For movies or film and television works, we have always liked to use time and length as a measure of their value, Hollywood blockbusters often two or three hours, perhaps only such a large-scale production can be regarded as a real work.
Spanish Short Film "Employed Life"
We have also watched too many film and television works, in our memory, every film and television work needs to have a complete plot and a clear context, but it is obvious that if you want to express the completeness of the work, it is not enough to support it without sufficient time.
The Argentine short film "Employed Life" shows us a highly mechanized era in just 7 minutes, and the film shows a sick society through the daily life of a bald man, trying to explore society and interpersonal relationships. The short film is both profound and sharp, winning 102 awards to date.
Maybe without watching "The Hired Life" you can experience how seven minutes can shock people, and when this work is over, maybe we need to spend seventy years thinking about the content of the film. In fact, time is not the only measure of the artistry of film and television works, but we are accustomed to preconceived notions and like to believe in our own illusions.
<h1 class="ql-align-justify" > the connotation of employment life is not so deep</h1>
The content of the short film is very simple, although it is an animation work, but the content of the film reflects the current situation in the real society.
An ordinary company employee wakes up from an alarm clock, he gets up, freshens up, dresses up, and the audience is surprised to find that all the furniture in his house is a real person, but they have become alarm clocks, mirrors, and even hangers.
The author came out of the bathroom for the head of the family, three people built a table and a chair with their bodies, and the breakfast was placed on the table, so he sat down on the bodies of several people and began to eat breakfast, a woman became a hanger, with the key in her mouth, and the man got dressed and took the key.
Taxis on the road have become people, and the so-called taxi is a person running on the street carrying another person, he came to the company, and walked into the elevator like a prison.
But to the surprise of all the audience, he actually fell on the ground, and after a while, a middle-aged man dressed as a leader came over, stepped on the protagonist's back and rubbed the mud on his shoes with his clothes, and then walked into his office.
In fact, for this film, I think most of it can be seen that in this world, there is not only a natural chain of contempt between the various classes and the various classes, but in fact they are also a relationship that serves the employment. People in the upper class live on the shoulders of the next class, and this is the status quo.
The creators expressed this theme with irony and realistic creativity, which is really unexpected.
<h1 class="ql-align-justify" > completely free and open allegory is the biggest feature of the film</h1>
Different from ordinary animated films, normal in our thinking, cartoons should be mainly for children to see, so the style of painting in cartoons is also more exaggerated and interesting.
However, you may not know that there is another kind of animation called satirical animation, and such cartoons are not cute and interesting. The overall atmosphere of this film is very depressing, and the painting style adopts a realistic method to show the various groups of people in this society very realistically.
In addition, in the portrayal of the characters' looks and actions, we also see the author's thoughts. The protagonist under his brush is expressionless, has always been a black face, of course, not only the protagonist, but even other people who play props, the facial expression is also very serious, so this film gives people a very depressing feeling.
In fact, I don't know how people feel when they see that wardrobes, mirrors, and hangers are all made of real people, but one thing is for sure, this is an element that can only be seen in horror movies. Therefore, how to define this animated short film, I think it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a horror short film.
However, it is very interesting that the director does not add any special effects music and soundtrack to it, the purpose of this is very simple, that is, he does not want to influence everyone's thinking through music, as for the understanding of this film, the director still hopes that the audience can use their imagination to speculate boldly. This is also the biggest feature of this film.
<h1 class="ql-align-justify" > human society full of pessimism</h1>
Social civilization has been developing, and with the progress of civilization, our living conditions have become better and better. However, after watching this film, many viewers raised a very worthy question: whether the progress of this civilization is a good thing, or even if we live in a primitive society, the most real and innocent feeling that primitive society brings to people is not a good thing.
Everyone in the short film is expressionless, which shows that everyone has become fully accustomed to such a society, that is to say, everyone has naturally accepted this tragedy, in this tragic game, all players must obey the rules of the game, otherwise they will be eliminated.
Perhaps it is difficult to find a more realistic animation work than "Employed Life" and satirizing the current state of this society, because through this work, we can hear the director's voice: it is hateful to this society, but at the same time of hatred, we have to choose to accept and adapt to them, and sometimes although we see through the essence, in fact we can't do anything.
<h1 class="ql-align-justify" > perhaps not to be too pessimistic</h1>
I have to say that this film shows us a real human society, and the director also uses a very clever way to show this problem more bloody and more frightening. But what's the use of that? It does reflect the practical significance, but when we are still helpless, looking at the root of the matter, but we can't do anything, this feeling is very painful.
But for me, this film is a little too pessimistic after all, because I always believe in the laws of nature. Since human society can develop in such a direction, it means that the direction of this development is in line with the laws of nature.
Is the survival of the fittest cruel in nature? But can we complain about this cruelty? In fact, the attributes of human society are the same as those in nature, and we are working hard for a better life and better conditions for each other, so since we objectively follow the laws of nature, what do we care about?
In short, this "Employed Life", which has no soundtrack, no dialogue, and is extremely ironic and metaphorical, expounds a profound philosophy in a short paragraph, from which we see the indifference of human society, the hierarchical class nature, and the stylized assembly line of life.