"A Fish named Wanda": a woman named Wanda

Mortimer 2021-11-15 08:01:24

"A Fish named Wanda": A woman named Wanda

didn't know why the director chose this name, and she still couldn't figure it out after watching the film. This fish named "Wanda" does exist in the movie, but it is not the protagonist. The protagonist is a woman also named "Wanda". After careful consideration, isn't there an old saying in China that says: "like a fish in the water", "with ease" and so on, this woman is like a fish, dealing with men, and the director named her own movie like this, in fact, there is a touch of mockery.

This film was filmed in 1988, and now it seems that there are still some memorable humorous passages, and it is hard to say that this very dramatic story mode is not a later film (such as "Two Smoke Guns", "Crazy "The Stone", etc.). First of all, the story itself is very simple, a clue runs through to the end, and all characters act around a purpose. In this film, George, Wanda, Ken, and Otto are all out in order to obtain valuable treasures. This is actually the same as the film’s director Charles Clayton’s early black-and-white film "The Thug of Mount Lavande". (This movie is also the debut of Audrey Hepburn, with a stunning appearance of about three minutes). There are similarities, and they all spare no effort to obtain treasures. I always feel that this director is very good at reflecting the whole story through some humorous plots and character behaviors, and moral benchmarks may not exist-he always holds a joking gesture to make the characters in the movie look like " "Neutral" rather than derogatory or praiseworthy. Therefore, we may call it "black humor". The characters in it are thieves and liars, but they are full of heroic energy, ignoring moral laws. Is it an "anti-hero" genre film?

The characteristics of each character in the movie are very distinct. Ken is a stutterer. When he is nervous, he can’t speak. This makes it easy for the director to insert some plots, especially when the audience is eager to know the answer. On the contrary, the stuttering caused a kind of humorous effect of "Haste is not achieved". And among them, he did a series of "futility" to kill the witness-the old lady with three dogs-which is hilarious. His "assassination" method seemed shocking, but in fact he used a very "humane" method to kill the old lady’s dog, causing her to die suddenly from a heart attack, but after several times of coming down, the dog died. The old lady did not die. Although he achieved his goal in the end, his repeated "assassination" behaviors made the audience laugh and achieved the "counter-effect" that the director wanted to create. George is the least portrayed character. Although Wanda is his girlfriend, he often brings his "brother" Otto in and out of the house. In the end, he becomes Wanda's stepping board and a chess piece used at best. . Otto is also very interesting. On the surface, he is Wanda's "brother", but in fact, she is her lover. This lover is so stupid and cute. Even if he is stupid, he still doesn't allow others to say that he is stupid. He likes to speak a lot of Italian to win Wanda's favor. For example: When the two are having sex, his series of foreign words and the two exaggerated movements can't help but make people laugh. Even with the foreign language element, the director did not forget to explain it in the second half of the film. After Wanda got in the car of Lawyer Leach, she asked if the other party could speak Italian or Russian. The characters seem a little absurd.

The characters in the whole film do not have a "qualitative", and almost everyone's character or nature will change. Wanda was in love with his "brother" Otto at first, but because he wanted to use George’s defense attorney, Leach, to use the "beauty trick" to seduce him to bed, but because Otto’s adhesion was too strong, he was profitable. Mrs. Qi's obstruction caused a lot of laughter during the whole incident. When the treasure was about to be found, Wanda fell in love with the lawyer. Why does this British lawyer have feelings for "Wanda"? Because the United Kingdom is a very conservative and traditional country, the English gentlemen we see are all polite. Who can see that the hearts wrapped in their dresses are hurt? This is a "very injured" lawyer. His wife is very old-fashioned, his daughter is very old-fashioned, and his work and life lack the sentiment. This can be compared with the sex scene mentioned earlier: the director used several parallel cuts. To express the American and British lifestyles, the crazy and intense way of making love like Wanda and Otto, in comparison, the separation and undressing of the lawyer and his wife before going to bed seem really staid and monotonous. No wonder, when Wanda used such provocative words to express his admiration for him for the first time, he was immediately conquered. He is actually one of the most important characters in the whole film. From being flattered at the beginning to dancing in the villa naked at the end, he has changed his personality. As for Ken, even the stuttering problem disappeared after taking revenge on Otto... What is even more surprising is that the subtitles played at the end of the film explain the later careers of the characters, which is even more confusing. Therefore, none of the characters in the film are "qualitative". They are always changing, and while looking for a direction, they also change themselves.

Because of the difference and contrast of national cultures, the portrayal of the characters' distinctive personalities, and the plot placement full of jokes, the film completely breaks away from the style of crime genre films. The performances of several actors are very comedic, making the story full, thrilling and full of jokes. It is worth mentioning that, although Wanda is a woman who has changed her mind and is profligate, the director did not let her end badly. In the end, she "had 17 children" with the lawyer.

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Extended Reading
  • Dock 2022-04-24 07:01:05

    fucking crazy, hahaha~

  • Amina 2022-03-26 09:01:04

    After watching a lot of stupid thief-themed movies, you will find it commonplace. The reason why the score is so high may be because the release time is early.

A Fish Called Wanda quotes

  • Otto: Nice fish, Ken. You know what Nietzsche said about animals? "They were God's second blunder."

    Ken: Well, you t-t-t-tell him from me that I kuh-kuh, I kuh-kuh...

  • Wanda: I looked at the clock... because I was saying to myself... It's five to seven, where could he be going with that sawed off shotgun?