I'm wondering, the title of the film literally translates to "good times" in French, isn't it? "Time", how this concept fits the story!
"A Day Trip to Good Dreams" is not in line with the plot and looks tacky; "The Belle Epoque" is even more so. This film is not a reminiscence of the 1970s and youthful years, okay?
For the old man, the good thing is not to go back to 1974 and go back to the tavern, but to meet a young and lovely woman in his twilight years, and have a specious ambiguous relationship. It is a pity that reality is reality after all, and people cannot (at least for now) resist the footsteps of time. White horses have gone through the gap, things are right and wrong, and recalling the past will only increase troubles. So, instead of living in "memory", it is better to live in "time".
At the end, the old man and his cheating wife actually reunited after the storm. I'm really not worth it for the old man! The old man was despised, ridiculed, and kicked out of the house by his wife because he insisted on a simple way of life. He relived his old dream and was lucky enough to meet an actress. Playing games and working in my son's company to earn money and pay. There is a plot design here that I like very much, that is, the colleagues in the company started to think that the old man was a "treasure" and "weird", but they were quickly convinced by the old man's painting art and skills, and everyone worked together harmoniously. In fact, the story of the old man can end here. Although there is no beautiful woman to accompany, but somehow I have a good time as a memory to cherish in my life, and my hobbies and craftsmanship have been put on the stage again, isn't it good? In the end, a derailed wife and a prostitute had to come back, and the two of them relived their old dreams together, which tortured the old man too much!
Another fucking ending is that the male boss and the actress turned their faces faster than a book and quarreled for several rounds, and then came to their senses and raised their eyebrows. Well, maybe the writers, directors and producers still want to make a happy ending so that they can go to the film festival for awards.
What I hope more is that the old man has lost his wife and girlfriend, but he is happily working in his son's company, giving full play to the light and enthusiasm of his illustrator, and painting something different in this era of fast food culture and screens full of eyeballs. Colors, like the fragments of his dreams on the walls of the game hotel room, bring warm touches to the viewers.
As for the male boss and the actress, in fact, they have been separated and combined for so long, whether they are together is not the main point of the story. It's good to give an open design at the end, just use this young couple to correspond to the old man's marriage and life.
Whether a comedy is a comedy or not is not determined by whether the ending is a comedy or not. For an excellent and touching comedy, the ending can be a tragedy, or one that is neither tragic nor happy, just guide the viewer to think.
(January 11, 2021, Shenzhen)
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