The style of "Hard Branches and Quiet" is very distinctive. There are about 50 shots in the entire film, which means that the average length of each shot is more than two minutes. Without exception, each lens is a fixed camera, fixed scene, depth-of-field lens and long lens, which is actually similar to theatrical space and stage effect. Surprisingly, every second of the film catches people’s attention, because the scene scheduling is so wonderful, that is to say, every shot is a scene.
Because I only watched it once on the big screen, the following is a hasty analysis:
1. Space. Carefully study the space in the film, and found that most of the scenes (especially the first half) are set in closed rooms, and the interior has a strong sense of form. Generally, there are only two color combinations, clean, minimalist, with The built-in frame composition or the cramped depth lens has sharp edges and corners. Even in the outdoor space on the street, the framing is free of clutter and people, which definitely distinguishes the modeling role of "extra actors" in classicism and realism movies. Such a space sets the tone of surrealism.
Secondly, the space in the shot is usually a picture frame with a frame, which can be divided into at least two small spaces (mostly two, but also three to four). Multiple spaces have stories happening at the same time, making the information in a single shot The amount is huge, and the audience can also enjoy the fun of free choice of viewpoints. In most cases, the relationship between several spaces is only the "watching" and "being watched" of the characters in a certain space, and there is no deeper emotional connection, which also implies Anderson's theme-between people Inborn separation and alienation. For example, the people in the bar and the two salesmen who sell weird items are two distinct spaces; for example, the old people watching the fire roller in the glass door, even if they are superimposed with the fire, they are just " Spectators" rather than participants.
2. Time. Each shot in the film follows the real time, and the people in front of the camera relax and perform, which makes the film have a documentary effect, and people's real life conditions can be removed from impurities and presented in a simplified manner. The unedited long shot patiently showed how the salesman opened the box, took out the funny supplies, put on the display tirelessly, was rejected, closed the box and left, making the audience focus on the character's movements. The character has extremely strong concerns and expects what will happen next.
Secondly, the connection between the lens and the lens does not follow the real time, and even the unrelated content is collaged together, which is very replaceable, similar to the stream of consciousness or the database. Therefore, the film does not have strict narrative logic, but follows the director's personal intention logic. There is even a modern bar in the film, where Charles XII led the army on an expedition, and the subtitles before this segment are "1943" (Note: There are three subtitles inserted in this film, and the first is "Three Times and Death". "Encounter", the second time is "1943", the third time is "Human"), this extremely contrasting time setting casts an absurd color on the film, and the metaphor is self-evident.
3. Subject. When watching this film, it is easy to think of Bella Tal's "Horse of Turin". The latter has only 30 shots, and it also reflects the human situation with surrealism. I personally think that the theme of this film is extremely difficult to accurately grasp, but it can be inferred from some clues. The film is called "Hard Branches and Birds Quiet". In addition to the solemn atmosphere of "cold" and "quiet" in the overall film, there is also a little girl in the film recite a song written by herself called "Bird" on the stage. The poem, to the effect, is that a bird is standing on a branch because it flies away because there is no money. Even a shy little girl knew the importance of money, and gave the attribute of having no money to a bird. Money, or a state of existence represented by money, is of concern to the director. The two protagonists, the salesmen, were running for money. They were rejected, scolded, and forced to get debts. They encountered a small shop couple who was even more anxious because of lack of money. Remember the three encounters with death at the beginning of the film? In the second time, it was a dying old mother lying on a hospital bed and clutching a handbag full of jewels tightly, even her children could not take it off. In the third time, it was a customer who died suddenly at a fast food restaurant. The meal he ordered was not eaten, but because he had already paid the bill and couldn't be refunded, he had to let someone else take away the free glass of beer. Money is something closely related to modernity. It also directly affects people's living conditions and causes a certain kind of crisis.
The two salesmen are diametrically opposed people, tall and sophisticated, bald and sensual. When the sensibility of baldness affected their sales, the taller even fell out with him, and the bald man stood alone on the street and picked up the funny things that were scattered all over the place. Supplies, murmured "but you didn't tell me this" when it was very aggrieved and touching. Bald will listen to a certain piece of music over and over again, and there is an indescribable sadness. He seems to be the incarnation of the director, sensitively aware of the morbid "cold" and "quiet" in this society. They repeat that they want to use their products to bring people happiness, but wherever they go, they are bored by people. When Bald was listening to the music sadly, the manager just rushed over and asked him to lower his voice. Humans, like the monkey that was clicked in the laboratory, wailed in pain, and the experimenter just kept calling indifferently. And the content on the phone has been repeated countless times: "I am very happy to hear that you are having a good time." The emotional word "happy" has degenerated into a polite expression, and people seem to be unable to get that kind of expression. Happy and intimacy.
But the warmth still flickers sporadically. In the film, the director inserted a segment of the waitress in the bar asking everyone to kiss her before drinking and drinking. In the music of the crowd singing, we can feel the friendliness and happiness between strangers. It is one of the most moving segments in the film. . There is also the intimate behavior of a man, a woman and a dog on the beach, which is also one of the few warm scenes in the film. More often, what we feel is the ashes similar to the trauma of war-the drum in the fire plays a strange trombone, and the movement is paved with coldness and sacrifice. People watch the pain of others, just as the audience visits a dinosaur skeleton in a museum. Such a life day after day, and even at the end of the film, a man who goes to work in a car can’t remember the day of the week today—it doesn’t matter whether it’s Wednesday or Thursday, because every day is based on the death of the previous day, and every day is also Become a ruin the next day.
After typing these two thousand words in an hour, I feel that there is still a lot to say, but the evil P dormitory has no hot water to take a bath.
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