Away from the hustle and bustle of the city and the impact of modern civilization, the growth process of left-behind children of those remote mountain and island tribes deserves more attention. The remoteness of the geographical location and the low standard of living make their lives monotonous and tedious. Adults leave their homeland to go to the city to make a living, followed by the alienation of family affection, on the one hand, they are eager to go out of the mountains and villages and understand the outside world; on the other hand, they have to endure the loneliness of growing up, hoping that their parents will accompany them and look forward to a happy and harmonious family life. The movie "Only the Sea Knows", released on June 15, 2018, aims at the indigenous people of the Dawu ethnic group on Lanyu Island, showing the beautiful island landscape like a paradise, and reflecting the impact of modern society on traditional culture and primitive family affection through the daily life of the island residents. In the poor environment of growing up, a teenager showed a faint sadness, simple and real.
Leaving aside the slightly heavy theme of the film, this film is more like a documentary that shows the customs and natural scenery of Orchid Island. The film uses a delicate and close documentary style shooting method to show the most beautiful island landscape in front of the audience. The sound of the waves lapping against the reef rises and falls, the crystal clear waters, the tree-lined villages, the primitive and pure islander life. Just like a well-made promotional video, it makes people feel the beautiful island style.
However, under the impact of modern social civilization, the picturesque island is quietly changing. Young adults who originally made a living from fishing, one by one, went out of the island to the big city to find their dreams, leaving behind the aging old people and a group of lonely children. In this way, the emotional entanglement between grandchildren and the yearning for the outside world constitute an imperceptible contradiction in the subtleties of life.
Based on the cultural identity of the lack of family affection, the film keenly captures the reality of the decline of the local indigenous culture, and on the basis of returning to the simple folk customs and customs, it shows the good memories of the past and the concern for the future. It is the careful excavation of the traditional cultural theme of Lanyu That the film entered the Asian Future Best Film Screening Unit of the 31st Tokyo International Film Festival, and the young actor Zhong Jiajun also won the best new actor award at the 55th Golden Horse Film Festival with his natural acting skills.
Whether it is a poor mountain or a beautiful island, the elderly and children who stay behind need the care and love of their relatives while adhering to the local cultural traditions, which is the most basic emotional expression of the film.
<h1>This is a children's film that shows the current situation of indigenous people's lives, the lack of family affection is only a symptom, and the deeper level is the self-identity of traditional culture</h1>
Blue, as the main color of this film, not only truly shows the beauty of the ocean, but also incorporates simple, simple and melancholy emotional elements in it. Corresponding to the single blue color is the simple life of island residents, unified religious beliefs, three meals a day to eat fish, and more is the family model of adults going out to earn a living and leaving their grandchildren to rely on each other.
In the state of poverty and backwardness, generational education has caused a lot of trouble to the children here. The lack of material life may even be a luxury to wear ordinary sneakers, not to mention the fast food and hamburgers that modern society has eaten, and they have to face the ebb and flow of the sea and the unchanging living environment all day long.
From preparation to production, the film took a full six years. As a member of the lanyu aborigines, the director of this film uses his own personal experience to truly and appropriately interpret the hardships and loneliness experienced in the process of growing up through small actors. For the current situation of life of family estrangement, their next generation can only silently accept and endure life without family companionship for a long time.
As expressed in the title of the same film, whether it is the loneliness of lack of family affection or the rejection and discomfort of children's national dance costumes under the decline of traditional culture, the various changes that have occurred are only known to the sea. Life in a big city is the other end of the distant world, out of reach.
<h1>The inner activities of the three pairs of characters, father and son, grandchildren, and teachers and students, constitute the most basic emotional main line of this film and become the key to promoting the development of the plot</h1>
The little boy Manawei played by Zhong Jiajun was brought up by his grandmother from childhood, and his thin black face always revealed a faint trace of sadness. Lack of affectionate care for a long time, looking forward to his father coming home to accompany him to grow up became his greatest wish. Because of his life by the sea, he has good water quality and is able to skillfully dive on the bottom of the sea.
Because he had to support his family, Manabeux's father drove taxis in the big city to support the family. There is no gap between father and son because of the lack of family affection, and what the little boy needs most is the warmth of the family and the yearning for the outside world. His disappointment in his father was all written on his face, and he always hoped that his father would one day return by boat and appear in front of him.
