Damien Chazeree, "Burst Drummer"

The Burst Drummer

(2014, USA)

Writers: Damien Chazere

Director: Damien Chazere

Starring: Miles Teller, J. K. Simmons

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 30th Sundance Film Festival in 2014

Best Supporting Actor at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards

87th Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor (J· K. Simmons), Award for Best Sound Effects, Best Film Editing

tale:

Andrew, 19, aspires to be a top jazz drummer like Charlie Parker. Fletcher became Andrew's Bole, making him the youngest musician in the school's professional band. Andrew thought that this was a beautiful way to chase his dreams, but Fletcher in the classroom used mental abuse and violent corporal punishment to teach, Andrew's school days were completely changed, he spent all his time in self-abuse training, but the dream was finally terminated by the suicide of one of the students in the band, and Andrew was also tortured to report Fletcher, which also made Fletcher lose his job as a teacher. Andrew also sealed his dream.

Later, Andrew met the frustrated Fletcher in the bar, and after the meeting of the ice release, Fletcher gave Andrew a perfect opportunity to re-realize his dream and let him step on the stage of the New York Concert Hall, but at the moment when the performance began, Andrew found that there was no musical score at all, it turned out that this was Fletcher's revenge on Andrew's original accusations, and in the final moment of overnight fame or discredit, Andrew broke out into a surprising performance, and Fletcher finally showed the smile he should have as a teacher.

Film critics:

"Burst Drummer" is based on Damien Chazere's self-written and self-directed film debut, originally After Damien Chazelei completed the script writing, he did not want to read it to anyone, because the story itself is based on his real experience during his drum studies, and the dark and depressing image style also hides the director's youthful past of encountering various rejections in Los Angeles. So before making the story into a short film to get the investment, the script was stored in a drawer for a year. Damien Chazere was only thirty years old when he completed this work. Therefore, based on such a creative premise, "Burst Drummer" is destined to have a strong voice and realism in the theme of youth.

When we talk about youth films, Burst Drummer is a work that is extremely easy to put on hold. This is not contradictory to the countless awards of the film, but stems from a kind of "conventional" viewing experience, which has produced a pre-viewing consciousness for youth films: visual beauty, positive content, nostalgic and freehand, and finally stewed into the chicken soup of the soul of youth. Therefore, youth movies in various countries have formed a kind of coincidence, writing the same youth and dreams. This is also a story model for youth films as a film genre. But "Burst Drummer", like the Chinese translation of the title, completely shatters the illusion of most youth films and reshapes a relatively real youth and dream. And this is why "Burst Drummer", although it is only a niche film with a musical theme, has achieved global recognition and praise beyond the film text and even cultural background.

Watching "Burst Drummer" in comparison can easily find the authenticity and necessity of this movie. If the story of the beginning of this movie is placed in the story template of the traditional youth movie, it must be the dream chasing process that is not only the process of easing the relationship between all the characters and the consummation of love, binding the dream with the fairytale youth, family affection, love and even honor, and the end of the movie must achieve a win-win situation between ideal and reality, ending with hugs, applause and touching! Is the youth that can be dreamed of really that beautiful?

"Burst Drummer" gives the conclusion that dreams and love, family affection, friendship can not be too much related, youth is the choice, dreams are the price. In the film, Andrew's first love is an extremely important plot sub-line, but because Andrew has no time to fall in love, this line is cut off halfway through the film, and the role that should be the female number one is completely out of the game because of Andrew's dream. Andrew's family members are collectively absent, and the only father who appears is also a bystander to the story, and does not appear as a "spilled chicken soup" in previous movies in a moment of frustration in his dreams to advance the plot. Andrew's friendship with his classmates was also blank. Therefore, the whole film is highly focused on the teacher-student relationship and the devil training narrative.

Fletcher acts as a "devil teacher" to play the role of a "stimulator", and his actions have only one purpose, which is to stimulate Andrew. Whether the "bureau" he finally set up for Andrew was sincere revenge or encouragement, the film did not explain, so there is no need for us to morally characterize Fletcher as a teacher, and the blank space and the absence of the characters in the whole play constitute the uniqueness and authenticity of the film.

The story of chasing dreams cannot be a fairy tale under the moon, too many youths are satisfying their selfish desires in the name of dreams, becoming a powerful means of obtaining love and friendship, and even defending narcissism. "Burst Drummer" is finally out of the blue! People who fight for dreams in real life have a repressive and even unbearable past, this experience is by no means a flaunting capital, and the price of realizing dreams is the naked harm between people again and again.

There is no applause and hug in the process of realizing dreams, because the conclusion of the film is not to thank the hurtpers in youth, and to make the injuries meaningful in the growth and pursuit of dreams. This kind of strength and choice is the most important force in the process of growing up, which is also the true definition of youth and dreams in "Burst Drummer".

Author: Liang Yefeng