In 2019, when the movie "Joker" was frantically exported from the United States to overseas, people seemed to be attracted by such a tragic and joyful role, the characteristics of the Joker itself is very clear, the person who appears as a comedy image, but the tragedy of human society is staged from beginning to end, such a tragic and joyful role is too complicated, which makes many fans who like to analyze the character feel fortunate. However, why does the role of the clown have such complexity, and why the clown, who was originally a comedy character, becomes a spokesperson for tragedy. It all starts with this movie from decades ago.
The film recommended to you today is about the early origin of the tragic comedy image of the Joker. The title of the film is "The Smiley Man" adapted from Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name, released in 1928, this film is a silent film, but measured by today's good film standards, the story of this film is extremely strong, the contradiction setting is also just right, which is combined with the background of the environment in the twenties of the last century, this film is indeed impeccable.
The protagonist of "The Smiley Man" is a count whose life has been hidden. Gwenplain was a descendant of an aristocrat, but when he was a child, his father was killed due to internal contradictions in the imperial power, and he was abducted and disfigured by traffickers, and his mouth could not be closed, so he always had a smiling face. The traffickers abandoned him in the escape, and the downcast aristocratic child began to live on the streets.
In the stormy night, he rescued another blind child, and the two children were eventually taken in by the wandering circus leader and given a bite to eat. Time passed, and Gwenplain gradually grew up, because he was disfigured by human traffickers, so his smiling face was just the most basic role of the clown in the circus. Gwenplain's clowns quickly gained popularity and even became the signature of this mobile circus at one point.
The blind girl who was rescued in the snow and wind gradually grew up, she was carefully cared for by Gwenplain, the two people became more and more tacit, and Gwenplain also secretly vowed to marry her in the near future. However, the good days did not come soon, the royal power continued to be turbulent, Gwenplain's life was soon discovered by the queen, and he made difficulties in the face of the major choices of life, but the downcast nobleman finally had a conscience. Unwilling to accept the status of being given by others, he resolutely returned to the circus to find his blind girl.
The night of wind and snow came again, and after Gwenpran broke through the layers of siege, he finally saw his lover, and the two were reunited in the expectations of everyone.
It's a story that ends with a reunion, but in Shakespeare's original, such a reunion seems very extravagant. In the original work, Gwenplain chased after his lover, but the lover was already dead, and he died of grief. Such an ending is given in the film, as if to comfort every viewer. It doesn't make an already cold reality seem so heartless.
The core of comedy is tragedy, and I don't know who this sentence came from, but we can see that it is not unreasonable to apply this film. The Joker has always been a comedic character in the Western world, and under such a comedic face, what kind of image is he deep inside, and can the comedy on the outside really hide the sadness in the heart? This is exactly what the creators of this film want to explore with the audience.
Sadness is not common, even the audience can not fully read the actor's heart, when Gwen Puran is in pain, standing on the stage he can use his own sadness to let the audience get greater joy. This contrast suddenly points to the main theme of this film. While bringing laughter to others, laughter is also like a sharp blade, which is deeply pierced into his heart, which is the saddest tragedy of the actor.
What is true and what is false? What is sadness and what is joy. Everyone who has seen the film seems to have their own answer. We see this scene in Shakespeare's play, which, although watered down, still allows the audience to find the deep sadness that is covered up. The cage of power does not create a nest of love with laughter and no sorrow. When a human rights person is in power, he completely loses his empathy for the people at the bottom. However, the clown Gwenplain is an ordinary person who grew up in the city after all, he did not let the glory and wealth in front of him completely confused his eyes, he still pursued the true feelings he wanted. However, this move of Gwenplain completely angered the noble nobles who had once admired him, and while he was ashamed and angry, the love at that time became a sharp blade at this time. This is human nature, distorted by power.
Shakespeare in his work, from beginning to end, wants to show everyone the cold grief behind the smile, and this film is like the creators trying to heal the wounds that the audience has already scarred. However, the wounds can be repaired, but the role of the clown has been slowly fixed since then, so that the joker we think of today is invariably under the appearance of comedy, which cannot hide the deep panic and sadness inside.
Laughter can be contagious, but pain can only be swallowed by itself. Behind every seemingly harmless smile, how many are real laughter from the heart, and how many are overflowing bitter smiles that stem from the sadness of the heart that cannot be buried, no one knows. What is a tragedy? When you're grief-stricken, people think you're laughing.
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Hello and goodbye