There is a famous question on Zhihu:
There are 1741 answers, hotly discussed:
Is it the difference in thinking that leads to the amount of wealth, or the amount of wealth that causes the difference in thinking?
Do poor people become poor because they are lazy? Do rich people become rich because of hard work?
How hard is poverty to escape? How easy is it for the rich to make money?
……
And this series of questions that are rarely targeted by domestic film and television works.
Iranian cinema, the first to launch a crazy strafing:
Gold coins gray yellow
Leyla Brothers
This film is not small, last year Cannes main competition unit shortlisted film, is also the International Film Critics Association Cannes Febisi Award winner.
It tells the story of joy and sorrow in a poor and ordinary family.
With an Iranian family as the center and the clan as the radius, the final painting depicts a contemporary ukiyo-e painting that shares the coolness of the world.
Whether in terms of geographical distance or cultural distance, it is extremely distant and unfamiliar to us.
But for some reason, Sir saw it with concern.
01
beggar
Alireza is a steel mill worker.
He worked 8 years in the factory, accumulating less than 8 weeks of vacation.
Even if he "rolled" to such an extent, he was laid off.
The factory is poorly run and is about to close.
But before he was driven away, something worse had already happened: he hadn't received a salary for a whole year.
Not alone, almost all colleagues face the same desperate situation.
△ Subtitle source: Billions of Doujin & Huajin Feng Lux
Poverty sometimes makes people fearless to die, but more often they make people sneak away.
Alireza falls into the latter category.
When the workers decided to fight for their rights, he chose to "abscond" and return home.
As he packed his clothes and walked through the crowded corridors of his dormitory, he probably thought of his parents, brothers, sisters... He has weaknesses, there is no need to fight for this.
But when he got home, his only place to return could not smooth out his weak folds.
The refuge is actually another battlefield.
The family was so downcast that the seven were still crammed into a dilapidated house in a slum. None of Alireza's three brothers have a formal job.
One is an amateur renter, one whose work nature is suspected of fraud, and one can only charge for a fee in the toilet of the mall (and always do some operations that are easy to lose their jobs).
Only her younger sister, Leila, works properly, and the whole family is counting on her to make ends meet.
On the one hand, the family has four men, and on the surface exudes excessive masculinity.
During dinner, the TV show was WWE (American Professional Wrestling), and when it was up, Alireza's youngest brother, Farhad, would take off his shirt and show off his toned muscles of the same style as the wrestlers.
On the other hand, it seems that there is no man in this family.
The big guys have to get by and then pin their hopes on others.
Like Fahad, he looked at Kong Wu powerful, but in fact he couldn't help it, so weak that he couldn't even clean up his own utensils after dinner.
On the contrary, her daughter Laila is always worried about her brothers' lives.
Leila asks her relatively reliable brother to take her brothers to start a small business, but Alireza's first reaction is:
Why is that my responsibility? Why not ask the others, you still have three brothers.
Poverty makes people weak, and weakness makes people escape.
Just as Alireza fled from the clashes at the factory, he wanted to flee again when the responsibility for the family fell on him.
Factory disputes and family quagmire are both a reality, and when he escapes the former, he fails to realize that the latter is what he is more difficult to escape, but also more "should" escape.
The social system established by clinging to feudal traditions and patriarchal structures is the fiercest sickle aimed at the next generation.
This scythe binds all family members in it with the gravitational pull of a black hole and reaps it completely.
The first to be harvested, the female.
This society does not reserve a place for women, only their pronouns: mother, sister-in-law, wife...
To participate in the wedding banquet, men are on the first floor and women are on the second floor.
In terms of financial ability, Laila can be described as the pillar of this family, but in terms of family status, she is a marginal person.
Before asking Alireza, Leila also tried to lead the brothers to run the business together, but she failed.
No one wants to listen to her, she's "just a woman."
Due to years of hard work, Leila has a significant psoas muscle strain, but no one has expressed a word of concern.
When the back is onset, the mother will only remove her "panacea":
Find a man to get married, it won't hurt when you get married, and everything will be fine when you get married...
