This year, there was a film that was in the limelight at the film festival.
Not only did he single-handedly win three awards, including the Grand Jury Prize, the Audience Award, and the Director Award.
It was also favored by Apple's streaming media platform, spending $25 million (about 160 million yuan) to buy the distribution rights of the film.
In one fell swoop, it set the highest acquisition amount at the Sundance Film Festival.
At that time, I was curious, how can a remake be so fierce?
Now after reading it, I just want to say that this wave of Apple did not buy a loss -
"Hearing Girl"
2021.1.29. Sundance Film Festival
>>>> story
Hearing girls.
As the name suggests, it is a girl with healthy hearing.
The average person doesn't call it that — it's someone with normal hearing from the perspective of a deaf person.
Namely our heroine Ruby.
She was born into a family of deaf people.
The English name of this film, CODA, has two meanings.
First, the word has the meaning of "tail", which implies that the film is related to music.
Second, the word can also be seen as an abbreviation for "children of deaf adults."
Printed on paper "Coda: The end"
And related to these two meanings, the main contradiction of the film has also been invisibly given at the beginning -
The family is fishing at sea.
Ruby sang to the music as she worked, melodious and melodious.
My father and brother turned a deaf ear and devoted themselves to their work.
Ruby loves to sing, and her family who can't hear.
This contradiction is invisible, just as Ruby and her family are accustomed to it.
Although Ruby is normal, she has never lived like a normal person.
The "attributes" of listening that come with it are useless except to help the family take care of the business.
Just see what Ruby's mediocre day was like—
Get up at three o'clock in the morning and accompany my father and brother to go fishing;
Bargaining with middlemen again, can talk a little more is a little;
It was only after that that that her normal day as a student began.
In addition, whenever a parent or brother needs to socialize with others, such as seeing a doctor.
Ruby became the family's exclusive simultaneous interpreter.
Ruby has been living for her family, and her family has always depended on Ruby.
Everyone didn't think there was anything wrong.
However, the contradiction is still reflected in some trivial matters, and slowly accumulates.
For example, the family picks up Ruby from school.
Everyone is quiet and harmonious.
To her, her father directly built a subwoofer for the car, and no one was around to laugh at himself.
Directly let Ruby die on the spot.
For example, Ruby and her favorite brother are practicing songs.
When the atmosphere was strong, the sound of parents shaking the bed was heard in the next room.
Ruby was embarrassed, but her parents weren't embarrassed—because they couldn't hear how big their movements were.
There are contradictions.
It's just that Ruby doesn't have the energy to think about it yet.
Or rather, there is not yet a single thing that has prompted her to confront these contradictions.
Until one day, she finally had to start to realize and face this directly.
The boy he liked signed up for the choir class, and Ruby followed suit.
Love is always a panacea for opening up branches and enriching stories.
However, this love in this film has an additional use to advance the plot.
Because, participating in the choir class also means that Ruby finally has to show her singing voice in front of others.
Previously, she sang alone and listened to one person.
No feedback, enjoy yourself.
There is a detail in the film that is very interesting.
Too tired, Ruby fell asleep during class.
The teacher knocked on the table to wake her up, and her first reaction was to make a dumb gesture.
What do you mean?
Although she is a good listening girl, after years of living with her family -
Sign language has become the first language she subconsciously uses, and she has subconsciously distinguished herself from normal people.
So during the audition phase of the first class, Ruby fled in fear.
Letting her sing is no different in psychological difficulty than having a deaf person sing.
Fortunately, she met a mentor and friend.
The music teacher did not expel her from the choir class, but patiently encouraged her and guided her to take the initiative to open her mouth and sing.
He also inadvertently matched her with a boy she liked to do duets.
The teacher assists, the most "fatal".
With the help of love and mentor, Ruby gradually gained self-confidence and determined her love for singing.
Ruby has a talent for singing.
The teacher was sorry for her talent and suggested that she spend time every day to engage in special training and storm the Berkeley School of Music.
It should have been a happy thing to do, but Ruby was caught in a dilemma.
Having been with her family for so many years, she knows how much her parents don't want her to leave her family.
What's more, the family has also developed its own business, which is exactly when it is necessary to employ people.
But she was not willing to give up her dream.
I had to fight for my youth, compressing the time I didn't have much sleep time to hold on.
However, since ancient times, it is difficult to have both things.
Family and individual, affection and dreams, there is always a time for conflict.
The contradictions that have accumulated for many years have finally reached the time to break out...