Because Manavo's father was out there to make ends meet, his grandmother took on the responsibility of raising and caring for Manavo. She is a very kind and simple old man, who has lived on this island for generations and witnessed the changes of the times. Speaking an obscure local dialect, it adheres to the traditional culture of the island.
Her love for Manavis is expressed in many scenes in the film. Late at night, it is divided into manawei serving fragrant fried rice, saving money for his grandson's college, and secretly wiping away tears when his grandson performs on stage. The generational affection between grandchildren fills the gap of lack of family warmth.
Huang Shanghe, a professional actor, plays You Zhongxun, a young teacher in the movie, who is a bit impatient, and in order to transfer away from Lanyu as soon as possible, he actively encourages students to learn ethnic dances, and participates in competitions on behalf of the school, trying to get awards before leaving here. This is his selfishness, and it is also his dream to break through the big city.
In choreographing the dance, he was somewhat surprised by the children's rejection of costumes that represented elements of the local culture. In order to make the performance go smoothly, he made wooden boat props with the students, encouraged them in the process, and stimulated the students' courage and confidence in traditional culture, which he set an example as a teacher.
<h1>Also on Orchid Island, some people want to escape, some people are sticking to it, and some people maintain their self-identification with traditional culture and express a beautiful vision of returning to their hometown</h1>
Manawei is a native of Lanyu, swimming and diving are his strong points, and the familiar coral reefs on the bottom of Lanyu island are the places where his soul is haunted. The blue of the underwater world is the color that the Dawu people have loved from their ancestors to the present. The beautiful love in his father's mouth is not as beautiful as Lanyu in any case, which is a self-identification with the homeland.
Whether it is the scene where Manawei swam with his father in Lanyu Island when he was a child, or the cultural connotation expressed in the traditional dance of Lanyu Island, these represent the little protagonist's strong desire for family affection. In particular, the bridge section performed on stage and the lines left in the river of love with tears are cultural identities under the lack of family affection.
The scenes of the lives of the grandchildren are shown many times in the film, whether it is the potatoes and fish that represent the characteristics of Lanyu's diet, or the Lanyu dance performed by the students on stage, all of which represent the adherence to traditional culture. From the grandmother's local accent and living habits, they all maintain the inheritance of customs and habits left by their ancestors.
Although the poor and difficult life limits people's horizons, and the older generation represented by grandmothers gradually grows old, the waiting of family affection and delicious fish and meat make this small island that is gradually stripped away by modern society not drown in the impact of modern civilization.
Zhongxun, who is similar to the volunteer teacher, does not really integrate into the life of the island from the heart, and is not interested in the local customs and customs. The most he thought about was how to leave this difficult island as soon as possible. The elaborately choreographed folk dance is also the biggest chip to escape from Lanyu Island.
He led a group of children on the island out of the island to the big city to participate in dance competitions. During this time, he saw two absences of Manaeux's father, which touched him greatly. In the end his wish came true, but perhaps in the end he did not leave.
<h1>The companionship of affection is the best memory of a child's growing up, while traditional culture needs to enhance a sense of self-identity, and the two seem to be unrelated but closely linked</h1>
Many times, the lack of family affection is not caused by accident, and running for a living has become something that many fathers have to do, which is related to the most basic survival and expenses of a family. Many people are eager to spend all their time making money.
However, looking back, even if you have made money, you have missed the golden period when your child needs the most care for growth, missed the minimum companionship, and will leave a regret in the child's heart and a disappointment in the father's love. What children need most is the process of enjoying happy times together.
In ethnic minority areas, unique customs and customs and traditional culture with local characteristics have become symbols and symbols of a nation. It is undeniable that many traditional cultures are gradually decaying or even dying, because many young people go out to work, and the inheritance of traditional culture has become a big problem.
Put the inheritance of traditional culture on the next generation, so that they can be baptized by traditional culture at a very young age. Of course, this requires the addition of family care, and what children want most is to be encouraged and recognized by adults in order to enhance the sense of self-identity of traditional culture.
The movie "Only the Sea Knows" presents us with not only the beautiful scenery of Lanyu Island, but also the topics of national identity and identity. The estrangement of affection between father and son makes people feel a thousand emotions, and the helplessness of the father and the expectation of the son make it a disappointment and regret to look at each other across the sea in the geographical space. Ultimately, the alienation of relatives experienced by left-behind children in Indigenous families, along with a cultural and identity crisis, becomes a memory over time. After all, children will eventually grow up and eventually step out of this land and choose a different life.