An ordinary workshop worker in a vehicle factory, for a bastard dog that is not worth 200 yuan, does not hesitate to intercede everywhere, and even spends the equivalent of one year's salary to apply for a dog license.
Old two | Played by Ge You
What is he for?
This film about small people looking for self-esteem is the domestic film "Carla is a Dog", which was filmed in 2002.
Perhaps it is implied that the protagonist is useless and incompetent, in the film, it is not until 24 minutes after the beginning that the protagonist "Old Two" played by Ge You appears for the first time.
The previous film description of him borrowed the words of his son Liang Liang (Li Bin), "My father, he is an idiot!" He hasn't accomplished anything since he beat me to remember! ”
The protagonist "old second" in the film is so ordinary and even nested, so that even his name in the film has a rich ambiguous meaning. He used to indulge in playing mahjong, and it wasn't until he raised Carla that all his energy was drawn in.
It is a story about small people looking for self-esteem, and the film shows the encounters of ordinary people in real life through the fate of dogs. Human nature, or human dignity, is what is really expressed in the film.
(Note that there are minor spoilers below.) ）
The second wife, Yulan (Ding Jiali), walks the family's puppy Carla at night, but because she did not have a dog license, she was confiscated by the police at the police station. There was only an 18-hour deadline to pay for a dog license and then get it back to Kara, or the dogs would all be transported to Changping for processing.
Walking the dog was caught
One scene in the film is hilarious but intriguing: the police check the dog id card one by one in the small park, and the dog owner who walks the dog, without exception, hangs the dog card on his chest. When the police checked on the flashlight, the dog owner habitually showed the dog certificate hanging on his chest, which was quite intriguing. The dog certificate hangs around the neck of the person, showing a special scene from that period.
Check the dog certificate
Magnolia returned home in despair, and in order to make up for her mistakes, she made a table of dishes for the second eldest who was about to leave the night shift.
The second eldest got off the night shift, received his salary and bonus, and pedaled home on his broken bicycle. At the door of the house, he quietly hid the bonus and returned home to pay only Magnolia's salary.
After returning home, the second brother did not see Kara, who usually greeted him at the door on time. When he learned that Carla had been arrested by the police, he was anxious and angry, but he did not dare to get angry. Only one person hid in the public toilet downstairs before he dared to start reprimanding Magnolia in the air. The image of a timid and afraid wife is portrayed vividly.
After looking at the door of the police station for half a day, the second brother thought of asking his old classmate Yang Li (Li Qinqin) for help. Yang Li, in Yulan's mouth, was evaluated as "a divorced single woman, recruiting a bunch of people to play mahjong at home all day, what a decent person!" Yang Li is very dedicated to the matter of the second elder, and when she learned that Carla was arrested, she righteously lent the dog card that her family spent 5,000 yuan to the second elder, and the result was recognized by Officer Zhang (Xia Yu), and the dog license was almost confiscated.
The fake dog card was identified by the police officer
In fact, Carla is the puppy under Yang Li's family dog, which was given to the second eldest by Yang Li.
Yang Li did not understand very much, thinking that Carla was a bastard dog, worthless, and it was not worth it to spend so much effort for it.
The second elder confided in Yang Li
At this time, the second elder confided in Yang Li: "From home to work, all calculations, I have to change the Fa every day to make people happy, only in Kara's place, it changes the Fa every day to make me happy." ”
"It's only with Carla that I feel like A bit human."
Yes, in the film, the most important expression of the second brother is to laugh. To his wife, to the police, to the people who help fished the dogs, to the parents of the injured children, the only thing he dared to make a fire was to punch his son.
Laugh
This is a man who has come home.
Yang Li understood the pain of the second elder and decided to continue to help the second elder rescue Carla. She asked her ex-husband for help, and after several tosses and turns, the yin and yang were wrong, but she still did not catch the dog back.
At this time, the second son, Liang Liang, accidentally smashed the other party's arm into a crushing fracture because he helped his classmate resist the bullying of the school bully.
