American mystery novelist Raymond Chandler once said in "The Simple Art of Murder": "Returning a murder to someone who has a reason to kill is not just providing a body, but also returning a murder to the person with the weapon. Man, this weapon is not hand-forged dueling pistols, poison arrows, tropical fish." "Fireworks in the Day" can almost continue this sentence: the murder weapon can also be a human being.
Before the debut of "Fireworks in the Day", many people regarded this film as a reasoning film only for audiences to solve puzzles. It is undeniable that all the character relationships and logical setups in the film are driven by a puzzling and strange situation, but in essence, it is not a "Benge School" reasoning film. Benguet reasoning is mainly based on deduction and understanding of mysteries, as opposed to the tough guys who focus on sociality. It does not focus on realism, but weaves plots with thrilling and bizarre plots, such as Shapo's secret room murder or the tricks in Blizzard Mountain Villa. Diao Yinan once said that he has always had a strong interest in Western detective novels, and from the temperament shown in "Fireworks in the Day", the director's preference is obviously "tough guy" mystery novels - stories around murder, refraction It is the appearance of society, the moral dilemma of the characters is observed, and even the director's personal value judgment is incorporated. When solving puzzles is no longer the main focus of the story, the protagonist of the detective is naturally no longer superior, just like Zhang Zili, the decadent policeman played by Liao Fan in the film. In the past few years, he has always been in unbearable pain, he must Only by relying on fists and perseverance can you "lose slower".
When Zhang Zili finally laughed at the wine table and blushed to hide the urge to cry, it is easy to think of another tough-guy mystery novelist Hammett's famous quote: "A little guy is in the mud day after day. , blood, corpses and deceit, as numbness, rudeness and cynicism as possible, toward a dark goal." There is a voice that "Fireworks in the Day" should go to the end of this "darkness" and let Zhang Zili He also became Wu Zhizhen's next victim, but as far as the movie is concerned, Diao Yinan's handling of the ending did not deviate from the logical track set up by the whole movie: since we are willing to believe that "the living dead" Liang Zhijun can give everything for love, Then we should also be sure that when Wu Zhizhen was taken away by the police and saw the daytime fireworks raging outside the car window, he was determined to draw a line from the previous woman who "couldn't escape if she wanted to escape."
"Fireworks in the Day" is different from routine detective films. Diao Yinan always avoids using straightforward details to deliberately exaggerate the drama of the case, which is completely consistent with the script with minimalist temperament. There are almost no wasted shots in "Fireworks in the Day", and each picture accurately releases the message the director wants to convey. Sometimes, you may feel that there seems to be a deliberately left blank break zone in the narrative process, but the fact is, before the In the layout of the film, the director has actually quietly implanted hints and explanations. For example, when Zhang Zili first received the license plate number note from the "mysterious man", it was quite puzzling, but there was a close-up shot of holding the steering wheel and turning to the right before, which had already explained everything. Such clue jumps, scene transitions, etc., abound in the film, but it is not "unclear". Because "unconsciousness" often exposes the incompetence of the director's expression, but "Fireworks in the Day" can highlight the subtlety of the overall layout in various details.
The cold look of the film also presents a style of film noir. Film noir often features a ruthless killer, a tangled detective, and a charming femme fatale. In the creepy and chilling atmosphere, the truth of the crime gradually emerges. Objectively speaking, there are not many attempts by mainland Chinese directors to make noir films. Cheng Er's "Border Situation" and Ning Hao's "No Man's Land" have more or less the characteristics of film noir, but they do not have the characteristics of "Noir". Fireworks by Daylight is so obvious. Generally speaking, in film noir, there are relatively many scenes at night. Whether it is an interior scene or an exterior scene, it always gives a gloomy and unpredictable sense of crisis; in terms of photography style, deep shadows and gloomy tones, outline the In addition, the protagonists of film noir, morally, always have more than double personalities, disappointed and lonely, and finally found a home in mutual struggle, and "rebellious" is their label. It can be seen that "Fireworks in the Daytime" is a work with very black film characteristics. In terms of visual processing, in addition to the melancholy and rough tone, the director also borrowed the lights in the night scene to assist the mood of each scene. The neon lights and the dim yellow street lights beside the railway, reflected on people, also imply their inner confusion and confusion. Of course, Diao Yinan's video style is restrained after all. If you play as crazy as "Only God Can Forgive", the effect is bound to deviate.
