"Night and Fog in Tin Shui Wai" is the second part of the "Tin Shui Wai" series directed by Hui Anhua, from the transmission of love in ordinary days in "The Day and Night of Tin Shui Wai" to the description of domestic violence, the bride of the outer port, and the ecology of the citizens at the bottom in "The Night and Fog of Tin Shui Wai", the director's perspective has been changing, but the core of concern is still the infinitely humble life contours and traces hidden by the people at the bottom, in this seemingly glamorous place in Hong Kong.
The whole film adopts the shooting method of flashbacks and memories, highlighting the mentality of the male protagonist Li Sen (played by Ren Dahua), whose living state is the most decisive explanation for his final means of extermination. Li Sen has no formal job, can only receive relief money to live, the necessities of life can be seen from his daughter's birthday class fee can not be seen, but also from his son every time he sees him to help him. Therefore, his daily life is fishing, but if fishing has a balanced mentality, the key is his suspicion of his new wife, after all, he is already old, but his wife Xiaoling (played by Zhang Jingchu) is the right age.
In the film, from Li Sen's mouth, the words "the countryman is the countryman" are constantly issued, indicating that he is not at ease with Xiaoling and is not used to it. But his own strength is not up to the level of changing the status quo, so he can only talk in his own field to masturbate. Violence against the young wife to prove her ability, when the violence constantly let Xiaoling say "without you, there is no me today" such comforting words to comfort their own souls, through constantly scolding Xiaoling to obtain psychological pleasure, and when found that Xiaoling went out to work and did not like her dress, "fried pork chops, black pepper juice" is the most unbalanced word on his mouth.
And when he took Xiaoling for himself, from sexual beginning to returning to Xiaoling's hometown in Sichuan, the change of becoming an "engineer" made him truly feel infinite psychological satisfaction. But during this period, his mentality of possessing the two sisters-in-law once again leaked out. It can be seen that people's hearts are not enough for snakes to swallow elephants, and it is difficult for people who have lived under people for a long time to become the talent of tiger generals, because their psychological grievances and changes have been distorted to an infinite degree, and it is difficult to return to the original state, and the original state is the origin and origin of things. Li Sen did not do this, but went all the way to the extreme, destroying the entire family and returning to the west together.
The film is based on the massacre of a family of four that shocked Hong Kong in 2004, and this family ethics tragedy is also a tragedy of a bride from a foreign port from Sichuan. Tin Shui Wai suddenly became a place of fear in people's minds. The deep social and psychological state behind it is the result of an imbalance. In the film, Xiaoling is from the mainland to Shenzhen and married to Hong Kong, and her two sisters are also walking the same road, from the countryside to the city, which is a sign of success in the eyes of many people.
In fact, what we see from "The Day and Night of Tin Shui Wai" is the single parent family and the warmth of the world, but what we see from "The Night and Fog of Tin Shui Wai" is a tragedy of family ethics. The comparison between the two, from the director Xu Anhua can find the most answer, that is, the care for the bottom of the marginalized people. Undoubtedly, the master of the new wave of Hong Kong cinema will always be in the hands of Hui Anhua.
From another side to explain, "The Night and Fog of Tin Shui Wai" sees violence, but what it implies is how to arrange one's life in balance, there are inevitably contradictions and stumbles within the family, the most important thing is the balance of mentality, and the most rare is the understanding of both sides. And a psychopath and imbalance must have some kind of trauma in his heart or at some point in his childhood. Therefore, when such a person appears in our sight, we should mostly help and intervene, rather than adding fuel and indulgence to the fire.