The film takes place in a very interesting time. It happened just after the end of the Spanish Civil War and at the beginning of Franco's rule. In a remote and dull village, old hatred and old hatred were intertwined. This gives the film another layer of political film color. There seems to be a relationship to each other here, and everyone hides a secret. The atmosphere in the countryside gradually unfolded in front of the audience through the eyes of a child, allowing us to observe a corner of Spanish society at that time. This reminds us of the film "White Ribbon", which won the Berlin Golden Bear Award last year. The villages of Spain in the 1930s and 1940s, like those in Germany at the beginning of the last century, also harbored deep sins. In fact, such sins have penetrated deep into people's hearts. , where new sins are fermented and brewed.
Andrew is a child from a mountain village in Catalonia. His eyes were clear and dust-free when he first appeared, and his eyes were full of horror when he saw the tragic death of his friend. As an eyewitness, he was destined to step into the world of grown-ups and suffer sins he had never experienced before. He couldn't understand this grown-up world, where lies and truth seemed to be on the fine line. What he saw and what he heard always contradicted, which made Andrew very confused. He firmly believes that his father is not the murderer, but some of his father's actions confuse him. His father took him to his grandmother's house to avoid disaster, and in the new environment there was a new mist in front of him. Everything seemed odd, his cousin, his aunt, his teacher, the gay man, even his father. He couldn't understand many things, but his father only told him not to listen to other people's rumors, everything his parents did was for Andrew.
However, the truth is always cruel, and it will always be revealed at the right time, making people caught off guard and unacceptable. Behind the phenomenon is the truth, and behind the truth there is a hidden truth. The wind is calm and the waves are turbulent below, and behind the flat river is the abyss. Everything has a cause, and the sins you have done will always ferment and then eat into your life. As the plot unfolds step by step, the audience realizes that this village was once filled with such complicated and bizarre past events, where radicals and conservatives also fought fiercely here. As radical villagers, they also committed bloody crimes during the civil war, and the dead ghosts still entangle them like maggots. Not only does it make their conscience uneasy, but they also have to pay with their lives. In addition to politics, there is also money, and this is the crux of the still miserable village.
Andrew kept discovering strange things in his grandmother's house, which made him extremely confused, and in the confusion, he also walked step by step to the truth, and the truth forced him to abandon childishness step by step and let him step into the truth. in the adult world. Andrew is in conflict with his father. From the initial police investigation of the homicide, to the fact that his father hid in his grandmother's house without telling him, and then to the arrest of his father, he could feel his father's love for him, as his father said, everything was for him. At the same time, he always felt that what his father did was not so noble and upright, and he always seemed to be hiding something. The period from when his father was in prison until he was executed was also a time when Andrew's exploration of the truth made significant progress, and it was also a time when he had his own thoughts on life. The arrival of the final truth directly shattered Andrew's heart and taught him how to survive in the adult world.
Is his mentality distorted by the truth? Judging from his series of behaviors, Andrew at the end of the movie is very different from the pure boy in front of him. He cut off all connections with him, including his cousin who wanted to run away with him, and even him 's mother. From this point of view, the character has indeed changed a lot. In fact, it can only show that Andrew has become mature. From these things, he knows what the world looks like and how he should adapt to this world and survive. He chose to leave the family to be an adopted son to others, because the family only provided him with black bread. Although this family gave him love, this love was shocking. And being an adopted son of a rich man can guarantee his future, at least he can have white bread to eat. In fact, isn't this what his father bought with his life? His choice is the best reward for his father.
The adult world is full of lies and violence, is the childhood world necessarily beautiful? The director gave a negative answer to some extent. The film looks at the world from the eyes of children, but the director does not contrast the world of children with the world of adults. The world of children is also full of evil, but we sometimes regard this evil as innocence and ignorance. From their seemingly unintentional conversations, it can be seen that they actually understand everything, and they also have the intention to do evil. The setting of Andrew's cousin's role can help us to understand the world of children more deeply, and her evil is probably no less for adults. In an abnormal society, how can we ask for a pure and dust-free world for children? To survive, you have to learn everything in adult society as quickly as possible. Andrew's choice is actually the best choice in this society.
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