"Even death cannot make me forget."
In 2018, at the César Film Awards, known as the "European Oscars", "Goodbye in Heaven" received 13 nominations and finally won five awards such as Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Costume, and Best Set. Today, the film is being released in China, although the box office is only more than 500,000 in two days, but the story and connotation behind the film are worth talking about.
Based on the novel of the same name by the French master of crime novel Pietre Le Métre, the film won the Goncourt Literary Prize, known as the "French Nobel Prize in Literature", in 2013, and is considered the most touching work in History in France. And the phrase "Even death cannot make me forget" is the subtitle of the novel.
Set against the backdrop of "World War I" and a martyrs' monument fraud that shocked france, "Goodbye to Heaven" tells the black humorous story of two veteran soldiers who take revenge on the world of money supremacy and gold-worship kitsch in the war years.
Edward, the son of a banker from a noble and artistic talent, threw himself into the battlefield to rebel against his domineering and autocratic father, and became close comrades-in-arms with albert, a kind and generous accountant, and the two escaped from a fierce war. Edward was unfortunately destroyed by the war and half of his face, not only could not eat normally, but also lost his language function, and could only rely on drugs to survive, using a gorgeous mask to cover up his inner pain. Albert was also humiliated by the double whammy of career love. However, the initiators of the war have made a fortune of death, and these two poor people who have been traumatized by the war are determined to launch an earth-shaking and gorgeous revenge.
After the film was released in France on October 25, 2017, it set off a nationwide movie viewing boom, and in just 28 days, the number of viewers exceeded 1.5 million, and the box office reached 12 million euros. In order to recreate the First World War and the post-war drunken Paris, this is also the largest investment in The scale of production in France in recent years.
The film is not fixed to a certain theme or genre, but through the complex character relationship, the emotional contradictions between father and son, the pain of war, through the shell of crime suspense, rearranged and arranged.
Shocking and gorgeous scenes, skilled long shots, and infectious stories, "Goodbye to Heaven" presents a social style painting of human emotions and the cruelty of war. Through magnificent scenes, exquisite special effects and gorgeous retro tones, the glitz and luxury of high society and the flesh and blood of war are full of devastation to show the sadness of not being able to fight against fate.
Compared with the positive expression of the novel's narrative, the film adds more expressions that conform to the structure of the film, and the film begins with an interrogation, and the arrested Albert sits at the police station to confess everything, and through his perspective, witnesses the fate of different characters.
The 38 masks are the cover of Edward, who was blown up in half of his face during the war, and is also his expression. These hideous, eerie, and ironic masks, combined with the little girl's translation of his ambiguous pronunciation, constitute his interpretation of the inner world and are the second and third narration methods of the film.
Edward, who had only half a face left, was preparing his mask
The discussion of war also forms part of the film. When nouveau riche erected monuments to commemorate and celebrate the deceased, the deceased was broken limbs to squeeze into a 1.5-meter-long coffin and buried indiscriminately in the cemetery. The real war heroes exist only in Edward's crumpled album, hurriedly leaving behind figures. At the same time, social problems such as the unfair treatment of war veterans and the speculation of the elite are also clearly exposed.
In addition, the lens language of "Goodbye to Heaven" is also skillfully used. In order to allow the audience to enter the situation, the film adds a large number of long shots, such as an opening long shot under the overhead battlefield, and a dog leads the audience into the deep screen of the story. In order to show the great pain of the blown-up face, Edward's blood-soaked face was montaged with that of a meat grinder. These techniques subtly make a more concrete display of the emotions in the novel, and the cruelty of war is not only through violence and blood plasma, but also has a more vivid and advanced expression.
The powerful people who are drunk on paper and gold
The second half of the film contrasts with the bizarre banquet and war, lashing out at the gorgeous appearance of high society and the poignant interior, revealing a sense of weirdness in the smooth shots. Experiencing a break with his father, witnessing the cruelty of war and the sinister human heart after the war, the double damage of spirit and body made Edward more like a metaphor for despair, mocking decent high society with the sale of fake monuments, but unable to fight.
When he finally meets his father, Edward still wears a mask and forms a barrier with his father. Embracing each other does not bring reconciliation, only death.
□ Lee Yeon (Film Critic)
Beijing News Editor Wu Longzhen Proofreader Wei Zhuo