——Remember the first impression of "Little Hero Toto"
"Stupid policemen, how would you explain the case, "you" choked on candy and died? Hanged by curtains? Drowned? Or shot from behind? No one would think of me for so many years. No one will recognize me. Neither can you, Alfred."
"This is not even a murder, I just get back what belongs to me-the life that you have stolen from the day I was born-my life"
The film unfolds with a hint of hatred and suspense in Thomas' narration. This narration in his mind has also become a pun reflecting the two main story lines in the story: 1. From childhood to middle age, it is believed that Alfred is in the hospital. For Toto, who had exchanged his "family" with himself and "taken away" his beloved sister in the fire, Alfred stole his life; 2. For the elderly Thomas until he reached the end of his life and finally met again When facing Alfred and Evelyn, I really woke up from the spiritual world-it was "I" who stole my life by myself
A question left to the audience at the beginning of the film: Who was the deceased who was killed? Through the dreams and memories of the elderly Thomas, a jump in time and space was built-the whole journey of Thomas's life was interspersed. In the end, the answer I found not only responded to the opening question on a factual level-the deceased was Thomas himself As a deeper question in the film, "Who is the real murderer who stole Thomas’s life?" The film’s intention was sublimated from Thomas’s family, love, and revenge to another level: Thomas’s attitude towards plain reality He was dissatisfied and avoided the fact that his loved one had left. He never really recognized it, blamed it on Alfred and lived in the resentment of wanting revenge on him, and finally faced it. When Alfred had his revenge, he realized what a dream is and what is in front of him through Alfred’s confession and reunion with Evelyn. The inextricable fantasy world is just a shadow of his own confinement.
Looking back at the title of the film, the word "hero" is undoubtedly ironic. Toto, who coveted the lives of others, lived in his fantasy world from infancy to middle age, for his own life, the death of his father and sister. Abstractly avoiding again and again, that Toto finally "dead" under Alfred's gun, and failed to realize the exchange of "life". As for becoming a hero, there is no way to talk about it.
But if you look at it from another angle, the old Thomas sat in front of Alfred and heard what he said himself:
"I have always envied you, your life is simple, it always makes me feel that you can do whatever you want" and
"It's not Evelyn. I sometimes see her. Everyone is still a friend. She misses you very much, and I miss her very much. Would you like to see her?"
At that time, Thomas left real and regretful tears
I think that Toto can be called a hero at that moment. Faced with Alfred, who was sorrowful, let go of her jealousy, and faced Evelyn, who looked like her sister, repented of what she had never cherished and faced what she loved. I also love my family and accept their departure. These are undoubtedly true. After all, reality and love let the narrow Toto wake up from the shadow of the illusion, and let the obsession with revenge against Alfred in the fantasy. Toto passed away with his "generosity"-although this heroic moment came a bit late, although this heroic moment must end with the revenge of "self" against "self"
A digression about the profound meaning of the film: true warriors dared to face the bleak life. The thing that moved me through the whole film is the quote quoted above by the elderly Alfred and Thomas. Isn’t that true in reality? Everyone will inadvertently live in the world of others at different moments in their lives-coveting the beauty in fantasy, avoiding the haze in reality, and waiting until after the wave of tribulation, because they cowardly avoid and deny it, How much real love and beauty have failed.
Real heroes are not different from ordinary people who can rewrite history. Those who only exist in "fantasy and television", even if they are day after day plain and simple, those who can live in the present, cherish the present, and know." Isn't the person of "True" and "Love" the little hero Toto in the eyes of thousands of Alfred!
(PS: To be honest, the magical realism style of the film is mixed with some absurd and somewhat black elements, which did not attract me from the beginning to the middle, until the end of Thomas repentance and the strange surreal depiction after Thomas was turned into ashes. I was touched by the meaning behind the lens that I wanted to convey through the stories told. In retrospect, I felt that the first viewing of the movie was still rough, so this "first impression of "Little Hero Toto"" is also based on my opinion The main theme and meaning of the film are written from the perspective of perception. I hope that I will find time to look at this film in the future from the details and the structure of the film and the angle of the lens. I think there are still some motifs arranged in the film and it is very good. Some of the lines and lens details)
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