Many people have already interpreted the film, leaving aside the way of playwriting and the classic method, today I will deconstruct it from another level.
Little Hero Toto is Domel's choreographerial debut, presenting the protagonist's three stages of childhood, adulthood and old age through the interlacing of time and space.
As soon as Toto was born, he was hit by a hospital fire, and he remembered his mother hugging the wrong person in a panic, Holding Alfred in the next bed, and himself being carried away by the wife of a neighbor pilot. As a child, he lost his father, his sister Alice took care of him, and he often fantasized that he was a hero in a TV series, able to save his parents who were caught in the fire.
He was jealous of Alice talking to Alfred and then forced Alice to death. Growing up, he meets a woman who looks very similar to Alice, and when the two fall in love, they discover that she is the wife of his enemy Alfred, so he leaves alone. In the year of the flower armor, Toto blamed the misfortune of his life on his neighbor Alfred, and decided to escape from the nursing home and kill him, but finally failed.
The protagonist Thomas's life is tragic, and the pain of losing his father and sister causes him to wander in a doomed fate all his life. Today, starting from Thomas's experience, I will analyze the various questions that can be discussed in the film and the true attribution of Thomas's fate, and in the fourth part of the article, I will give my thoughts and suggestions in combination with the tragedy of Thomas's life.
<h1>01, there are two brain-burning doubts in the film, which are worth our valuable discussion</h1>
Doubt 1: Is it true that Thomas was born wrong?
Doubt two: Does the metaphorical hatred on the knife belong to Thomas, or does Alfred belong?
First, is the arrangement of being held by a neighbor at birth and the wrong fate real or illusory? Are your child's words credible?
Thomas and Alfred were born facing a fire, and Thomas believes that his family has mistaken him and Alfred, but the truth is buried in his heart when his mother does not admit it.
As a child, Thomas was very happy under the care of his family, with his mother taking him in circles, his father doing magic tricks for him, and his sister playing for him. The loving family is full of joy, but the contrast between Thomas and Alfred's birthdays sets off Thomas's sadness.
On Alfred's birthday, his parents gave him a children's sports car, while Thomas was a toy sports car. The director provoked Thomas's jealousy by comparing the big and the smallest to the sports car, so he would go to Alfred and say the sentence "Your mom and dad are my mom and dad, we were wrong because of the hospital fire, so your sports car should be mine." Then he was beaten up by Alfred, and even forced not to say anything about it.
A child said he was born wrong, neighbor Alfred's father was his own, and the life he had did not belong to him. From here, we can question, how can a child remember so clearly, can parents really hold their children wrong? Even if it were true, why would Thomas's "mother" be reluctant to admit the truth? Is it Thomas's subjective imagination, or is it a fact?
In my inference, Thomas was really being held wrong. If not, Thomas wouldn't have been so jealous of Alfred that even Alfred would have made harsh remarks that Thomas would kill him if he told anyone. Moreover, Thomas's adoptive mother did not admit it, and from the perspective of an adult, if she admitted, the relationship she had established with her child for many years would probably break down, and her own children did not recognize it as a real failure for a mother.
The tour guide deliberately arranged the fate of this yin and yang, taking the way of "exchanging lives" to change the lives of the two children, if the mother did not hold the wrong child, then the film will not have much significance.
Second, who are the reflective knives, the vicious hearts, the metaphorical hatred of the knives?
When Thomas played with a group of children, he was ridiculed for not being able to play with throwing knives, and when he competed with Alfred, Thomas's knife hit the target closer, while Alfred's did not hit. Fearing that he would bully himself, Thomas fled. Alfred chased him until Thomas accidentally ran into a ditch and hid.
At this time, Alfred did not find Thomas, but the knife in his hand reflected a sharp light, and this knife was a metaphor for hatred. The close-up of the knife makes us lament that the child's heart is burning with anger, and from the surface of the movie, it seems that Alfred is going to kill Thomas with a knife, but careful analysis, the hatred of the knife metaphor comes from Thomas, not Alfred.
