As far as the movie is concerned, it is another story where fate is tricked and staggered from each other. But the story of "The Lover" has a subtle and exotic flavor. The mixture of France and China is not as enthusiastic and unrestrained as the West, but it also lacks the dullness and rigidity of the East. It takes place in a third party, Vietnam, during the colonial period, colonial culture. More powerful, and in the chaos, this stray hidden love has a yearning for freedom.
Jane (Jane March) and Tony (Leung Ka Fai) met on a ferry on the Mekong River. The turbid river water, the crowded and messy street market, the gray sky, and the black smoke from steam ships and factories. It is the background of the story, everything seems outdated, it is in line with this ancient story that happened a century ago, this beautiful time that has gone by for a long time. The background is full of stories, and the nostalgic atmosphere has been created.
Jane was wearing a simple white dress without a corset, with one foot resting on the railing, her whole body exuded a natural breath, and the taste of her seventeen-year-old girl's innocence. This breath and taste attracted Tony, the rich young master with a feudal family behind him, who was destined to be unable to break free from the shackles of the powerful feudal forces. He was incompetent, cowardly, and saddened. In fact, Jane, like him, is a person who is strong from the outside and works hard at the same time. Jane's family is in the middle of the road. She has a cowardly, paranoid and neurotic mother, and a cruel brother. The same oppressed growth environment, the same cannot escape, and the chaos and impermanence caused by the war, and the completely different cultural background, aggravate this helplessness and helplessness.
Jane can only deceive herself, that she is with Tony for money. She has fear and rejection of this unfamiliar cultural circle in China. She said that she doesn't like Chinese people, but in fact she just can't overcome the psychological barrier. Used to huddle in a familiar environment. But more importantly, her immaturity led to her ignorance of her inner world. She almost forced herself to believe that with Tony for money, she ignored the love in her heart, or didn't dare to love. The indifferent and cruel family environment makes Jane's character also indifferent and precocious.
Tony's most charming image is the looming figure hidden behind the car. This is a film that pays great attention to aesthetics. From the outdated urban background, to the character's every move, and even the sadness of this emotional storm, he is trying his best to maintain it. A beauty of the past that has been precipitated by the years. Tony Leung, played by Tony Leung, has a handsome appearance that is weak and unrefined in the world, as well as the Western aesthetics of Chinese people with wide foreheads, flat facial features, and small eyes. This is their view of Chinese people, and it has not changed so far. . Tony's pain of not being able to leave the feudal family is actually unable to overcome the inner obstacles, and he is afraid of losing his identity, status and money after leaving the family. His cowardice actually exudes a unique beauty, which is believed to be one of the reasons for attracting Jane.
This love is so complex, bold and secretive, passionate and restrained. The room where they had a tryst was separated from the bustling and noisy street outside by a wall. The noise was real, and the sky light leaked in through the blinds, but the secret and quiet of the room was not affected at all. Even the air seemed to stop flowing. There is only the private time of the two, as if isolated from the world, but the constant noise reminds that this is not the case. No one can be cut off from the world, cut off from the surroundings and the past. What's more, they are chaotic and cowardly. Feelings, like the outside world, are precarious, hidden in the era of war, no one will remember, but buried deep in each other's hearts.
Love makes people grow old, deep, and suddenly mature, and in the end Jane weeps secretly on the ship in the middle of the ocean, for their love that can only flow in time.
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