Japanese movie, recently killed crazy.
I don't know if you have noticed, but every few years, world-renowned directors emerge in Japan and win international awards.
For example, in 2022, Ryusuke Hamaguchi won the Oscar for "Drive My Car" and was praised as the "Light of Asia".
Previously, there was Hirokazu Kore-eda.
And after that, there was Miyake Sing who filmed "Keiko, Gaze".
In contrast, mainland films in recent years have been slightly bleak internationally.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi won the Oscar for Best International Film that year, and the mainland chose "On the Cliff" directed by Zhang Yimou.
And Japanese filmmakers are still making efforts.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi's new work won the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival and the Best Film at the Asian Film Festival.
Now it's finally live.
What kind of story is told this time, let's take a look today-
"Evil Doesn't Exist"
Evil does not exist
In recent years, camping projects close to nature have exploded, and Internet celebrity campsites have emerged.
However, while relaxing the body and mind, it also caused a lot of problems.
For example, some people blindly follow the trend to check in, are in distress, and die.
It has also caused a lot of trouble to the local residents.
Some popular Internet celebrity places have been banned one after another because of environmental pollution and potential safety hazards.
This movie also closely follows the hot topic and tells a story about the "Internet celebrity check-in place".
Located on the outskirts of Tokyo, this town is a quiet place away from the hustle and bustle.
The opening shot of the branches and leaves reaching up to the sky.
It makes people feel as if they are in the embrace of nature, intoxicated, and inexplicably afraid.
There are also a lot of pure empty mirror images.
The lake ice is melting.
Birds fly across the blue sky.
The male protagonist coincidentally lives in seclusion here.
Qiao runs a convenience house and is very prestigious in the local area.
He lived a simple and simple life every day.
劈柴.
Intake.
Nails vegetables.
Eat soba noodles made from natural spring water.
The years are quiet, just like a male version of Li Ziqi.
In the afternoon, he drove to a nearby school to pick up his daughter home.
Carry your daughter through the woods and teach her the name of each tree.
In the evening, return to the chalet and dine with the other residents.
They all enjoy such a quiet and contented life outside the world.
But, one day, a developer from the city broke the peace.
Because of the popularity of camping, a company approached the door and said that it wanted to build a glamping base here.
It is claimed that it will attract a lot of tourists from the city and become a new popular attraction.
At that time, it will also bring more business opportunities and stimulate economic growth.
Just like the spring soba noodles here, it has the potential to be an Internet celebrity delicacy.
As in reality, this has caused many contradictions......
At the project briefing, local residents raised various questions.
For example, water pollution.
According to the design drawings, the camping site will discharge sewage into the downstream well water.
That is the main source of drinking water for the villagers.
Fire hazards.
Camping is standard with an open fire barbecue.
However, the area is windy and dry, and it is feared that it will cause a large wildfire.
There are also safety hazards posed by wild animals.
The campsites planned by the company are a must for deer.
Wild deer do not have contact with humans and can carry diseases.
These issues have not been taken seriously by the company's top management.
The upper level said that the construction plan has been finalized, and further changes will only increase the cost.
Like the installation of water purification facilities, people will suffer wherever they are placed, which is already the best solution after expert research.
On the issue of preventing wildfires, some villagers suggested that someone should be sent to supervise it around the clock, but this also involved the problem of insufficient budget.
The shrewd leader actually came up with a way -
Ask the male owner to be the administrator.
It not only saves money, but also alleviates conflicts with local people, and promotes the project to be implemented as soon as possible.
The rush to set up a campsite is really the trend of the times.
It is not difficult to understand the explosion of camping projects in the movie.
Recently, there is a popular saying about the "20-minute park effect".
It means that even 20 minutes in the natural environment can improve your life.
Behind people's closeness to nature is the desire to relieve the stress of life.
The film conveys this as well.
The company that developed the camping project in the film was originally an entertainment company, but because of the economic downturn, it started a similar entertainment industry.
The company sent employees Ms. Dai and Mr. Takahashi to the village to discuss cooperation.
On the way, they shared their work pressures.
Dai used to work in the nursing industry, and the long-term work pressure made her feel like her soul was leaving.
In order to change the rhythm and change the mood, I just switched to this line.
"That's not what you expected, isn't it?"
"No, as I expected, there's scum everywhere. 」
Mr. Takahashi is the manager of the company, and he has been working for 17 years.
I also worked as an actor in my early years, but now I have no chance.
Also because I'm too busy at work, I can only find a partner on a dating app.
Now that he has been sent to do this kind of thing, it is difficult for him to accept, and he has already given birth to the idea of leaving.
