Probably one of the most important American movies of the seventies

Maureen 2021-12-31 08:02:00

#荒山恶水# (Badlands, 1973) is probably one of the most important American movies in the 1970s. Without looking at the final credits, I can’t guess that this is actually Terrence Malick's work, and it is also known as the greatest directorial debut since [Citizen Kane]. The film is adapted from real events, and it will inevitably be compared with [Bonnie and Clyde]. It feels that it also directly inspired the later [Born Murderer] and even [Dead Flower]. The most talented thing about the director of the film is that it uses a 15-year-old girl's casual voice-over and a sincere, warm and childlike soundtrack to tell a brutal, cruel and hideous story, using extremely modern techniques to bring out the proposition of existential philosophy. . The film’s attitude towards life will inevitably lead to controversy, but it is this persistence and courage that dared to be on the cusp of the tide that fits the theme perfectly, questioning the identity and life of contemporary Americans. Both Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek performed superbly. The former obviously imitated James Dean's style, which reminds people of the generation that Kerouac wrote. The latter's expressionless and blank eyes are the best expression of existentialism. , Against the nihility, they run wildly, kill people, and run wildly, but they are always no match for loneliness and helplessness. The film's vast lens and exquisite photography can vaguely show the clues of Malik's future style, as well as his infinite and affectionate love for the vast land, nature and creatures. The road movie is difficult to grasp, maybe it will become a collection of road scenes like Han Han. The film’s sense of story is not strong, the form is not scattered, it relies on the excellent performance of the actors, the unique voice-over and soundtrack make the story and thoughts of the scene highly unified, and the few dialogues have revealed the director’s future philosophical poetry taste. ★★★★☆

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Extended Reading
  • Cortez 2022-03-25 09:01:10

    [Exhibition at the China Film Archive] I just finished watching Terrence Malik's latest film, and it feels amazing to watch the debut film again. A "Tronsu" style, tribute to James Dean, and imitation of "Her and Heist" story. The monologue expresses the heartfelt voice, rebels without any reason, the poetic wanders the world, and the youth is empty. Samsung and a half

  • Liana 2021-12-31 08:02:00

    Love that grows naturally like grass seeds, innocent and violent like a cheetah hunting, quiet girls, a little narcissistic boys, like the trees captured by the lens, are part of the jungle and grassland. The story is very simple, the lens is very poetic, Terrence Malik's first masterpiece. The period where the two lived in the woods was the youth version of the adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Badlands quotes

  • Holly Sargis: [Last lines of the film]

    [Voiceover]

    Holly Sargis: Kit and I were taken back to South Dakota. They kept him in solitary, so he didn't have a chance to get acquainted with the other inmates, though he was sure they'd like him, especially the murderers. Myself, I got off with probation and a lot of nasty looks. Later I married the son of the lawyer who defended me. Kit went to sleep in the courtroom while his confession was being read, and he was sentenced to die in the electric chair. On a warm spring night, six months later, after donating his body to science, he did.

    Kit Carruthers: Sir... Where'd you get that hat?

    Trooper: State.

    Kit Carruthers: Boy, I'd like to buy me one of those.

    Trooper: [the trooper smiles] You're quite an individual, Kit.

    Kit Carruthers: Think they'll take that into consideration?

  • Kit Carruthers: Hey, I found a toaster.