Tess (1979)

Chesley 2022-01-16 08:02:17

I have only come into contact with Polanski’s old works in recent years. When I watch this film, I always think of his "Battlefield Musician" ten years ago, mainly when the heroine Nastassja Kinski worked hard in the fields. The scenery under the lens of the film freezes the figures of people in the nineteenth century like a painting, which is quite similar to the way he fixed the history of the Jewish crucifixion in memory. Although the plots of the two films follow the encounter of a protagonist, it feels not about the protagonist, but about the fate that looms over them.

At the beginning of the movie, the revelation of the heroine's family descent was used as a prelude, which led to the subsequent tragic fate. But this destiny is not entirely a trick of external forces, it is more rooted in the values ​​and beliefs of the characters, but the nature of these characters is also formed under the religious norms of the entire society. Especially the hero and heroine have been clinging to the heart knot of purity and atonement. Even though the last two have suffered and decided to be together, their destiny has already been engraved in their hearts, and it is too late to talk about transcendence.

From a modern point of view, the heroes and heroines have been making wrong choices or too much meaningless persistence, which makes them finally make a decision that cannot be turned back. But under the closed time and space and soul, they may have no other choice, even if they are enlightened, it is always too late. This movie is to see how fate tortured people, and more about how the human heart tortured oneself, and all of this is written in the blood, in the nature of the person. Their sufferings and struggles appear cruel and moving under Polanski's alienated lens and beautiful photography, and are also connected with the consistent worldview in the director's work.

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Extended Reading

Tess quotes

  • Mrs. Durbeyfield: We all have to take the ups with the downs, Tess.

  • Mrs. Durbeyfield: You must go and see her and ask her for some help in our trouble.

    Tess: If the lady receives me at all, it t'ld be enough if she were friendly. You must not expect her to help us.

    Mrs. Durbeyfield: Oh, come, come, my dear. With your pretty face, you could coax her into anything!