Inside the police station, the two sons went to report the case because Liang Liang did not go home, which accidentally found Liang Liang who was locked up in the police station. The second brother whispered to the domineering parents of the other party, and at the same time scolded Liang Liang angrily. Liang Liang did not show weakness, and yelled at the second elder with a thick voice. The film gives a close-up of a stunned but speechless old man.
However, the film ends with a heart-warming ending: Carla is eventually fished out by Yang Li.
The next day, the second brother applied for a dog license for Carla.
A good film, especially one that depicts the fate of tiny marginal individuals in the context of big history, will gradually reveal its value over time.
Director Lu Xuechang was on the shooting scene of the film
The director of this film, Lu Xuechang, is one of the few directors in the system of the sixth generation of Chinese directors, who worked at the North Film Studio at that time. In his career of more than 20 years, Lu Xuechang has left a few works, such as "Grow Up", "Very Summer", "Two People's Room" and so on. But his works "all maintain a unique perspective and personality, he regards the dignity and spiritual redemption of people in the gold worship era as the core of his attention, is known for his cold and profound humanistic care, and focuses on the survival dilemma of marginalized and vulnerable groups." (Sohu Entertainment Review)
In February 2014, Lu Xuechang passed away due to illness.
Ge You is one of my favorite Chinese actors. He can not only play the insidiousness of bad people to the bone, but also play the nest of small people to the bone. It belongs to the kind of person who can get rid of the influence of his own fame and let the audience fully immerse himself in the role he plays.
Uncle Ge classic eating cucumber shots
Ge You's performance in this film was evaluated as "a masterpiece that broke through the limitations of his own performance after the successful performance in Zhang Yimou's "Alive"." ”
Filmed in 2002, the film is set in the "Regulations on Strict Restrictions on Dog Breeding in Beijing" adopted by the 14th Session of the Standing Committee of the Tenth People's Congress of Beijing on November 30, 1994, and Article 12 of the Regulations clearly stipulates: "Those who have been approved to keep dogs must pay the registration fee and the annual registration fee." The registration fee for each dog in the key restricted area is 5,000 yuan for the first year, and the registration fee for the following years is 2,000 yuan. ”
What does this $5,000 mean? According to a survey of 15 neighborhood committees in five urban areas of Beijing that year, 74% of the dog owners accounted for cadres, workers, intellectuals, and retirees, and their monthly income was about 500-800 yuan, of which 11% had a monthly income of between 200 and 300 yuan.
Get paid
In the film, there are also close-up shots of the second brother receiving his salary, a few thin yuan, and the visual measurement is less than 500 yuan. From this, we can see what 5,000 yuan means to the second family. No wonder when Yulan saw that the second elder would rather hand over his private money and insisted on getting a dog license, she angrily complained to him: "How much do you earn in a month?" Do you know how long it will take to save 5,000 yuan? Have you counted? Three years! Just for a dog? Is it worth it? Such a big person, there is no other pursuit? ”
In the background of the film, the pieces of bungalow alleys that have been demolished into ruins, and the towering new buildings behind the alleys, also mark the film with the mark of the historical era. In 2002, Beijing's bid for the Olympic Games was successful, and Beijing's housing prices began to have some turmoil in the calm.
The second oldest, this ordinary Chinese man, reflected thousands of men like him. They have no ability, no social relations, in the unit leaders do not want to see colleagues look down on, at home is also tracheitis, even their own children look down on them. They do not have any sense of existence in society, but they are honest and kind, helpful and enthusiastic.
However, no matter how small the pockets are, they also have his joys and sorrows, and they also have the self-esteem that he needs to maintain.
Little people with dignity also have their own
Just like the second oldest in the film, for a worthless dog, he did not hesitate to work hard and spend a year's salary of 5,000 yuan to apply for a dog license. Where is he protecting the dog, he is clearly desperately protecting his remaining dignity!
Because only in the presence of a dog is he like a man.