morality

Jasen 2022-05-10 14:32:50

It's been a long time since I saw a movie that really touched my heart, and this "Death of a Cyclist" is such a movie. The film is directed by Spanish director Juan Antonio Baden, who is the uncle of Spanish film star Javier Baden, who is now active on the American screen, Juan Antonio Baden. Baden is known as a famous director in the early days of Spain and Buñuel, and this film is the representative work of his period. The film is a Spanish-Italian co-production, so there is a clear Italian neorealist tone in the film. This film is about morality, just like I thought when I wrote "The Devil Knows Before You Die" the other day - morality is the original sin of human nature. Two people who are afraid of being discovered by others for their unethical behavior have violated their morality once again in the matter of "the death of the cyclist", and they must be condemned in conscience for being above the law. At the time of the car accident, Juan had a conscience. He got out of the car to see the injured person, who was not dead yet. He hoped that the injured would be rescued, but Maria stopped her. She was afraid that the adultery between the two would be discovered, so Juan's conscience was beaten back. Since then, he has been terrified, fueled by the news of the "cyclist's death" in the newspapers. He is also a conscientious person, and he has also tried to find the family of the injured (of course, partly because he wants to know if this matter has been discovered). He was nervous in the school examination room for a while, and caused a wrong move by a female student Mathilde to fail the exam, which caused the students to protest collectively. Through this incident, he rethought his life and moral code issues, and finally he woke up and felt that he should be worthy of his conscience - surrender to the police station. What Maria considered most was that her affair with Juan should not be known to her husband. At the end of the film, the audience found that she actually had nothing. She didn't want to turn herself in with Juan, she was afraid of losing her rich life, social status and her rich husband. This is also the difference between her and Hu An. Although the school teacher and associate professor Hu An has a brother-in-law who is the dean of the school, he never relies on the relationship of his brother-in-law to become a professor. On the contrary, he took the initiative to submit it when he finally woke up. resignation. And Maria is a woman who looks up to money. At the juncture that Juan is about to turn himself in, she will inevitably be implicated. This woman who was carried away by her values ​​and ideals personally ended her beloved. She ended up in Juan ( Swing between morality) and husband (money) and choose money, and lose morality (driving kills Juan). The end of the movie is ironic, where Maria kills Juan with her car in the old place where the car accident happened. Maria was in a hurry to travel with her husband, and she fell off a bridge while dodging a cyclist on the way home. There is a lot of karma, which is very similar to the heroine at the end of "Vertigo" falling to her death. This kind of arrangement is also very similar to the American noir film, the heroine of the femme fatale often has to make her own way at the end. be punished for morality. I think director Juan Antonio Baden's cinematography is very impressive. His film organically blends American and Italian films into Spanish films. At the beginning of the film, it directly cuts into the theme of the car accident. Juan and Maria hit and run, and then gradually outlines that the two have an extraordinary relationship and are both family members, and the plot starts from the hint of the blackmailer Rafa. The plot is very compact. In the first half, there is a parallel montage that is very well handled. On one side is Juan, who is deeply troubled by "the death of the cyclist", and on the other side is Maria and her husband making out. Baden's transition between the two scenes is very clever. , while Maria looked at her husband on the bed, and the next shot switched to Juan, as if to imply that Maria had imagined her husband as Juan when she was intimate. And he makes good use of montage. Such transformations can be seen everywhere in the film. For example, Farah, who failed to extort angrily, smashed a bottle into a glass window angrily. In the next scene, the school's glass was smashed and the students collectively protested. Another point, the conveyance of the eyes of the characters in the movie is very classic, and you can often understand everything without resorting to lines. Especially in the banquet part of the film, the dancers and singers have mixed voices, and Fala threatened Maria at this time and reported to Maria's husband that his wife had an affair with Juan. And the whole scene doesn't have a line, it's all about the eyes, it's very explosive. Baden's cinematic technique is remarkable, his film organically blends American and Italian films into Spanish cinema. At the beginning of the film, it directly cuts into the theme of the car accident. Juan and Maria hit and run, and then gradually outlines that the two have an extraordinary relationship and are both family members, and the plot starts from the hint of the blackmailer Rafa. The plot is very compact. In the first half, there is a parallel montage that is very well handled. On one side is Juan, who is deeply troubled by "the death of the cyclist", and on the other side is Maria and her husband making out. Baden's transition between the two scenes is very clever. , while Maria looked at her husband on the bed, and the next shot switched to Juan, as if to imply that Maria had imagined her husband as Juan when she was intimate. And he makes good use of montage. Such transformations can be seen everywhere in the film. For example, Farah, who failed to extort angrily, smashed a bottle into a glass window angrily. In the next scene, the school's glass was smashed and the students collectively protested. Another point, the conveyance of the eyes of the characters in the movie is very classic, and you can often understand everything without resorting to lines. Especially in the banquet part of the film, the dancers and singers have mixed voices, and Fala threatened Maria at this time and reported to Maria's husband that his wife had an affair with Juan. And the whole scene doesn't have a line, it's all about the eyes, it's very explosive. Baden's cinematic technique is remarkable, his film organically blends American and Italian films into Spanish cinema. At the beginning of the film, it directly cuts into the theme of the car accident. Juan and Maria hit and run, and then gradually outlines that the two have an extraordinary relationship and are both family members, and the plot starts from the hint of the blackmailer Rafa. The plot is very compact. In the first half, there is a parallel montage that is very well handled. On one side is Juan, who is deeply troubled by "the death of the cyclist", and on the other side is Maria and her husband making out. Baden's transition between the two scenes is very clever. , while Maria looked at her husband on the bed, and the next shot switched to Juan, as if to imply that Maria had imagined her husband as Juan when she was intimate. And he makes good use of montage. Such transformations can be seen everywhere in the film. For example, Farah, who failed to extort angrily, smashed a bottle into a glass window angrily. In the next scene, the school's glass was smashed and the students collectively protested. Another point, the conveyance of the eyes of the characters in the movie is very classic, and you can often understand everything without resorting to lines. Especially in the banquet part of the film, the dancers and singers have mixed voices, and Fala threatened Maria at this time and reported to Maria's husband that his wife had an affair with Juan. And the whole scene doesn't have a line, it's all about the eyes, it's very explosive.

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Extended Reading

Death of a Cyclist quotes

  • Miguel Castro: The other day, someone told me a very interesting story. The story of a happy marriage that went downhill.

    María José de Castro: Why?

    Miguel Castro: The woman tricked the man.

    María José de Castro: Oh really? How original.

    Miguel Castro: Let me finish. The woman tricked the man. They were both good people, especially the woman. And he had a lot of money.

    María José de Castro: So what did the husband do, kill his wife?

    Miguel Castro: No, even better. He left her. Without a penny, suddenly she lost her entire life. Even everyday life, lost. And nobody wanted to give her a hand. Do you like it?

    María José de Castro: The story? It's not too bad. Who told it to you?

    Miguel Castro: Rafa.