contradictions, as well as the choice of attitude towards life. Coupled with the fresh colors and light rhythm of the music, the audience themselves are substituted into the artistic conception, and deeply appreciate a spiritual journey that is both escape and growth.
The film tells the story of Suzuko Sato (Yu Aoi), 21 years old, an ordinary girl with no skills, who has no fixed job after graduating from college and lives with her parents. She is introverted and stubborn, and has repeatedly had conflicts with her family. I finally decided that when I had saved enough for a million yen, I would move out and find my own life. Reiko did not renege on her word, and finally when she saved enough for a million, she left the house with her suitcase and began to work and travel around. She came to the seashore and made smoothies in the beach shop; she came to the mountains to help the growers pick peaches; she came to the city, looking for a new beginning in unfamiliar places.
Suzuko travels around and meets many kind people, she doesn't know how to get along with the people close to her, and for every million saved, she starts the journey again. Soon, the deposit is about to reach its goal again, however, Suzuko meets the college student Nakajima (Mirai Moriyama). She fell in love with the gentle Nakajima. Love makes Suzuko stop running in all directions, and at the same time take a decisive step on the road to growth.
At first glance, this film looks like a road movie with a 21-year-old heroine traveling alone on the road, but this film does not have the common dog blood plot performance in general youth dramas, but instead creates an urban female image from relying on keeping a distance from others, leaving to protect herself when she is familiar with it, and finally finding herself and actively facing life.
Today, I will analyze the charm of this film from the three angles of storytelling, detailed performance and emotional switching, and at the last point, I will give people some value and practical significance based on this film.
<h1 class="ql-long-23552173" >01, the story telling method intertwined with the main and auxiliary lines realizes the diversification of the story content, fully highlights the psychological transformation process of the characters, and further deepens the theme</h1>
The film unfolds with the main line of the heroine Reiko Sato leaving home alone and working and traveling, and the main line adopts a clear and purely subjective narrative angle throughout the film. The heroine's younger brother Takuya is also in school, from being bullied to resisting the transformation as a secondary line, the main and auxiliary lines intertwined with the storytelling method, making the film's personal psychological and emotional handling more abundant, not only fully highlighting the character's psychological transformation process, but also expanding the breadth and depth of this film.
(1) Main line: The process of Reiko Sato's part-time work trip
Reiko Sato, who has a "previous crime", finally saved enough for one million yen, and she decided to move away from home and live alone while working and traveling.
At the first stop, Reiko Sato came to the beach and worked in a small seaside shop. On the first day of work, when he made the perfect snowflake ice for the first time, he was praised by his boss and called "snowflake ice genius". When she heard the praise, she was surprised on the one hand, and on the other hand was a little snickering, and she announced the news to her brother through a letter.
The life of working by the sea is very comfortable, and you can face the sea every day and meet different types of people. Although everything here is so friendly, Reiko Sato has always locked her mind, she is afraid of knowing others, she is not willing to communicate with others, she only uses this place as a stop on the journey, and leaves when she earns a million yuan.
At the second stop, Reiko Sato came to the mountain to help a farmer pick peaches. The first time I picked a peach, I was not only skilled, but I didn't hurt the peach at all. The farmer's wife directly praised her as a "peach girl", born to pick peaches. After Reiko Sato listened, she smiled shyly.
After the village chief knew that Reiko Sato was a young girl with a high talent for picking peaches, he personally invited Reiko Sato. The village chief hopes that Reiko Sato will be the spokesperson for the peach image in the village and promote the peach to the outside world. Faced with the invitation of the village chief and the fervent hope of the villagers, Reiko Sato hesitated, she had her difficulties. But when she did not accept this beautiful job, the villagers did not understand, were extremely emotional, and even said that she was ungrateful.
Reiko Sato is uncomfortable and has a psychological burden, on the one hand is a villager who does not understand, on the other hand, she has a stain on her "previous crime". But to explain the reason, she had to bring up the fact that she was reluctant to face it. The revelation of the facts means that Reiko Sato is going to end her life here again and find a place that no one knows to start over.
