Song of the Sparrow is a drama genre film directed by Majid Majidi, a director known as "Spieberg asia" and starring Mohammad Amir Najib. The film was released in Iran on October 1, 2008. In 2008, at the 58th Berlin International Film Festival, Mohammad Amir Najib, who played the film's male protagonist, won the Silver Bear Award for Best Actor for the film, and director Majid Majidi was nominated for the Golden Bear for the film. This is a niche excellent film, douban marked on the number of people who have seen less than 5,000 people, the comprehensive evaluation is better than 93% of the drama films, Douban score of 8.7 points
The film tells the story of a father who works on a farm, because the ostrich park he is supervising has run away from an ostrich park, and has to find a way to retrieve it, otherwise he will have to pay a terrible compensation to his employer, in the process of finding the ostrich and raising money, the man has experienced many tragic and happy events, and even injured, fortunately, fate did not play with him too much, and the ostrich finally returned to the garden.
Much like Little Shoes, Song of the Sparrow is also a film told entirely from a civilian perspective. But unlike films such as "Little Shoes" and "White Balloon", Majidi put the narrative perspective on his father this time, did not change the style of the past, and still put the strong contrast between the rich and the poor in Iran in the forefront. The gap between the embarrassing male protagonist and the rich in the city is particularly heart-wrenching, just as the meager desires of Ali in "Little Shoes" are not satisfied.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > kindness and innocence, and contains the brilliance of humanity in a poor life</h1>
The film uses a typical causal structure, with the loss of ostriches as the cause and the ostrich as the clue, which promotes the development of the storyline and the display of family affection. The title of the film is "Song of sparrows", and in my opinion, the "Song of Sparrows" here represents the yearning for a better life. A song of sparrows is a harmonious scene of Carlin living in harmony with his family, and the sparrows only appear after Carlin has gone through some hardships, indicating that their difficult and difficult lives cannot remain unchanged and will get better and better. Even if the family is poor, Carlin still has not given up his "dignity", accepted the refrigerator that should not belong to him, and has not lost the simplicity and beauty of human nature.
When the fry that Husin and his friends had blistered in one hand were sprinkled on the ground, and a bucket full of hard dreams was spilled on the ground, the red color of the jump highlighted the disappointment and helplessness of the children. Although Carlin felt uncomfortable, he still sang songs to make the children laugh and comfort them.
But after all, they were children, and when they put the only fish in the cellar, they had already dreamed of "five hundred a year, more than a thousand and we are all rich," as before. In the child's world, happiness is simple. Tiny fish fry and hard work cleaning up the dirty water cellar can make them come out with a pure smile. The optimism and simplicity of the Iranian people at the bottom and the simple kindness of childhood expressed in the film tell the adults a heavy fairy tale, and the fatigue and hardship that adults look like are diluted in the children's laughter.
The film is the embodiment of a country's nationality and national culture, and in the case that the family is too poor to open the pot, Carlin exchanged an ostrich egg for losing his job, and after the family of four was divided, he also reserved a part for the neighbors. While waiting for the traffic light, Carlin saw a ragged little girl selling balloons on the road, he wanted to buy them, he wanted to help the little girl, but he had to give up because he didn't get change. The simplicity of human nature is the spirit in the bones. The class gap in society has caused unequal family economic and political relations, but it has not broken the hearts of these ordinary people. Optimism, sincerity, simplicity and kindness are still hidden in their hearts. Iran is a country that believes in Islam. The human brilliance of the brothers and sisters and their families fully demonstrates the religious and national nature of the film.
Set against the backdrop of Iran's national culture, "Song of the Sparrow" focuses on shaping the optimism and kindness of ordinary little people, which is also a point where the film is gradually more brilliant.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > deep emotional expression under the clever shooting technique</h1>
The director makes good use of the language of the lens to convey information and express the mood of the characters.
At the beginning of the film, Karin's daughter has a broken hearing aid and is faced with an upcoming exam, unable to live without a hearing aid, and while Carlin is in a hurry, she is told that she has been fired for losing an ostrich. After many fruitless searches for ostriches, the director shoots Carlin dressed as an ostrich through aerial angles to find ostriches, revealing the hardships and bitterness of the lives of small people. When Carlin asked for the blue gate that his wife had given to his friend from his friend, he walked alone through the vast field with the gate on his back, and the director also applied aerial photography here, highlighting the pressure and burden on Carlin's body.
Through the expression of Karin's situation when he used the Modela people from all angles, the audience can clearly see Carlin's love for his family and his pursuit of a better life, even if he is full of difficulties everywhere, he has the momentum to overcome difficulties. It is worth mentioning that the film makes good use of close-up shots to shoot the scenes seen in Karin's eyes, cleverly using subjective perspectives, the fish spilled on the ground, the surrounding scenery of the motorcycle, the wife who works and greets him, etc., fully reflecting that although life is not easy, he has not lost his yearning for a better life.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > uses tones and sounds to create unique charm</h1>
In this film, the director cleverly uses warm and cool tones to distinguish the mood of the characters. In the film, when Carlin is looking for an ostrich; when he inadvertently becomes a driver of the motorcycle after repairing a hearing aid for his daughter in the city; when he angrily scolds his son and daughter for selling flowers on the side of the road... These scenes are all cool tones, first representing his heart is lost and anxious, then representing his feelings of confusion about the future, and finally representing his loss of dignity and cherishing his children.
Use just the right amount of music and sound to convey information and set off the atmosphere. What impresses the film is the singing of Carlin after the children in the car lose their fry. Although there was only a little hope left, he still held on tightly and did not give up. The film ends open-ended, with the little sparrow flying in without warning to sing, and the injured Carlin struggles to get up and let them go. The director gives people hope, but also gives people the unknown, but it brings meaningful associations to the viewers.
In my opinion, such an ending is not abrupt. Whether it's the sound of neighbors chatting, the sound of children playing and playing, the shouting of the city around the city, or the singing of the sparrows at the end, it can resonate with the viewers. The little characters in the film are like the people around them, they are so strong and happy to live, even if the future waiting for them is not all happiness, however, they can still believe with confidence that the future is beautiful.
As an excellent classic film, "Song of sparrows" throws out all kinds of questions about life, society, and status in a silent way of interpretation, so that people have to think about the embarrassing situation of these little people between sighs. Although the whole film does not deliberately express or promote a certain concept, the director very cleverly uses his own lens to express his thoughts on society, life, and destiny, thus reflecting the brilliance of family life and human nature at the bottom of society.