"Purple Rose of Cairo", written and directed by Woody Allen in 1985, tells the story of a movie character who came out of the screen and fell in love with the heroine at the same time as the actor who played him in reality - a super hero Movie fans - the story.
This setting is hopelessly romantic for the fans.
The heroine Cecilia lived during the Great Depression in the United States. Everyone was unemployed and poor, her husband was lazy and rough, and she was working as a waiter but was fired by her boss. The only light in life is a new movie every week in the theaters. When she talked to the people around her about the plot, roles, and even the gossip of the actors she played, she was always full of energy, as if the barrenness and boredom in real life had been swept away.
Until one day, when she was sitting in the theater watching the same movie for the fifth time, a certain character in it suddenly did not follow the script, but stared at her through the screen, talked to her, and then Just like this, she walked straight out of the screen, took her hand and ran out of the theater.
Oh my god, how "Midnight Bell" is this plot, but it's not scary at all, and it's extremely sweet. Of course, it is probably because Jeff Daniels is more handsome⬇️ (he is also Will in "Newsroom", he is really handsome from a young boy to an old gentleman)
He is kind, brave, honest, romantic, infatuated, handsome, and a perfect kisser, Cecilia's dream soul mate. And those qualities never change, because that's how the character was made. Most importantly, he fell madly in love with Cecilia, and even broke the screen for her, breaking the boundary between virtual and reality, just to gain the freedom to be with her.
Of course, this caused chaos in the real world, and the most flustered was the actor who played the role. "wtf, the avatar you created looks exactly like yourself and runs around in this real world like this?"
He found the heroine, hoping to persuade the avatar to return to the screen together, otherwise the two worlds would be in chaos. Yes, I am really amazed at Woody Allen's imagination here. The other characters on the screen suddenly woke up. Although they couldn't cross the screen, they also began to talk to the real world.
However, in the process of contacting the heroine, the male star found that the heroine knew him so well, and analyzing each of his roles seemed to be his own voice, and encouraging him to try new ways of acting was exactly what he mentioned to his agent countless times. Even guessed the new role he most wanted to play. In the end, the heroine chose him, and the avatar resigned and returned to the screen. Then he immediately abandoned the heroine, and let the Buddha just use the heroine to let the avatar go back (Woody Allen is too cruel?). I'm still inclined to believe that at some point, he fell in love with the heroine. There is nothing like a deep understanding that makes one feel loved and creates the urge to love someone.
The reason why the heroine chooses a male star is that he is real. No matter how perfect the avatar is, he is still virtual, ignorant of the order and cruelty of the real world. For example, when they go to a fancy restaurant, the avatar takes out counterfeit money to pay at checkout (of course it's prop money?). For example, he thought that as long as he put his hand on the steering wheel and got on the car, he would start the car, because the key-inserting link was not written in the script. For example, he thought that when a man and a woman were kissing, the lights would automatically dim slowly, because that was how the movies of that era were arranged.
The avatar's prop money can't be used in the real world, so he invited Cecilia to go to the screen. I especially like this plot. They go in and out between the real and the virtual so naturally and freely, even more romantic than the realm of "love does not know where it comes from, and the living can die, and the dead can live". It was a dreamlike experience for Cecilia too. The avatar says "your dreams are my life".
I never expected a happy ending in a Woody Allen movie. Every love story written by this neurotic, talkative man is cheating, cheating, and betrayal. Same goes for this one. After the love fight, the perfect virtual lover was rejected and injured and returned to the screen. The male star had to leave the town non-stop to go to Hollywood to continue developing his career, and the heroine lost everything. She went into the theater again, crying and laughing in front of the new film.
After reading the film review, I learned that the plot of the character walking off the screen was not first created by Woody Allen, but there is no doubt that it was used very delicately and dreamily in this film. He is not even satisfied with love, and allows the virtual characters and the heroine to discuss the ultimate propositions of religion and philosophy. The tension between the real and the virtual is something that any artistic creator will face, and the modern film industry may be the art form that blurs the boundary between the two the most.
At the end of the film, the heroine's rude husband also growled: "This is not a movie, this is life!" But the heroine still strode away from the house and walked towards her (about to be broken) dream.
I will not laugh at the innocence and idealization of the heroine at all. Movies are life. Then again, how can you tell if you're on-screen or off-screen?
Some dreamers are particularly attracted to the virtual world, and "belief" is a rare ability. Other dreamers are particularly imaginative in constructing virtual worlds, and "creation" may be the greatest ability of small human beings. Often they themselves are confused about both worlds. But it doesn't matter-
"You may say I am a dreamer, but I am not the only one."
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