First of all, from the theme of the film, Thomas has wanted to seek revenge on Alfred all his life, and Thomas's hatred for him has always been presented in his memory: from birth, Alfred has a wealthy family, the love of his parents, and even his beloved sister has also associated with him, and from that point of view, Alfred has no reason to hate Thomas.
Secondly, compared with Alfred, Thomas is short, cowardly, and compared with his neighbors, he is always the one who is very inferior, because of his inferiority, so he has hatred. Finally, the light on the knife is extremely dazzling, showing the depth of its metaphorical hatred, and the film revolves around Thomas's hatred for his neighbor Alfred, such a deep hatred that can only come from the protagonist Thomas.
<h1>02, can not face the reality, can not escape the pain of memories, from the internal factors to analyze the reason why Thomas's life will eventually return to fate</h1>
Unable to face reality and escape memories, Thomas's fate doomed him to be bound by the love of his father and sister.
Thomas reluctantly watched his father leave, and at night, the little people on the bookshelf and the plane fell in the vibration, and Thomas realized that his father's flight was difficult. Thomas, who has lost his father's love, does not want to face reality, he opens the closet, hoping that his father is just hiding, but when the bad news comes, he has to accept it, and eventually in order to find comfort, he indulges in television.
Sister Alice saw Thomas's worries and fears, accompanied Thomas, and gave him love. When her father is gone, the family's life becomes embarrassing, and even her mother steals beef from the supermarket to make ends meet, and when she is discovered, Alice is angry with the idol she once prayed for and breaks it.
The gods were gone, and in Thomas's heart, the image of his sister Alice was established. The two of them were together every day, and when they were about to be sent to boarding school, the sister protected Thomas and gave him endless love. Until the neighbor's Alfred and Alice interacted, Thomas became even more hateful, and in a fit of rage, Alice burned down their house, causing Alice to lose her life.
Thomas, who regrets it, loses his sister, lives even more depressed, and grows up, even falls in love with Evelyn, a woman who looks like a sister. Living in self-blame, he took Evelyn to see his stupid brother, asked the silly brother if she looked like a sister, and the silly brother didn't say a word, and both of them were happy. However, in the process of spending time with Evelyn, he always remembers Alice, it is difficult to escape, and finally learns that Alice is the wife of his neighbor, and he leaves alone.
In my opinion, Thomas's fate, which is difficult to break free, lies in his inner desire to escape. The first escape is the departure of his father, who cannot face the pain of reality and seeks relief from television; the second time, he escapes the death of his sister Alice and seeks relief from his wife Evelyn. His cowardice and sister-in-law complex make him unwilling to face himself and face reality.
So, when his stupid brother says that Evelyn is not like Alice, he is happy, and he thinks that he has found true love, not Alice's shadow, and only then can he escape the fate of being bound by the sister complex. However, when Evelyn shows similarities with Alice and knows that she is Alfred's wife, Thomas realizes that he is wrong, that he has not come out of the sadness of his sister's death, and that Alfred, like him, is attached to his sister and cannot break free. Unable to break free from reality and face the past, Thomas's life will eventually return to fate.
<h1>03. There are many symbolic metaphors of many objects in the film, showing the value and connotation behind the film and bringing the audience to think</h1>
Many of the objects in the film represent the value symbols of the film, living objects and scenes, allowing the audience to think.
1. Red Candy: Father's love, the last bullet. When Thomas was a child, his father liked to use candy to do magic tricks and make children happy. Candy becomes the joy of childhood and the presentation of father's love, and at the end of the play, Thomas opens the candy, and the round candy is fed into his mouth. At this time, the gun sounded, the candy was contained, Thomas just got shot, and the candy and the bullet formed a response.
2. Ripped Socks: A Life of Poverty. The elderly Thomas, when wearing black socks, the camera came to a close-up, there is a hole in the socks, which means that his ruined life is like this hole, a life that is difficult to repair, and the film revolves around Thomas's unsatisfactory life, unfolding a narrative of memory.
