I've always felt that a really good work can open a window for people.
When your gaze looks through it, between the electric light and flint, you will be surprised to find that the world you live in has been greatly expanded.
The French animated film I'm going to talk about today, Azul and Asmal, is a work that allows your world to continue to expand outward.
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The anime Azur et Asmar, also known as One Thousand and Two Nights, is set in the medieval Orient.
The animation was directed by French director Michel Othello.
Previously, he also directed animated films such as "The Adventures of Twitter" and "The Prince and the Princess", and his works have very distinct personal characteristics.
"Azul" and "Asmal" in the title are the names of the two main male characters in the film.
Both names come from Arabic.
"Azur" means blue in Arabic and "asmal" means brown in Arabic.
This coincides with the physical characteristics of the two characters -
Azul was a blonde-haired, white-skinned European aristocrat with beautiful blue eyes;
Asmal is an Arab with black hair and brown skin.
In view of the similarity of these two names, the following will be referred to as Xiao Bai and Xiao Black.
As a pair of intimate bamboo horses, the intersection of XiaoBai's life is on Xiaohei's mother.
Xiao Hei's mother was hired by Xiao Bai's father as Xiao Bai's wet nurse.
She took Xiao Hei to live in Xiao Bai's house and brought them up one by one.
Despite the difference in race, XiaoBai and Xiaohei have the innocence and naughtiness that ordinary little boys have, and they are also very emotionally harmonious.
It's just that from time to time, because of the question of who looks better, which is better in Europe and the hometown of Little Black, there will be a big fight at the slightest disagreement.
One shot is like a mud pit in Peppa Pig, pulling each other and rolling in the mud pit.
As Xiao Bai grew older, his father began to object to him continuing to be with Xiao Hei as he had done when he was a child.
Dad "broke up" Xiao Bai and Xiao Hei, leaving Xiao Bai alone to receive an elite education, forcing him to learn the necessary skills of high society such as dance, swordplay, equestrianism, and Latin.
As a result, Xiao Bai was often locked up in the house and danced in a crooked dance.
Write "elegantly" and read as "pretending".
The six relatives did not recognize the pace, which caused the small dark snickering of the little dark peeping in the tree outside the house.
Later, Xiao Bai's father sent Xiao Bai outside to let him receive a more professional education, and fired the wet nurse and swept her and Xiao Hei out of the house.
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The main plot of the story is the story of Xiao Bai and Xiao Hei going to the other side of the sea to save the imprisoned fairy.
When Little Black and Little White were young, the nurse told them about this fairy legend that was widely spread in their hometown.
The seeds planted in the hearts of the two boys of the legend gradually sprouted and grew over time.
When Xiao Bai returned from school, his father asked him what he wanted to do, and the answer surprised his father.
He said he was going to the other side of the sea to find the fairy that my mother had said.
When The little white father heard this, he directly called out that his son had been poisoned by the alien woman.
No matter how he advised, Xiao Bai ate the scales and iron heart, and then he drove a small boat and crossed the ocean.
At sea, Xiao Bai stood alone at the bow of the ship with open arms and delivered his passionate speech to the air.
Not wanting to say anything, a wave hit, and Xiao Bai was swept into the sea.
(Sea os: I let you pretend to be forced again)
Illuminated by the protagonist's immortal aura, Xiao Bai drifted to a black land.
Unlike the desert island where Robinson had been, Xiao Bai soon heard the voice of an oncoming person.
What surprised him even more was that these people had the same skin color as the nurse who took care of him when he was a child, and spoke the same language as the nurse.
He came to the mother's hometown!
As he walked happily toward the crowd, the kind people in the mouths of these nurses were horrified, shouting "Look into his eyes" and fleeing into the wilderness.
Leaving Xiao Bai alone, standing in the same place, with a confused face.
Xiao Bai tried to contact the locals several times after that, and also hit the wall -
When people saw him, they either pulled out their legs and ran, or they punched and kicked him.
Finally, Xiao Bai learned from a disabled old man the source of people's hostility.
