"Wisdom Teeth" is one of the two most anticipated Hong Kong films in recent years, the other being "Wind Forest Volcano". This movie that was filmed in 2018 has finally come, the long-lost Hong Kong film madness, the long-lost dark end times, after watching it, it is shocking and mixed feelings.
The production team of "Wisdom Teeth" is luxurious, the director is Zheng Baorui, who has a very personal style, and he is the most adept at crime, the behind-the-scenes team is the big na of the galaxy image, the producer is Ye Weixin, the screenwriter is Ou Jian'er, the art design is Mai Guoqiang, and the hellish set is from his hand, which greatly enhances the quality of the film. The soundtrack of the film is Kenji Kawai, starring Lin Jiadong, Liu Yaser, Lee Soon and Hiroyuki Ikeuchi (a Japanese general in Ip Man 1).
The film was selected for the "Special Screening" section of the Berlin Film Festival at the beginning of the year, and then it was favored by major film festivals around the world and gained great attention overseas.
What kind of story does Wisdom Teeth tell?
Rotten urban corners, runaway edges of hell, garbage-like life. On the one hand, there is rapid evolution, and on the other side are disjointed ants, prosperity and filth, lack and alienation, despair and hope, accompany each other. The pathological city leads to a sick humanity, and a series of twisted madness, bloody killings, and tragic fate are staged in the psychedelic rainy night of Hong Kong. In the jungle of insane steel, how should sick people face each other?
The film is adapted from Remy's novel of the same name, the original is a dark story that takes place in an urban-rural combination, Zheng Baorui transplants the story to the elevated Hong Kong city - a more complex environment, more distorted human nature, a more humid climate, and Hong Kong, as an international city, is geographically an enlarged version of the combination, all of which makes the movie "Wisdom Teeth" a comprehensive upgrade at the story level.
To understand this film in depth, it is best to start from the two aspects of "macro urban ecology" and "micro character struggle". This involves director Zheng Baorui's consistent theme of expression, as well as the galactic image that has had a huge impact on him.
One: Zheng Baorui and Galaxy Image
Zheng Baorui first started with Lin Lingdong, so he also inherited the characteristics of Lin Lingdong's films that focus on social issues, and portrayed the violence and darkness of human nature in particular.
In 2005, Zheng Baorui filmed "Monster", shaping a mother monster who hid in the elevator shaft of the building to steal children; in 2006, "Dog Bites Dog", Chen Guanxi and Li Cansen staged a survival war between man and beast, which are the two most authorial films in his early stage, "Wisdom Teeth" is an extension of this vein.
Later, he was appreciated by Du Qifeng, joined the Galaxy Image, partnered with Ye Weixin for many years, and filmed "Accident" and "Kill the Wolf 2", which have an obvious Galaxy Image style.
Galaxy Image is a label co-founded by Du Qifeng, Wei Jiahui and You Dazhi, bringing together a group of unique Hong Kong film elites. As the last famous label of Hong Kong films, Galaxy Image has always been known for its "cold, hard, black and fierce" style, and its photography and soundtrack are also very stylish.
We can see a lot of tributes to the classic films of the Galaxy Image in the story of "Wisdom Teeth", such as "Detective", "PTU", "Dark Flower", this story can be regarded as a summary upgrade of Zheng Baorui's style and Galaxy Image.
The pathology of metropolitan society, the alienation and alienation of interpersonal relationships, the bloody violence at the bottom and the kindness of innocent human nature are the themes that Zheng Baorui has always paid attention to, and "Wisdom Teeth" covers all of the above. The fatalism that often appears in the galactic image, the torture of faith, etc. are also integrated into the story.
Second: the title design of the film - laying the tone and refining the connotation
The full title of Wisdom Teeth is: Wisdom Teeth LIMBO. The word wisdom teeth is shrunk to one side, and the largest space is the English LIMBO composed of ants.
LimBO in English means: the border of hell, the place where discards are placed, or the state of uncertainty in the middle. In the Christian context, limbo refers to the temporary home of the soul of a person who does not believe in Christ, waiting for the Savior to come and save them.