On the third stop, Reiko Sato goes to work as a clerk in a flower shop on the outskirts of the city. While working at a flower shop, Reiko Sato discovers that she is in love with Nakajima, a boy who works with her. In the face of Nakajima's active pursuit and confession, Reiko Sato is running away, and she is afraid. Finally, she plucked up the courage to tell Nakajima what she had thought was not a glamorous thing. After saying that, her first reaction was to run away with her legs in shame, afraid that the other party would hate her.
Reiko Sato wants love, but fears love, and the stain of "having a previous crime" has always been her psychological obstacle. But this time in the face of love, she chose to face it openly and boldly.
Nakajima knew that Reiko Sato had saved enough for a million to leave everywhere she went, and in order to keep reiko Sato leaving, she actually chose to borrow money from Reiko Sato all the time. Reiko Sato inferiorly believes that Nakajima has no heart for her, and only the money in her pocket is in her eyes, and she once again sadly chooses to leave.
The letter from her brother Takuya made Reiko Sato completely wake up to the fact that what she once thought was strong was actually an escape, and she was a coward in life. She realizes that separation is for new encounters, not escapes, and that she needs to be brave and independent and face the world of life positively.
Reiko Sato herself wandered alone, in fact, she was full of inferiority and lack of security in her heart. She is afraid of being misunderstood, does not know how to get along with others, only to keep a distance from others. It is not so much that Reiko Sato is a part-time travel process, but rather a psychological experience process of escaping reality, finding herself, facing herself squarely, and bravely facing life.
(2) Auxiliary line: Takuya also faces the transformation process of coping with bullying by classmates
Reiko Sato's younger brother Takuya was a well-behaved child with excellent academic performance in school. He had been bullied by his classmates in school, but he did not dare to resist. He decided to study harder, try to get good grades in the exams, and get into other middle schools, so that he could get rid of his classmates who bullied him all day.
But at present, in school, the bullying of him by his classmates never stops. In the end, he couldn't bear it, remembering the scene when his sister had been bullied, he resisted and injured the person who bullied him. He knows that in the face of entangled bullying, it is useless to escape, and to face it bravely. He responded strongly to the bullying and decided not to avoid these classmates and go to other secondary schools.
Life is a lifetime, wonderful, can not be because of a moment of frustration, a moment of addiction, a moment of fear, instead of bravely facing, choose to escape. Although escaping can avoid trouble, you can't communicate with the people you like, you can't tell the truth, you can't live according to your own wishes, and you will regret it for the rest of your life.
In my opinion, after a period of self-searching, the sisters and brothers in the film finally understand the true meaning of life: to be true to themselves, to face themselves bravely, to face life, and never to escape. Only by opening your heart, accepting the facts, and firmly believing in yourself can you overcome all difficulties.
<h1 class="ql-long-23552173" >02, detailed performance: the objects are prominent, reflecting the real psychology of the characters from the side, so that the effect and thematic meaning of the film are unique</h1>
In the film, the attentive viewer may find that there are several objects that run through the entire plot from beginning to end, they have been following the entire travel footsteps of the heroine Reiko Sato, and they show the inner feelings of the heroine at that time from the side, so that the viewer can better understand the theme of the film.
(1) Property 1:
We may wish to start with the title of this film "Million Dollars and bitter worm women", "million dollars" represents money, and another form of money is a passbook, so from the title we can know the meaning of the passbook for the heroine Reiko Sato.
"Save enough a million and leave", this is the condition that Reiko Sato set herself to leave a place. Only by saving a million and going to a new place, even if she can't find a new job at a speed, she can maintain her living expenses. After returning to the dormitory, Reiko Sato would sit there and quietly look through the passbook to see how many numbers had been reached and how far away from a million.
The passbook gives Reiko Sato a guarantee of life, and also gives her the confidence to continue to start to the next station, at this time she is lonely and helpless, there is no dependence, only rely on her own efforts to continue to move forward.
(2) Object 2: Curtains
Before Reiko Sato moved, she personally sewed a curtain for herself and packed it in her duffel bag. Whenever she arrives at a new place, the first thing Reiko Sato does is hang the curtains first. After working the previous day, she came back tired and returned to her own space, and she was lying on all fours on the ground, while the curtains fluttered with the wind.