It turns out that there is a saying in this land that the blue-eyed man is a cursed person, and his appearance will bring bad luck.
The absurd words made Xiao Bai cry and laugh.
Later, he had to close his eyes and pretend to be blind.
He did not open his eyes, on the one hand, to protect himself from bullying the people, and on the other hand, he did not want to look at this ugly country again.
Xiao Bai felt despair from the depths of her heart, feeling that the wet nurse had deceived herself, and that the beauty of her hometown was made up by her.
At one point he felt like he wasn't as good as.
Human prejudice and superstition are what the anime "Azul and Asmal" focuses on showing us.
In addition to believing that blue-eyed people bring bad luck, people here also firmly believe that black cats will bring bad luck, and when they see black cats turn their heads, they will leave.
However, not all people carry this bias.
An unexpected opportunity allowed Xiao Bai to meet the nurse who led him here.
It's just that now, the wet nurse is no longer the poor worm who sent people under the fence before, and has become the richest businessman in the city, and Xiao Bai has become a beggar begging along the street.
Fortunately, the nurse did not take revenge because the Xiaobai family had abandoned her and Xiao Hei.
After the reunion, she and Xiao Bai hugged and cried, and said to the crowd outside the door:
"He's the kid I raised on the other side of the sea!"
In addition to the wet nurse, another unbiased person is also the most learned person in the country - the cute little Lori, the princess of Sabah.
When she first met Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai nervously asked the princess if the color of her eyes made her feel uneasy.
The princess muttered a little and said to him—
"I wouldn't be so childish"
Princess Lolita holds the power of the country.
The reason why she was able to ascend to the throne was not because everyone supported her at the beginning, but because the men of her royal family were killed in cannibalism.
There is a deep-seated discrimination against women here, but it is this discrimination that allows the assassins to let down their guard against Princess Lolita and allow her to survive.
This result can be said to be very ironic.
Xiao Bai worriedly advised the princess to be more careful, and eventually there would be enemies targeting her.
The princess smiled, and then said domineeringly:
"It was too late,
I will become the most powerful,
It's time for me to assassinate them. ”
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The gorgeous picture is a highlight of "Azul and Asmal".
Director Michelle Oslo once revealed that the style of animation is imitating Iranian miniature paintings and trying to give people an impression of the Middle East.
(Iranian miniature painting)
In animation, a variety of delicate and intricate patterns can be seen everywhere.
After the discovery, her mother and son Xiao Hei lived in a huge palace, and the wall behind her was covered with blue patterns that stretched infinitely around, looking rich and imposing.
Princess Lori's palace is painted in black and white, giving a sense of solemnity and totality.
Inside the palace, there are tall pillars, visually similar to the palm groves that Xiao Bai had passed through before.
In expressing the prosperity of the bazaar, the director did not hesitate to use various colors.
As a result, the bazaar we see in the animation is like a palette of colors, with mixed colors but also a mysterious harmony and vitality.
In addition, Azul and Asmal is an animation known for its meticulous craftsmanship.
In order to restore the customs and customs of the Middle East, the director has done a lot of evidence work, so meticulous that even the slippers worn by Muslims during worship have not been spared.
It is said that the animation used a beautiful color to render the background, and it was later discovered that this color dye was transmitted from the Americas through North Africa after the great geographical discovery, and it was impossible to appear in the medieval Oriental Bazaar.
For the sake of authenticity, I had to endure the pain of cutting love.
Director Michelle Oslow's obsession with Middle Eastern culture is not unfounded.
As a Frenchman, he actually grew up in Africa and was deeply influenced by local myths and legends.
This special experience also made Oslo pay more attention to the communication and unity between peoples than many European animation directors.
The nation is the world.
In the story, he satirizes those who wear colored glasses on racial issues, and makes Xiao Bai and Xiao Hei become friends, in order to find the legendary fairies born and die together, which is very eye-catching.
Overall, Azul and Asmal is an animated film that is brilliant from the picture to the story, and it is rich in cultural heritage.
If you want to get a quick and intuitive feel for the Middle East, I think watching the animation will be a shortcut.