If the word "Tower of Babel" can directly refer to the core of the film, then the word "butterfly effect" can more or less analyze the structure of the film. The "butterfly effect" was proposed by meteorologist Lorenz in 1963, which roughly means that a butterfly in the tropical rainforest of the Amazon River Basin in South America, flapping its wings occasionally, may cause Dirk in the United States two weeks later. SARS caused a tornado. The reason is that the movement of the butterfly's wings causes changes in the air system around it and causes the generation of weak airflow, which in turn causes corresponding changes in the air or other systems around it, thus causing chain reactions. Ultimately leading to dramatic changes in other systems.
It seems that there is no need to say about the structure of the film. Director Alejandro is a master at playing with structure. "Love is a son of a bitch" and "Blackjack" are all from his hands, and the film that deals with the narrative structure recently There are also many, from Pulp Fiction to Crash. Therefore, the author still follows the order in the comments. Although it lacks the original intention of the director's "chaos", it is indeed clearer, and it can also be seen that the butterfly effect is terrible.
The film begins in the desert of Morocco, but in fact the occasional flapping of the butterfly's wings is in Japan, where the deaf girl's father gave the gun to Hassan, a Moroccan. In fact, it is difficult for us to say that the girl's mother committed suicide with a gun, or the father sent the gun first, but it doesn't matter, just with a rifle, the story happened.
After Hassan turned the gun down, the two children accidentally shot an American tourist while they were playing. Since the incident took place in the Arab country of Morocco, the situation became full of political implications, and even said that the whole world was caught in a kind of situation. In the terrorist attack, everyone's attention has long gone beyond the simple matter of the Japanese father sending the gun.
In order to get rid of this embarrassment, the Moroccan police quickly solved the case, and the two children were also arrested and killed, but the American tourist had already been sent to the hospital. But American tourists in foreign countries don't know that their two children are also having problems. A Mexican nanny took two children to Mexico to attend a wedding, but was suspected by a certain name on the way back, so the two children spent in the desert in vain.
At the same time, the deaf-mute girl in Japan desperately wanted to attract the attention of others. When her youth sprouted, it almost turned into bitter fruit, and her father's delivery of the gun finally came to light. Of course, the so-called terrorist attack was self-defeating. .
The whole story seems so absurd, and its internal connection is not so close, neither the babysitter problem nor the gun delivery does not structure the events in these three places into the story, then, we see It can be said to be three separate stories, taking place on the US border, Morocco and Japan.
The nanny had serious consequences due to a misunderstanding when she returned to Mexico with her employer's children. Although the two children were safe, it was a real struggle for this woman who has lived in the United States for 16 years. disaster, she had to be evicted. U.S. immigration policy is extremely vulnerable to such foreigners, and the misunderstanding is also due to an American hostility to Mexicans, mistaking it for a suspect. It is almost impossible for a Mexican to truly integrate into American society. After 16 years of living, he is not even qualified to work. This is a huge irony.
The story of Tokyo happened to a deaf-mute girl. First of all, the establishment of this disability status has shown the girl's desire for the outside world, but in fact, she could not achieve her wish at all, so she took the sale of sex as a gift. As a way to integrate herself into the society, exposure, eating ecstasy, and going to disco clubs, all of which are her efforts to integrate into society and become a part of society, but in fact, she did not succeed. As a result, she fell into a kind of despair, telling the police that her mother's jumping off the building was actually a manifestation of her lack of life, an extreme possibility for her to escape from society. In her fantasy, the moment her mother jumped off the building, her father was in a state of sleep, which actually showed that she was not getting her father's care at home. Therefore, we can see that what this adolescent girl desires most is the care from her father. When the girl took off her clothes and stood in front of the police, she tried to find a kind of love similar to her father.
The highlight of the film takes place in Morocco, where two teenagers shoot an American tourist because of the game, which is immediately sensitively defined as a terrorist attack. As a result, everyone became nervous. The Moroccan police were busy solving cases, tourists were busy saving themselves, and the teenagers who were in trouble were busy escaping. The tourist played by Peter is in a state of isolation and helplessness, with language barriers, transportation inconveniences, communication barriers, all of which he has to face and endure, but his wife is in a life-and-death situation. However, as a couple with problems, this life-and-death test has removed the barrier between them. Maybe it is only when life and death are between that people can really sit down and communicate, even if it is a couple . The two teenagers fell into a terrible state. From the film's presentation, the two teenagers lived in the mountains and were helpless. Shooting was actually one of the ways for them to get out, and it was a part of their ability. species manifest. But it is a pity that they shot in the wrong place, and their boring and closed life has harmed them. When it comes to the issue of international terror, they can only choose to run away. The elder brother was finally killed, and the two children became tragic . The biggest irony is the speech of the U.S. government. When the facts are presented to the audience, we see the U.S. government’s insistence that terrorist attacks are a kind of innate thinking of Americans, especially in Aberdeen. This kind of thing happened to the Latin American countries. On the one hand, it shows the boring political tactics of the Americans, and on the other hand, it also reflects the strong sense of crisis of the Americans, who seem to think that they are the object of global consensus.
Three stories are told in three places. In fact, the youngest story is that of a deaf-mute girl in Japan. It shows a difficulty in communicating between people, not only the contact with the outside world, but even in the family, the girl and her father There is nothing to say in between. Although the girl is naked in the arms of her father at the end of the film, does this really mean that kind of heart-to-heart communication? The director's intentions are good, but Tokyo's high-rise lighting has ruthlessly lost this intention. It's also a human-to-human communication, isn't it a tragedy that American passengers have to pass the test of life and death in order to continue their love?
If there is a kind of sadness in the communication between people, then the communication between countries is a terrible hostility. Although the United States and Mexico share a border, all the policies are not worthy of the name, and all the conceptual doubts are reflected in this story of the nanny. The real hostility is naturally the confrontation between the United States and the Arab countries. The first reaction of the US government caused by the shooting incident is a symbol of hostility. This kind of hostility has existed for a long time and is talked about by all the media. But in fact, it was an accident, so that sensitive hostility became a great irony.
Due to the inability to communicate in human society, this or that problem has arisen due to misunderstandings. Whether these problems are limited to individuals or extended to certain ethnic groups, and between certain countries, they are all very terrifying, and may all evolve into one. kind of hostility. When Peter shook hands with the Arabs when he got on the plane in the film, the director still had a trace of kindness, but what if Peter's wife died? Maybe the tornado will blow more violently.
This film reflects not only the problems of the United States itself. Although it has a certain irony on the US government's immigration and subjective national opinions, it also shows a more human-oriented communication relationship. Therefore, in this year's Oscar competition. It is obvious that the intention is extremely lofty, and it is extremely powerful. It makes sense to be the biggest hit award winner of the year.
2007-2-13 in Tongzhou
Han Xi
View more about Babel reviews