In fact, Laila also had a marriage partner, but this fiancé suddenly disappeared before getting married.
It turned out that it was the father who lied to the man that Laila was "sick."
His father was bent on asking Laila to marry someone from his family.
For him, his daughter's marriage was only a means to improve his family status.
Women are invisible in this patriarchal system and are remembered only when they are needed.
Once caught in reality, women are even considered the source of all problems.
The brother blamed her, along with the mother, who was a woman.
When men exploit women, they are complacent about their status as vested interests, glad that they are "not women."
They do not realize that when the man has harvested the woman, the man will be harvested by a higher level of patriarchy.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the eldest son, Parvis.
Parvis already had five daughters, but tradition kept him and must give birth until he gave birth to a baby boy.
"Luckily," he looked forward to this day before he lost his fertility.
The son was born, and it was not he who was most happy, but his 80-year-old father, Ismail.
After determining that the newborn was finally a grandson and not a granddaughter, he gave Parvis a heartfelt hug in order to express his gratitude to his son.
And this is the only hug of the family in the whole film.
Without waiting for the warmth of the hug to dissipate, the son immediately felt the pressure from his father.
The old father demanded that his young grandson be given the name he had cherished for a long time - Ghulaam.
What's so special about this name?
Ghulam is just the name of his cousin, the former patriarch of the extended family who died a year ago.
Ismail believed that if he used the name before anyone else, the glory of the patriarch would shine on them.
And pave the way for him to "run" for the next patriarch.
The beautiful name is "preemptive", such a resigned family can raise its head in the big family.
Fortunately, no one accepted this rhetoric, and Parvis had his favorite name.
At this time, the old father's five senses were fully opened, and he keenly smelled the undercurrent of rebellion.
Illiterate, he took his little grandson's birth certificate and questioned one by one:
Tell me, what name is written on it.
At this time, the family with a discord reached a rare tacit agreement, covering each other to hide the matter.
But no one wants to fool around today.
At this moment, he is no longer the old and dim-eyed octogenarian, if the god of wisdom possesses him.
I saw the old father find out Gulam's obituary, spread it out side by side with the birth certificate, and compare the similarities and differences of the two names one by one.
In this way, the son of the strife became a "dirty liar".
Not only did he recover the bank card that had rewarded his son.
He also searched his body, and did not allow this gluttonous fat son to take any of his property, even if it was just two sections of ham sausage and two eggs.
Harmony became a real luxury in the home, and suffocating quarrels dominated the family.
Poverty hooks up mutual dislike and resentment between relatives, and the patriarchal atmosphere catalyzes and amplifies all kinds of bad temper.
As soon as the contradiction appears, everyone's giant baby nature is exposed, and they only want to shirk their responsibilities, and then interfere and accuse each other.
We are a bunch of stupid donkeys who have never learned not to meddle in other people's lives.
Their love for each other is always shown by hurting each other.
These injuries start as indiscriminate ejections, but eventually flow back like water to the lowest depression:
The woman in the family.
When loved ones are in sight, it is always hate that prevails; When separation comes, love finally emerges.
Love has never disappeared among them, but before this moment, it has never been cherished.
How ironic.
Is this the curse of poverty on people?
Be.
But far from the biggest curse.
02
man of wealth
"Gold Coin Gray Yellow", as the name suggests, this is a story that revolves around gold coins.
In Iran, gold is often cast in the shape of round, flat gold coins for collection and investment.
In addition, the more important use of gold coins is gifting.
Iran has a tradition of "gift-giving" at happy events, similar to our share of money.
Even more ruthless than us, in Iran, each time the gift money has to be higher than the last, and the thunder cannot be moved.
How much is a gold coin worth?
1.4 million toman (about 2280 yuan).
That's a lot of money for Iran's working class.
The old father Ismail worked diligently in the factory for 37 years, and when he was over 80, he only saved 40 gold coins (about 91,000 yuan).
No matter how poor and weak a country is, there will be rich people.
The former patriarch of this extended family is rich.
40 gold coins is enough for a rich family to hold a wedding.
After the one-year mourning period of the former patriarch, the grandson's wedding is imminent.