It's no surprise that Fireworks by Daylight won the Golden Bear. This is not an afterthought, nor does it deny the achievements of equally excellent competition films such as "Youth" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel", but "Fireworks in the Day", from the inside to the face, fits the consistent aesthetic preference of the Berlin Film Festival ——Movies that are too elaborate and highlight visual spectacles are usually not favored. Most of the winning films at the Berlin Film Festival give people a rough and cold texture. , While focusing on storytelling, movies often also need to build relationships between people and the social environment. The character's living state may not be political, but it must intersect with a certain regional cultural background.
"Fireworks in the Day" is almost the ultimate in "Berlin taste": even though the stories are very different, it is very similar to the previous Golden Bear winners: Iran's "A Parting" is two families revolving around interests and harmony A moral storm stirred up by lies; Romania's "The Child's Pose" is about a mother and son fighting frantically after a disaster. The image styles of the two films have reached the realm of "big and clever", and it is difficult for each character to judge whether it is good or bad, especially when observing from their own standpoints, you can always find sympathy from hateful people. elements, how is this similar to Fireworks by Daylight?
There isn't a single character in this movie that makes you articulate your love and hate. Zhang Zili is an atypical policeman on the Chinese screen. You can be sure that the sense of justice given to him by his profession is undeniable, but from the accident in the execution of the task, to the inexorable sinking; from being attracted by women in dry cleaners, to " Full of sadness after making meritorious deeds, he is by no means a hero in the traditional sense, but has an unusual and convincing personality. Even from this man, there is an incomprehensible animality. And the most shocking thing is that before facing the dilemma of women and professional identity, he chose the latter. Some people may think that this is a compromise of the director to some extent, but objectively speaking, Zhang Zili chose to punish the woman he was thinking about, and stubbornly used fireworks during the day to vent his pain, as if to give each other hope, which really improved the quality of the movie. .
Liao Fan won the Berlin Best Actor for playing Zhang Zili. As far as the general reasoning film format is concerned, Zhang Zili should be a clue character, and the criminals hidden behind the scenes should be more brilliant, but Diao Yinan's inclination towards Zhang Zili's role made Liao Fan burst out with the acting skills accumulated for many years. Some commentators pointed out that Liao Fan lacks a major event with sufficient weight in the film, such as a large close-up and long shot, but the actual situation is that Liao Fan's body language, as well as the eyes in the limited close-up, the tone of the lines, etc. , all infiltrated into the soul of the character. The role of Zhang Zili is easily reminiscent of the policewoman played by Francis McDormand in "Frozen". You can't find her "acting skills", but she won the Oscar for Best Actress. Film critic Roger Ebert said: "No need to say more, after watching the film, you believe she is a policewoman, that's enough." Zhang Zili, played by Liao Fan, you can clearly sense his resentment , loneliness, fear, and a monstrous sexuality, of course it deserves its name.
In reasoning movies, the so-called characters who are on the opposite side of justice often attract more attention. In "Fireworks in the Day", a couple lurking in the old city of Northeast China is full of dangerous attraction. Wu Zhizhen, a female clerk in a dry cleaner played by Gui Lunmei, is not the same as the "femme beauty" described by critics. What is a femme fatale? Barbara Steinfeld in "Double Indemnity" is because that woman seduces a man to take the initiative to attack, and the aggression in her bones can be discerned at a glance. In this film, Wu Zhizhen did not follow this path. Her beauty was not fatally provocative. The men around her basically took the bait. Caused by layers of tragedies. Wu Zhizhen is actually more complicated than the vicious Barbara. She is silent, rejected, lost, betrayed, and hurts each other with every man. When she is released from prison by Liang Zhijun, she falls into a bigger, watching Unseen in prison. She may be grateful to Liang Zhijun, but she may not continue to love him. She fell in love with Zhang Zili, but she must use him to get rid of her restrained life. To a certain extent, her poison is silent and peaked, but her hate is accompanied by an unimaginable pitiful. The complexity given to the heroine by "Fireworks in the Day" makes it rare for the whole film to not have a vulgar desire and struggle.