The two wavering workers naturally failed to complete the tasks of their superiors.
Qiao only said, "I'm not idle, and I'm not short of money", which left them speechless.
But they didn't get nothing.
They experienced first-hand how rural life went.
学着劈柴。
Fetch water like the locals do.
The "20-minute park effect" has worked again.
They all feel refreshed and yearn for life here.
Both decided to give up their jobs and stay here.
Seeing this, the film is more like an environmental protection film and a healing film.
In the film, the company established a camping base in order to seize the market and obtain maximum benefits.
Ignoring the opinions of the villagers, they rushed to build it in order to get a government subsidy.
When it comes to the problem of wild deer.
Takahashi only thinks about the safety of humans, and feels that since wild deer will not take the initiative to approach people, it doesn't matter.
But Qiao is worried about where the wild deer will go after the living area is occupied.
Compare the hypocrisy and self-interest of modern commercial civilization.
Qiao and the traditional natural way of life he represents make people see the selflessness and holiness of life......
However, I didn't expect the plot to suddenly reverse.
One day, because he was with Takahashi and Dai, he forgot to pick up his daughter home on time.
On the same day, the daughter disappeared.
The whole village went out, but they searched all night but couldn't find it.
At dawn the next day, on an empty meadow, Qiao finally saw his daughter's figure.
She stood upright, facing a wild deer.
The wild deer froze in place, lifeless, and had been shot by the hunter.
Takahashi on the side immediately thought that he had said that under normal circumstances, wild deer would not attack people.
But after being shot, once it can't run, it will fight back and hurt people.
He immediately rushed over to save the little girl.
The most surprising scene appeared.
Qiao not only didn't rush over to save his daughter as soon as he did the same as Takahashi.
Instead, he stopped Takahashi, dragged him to the ground, and strangled him to death.
Then get up and look again.
The daughter also fell to the ground and lost her breath......
What exactly does the ending mean, and why does it suddenly turn black?
There are many different interpretations of this online.
What is the truth? There is no standard answer.
And the process of trying to understand itself leads us to a deeper reflection on "evil".
This film has a distinct binary structure of good and evil on the surface, but the deep narrative is more diverse and complex, which is difficult to judge simply.
I see it in the home view.
Skillfully integrated into the natural environment of life, lost the concept of time in modern society.
More than once he was so busy with his work that he forgot to take his daughter home.
The final death of his daughter was also due to his negligence.
A kind and simple villager has become an irresponsible father again.
From a social perspective.
We had a preconceived idea that Qiao was a local and Takahashi and Dai were outsiders.
But in fact, in the film, Qiao Zeng admits that the land here was first opened to landless people for cultivation, and its history is not long.
"In a way, all of us are outsiders.
Outsiders have developed the area and also destroyed the natural environment. 」
From this point of view, Qiaohe villagers protect the natural environment just for their own better life, and there is no essential difference from the developer.
If survival of the fittest is a natural law, then their behavior is no different from that of a wild deer that kills people.
So can we accuse a deer of being evil?
I see it from the perspective of the world.
In the film, there are many non-human perspectives.
When the wood is chopped, the audience seems to have turned into a tree, and they can feel the fear of a sharp blade facing it.
There is also a visual sharing from behind, such as a wild deer.
Following the gaze of natural creatures, the usual logging work suddenly became extremely cruel and ruthless.
Complex, subtle details create a self-contained world.
There is no way to define evil in a unified way, and it no longer matters whether it is a wicked person or not.
Stripped of ideas and presuppositions, it seems that we are just observing a real event.
This also reminds me that nowadays, there are often viewers who make moral judgments on film and television works, identify "little three", and scold "scumbags".
In fact, a good movie can transcend the battle between good and evil concepts and reach a deeper true meaning.
This is also the reason why Ryusuke Hamaguchi is recognized by the international film industry.
Ambiguity and ambiguity are the consistent characteristics of his works, and he has never shied away from large-scale and immoral plots.
is like in "Drive My Car", about cheating in marriage;
In "Chance and Imagination", it talks about the seduction of a woman.
But they all deliberately blur the boundaries of morality, but instead put us in the middle of it, thinking about how to understand and get along with each other.
In the same way, this film also blurs the boundaries of evil.
Different forms of evil are presented from different perspectives.
Dismantle stereotypes and reshape our experiences.
As Ryusuke Hamaguchi said, the important thing in movies is not to give answers, but to make people aware of problems that they are not aware of on a daily basis, and to encourage people to live with problems that cannot be solved.
From this point of view, mainland creators still have a long way to go.