The poor earn money by moving bricks, and the rich by receiving gifts.
According to tradition, at a wedding, the patriarch has to give the greatest gift.
However, a new patriarch has not yet been established.
So the tradition was reversed at this time: whoever was willing to give a head gift could become the patriarch.
The groom's father, Byram, needed someone to help him pay for the wedding, and Ismail wanted to be the patriarch.
The two talents are like a "match made in heaven" like a fake package.
Becoming a patriarch is Ismail's ultimate long-cherished wish for most of his life.
Poverty teaches vanity, and the poorer you are, the more vanity.
Compared to money, the kind of respect they have never received, the attention of everyone everywhere they go, the allure of which trumps everything.
He no longer wanted to be shut out of that family door.
Ismail had long anticipated this day, and he had spent his whole life saving gold coins for this day.
In terms of identity, he has never been a patriarch, but psychologically, he has long been a patriarch.
The patriarchal throne built by society hangs over every brick and tile like a cloud all the time, constantly conveying the illusion of dignity to everyone who has suffered and enjoyed it.
The more insignificant and inferior the poor, the easier it is to live in illusion.
Like the sweet memories that Ismail had shared countless times about being invited to the beach by the sea many years ago.
Although it was only his own fiction, he had long believed it.
On the contrary, the more worry-free and confident the rich man, the more he can see the clouds and live in reality.
What is the reality?
It's money, it's gold coins, it's the office building that leads the neck, the palatial wedding lobby, the list of gift money that rises every time...
Seeing the dagger, we suddenly opened:
The "dignity" that the poor earn at all costs is nothing more than a tool that the rich use to drain the last drop of nutrients from the poor.
Using the false name of a patriarch to win an old man's life savings is more than a thousand profits.
Ismail could see the cheers of all the people after buying the "admission ticket", but he could not see that he could be replaced by a higher bidder at any time.
He thought he had gained the respect of those in power, but he did not see the contempt that Byram would not let him enter the house even when he asked for him.
The so-called "gold coin gray yellow", yellow is gold, gray is ash.
The poor spontaneously combusted into ashes and plated the golden bodies of the rich.
And that's not the scariest, the scariest is:
Huang Liang never woke up from a dream.
03
master
People in hallucinations are unwilling to wake up, while others are unable to wake up because they do not realize that it is an illusion.
The former is pathetic, the latter pathetic.
Just like the old mother of this family, she was fascinated by watching the wrestling show (WWE), and she felt that everything was true.
She wouldn't believe that the show had a script, and she couldn't imagine it:
The real life of all of them is also in a huge and invisible script.
The difference is simply that the "author" of the script is different.
When her mother believed the show, her script was compiled by foreign entertainment capital; While his father was obsessed with becoming a patriarch, his scripts were written by a traditional indigenous value system.
Taken together, the two elders represent the previous generation that was completely shaped and imprisoned by Iran's conservative and closed tradition.
Born in confusion, died in confusion.
Throughout their lives, they never realize that every tear or outburst of anger they experience has been written in advance by the "author".
No one is the real master of their own life, the author of the script is.
Fortunately, the next generation represented by Laila has grown up after being educated, impacted and enlightened by modern thought.
After her father's former patriarch Ghulam sparked a series of farces of chicken and dog restlessness, she became vaguely aware of the existence of that owner for the first time:
We are dominated by a dead man.
Their lives are never determined by themselves, and there are too many masters who want to control their lives.
First their parents, then traditions, then poverty ... Each word corresponds to an invisible cage, one bigger and harder to break through.
Poverty is painful.
But even worse than the pain itself is the constant flow of pain it brings.
Poverty makes people lose self-confidence, become stupid, short-sighted, hesitant and capricious.
The poor lack choice and can only do the hardest work.
But the harder you work, the harder it will be to get out of poverty.
When you realize this later, the vicious circle is closed and unbreakable.
The rich are the opposite.
The poor are often praised for their hard-working qualities.
But if you get used to swallowing pain, the pain that rushes to you will not become less, but only more.
Eventually, poor people develop learned helplessness:
When a person is left in a state of no choice for a long time, he is stamped with the idea that no effort can change his situation.