3. Bathtub: A testimony to Thomas's youthful growth with his sister. As a child, Thomas bathed in the bathtub with his sister Alice, where there was their joy and curiosity. As the two grew up, Thomas and his sister both entered puberty, and when the two met again in the bathtub, Thomas discovered that Alice's breasts were developing, and the two of them already had signs of puberty. This bathtub witnessed the growth of the sisters and brothers from childhood to adolescence.
4. Wipe the body: wash the mind. The camera begins with a turn to the elderly Thomas, who wipes his body over and over again, seemingly in a bath, but in fact washing his own mind. Why did he do this? Because he had accumulated too much hatred in his life, too much guilt for his sister Alice, and dissatisfaction with himself, wiping his body, washing away the dust of his own soul, and atonement for his sins.
5. Watch: Parting from life and death. When Thomas's father was leaving, he gave Thomas a watch, which symbolized separation. Thomas watched his father's departure, and he knew that his father's departure was a farewell, but he did not stop his father. Until going to bed at night, the toys on the bookshelf fell one by one, and the father and son were separated.
<h1>04, the reason for the tragedy of Thomas's fate is his "ostrich mentality", I will make the following suggestions on how to get rid of the "ostrich mentality"</h1>
The "ostrich mentality" is an escapist mentality and a cowardly behavior that does not dare to face the problem. Thomas has taken an evasive approach to the repression of reality, knowing that the problem is about to occur and not thinking about countermeasures, which will only make the problem more complex and difficult to deal with.
How do we deal with our own "ostrich mentality" in real life? Here are the following recommendations:
(1) Don't deceive yourself and accept your true self
People will inevitably deceive themselves, because many times they are not so satisfied with themselves, there are always some regrets, they can't put it down but they have no choice, in addition to deceiving themselves, they don't know how to cross this hurdle. Thomas can't accept his true self, so he deceives himself with "imaginary beauty", which is a kind of paralysis in the face of the truth.
Cowardice lies in the weakness of courage in the face of the strong, and greed lies in the weakness of reason in dealing with desires. Since we must face the weaknesses of human nature, then do not deceive ourselves, accept our current situation, fight against the "devil" in our hearts, and see our true selves.
There is a story in which the philosopher is deeply appreciated by the emperor, while the painter is jealous and keeps the driver taking revenge. Finally, on the philosopher's birthday, the emperor held a grand banquet for him, at which the painter Mao Sui volunteered himself, took the initiative to paint a portrait of the painter, painted him unassumingly, and showed the painting to everyone, trying to humiliate him in public. The emperor was furious and ordered the painter to be severely punished, and the philosopher interceded for the painter in public, saying: The ugly person painted by the painter is indeed me, and I have been fighting against this ugly self all my life.
The story tells us that instead of blaming others, such as accepting our true selves and not deceiving ourselves, it is the right mindset to adopt.
(2) Loneliness is not terrible, learn to enjoy loneliness
Another reason why Thomas is reluctant to face reality and constantly flee in life is that he is afraid of loneliness. When his father left, he had his sister accompany him, and when his sister also left, he felt helpless, although he had a stupid brother, but he would not take care of others, only rely on others. When Thomas couldn't find a dependency, he fell into loneliness.
Don't be afraid of loneliness, because it is our destiny, we should cherish it. Cherishing everything that belongs to oneself, including pain, trouble and loneliness, this cherishing will bring luck, because loneliness always gives birth to thoughts, and inspiration always gives the lonely a special amount of love. Therefore, learning to enjoy solitude can we rise up in pain and truly get rid of the "ostrich mentality".
To summarize:
The story of the movie "Little Hero Toto" is simple, but the connotation is very profound, and it is not easy to understand without careful analysis. Another reason why the film is classic is that it reflects the weaknesses and complexities of human nature, so that we can see not only the screen, but also the other side of ourselves in our hearts.
This article analyzes the film from the four aspects of "story doubts, the fate of the protagonist, the metaphor of the object, and the realistic thinking", and I found from the depths that every life is a different landscape, and it is enough to envy others and live your own life.