Shadow of heaven

Lonzo 2022-01-22 08:03:39

For the first time Finland made the world look up to the world, it was in the Soviet-Finnish War known as the Battle of Elephants and Ants in 1939. The Soviet army, which had just gone through the Great Purge and self-destructed the Great Wall, was embarrassed, and Nazi Germany felt that the Soviet Union was so bullied. . Today, Finland provides citizens with all the guarantees "from the cradle to the grave". Not only is education all free, but university students can also receive at least 680 euros per month in allowances, subsidies and low-interest loans.

Contrary to people’s vision of "high welfare and lazy people", Finns without worries have the courage to take risks and innovate. "High taxes and high welfare" have become the most powerful engine of national competitiveness. The technological innovation capability and national happiness index are second to none in the world. .

Some people joked that being born in Finland with superior welfare, picturesque scenery and a clean government is equivalent to winning the lottery prize. Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki (Aki Kaurismaki) obviously has a different view on this. The welfare system can prevent you from starving to death, but it cannot guarantee your dignity and happiness. Kaurismaki focused the lens on the shadows of paradise on earth, focusing on those who are unemployed, homeless, lonely, and autistic, and those who are struggling to survive in slaughterhouses, trash cans, match factories, and slums. The audience was surprised to find that discrimination, crime, apathy and bureaucracy also exist in Finland.

Since making movies at the age of 26, Kaurismaki has established a style of presenting rich content in a shriveled form, just like Hemingway and Carver in the film industry, so that he is fed up with sharp cuts, special effects, complex emotional entanglements, etc. The bombarded audience breathed a sigh of relief, as if sipping cold beer in the scorching desert. This kind of film that can be shot with a camera is more difficult than shooting an "Avatar" if it wants to stand out from the crowds of similar works, and it is more difficult to make an "Avatar", because of the low investment and low threshold, the competition is particularly high. fierce.

The lyricist of "Katyusha" and "The Flower of Cranberries" and the famous Russian poet Isakovsky, the poem "Song" published in Pravda on April 19, 1943, was later written by the author of an unknown song Compose "Light" with beautiful melody, full of vicissitudes and romance. Both "Shadow of Heaven" and "Twilight Light" selected the simple and moving "Light" as the interludes, which complement the film. Kaurismaki, who was born in grassroots, was deeply influenced by Russian culture (in 1983, his debut "Crime and Punishment" was adapted from Dostoevsky's novel of the same name), and respected those who were insulted and Every restrained and concise shot of the victim exudes the noble and noble temperament of humanitarianism, and the cold humor one after another is even more memorable.

As the first part of the proletarian trilogy, the plot development, character performance and setting of "Shadow of Heaven" (1986) are extremely simple, without any nonsense, and without any show off of film skills, the friendship and friendship of ordinary Finns Love, together with the hard, dry and cold snowfields of Northern Europe, is presented to the audience in its original form. In order to make room for the leader’s children, the supermarket cashier was unreasonably fired (3 times within a year due to other people’s reasons for laying off); the hero and heroine were turned away from high-end restaurants because of their shabby clothes, and they could only eat fast food on the side of the road; garbage collected The workmates came to borrow money, and the clanking poor father started the idea of ​​his son’s piggy bank.

"The Match Factory Female Worker" (1990) is probably the coldest one of Kaurismaki’s works. The female worker sitting on a cold bench at the prom bought a skirt with her salary. Her father slapped her face: "Bitch! "Under the background of the news from China and Iraq in 1989, female workers who were first played by men, abandoned, and then abandoned by their families, simply bought a package of rat medicine in return for this society, which is colder than the Nordic winter.

The characters in Kaurismaki’s shots are mostly introverted and dull, which makes some viewers who are accustomed to admiring great joy and sadness very uncomfortable and panicked. The audience can only see the small part of the iceberg above the water. Kaurismaki's iceberg art is to let you feel the iceberg under the sea through cold humor and subtle body language: strange, magnificent, and beautiful.

"Bohemian Life" (1992) is an artist who snatches food with dogs, a musician who froze to death in "Leningrad Cowboy Meets Moses" (1994), and the heroine of "Floating Clouds" (1996) was laid off. Age discrimination, loans and employment are almost exhausted, and "A Man Without a Past" (2002) is even more ruthless. The welder was beaten by the robbers and lost his memory when he got off the train. The worst and best people in Helsinki seem to gather in slums, and kind neighbors and charities help welders start a new life. The welfare system is reflected in the film, but what the director wants to emphasize is: those who help themselves, God helps them.

The calm irony is more powerful: the policeman in "Crime and Punishment" is so stupid that he can't detect the murder weapon under his butt. The murderer surrendered himself and immediately rushed to knock him to the ground. The animal was really ferocious; "(2006), the withdrawn security guard Zhan was unfortunately caught in the underworld's beauty trick. An inconspicuous detail has a profound meaning: arrogant, indifferent, a beauty who is regarded as a treasure and willing to stay together for a lifetime, when the black boss and his brothers are gambling cards, they are just a hard-working slave. It’s okay to knit a sweater for an idiot. How can I feel happy in the process of knitting? The sentimental "Light" more and more brought out the fiery emotions in Zhan's heart. Under the sky of Finland, he had not had time to learn to complain.

Looking at the world of film, only Kaurismaki can win the praise of the film master Kusturica: "Kaurismaki's films are completely different from this hysterical era. His humane views are incredible. In terms of technology and digital Outside of the stacked movies, there is indeed a place for those who believe that life is a miracle.”

Kaurismaki, who has won international awards for almost every movie, announced his retirement in 2006 and has only made one short film since. I believe he has never read Shen Congwen's novels, but his vague farewell is as fascinating as the ending of "Border Town":

This person may never come back, maybe he will come back "tomorrow"!

("Watching Movies" October)

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Extended Reading
  • Pat 2022-04-24 07:01:23

    Guo's interpretation of the film is quite personal and sharp

  • Lorenz 2022-04-23 07:04:16

    It's still Aki's set, and people who like it can't resist: the composition is excellent, the band is very good, even the port and the dog have not changed; there is still a little hope in despair, and there is a touch of warmth in the cold, even so The miserable male protagonist also has a silent companion. . Unusually, the color of this one is also particularly eye-catching. . And it is said to be one of Murakami's ten favorite movies. . . . .

Lights in the Dusk quotes

  • Shift Manager: And what was your name?

    Koistinen: Koistinen. Just like before.

  • Bank Manager: [Bank manager is reviewing Koistinen's application for a small-business loan] Tell me, Koistinen... Are you some kind of comedian?

    Koistinen: Why?

    Bank Manager: Did you come to cheer us up? What are these papers? A trade school diploma... Did you think it will give you a loan of two hundred thousand - without any security, any guarantors?

    Koistinen: I'll guarantee it myself, until the company gets going and...

    Koistinen: [Interrupting him] Guarantees from trash like you are worthless.

    Koistinen: But I've got an account here.

    Bank Manager: I won't even take your application further. It's rejected. You're only wasting my time and yours. Go away.