And what kind of group are ants? It is a group of thoughtless individuals, crowded together, but without any emotional communication, living only by animal instincts and machinery, and most easily attracted to putrid odor. The most important thing about the borders of hell is garbage and putrefaction.
The title design of "Wisdom Teeth" accurately locates and expresses the harsh ecology of the metropolis and the living conditions of the characters, from macro to micro, covering all the content that Zheng Baorui wants to say, setting the tone for the whole story.
As long as you understand the overall design of this film, you will not deviate when interpreting specific characters.
As for the connotation of the word "wisdom teeth" in the title, we will reveal it in the end.
Three: Out of Control - The Long Night of Despair on the Borders of Hell
Finally came to the plot link, the whole film is a relatively regular three-act drama: the first act will show the relationship and contradictions of the four protagonists of Zhan Ge, Ren Kai, Wang Tao, and the murderer; in the second act, the two main lines gradually merge, Zhan Ge's violent revenge against Wang Tao is a private grudge, and the police's pursuit of the murderer is a social responsibility. In the end, the bloody violence that is out of control shatters all business and private affairs, and everyone collapses; in the third act, Zhan Ge and Ren Kai regroup and race against time to save people until the rainy night.
The most exciting and energy-intensive is the second act, the Long Night Out of Control. Galaxy Image's films are too good at shooting "out of control": the maximization of emotions, the total outbreak of contradictions, the most intense violence, and the bloodiest scenes that prompt the characters to collapse.
Kenji Kawai used religious whispers to coat the dilapidated neighborhood with a layer of hellish color, and the air was filled with a fierce atmosphere, and under the cover of night, the order of society was out of control. Policemen, drug dealers, Wang Tao, and drug addicts are chasing for their lives in the same block, on the one hand, the fiercest massacre, on the other hand, the quietest search, the murderer as an unknown existence, like a ghost lurking in the night, silently devouring life.
Brother Zhan, played by Lin Jiadong, has the most close-up shots in the movie, and every micro-expression on his face can withstand careful reading, and his acting skills are already fascinating.
Wang Tao, played by Liu Yaser, has received the most praise, which definitely has emotional points, but she also performed very well, her innocence and weakness, the panic and desire to survive when she suffered violence, and the performance was very delicate. Liu Yaser's big eyes make Wang Tao look particularly innocent and simple, but she has experienced the most intense violence and purgatory torture, and can be called the most tragic female character in the Chinese film industry.
Ren Kai, played by Li Chun, has a bit of a loss, because the film's drama eyes are all in Zhan Ge and Wang Taona, but his performance has nothing to say, the beginning is out of place, the middle is on the verge of collapse, the final sacrifice of self-forgetfulness, the interpretation is very layered, the future can be expected. And he also carries one of the most important metaphors in the film - wisdom teeth, which we will say at the end of the article.
Finally, let's talk about the murderer.
People who have watched this film, the dissatisfaction of the place is concentrated in two points: 1 is that there is no god-level reasoning in the process of solving the case, there is no reversal, and it is not cool enough.
This film takes a realistic style, mainly reflecting the alienation of human nature and the extreme state of existence, without those bells and whistles of "god-level reasoning, cunning and cleverness". All kinds of crime information gradually converges and summarizes with the rhythm of the film, which is rigorous and logical.
As for the history of the murderer, it is indeed unclear, which weakens the logic of the murder to a certain extent, which is regrettable. I think there are two reasons for this:
In terms of character setting, the murderer, as an alienated and even degenerate monster, can no longer be counted as a human, so his history as a human being will naturally degenerate, leaving only a photo of his mother as a spiritual support for life.
Secondly, the murderer is Japanese, believing in the crippled Virgin Mary, this oriental + Western identity should be a metaphor for the invasion and impact of foreign cultures on Hong Kong culture, which is not easy to explain, so this part is the most obscure.