Reiko Sato seems to be strong, but in fact, she lacks a sense of security in her heart, and hanging curtains everywhere she goes is the best embodiment. Curtains not only black out the light, but most importantly, can isolate the outside world. She can only truly relax if she returns to her little world. Curtains are a barrier for Reiko Sato to escape from reality, and a door for the mind to be alone. It can either hide the secrets of the heart or leave the mind alone.
(3) Object 3: Letters
Whenever Reiko Sato went to a new place, she would write to her brother Takuya, and in the letter she would share what she had done and heard with her brother. Reiko Sato escapes from outsiders, has no communication with outsiders, and can only express her feelings through letters. Letters were the main form of communication between her and her brother, and they were also necessary to maintain family affection.
The younger brother wrote to Reiko Sato at the end that he had been bullied in school, and finally he was no longer evasive and cowardly, he bravely resisted his classmates who bullied him, and thanked his sister for giving him the courage and strength to face bullying.
It is also the letter from her brother that makes Reiko Sato fully understand and know herself: seemingly strong, but in fact, she is a coward who escapes from reality. Escape is not a good way to solve the problem, escape is difficult to have a way out, only by facing up to the face, positive face, can get a new life.
Letters are not only a vehicle for maintaining the emotions of her family, but also a trigger point for Reiko Sato to open her heart and embrace her life. In a letter before leaving for the last time, she said to her brother:
"When you get to the next city, you will be strong and down-to-earth and move forward, not running away."
Passbooks, curtains, and letters are closely related to Reiko Sato's life, and they are not only the hopes that Reiko Sato once had, but also the security and spiritual sustenance for her future. They give Reiko Sato the courage to face reality and the confidence to live strongly.
<h1 class="ql-long-23552173" >03, emotional switching: the transformation between two opposing emotional relationships, highlighting the contradictions and confused psychology of the characters, making the theme of the film more realistic</h1>
The heroine, Reiko Sato, is brave but cowardly, and the film revolves around two emotional expressions. The conflict between the two emotions seems to be in conflict, but in fact, it is not, it better reflects the complex opposite of the person, so that the viewer can feel the self-change process of the heroine in the contradiction and sublimate the theme.
(1) Emotion 1: Bravery
In the first scene, when Reiko Sato goes out, her adopted cat is lost by the boy who rents it because of the quarrel. After Reiko Sato knew, she gave the boy the most direct counterattack and threw away all his luggage.
In the second scene, Reiko Sato faces the entanglement, sarcasm, and sarcasm of her classmates, and her thin body has tremendous energy. She confronted several female classmates and made them scream and scream.
In the third shot, Reiko Sato finally understands the meaning of life through the process of finding herself, and bravely faces the reality of escape.
"I've escaped a lot of people, and next time, at the next foothold, I'll be brave and independent and face the world."
In my opinion, Reiko Sato is strong and brave by nature, she can work alone, live alone, and face difficulties alone. What she does embodies the fearless pursuit and exploration spirit of a young girl.
(2) Emotion 2: Cowardice
In life, because Reiko Sato has a "previous crime", she will be afraid to hear the rumors of her neighbors, she will be afraid of the colored eyes of her acquaintances, and she chooses to leave with a million.
At work, "having a previous crime" has always been the red line in Reiko Sato's heart, and she is afraid of being known. She chooses to stay away from others, refuses to have deep friendships with others, and when she has to face others, she chooses to leave.
In love, Reiko Sato faces the person she likes, she inferiorizes that the other party will care about the bad things she once had, she can't look at her feelings equally, and she chooses to run away for fear of being hurt.
In my opinion, Reiko Sato's cowardice is understandable. Her parents ignored her, the price paid by her youthful impulses, and the fact that she did not have a skill herself. All this will make this 21-year-old girl confused in society, she does not know how to mediate and deal with it, and only relies on escape to seek protection and security.
Reiko Sato's emotions are transformed between bravery- cowardice and bravery, and it is gratifying and admirable that Reiko Sato did not lose herself excessively in the process of escaping. Instead, this experience is that she understands others and organizes her own journey of enlightenment, and she is able to gain the strength and confidence to pursue new life goals.