Over time, the poor can even become afraid of good things, afraid of perfection, afraid of happiness.
This is the biggest "curse" of poverty.
As Alireza said to his father, who fantasized about becoming a patriarch and taking advantage of the opportunity to accumulate wealth:
People who have worked hard all their lives simply do not understand how to get something for nothing
The mindset of the poor and the rich was broken by his words.
The poor are always indoctrinated to think about what, not how to think.
The rich are the opposite.
But one thing is similar in the rich and poor:
They are all constantly giving up something, but the object is different.
The poor give up everything they want, the rich give up everything that stands in their way.
One passive, one proactive.
I've learned that growing up is slowly but surely giving up what you want.
They are not afraid of anything. Because they don't believe in anything.
Lyra's harsh statement may explain why a passerby character who has nothing to do with the main line is deliberately inserted in the film.
He is a rare case of a poor man who made the leap from poor to rich in just 6 months.
How is it done?
Rent a high-end office, pre-sell a vehicle, collect money but do not deliver, the trader rolls up the money and leaves, hands it over to the next one, pre-sells another wave, fills the hole of the predecessor, and then cycles the whole process...
In essence, this is the leather bag company of the white wolf with empty gloves, but as long as the capital chain is not broken, it is completely legal.
No one really creates value, but someone will always make a fortune from it.
At this time, a larger picture of society slowly unfolded before our eyes:
Feed 1,000 poor people and feed 1 rich man.
This bloodless but bloody process became our first important window into this sick society.
You'll see that luxury office buildings are often empty, but hospitals and Social Security are always crowded with sick or unemployed poor people.
The rich make a profit, the poor sell coolies.
They sound like two things, but they're actually the same thing.
The second window is bigger, more life-and-death, and more nuanced.
Is it the Japanese drama "The Story of Ashin," which inspired Laila and was once popular in Iran, the Trump news that appeared next to Nike's T-shirt, or the Made in China that watched Alireza being pinned to the ground by domineering rich people.
A "master" who is at everyone's mercy and everywhere is revealed.
You call it international trade, international finance or cultural export... It doesn't matter.
In short, the subtle arrangement of "Gold Coin Gray and Yellow" with great ambition gives us insight into the existence of a giant global system.
The world seems to be getting richer, more open, freer, and more convenient.
But the poor are still so struggling, no matter which direction they go, there is a wall that cannot be crossed.
A speech by Trump and a tweet can make the exchange rate fluctuate, raise the price of gold several times, and at the same time compress and seize the assets of the poor several times, so that the poor see the rapidly changing exchange rate table directly trigger physiological vomiting.
- Is Twitter a bomb?
- No, even a bomb can't do it
This is a world that is far beyond the cognitive boundaries of the poor.
It is the money Asura field that the poor have always wanted to chase, but they can never catch up.
Or the "stainless steel foam" that the poor can never poke.
The poor, unconsciously guarding a vast world system.
Only in the form of a cost.
You can only become a prisoner of money and social games.
In that case, can the poor only bow their heads and admit defeat and let others slaughter?
Arireza came up with his own answer.
At the beginning of the film, in the wave of factory wages, he would rather be a bastard in the mouth of his colleagues than a deserter, he is accustomed to the fate of being crushed and humiliated;
At the end, Alireza did not accept the plan that the factory obviously owed 1 year's salary, but only paid 3 months' salary to settle, and he angrily smashed the glass door that seemed to symbolize obedience and peace.
He finally realized that he had to fight, and that it was the only weapon he had left.
Of course, it is not that he can win by fighting, but the struggle can at least retain his last, substantive dignity.
What's more, he has nothing more to lose.
At the end of the story, at his niece's birthday party, he ends up losing his father, the hateful and poor old man.
The children who did not know it still pulled him to dance.
It's a time of grief, and it's a time of joy.
When death comes, new students are present at the same time.
He lost the opportunity to honor his father, but he also gained freedom and hope that he never had in life.
Since there is one less owner.
Then be your own master.
The picture of this article comes from the Internet
Editorial Assistant: Doraemon