I don't know what cinema means to you? A dating mecca that permeates the sweetness of popcorn? Or a place to spend time relaxing? But for me, it is a corner of my encounter with the world, and from time to time it will inadvertently bring small touches.
And "Silent Film Narrator" brought me a silhouette of the times.
"The film used to be silent, but there was hardly this stage in Japan because there was commentary from the active Benshi." At the end of the film, there is such a line. Director Zhou Fangzhengxing's film is undoubtedly a tribute to that unique era and a remembrance of that lost era.
Not long ago, Lao Mouzi also made a tribute to the film "One Second", but unfortunately did not escape the scissors of radio and television, more family entanglement, less historical sharpness. But this one uses a "comedic" way to tell a "sad" story.
Silent film this era is very far away from me, I do not have much memory, the only thing I know is Chaplin, can also say "Modern Times", "Gold Rush", "City Lights" and other classics. Silent films have no sound, and can only rely on the actors' movements and expressions to speculate on the content. It is this lack of information expression that gives rise to the profession of "silent film narrator". They accompanied the film with dialogue and narration at the screening site, allowing the viewer to better understand the storyline.
A table, a chair, a fan, a ruler, that's all the narrator of the silent film is all about. They are highly skilled, can imitate seven voice lines, explain interestingly, and add a lot of color to the silent film. In today's terms, it's a popular traffic star.
But in the end, Shuntaro did not become the dream of Bentashi, Umeko did not wait for her lover, the old Benshi Yamaoka to disappear into the crowd, and the AokiKan was also burned down, as if all this heralded the demise of the era of silent film commentary, and they will eventually end.
But did they just disappear? Thinking about it carefully, it is not like this, just like at the end of Shuntaro was arrested, the police said to Shuntaro: "It is impossible to escape as luckily as played in the silent film, but it is not like this, life is also, there will be a sequel."
Although the Benedicts of the Silent Age have faded away, something has been preserved and continued in another way. The wheel of history has wiped out Benshi, but it has sown the seeds of the Japanese dubbing industry; Confucius has passed away for more than two thousand years, but it has sown Confucianism that has lasted for a thousand years; parents will eventually pass away, but their blood is flowing in our bodies.
Well, I think it's better to let go than to be sentimental.
Spring has a hundred flowers, autumn has a moon, summer has a cool breeze and winter has snow. Don't worry about idle things, it is a good time in the world.