>>>> sweet but not greasy chicken soup for the soul
If you look at it roughly, this story is actually quite routine.
But the reason why "Hearing Girl" is worth 25 million is not because it has boiled a huge bowl of chicken soup for the soul.
It's because it's sincere and gentle in the details.
"I really love you"
It's reflected outside the play—
In order to understand the details of the lives of the hearing impaired, the creator spent several months living with them before shooting;
Ruby, played by Emilia Jones, spent nine months learning American Sign Language, singing, and fishing skills;
Mary Matteline, played by Mom, may not be known by many people now.
But in 1987, she became the youngest Oscar-winning actress in history for "Children Out of Favor with God."
At the same time, she lost her hearing at the age of one and a half years, and became the first hearing-impaired person in history to receive this award.
Children Out of Favor with God
In addition, the father and brother are also played by real hearing impaired people.
Even the interpreters on the scene were invited by a group of CODAs who could empathize.
Without these preparations the difference would not be great, I do not know.
All I know is that with this respect for the hearing impaired, this crew deserves a capital praise.
※Spoilers for details below※
Reflected in the play, there is more.
This film is actually not original, but adapted from the 2014 French film "The Belliers".
In terms of main plot, the American version is almost the same as the original version.
The same is that the singing girl is discovered, so that the family begins to think about the relationship between each other.
Therefore, many netizens who have watched the original version are also complaining that "Hearing Girl" is not innovative.
But in fact, the overall tone of the film is consistent with the kernel and the original version, but a lot of localization has been done in the details.
The tone of this story is healing.
Therefore, whether it is the original version or the American version, the film does not avoid the pain and inconvenience of deaf and mute people.
But none of them portray it as bitter and bitter.
On the contrary, in order to avoid such emotions, the protagonist's family is set up as a parental love and family joy.
At the heart of the story is how Ruby and her family resolve their conflicts and reach a reconciliation.
From the beginning, the story was not just about Ruby's upbringing, it was also about her family's upbringing.
This is the most moving and desirable kernel of the original version.
The creators of the American version have grasped this point very sensitively and precisely.
But what is even more powerful is that they have made very small but important changes in many details.
Let the film become an authentic American style.
If you prefer a Hollywood style to a European film style, then the American version will probably make you look better.
For example, the younger brother who did not have much drama in the original version was changed to an older brother.
Seemingly innocuous, in fact, the director uses this to shape Ruby's contradictions with her family into a fuller and three-dimensional way.
Logically, it should have been the brother who took care of his sister.
But because of the inaudible relationship, the younger sister often assists the brother to avoid being tricked by the middleman.
The brother felt like he was being treated like a waste, but Ruby didn't.
On the surface, the family is heavily dependent on Ruby.
But from another point of view, Ruby is not used to being dependent on her family.
There are others such as —
The music teacher's personality has undergone some adjustments.
The original version is biased towards normal, while the American version makes it more lively and funny, and the personality is more distinct.
After the first audition escape, the original version was simply skipped.
The American version adds a scene of Ruby singing alone by the lake.
The love of singing is also more perceived by the audience through this small segment.
The communication between family members, most of the situation in the original version is to let the actors say lines while playing sign language.
The US version was changed to pure sign language, which is more reasonable.
The scene of love, the American version also expanded it to be more plump and moving.
If you compare carefully, you will find that the changes in the two versions are really many.
These changes make the beginning and end of the whole story more fluent, the logic more complete, and also strengthen the drama and watchability of the story.
And this is the mainstream feature of Hollywood film narratives.
At the same time, it is also its biggest drawback -
Because the purpose is too strong, it lacks some of the loose and flexible temperament in the original version.
Due to different cultures, there is no better or worse, the original version is more like prose, and the American version is more like a novel.
Which version you like, basically depends on the personal preferences of the audience.
But all in all, "Hearing Girl" is definitely not just a clumsy imitation of a gourd.
Instead, it is a well-deserved exemplary remake that pours out the creator's sincerity.
PS: Both versions of the song are super good
In fact, remakes have been very popular in China in recent years, and there are not a few who take pictures.
However, there are very few who can be called "passed", and there are a lot of rotten fingers.
Just a few months ago, there was a case where a photo shoot could also beat 8.8 to 4.5.
It can be seen that shooting is not necessarily good, or it depends on the standards of directors and other creators.
The success of this work may provide an idea for directors who are keen on remakes.
Of course, the premise is that they really want to make a good movie.