Wu Zhizhen, played by Gui Lunmei, is like the horse that was dragged into the neighborhood committee in terms of image and temperament. However, the role of a Taiwanese woman as a Northeastern girl is exactly what the movie is trying to show. She is thin, white and tender, and looks quiet and natural. In the corner of the city where there are piles of rough masters, she is so special, even an incompetent dry cleaner. The boss is trying to eat her tofu. Such a woman brought Wu Zhizhen to life in the script. Gui Lunmei's performance is so calm and suffocating, which is more impressive than "Boyfriend Girlfriend", which won the Golden Horse Award.
When all eyes were on Zhang Zili and Wu Zhizhen, another struggling existence appeared dark and humble. He gave everything for love but only in exchange for betrayal and death. The tragedy of Liang Zhijun's life was so complete. Diao Yinan didn't give much role to Liang Zhijun played by Wang Xuebing. He made a few appearances in just a few short lines, which was as simple and boring as his hidden life. However, from Wu Zhizhen's description, the image of a scapegoat with no complaints and no regrets is already very clear. We can't guess from the small and cramped rental house how much they once fell in love, how many times they followed Wu Zhizhen's back, carved out the path of his wife's sliding with ice skates, but quietly stretched out from the back of the waist, did not dare to hug The hand that went down, read his love for his wife, and only the sound of the gunshot freed him from the dark days.
Liang Zhijun is quite similar to the stone god in "The Devotion of Suspect X". They both use extreme methods to guard the happiness in the mirror, just like "fireworks in the daytime", no one can see it when it blooms. However, the unrequited Shi Shen is even more desperate for love. His only purpose is that the person he loves will be well, but Liang Zhijun is reluctant to leave, and would rather be a "living dead" and stay by his wife's side - he is sleepy to death Wu Zhizhen, of course, also drowned herself. Which one is more credible, Liang Zhijun or Shi Shen? The answer speaks for itself.
The reason why "Fireworks in the Day" is full of a charming atmosphere is due to Diao Yinan's keenness in video, soundtrack and sound editing. The film seems to have two potential characters, one is the city of Harbin, and the other is the voice from space that is hard to ignore. In Diao Yinan's lens, Harbin is not a bustling big city. The sparsely populated tunnels, dilapidated old residential buildings, and empty waste buildings all make people feel suffocated and depressed. When Zhang Zili and Wu Zhizhen appeared on the Ferris wheel, the more dazzling the neon of the "fireworks in the day", the darker the surrounding darkness, the quiet and chilling city, just like the heart of each character, forbearing something, it seems Never find an exit.
In the picture with the dark night as the keynote, various sounds also come into the ears from time to time - every encounter, conflict and turning point is accompanied by the inadvertent whistle, the sound of railroad tracks, the sound of trucks, and even the sound of the theater with poor sound insulation. The sound, and in the most important tracking scene, the sound of wind and the sound of ice skates slicing across the ice, are enough to arouse the audience's senses. All of this seems to have not been deliberately designed, but the timing is very accurate. It can be said that Diao Yinan's capture and implantation of ambient sound has largely replaced the function of the soundtrack. In terms of video style, "Fireworks in the Day" has the rough beauty of an independent film, but the mirrors are very elegant. A snowy road through a tunnel, a car tracking scene shot with a subjective lens, and an empty mirror when Zhang Zili tracks Wu Zhizhen The connection makes the film full of a realistic sense of scene, and hides an intriguing sense of metaphor, which is enough for literary youth and textualists to study carefully.
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