<h1 class="ql-long-23552173" >04, people grow up, most afraid of losing themselves and escaping from reality. So what can we think about Reiko Sato's self-training process from escape to regaining confidence? Let me share a few of my reflections</h1>
(1) When encountering difficulties, we must face them bravely, and escaping cannot solve the problem
Wood describes it this way in his book What Are You Afraid of: "Perhaps, the first emotion we have after separation from the matrix is fear, and the first reaction is to avoid." ”
Avoidance is a normal response we make when we encounter difficulties or setbacks, and it is a form of self-awareness protection. But if we encounter problems, we are afraid of failure, afraid of being hurt and choose to avoid the method of dealing with it, then we will lock ourselves in a small area that we think is safe, unable to learn more things, unable to experience more things. If you dare not make a breakthrough and dare not challenge the higher difficulty, then there will never be a possibility of success.
The more we are afraid of something, the more we can't escape, the more we have to face it and try to overcome it, so that our hearts will become incomparably strong.
How can we deal with fear effectively? Psychologist Paul A. Hauck suggests:
"When you're trying to overcome your fears, don't rush forward and let yourself face everything at once; it's bad, and the result is often counterproductive to your intended goal, making your original fears suddenly increase tenfold. The best thing to do is to keep a little distance from the object of your fear, step by step, step by step, step by step. This way, you will become more and more accustomed to the situation you are afraid of. ”
In the face of fear, we must make a brave choice attitude, only by making the right attitude to face it, will people have a sense of mission to move forward, will be fearless, and overcome difficulties.
(2) What people need to change is themselves, not the environment
"Survival of the fittest", "the weather is unpredictable", the environment is not static, different periods, different places, the environment will be different. You can change it for a while, but you can't change it for a lifetime.
There are always people who encounter difficult problems, like to complain about the world, lament the unfairness of fate, in fact, what they need is to face themselves and change their hearts, rather than complaining about the environment.
For example, some people have poor academic performance, they will complain that the family learning environment is not good, the school is not a famous school, the teacher will not teach... But he sleeps in class, doesn't listen carefully to lectures, and completes his homework on time.
Some people can't get promoted in the workplace, he will complain about the chaotic management of the company, the leader does not pay attention to him, and the colleagues reject him... But he is often late for work, cut corners at work, and cannot learn and improve on his own.
If they know how to examine themselves, understand their inner pursuits, and take action to change themselves, maybe the problem can be solved perfectly, and he will succeed.
What people need to change is often not the environment, but themselves. The road of life cannot be smooth, everyone may encounter setbacks and failures, the problem is to see how you face it. As long as you actively change yourself and try to adapt, then the suffering you have suffered, the losses you have suffered, the responsibilities you have borne, the sins you have carried, and the pain you endured will eventually become light and illuminate your path.
(3) Growth is a process of continuous learning
"Live to be old, learn to be old", in this ever-changing world, everything is moving forward, if people are just satisfied with the status quo, then they will stand still, can not grow and improve, can not keep up with the pace of the times, will be eliminated.
"Growth is a very tortuous road, it is difficult to walk, there are many thorns, because the road to growth requires too many challenges and persistence, so there is no shortcut on the road to growth."
There are no shortcuts on the road to growth, and growth requires learning. There is no natural king, it is necessary to have a process from scratch, from having to more, from more to excellent, and no one can casually cross and step up to heaven. Enrich your mind by thinking and learning, make yourself more intelligent and capable, and more judgmental about the mysterious realm of the unknown. Slowly, turn the strange into the familiar, the fear into the security, you will find that you are growing, the world you are familiar with is getting bigger and bigger, and the path you take is getting wider and wider.
Growing up is a journey full of adventures and trials, a journey of surprises, joys, and, of course, bitterness and confusion. Since it is impossible to predict what will happen next, we are all looking forward to it. Only by knowing how to hone yourself in the test and constantly learn to improve yourself will you gradually grow and reflect the value of life.
<h1 class="ql-long-23552173" > conclusion:</h1>
"Million Dollar and the Bitter Worm Girl" is a high-quality youth film, which uses the most realistic life lens to describe the heroine's youthful years. What is even more rare and valuable is that the heroine did not lose herself in the escape journey of youth, she actively sought and pondered the meaning of life, and finally felt the true meaning of life. This makes people not only encourage, but also harvest full of strength.
In real life, each of us has our own growing pains and failures that we have to face in life. In the face of this dilemma, we should face it bravely and actively seek a solution, rather than running away. This is also the biggest realistic reflection that this film has given me.