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Text/Dongguan
Editor/Dongguan
Plants and trees peep into the world, and all plants and trees in the world are plants.
On April 3, 2024, "The World of Grass and Trees" starring Jiang Qinqin, Chen Jianbin , Wu Lei and others will be officially released.
As a realistic film, the overall tone of the film is full of suppressed and suffocating emotions.
However, what makes my scalp tingle the most is not the sharp conflicts and gray tones, but the subtle sexual innuendo in the film...
Take "pyramid scheme" as a pain point
This film tells the story of a poor and ignorant low-level woman who is tricked into a pyramid scheme.
In the play, the tea picker played by Jiang Qinqin raised her son Mulian (played by Wu Lei) with her meager strength after her husband He Shan disappeared, and then in the long relationship, Moss Hua and her colleague Lao Qian fell in love.
However, just when Moss Flower picked up the courage and was ready to start a new relationship again, not only did her son Mulian disagree with her decision, but her lover Lao Qian's mother even paid money to drive Moss Flower out of the tea garden.
Moss, who lost her job, was tricked into a pyramid scheme called "Butterfly International" under the bewitchment of her good sister Jin Lan.
At first, Muren, who was busy looking for her biological father, did not know that her mother had fallen into the abyss. It wasn't until lust and sin frantically devoured Moss's soul like vines that her son Mulian suddenly realized.
At this time, things have reached the point where they are out of control, and the tea picker has become a "pyramid scheme elite".
In order to save her crazy mother, Mu Lian chose to personally enter the Longtan tiger's den of the MLM organization.
The deception of the "same wife".
In fact, I think the biggest driver of Moss Flower's final tragic life is not only the source of the evil of the "pyramid scheme" on the surface, but also the marriage full of absurdity and deception on the deeper level.
In this regard, it is actually expressed in extremely subtle sexual innuendo in the movie.
At the beginning, Moss Hua and her husband He Shan were newly married Yan'er, and they once complained to their girlfriends when picking tea, "Husband He Shan is not active in sexual affairs, and I still need to beg him." ”
In just two sentences, it conveys to us that "He Shan is not interested in his wife in the affairs of men and women", and at this time, we have no way to distinguish whether He Shan is not interested in the affairs of men and women or simply does not like his wife.
It wasn't until later that Mulian found out the whereabouts of her father's old friend "Uncle Deaf" through many efforts.
From the pen of "Uncle Deaf", Mu Lian learned that her father He Shan and "Uncle Deaf" were once a pair of lovers.
After the two broke up, He Shan and his mother Wu Moshua entered the palace of marriage, after marriage He Shan met Ah Liang, after a difficult choice He Shan still chose to abandon his wife and son, and his lover Ah Liang went away.
The cruel truth not only broke Mulian, but also shocked all the audience. It turns out that the real reason for Moss Flower's dark life is not only because of the deception of the MLM organization, but also because of the man she once loved deeply.
The young and immature Moss Flower married the handsome He Shan with the expectation of marriage, and He once thought that he was just a tool that He Shan used to cover up his unacceptable sexual orientation to the world.
This failed emotional experience laid a foreshadowing for moss flowers to complain that "I am not loved by people", so as to decide to enter "Butterfly International" to achieve "new transformation".
The symbol of the "tea bug".
In fact, in this movie, there are many details that are worth scrutinizing, such as the "tea worm" that appears twice.
The first time it appeared was when Moss Hua came back from the tea garden and found a fat tea worm on her back, Moss Hua carefully took it off and put it on the box of feet that Dong Jinlan brought.
The second time she appeared was when Moss Flower fell into a pyramid scheme, took out the suit she had carefully prepared for the "promotion" speech, and when she put it on, she found a tea worm crawling on her back, she took it off and played with it on her fingertips, and approached the hotel window with a wild laugh.
The two appearances have changed the mood of the moss flower.
The first "tea worm" is a great thing for the tea picker, which means that "this year's tea is fresh and lush".
And the second time, the appearance of the tea bug is contradictory to the current environment. At this time, the "tea bug" is an insect that cannot be transformed.
In fact, it is implying that Moss Flower will not be able to escape from the past she wants to escape, and the so-called "drunken gold" life she fantasizes about will dissipate like a "bubble".
The meaning of "shouting mountain".
In addition, "Shouting Mountain" appears many times before and after the movie.
In the opening part, the tea pickers "shout the mountain" late at night, in order to pray for a good harvest of tea and the health of their families.
From a deep point of view, first of all, Mulian's father's name is He Shan, and I think the act of "shouting the mountain" is also "calling He Shan" to a certain extent.
This is the son Mulian's obsession with his biological father, and it is also the cry of his mother Moss Hua to her husband He Shan for abandoning his wife and children, and the cry of this man who has failed her.
At the end of the movie, after everything has settled, Moss Flower has a nervous breakdown due to disillusionment, and Mulian carries her mother up the mountain and puts her under the tree that represents him, hoping to wake her up through the power of "mountain" and "tree".
Not only does it let us see Mu Lian's attempt to redeem her mother with the power of nature, but it also makes us feel that Mu Lian has let go of her father's fertility worship and obsession.
From the subtle emotional changes of the actor, it has been hinted that Mu Lian has finally completed self-redemption, and it is also his guilt for preventing his mother from starting a new life for many years.
Based on "authenticity".
In the movie, from the perspective of Mu Lian entering the MLM organization to save her mother, the audience is shown the despicable methods of the MLM organization in an all-round way.
Including how to choose the target group, and then through various means to make the misguided people trust them with all their hearts, and then weave a dream of getting rich for these poor people.
In the name of "start-up capital", they obediently handed over all their belongings, and finally the MLM boss patted his ass and left, leaving countless families torn apart because of their evil deeds.
Many people who have watched this movie have said that those around them who have experienced "being deceived into a pyramid scheme" feel the same as a documentary.
Of course, for those who don't know anything, they exclaim that the words shown in it are simple but direct to the heart, and if they encounter it, they will definitely be deceived.
As the so-called art comes from life, it is not because the screenwriter has a brainstorm, but because the main creative team chose to enter the pyramid scheme organization undercover in the early stage of creation in order to be able to write a more shocking script.
It can be said that the "pyramid scheme" involved in it is actually based on a true story.
epilogue
As a realistic film with the social pain point of "pyramid scheme" as the core.
"The World of Grass and Trees" not only focuses on pyramid schemes, but also shows us the suffering brought by pyramid schemes to countless families from a close-up perspective, and bloodily analyzes the suffering and grief that family members will face.
What's more, even under strict control, the director still reveals the tragedy caused by the social phenomenon of "same-wife" to us from a vague angle.
This topic, which has been not put on the surface because it has been ashamed to talk about gender issues, has received the attention it deserves.
If you think about it, if you hadn't been forced to become a "same wife", Moss Flower would not have started a miserable life, and she would not have finally strayed into the trap of a "pyramid scheme" because of her inferiority complex and desire.
I think that no matter how you look at it, this film is very worthy of everyone to watch with their families.