"Wisdom Teeth" is a very high-quality movie, the overall design, details of the interpretation are very exquisite, the character shaping / performance has a layer of logic, excellent video audio-visual will be the urban decay and psychedelic atmosphere set off in place, the world, the metaphor of the human heart is also quite sharp, I hope that friends who have not seen it, must carefully read and then draw conclusions, do not listen to others.
Four: Three doses of cardiac injections for Dying Harbor tablets
After the new millennium, the decline of Hong Kong films has become more and more obvious, and Hong Kong films have been dead for many years, and they can survive until now because there are always excellent movies to give it a life.
Like "Infernal Affairs" in 2002, "Underworld" in 2005, "Detective" in 2007, "Ip Man" in 2008, "Cold War" in 12 years, "Equator" in 15 years, "Peerless" in 18 years, including "Kill the Wolf" and "Poison" in 18 years. Co-productions such as "War" and "Generation Grandmaster" are all good movies that are acclaimed and popular. These films are like a shot in the arm, injecting new vitality into Hong Kong films.
The three most recent shots of Hong Kong films are "Bomb Disposal Expert 2", "Wisdom Teeth" and the unreleased "Wind Forest Volcano".
"Bomb Disposal Expert 2" is a bonus, the first part is unremarkable, did not think that the second part came to a fierce, it can be seen that the old cannon Qiu Litao of Hong Kong films is still powerful. As a living fossil of Hong Kong movies, Qiu Litao is even worse than Zheng Baorui in terms of madness, and the early years of "Human Meat Char Siu Bao", "Ebola Virus", "Judge Judge" and so on, are all shocking ANDT films.
In "Bomb Disposal 2", Andy Lau, who has always been sunny and upright, also shows the dark side of madness, the utilitarianism of "use up and abandon" is not an urban pathology, and this character's pursuit of self inherits the lost theme of "Infernal Affairs", showing the "anxiety" of Hong Kong people all the time.
In this regard, "Bomb Disposal 2" and "Wisdom Teeth" have the same magic, but "Wisdom Teeth" is bolder and more straightforward. Zheng Baorui made a deconstruction of the decay and festering of the city, nakedly presenting the filth, and passing the putrefaction to the audience through the sensitive sense of smell. The despair brought about by this collapse is even more shocking.
Mai Junlong's "Wind Forest Volcano" has been delayed for too long, longer than "Wisdom Teeth", and there seems to be no news yet. I hope it will be more shocking and better than "Wisdom Teeth", after all, everyone is looking forward to the snowy Hong Kong...
Finally: What does wisdom tooth mean?
Wisdom teeth are obviously symbolic in the film, and the most intuitive feeling it gives people is "labor pain". This kind of labor pain stems from "anxiety", anxiety when it is not smooth, frustrated, fearful, longing and unattainable. In the film, everyone has their own obsession, Zhan Ge is obsessed with revenge, Wang Tao is obsessed with self-redemption, and the murderer is obsessed with deformed maternal love, all of which are unattainable and have paid a huge price for it.
According to tradition, the long wisdom teeth mark wisdom, but also means the loss of innocence and the beginning of utilitarianism. The pursuit of the innocence of people's death has always been one of the themes of Zheng Baorui's films, the innocence of children in "Monsters", the love and kindness of mentally handicapped women in "Dog Bites Dog", the warmth of wives in "Wisdom Teeth", the understanding and forgiveness of people, and the love of mothers are the most essential beauty that people seek.
Why did the director press the most symbolic wisdom teeth on Ren Kai's body? Because he is the most normal and closest to the real public, Brother Zhan, Wang Tao, and the murderer are all the parts that are "higher than life". As every individual living in the city, how do we deal with the alienation brought about by the city, how to face the fierce competition for survival, and how to maintain the most essential beauty in human nature? These problems may be the wisdom teeth that plague us.
It is not easy to overcome all the problems caused by urban pathology. Perhaps for most people, the pain cannot be eradicated, but can only be temporarily alleviated.
The urban environment is still the same, the border of hell is still the same, no one can guarantee that Ren Kai in twenty years will not become a brother, new evils will still breed, new Ren Kai, new Wang Tao will also appear, despair and hope coexist, this is the world of "Wisdom Teeth".