The most dazzling element of youth films must be the hazy memory of first love, and [Flower and Alice] really revolves around this theme. However, you can't help but admire Shunji Iwai's mastery of such subjects. The simple and special rhythm of the two girls' life is so charming, so clear and believable. Halfway through the movie, we've almost been tamed by the youthful vibe of these two girls, and you can't help but think back to fragments of your own youth. That's the magic of movies.
The elegance of Shunji Iwai's lyrical films is a kind of potion, and the girls in Shunji Iwai's lyrical films are all little magicians. Choosing a flower or choosing Alice is a dilemma in life. The chaotic boy Miyamoto played a passive role from the beginning. He easily agreed with Hua's lie, not only believed that he had lost his memory, but also tried to find his love for Hua. This is Shunji Iwai's special humor, very creative, and full of goodwill. This is probably the biggest difference between youth and adulthood. In Wong Kar-wai's countless lingering love stories, he has been revealing to us the trade-offs and struggles in love between men and women, while in Shunji Iwai's youth stories, these are things that are easily downplayed and ignored. Under what circumstances did the lightness of youth and the heaviness of maturity transform? This is really amazing.
The story of Alice and her father is a very good one. Although it is obviously sensational, it is very warm. Hua's mother appeared slightly embarrassed, not as dashing as Alice's father, but in this ironic scene, Hua's mother's tolerance and wit as a parent were also shown. Indeed, the two girls in the film are both girls with understanding parents, which is very different from most cruel youth films, and it provides the emotional basis for the elegant life of flowers and Alice.
However, the fantasy of flowers is gradually disappearing, and Miyamoto falls in love with Alice. The more the film develops to the second half, the more Alice is pushed to the front of the stage. In the beautiful ballet scene, she has changed from a girl who is ashamed to express her emotions to a little swan. In this change, growth is as clear as a budding branch. The relationship between Alice and Hua finally becomes complicated, the direction of the whole story is no longer controlled by Hua, and the storyline manipulated by lies gives way to the natural flow of feelings. Fortunately, Hua and Alice are still best friends, and they didn't suddenly become realistic and hostile because of this. Hatred because of love has always been an unpleasant tragic pattern, and Hana and Alice did not fall into this vulgar trap. The last scene was shot very well, the subtle tacit understanding between the girls is so beautifully unreal.
Yeah, the story starts slowly and ends slowly, with absolutely no full stop, as if it's just begun. In an interview, Shunji Iwai was very dissatisfied with the structure of his work, thinking it was too chaotic, but I felt that there was nothing wrong with this "chaos".
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