On February 23, Netflix launched a Japanese manga movie "Miss Chihiro".
When the film released a special trailer in August last year, it caused a throbbing in the fan circle.
"Miss Chihiro" starred as a popular actress who has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, and Jun Murajia, who is jokingly called "Village Flower" by fans. She just won Best Actress at the 45th Japan Academy Film Awards for "Bouquet of Love".
In the special trailer, Chihiro, played by Jun Murakata, was branded with a very special identity - a former sex worker.
This film is adapted from the manga "ちひろ" by Hiroyuki Yasuda, and the title of the book is only the protagonist's name "Chihiro". The Japanese name of the film "ちひろさん" is literally translated as "I am Chihiro", and the English name of the film "Call Me Chihiro" is literally translated as "Call Me Chihiro". Only Chinese translated name "Miss Chihiro", using clever "double entendres".
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"Miss Chihiro" is directed by Riya Imaizumi, who is good at telling about the love entanglements of young people. His "A Serenade" has participated in the main competition unit of the Shanghai International Film Festival, and other masterpieces such as "What is Love", "On the Street" and "By the Window" have basically maintained a level of more than 7 points on Douban.
This film tells the story of Chihiro (played by Jun Yumura) who used to work in a custom shop and now works in a bento shop by the sea. She does not hide her past experience, living a comfortable and casual life, communicating with people with scars and troubles in her heart every day. Many people who felt that they "couldn't live" gathered around her, and were eventually influenced by her, relieved and healed.
If this is a domestic movie, it will definitely be scolded bloody, because no one can believe that a former "woman who has lost her foot" can heal those around her. However, in the Japanese social environment, this story is not only believable, but even quite moving.
Hiroyuki Yasuda once introduced his original manga as follows: "This is a record, not a story. I just kept chasing after her and faithfully recreating everything that had happened. ”
02
As in ancient China, the profession of prostitute has been active on the stage of Japanese history for a long time. For example, Kenji Mizoguchi's masterpiece "Nishizuru Generation Girl" tells the bumpy life of Haruko (played by Ayayo Tanaka), a prostitute during the Japanese shogunate.
In 1958, the Japanese Diet passed the Prostitution Prevention Act, and substantial sexual activity related to money was officially defined as illegal. In 1985, the Japanese government changed the Customs Prohibition Act to the Customs Business Suitability Act, which carefully classified the custom industry. The act of "picking up customers in a room in response to their sexual curiosity about the opposite sex" is recognized.
Customs shops that have obtained business licenses operate legally and are managed by local governments. Therefore, drinking and chatting with the custom lady in the custom store and getting a massage and bathing are all legal operations, while the behavior of the customer and the custom lady outside the store is classified as "free love".
Due to a large single population, high survival pressure, strong loneliness and other social factors, Japanese people are more tolerant of the custom industry, and some teachers will even encourage adult students to go to the custom shop to solve their needs.
It is precisely because it is a "formal profession" that custom ladies often have to cultivate professional qualities such as temperament, knowledge, and communication skills. Competition in the custom shop is also fierce. Directed by Junichi Ishikawa, the drama "The King", which depicts hotel female publicists snatching the title of No. 1, depicts this phenomenon.
The first red card that you used to get when you opened a bottle of champagne at a club, now you can buy a bento box at a bento shop and have a few words. For the rough old men in the town, the custom lady Chihiro is also "inferior".
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In the early days of the film, Riya Imaizumi used Hisahiko (played by Hana Toshima) to create a lot of voyeuristic perspectives on Chihiro. In this way, the sense of record of Hiroyuki Yasuda is restored. Chihiro is not like a subject, but like an object, an object that requires the audience to explore secrets. Although Chihiro's frankness can really infect the people around her, because of her own secrets, it gives people the illusion of being alone in the crowd.
The group around Chihiro is healed, some not directly from her, and even happens in the case of Chihiro's departure. The little fart child Makoto (played by Teuta Shimada), who was raised by a single mother, Hisako, a high school girl with an extremely depressed family atmosphere, and Chinatsu Ube (played by Nagasawa Tree), who was often thrown out by her parents, all met Chihiro before they got to know each other, and gained inner growth in getting along.
Hisahiko and Makoto have a spiritual commonality because of the food their mother cooks. Hisahiko's mother is too good at cooking and pays full attention to nutritional balance, but she can't taste it; Xiao Makoto's mother can't cook too much, and can only make the simplest fried noodles, but it makes him feel super delicious. The two of them ate not only food, but also family affection.
In addition, the former custom shop owner who turned into an ornamental fish business, the former custom girl who turned into a bar dancer, the young man who tattooed "color is empty" on his arm in order to control his hot temper, and the aunt who has been longing for the outside world after being blind and bedridden are all connected by Chihiro. Little people, small fates, and small stories that seem scattered build a group portrait of a group of loners.
Near the end of the film, there is a rooftop dinner scene, and all the characters around Chihiro are present. At this time, they had all reconciled with their wounds, and their faces were full of smiles. The director places the camera in the center of the circle where they are sitting, starting with Chihiro, and rotates through each character. When the camera returns to Chihiro's seat, the chair is empty...
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"Village Hana" is the most well-known of the new generation of Japanese actresses in China. Her previous starring roles in "Bottom Babe" and "Bouquet of Love" have landed in mainland theaters and have achieved good box office results. This time playing Chihiro, who used to be a custom girl, makes people feel very curious.
However, there is not much residue of "custom girl" on Chihiro's body. Her old store manager once sighed: "She is the most unpredictable one." "The film's portrayal of Chihiro is also an exploratory advance, digging into the past little by little. Although Imaizumi gave benefits to male audiences, it was only 40 seconds.
There are many contradictions in Chihiro, such as when she sees the homeless uncle being bullied, she immediately reaches out to help, not only giving him bento to eat, but also helping him bathe, like an angel; But after learning of his mother's death, he not only had no sad face, but also refused to attend his mother's funeral, like a demon.
Although others get warmth from Chihiro's cheerful personality, Chihiro himself is as lonely as ever. Regarding Chihiro's past, the director always gives it in the form of fragments. Reuniting with an old person like a former store manager often allows the audience to receive a fragment.
With more fragments collected, viewers will find that the loneliness that has been inextricable since childhood makes Chihiro believe what a guest once said: "We all come from different planets." ”
Family, lovers, classmates, colleagues, friends, no matter what the relationship between the two people is, as long as they are from different planets, they cannot understand each other; Two complete strangers, if they are from the same planet, can resonate and establish bonds even if they meet for the first time. The so-called "white head is like new, and the cover is like the past", which is roughly the case.
A joke that was originally used to comfort people, as Chihiro's fragments were stacked, and as the people around Chihiro changed, it seemed more and more reasonable.
After Chihiro leaves the rooftop dinner, Aunt Tae, who is "on the same planet" as her, calls her.
Chihiro asked, "How did you notice that I left?" ”
Aunt Duohui replied: "A lonely breath suddenly disappeared. ”
After Chihiro leaves, the audience gets her last fragment. This is the answer to why she was able to successfully apply for a job at a bento shop after confessing her résumé. It turned out that the boss found that she had eaten the bento so clean, that there were not even shrimp tails and fish skin left, so he decided that she "must not be a bad person".
At the end of the film, Chihiro goes to work on a ranch, and the owner asks the question again: "What did you do before you came here?" "Guess, what will Chihiro answer this time?
【Text/Full Hoard】