Saints and Bad Guys and Wolves

Ivah 2022-04-13 09:01:06

"An old wolf was driven out of the wolf pack because of his old age. He was very hungry, so he ran to the house of humans and ate those chickens and ducks. Humans tried to kill him, but he didn't have the courage, so he was on duty day and night and set up a Many traps, humans hate this wolf, think he is fierce and strong, but what they don't know is that this is just an old and weak wolf."

Magic and reality, oil painting and village, in the transformation of real and fake, the 2018 film "Happy Lazzaro" directed by Alice Lovach tells us a beautiful and sad story.

The plot is based on the remote town of Invoice in Italy. The villagers are unaware of the changes in the world because of the lack of news. They are enslaved day by day by the Marquise Alfonsina de Luna, whom she calls "Lady Viper", and the rebellious son of the marquise, Tancredi, comes Here to escape the summer and become "friends" with the kind-hearted Lazaro.

The seemingly peach blossom-like village is still the epitome of contradictions, the countess who deceived and enslaved the villagers, the villagers who dared not speak out, and the innocent and beautiful Lazaro who was bullied by the villagers. The oppression brought about by class is increasing layer by layer, and people at the bottom will still reject marginalized people. Lazaro is just such a marginalized figure who is simply kind but not accepted. He loves labor but is oppressed.

The existence of alien individuals is not accepted by the social group, just like the villagers who were rescued from the village after the truth was revealed. "They are afraid of everything, and they don't even dare to cross the river." In the environment of social balance, some of the "simple" alien villagers who suddenly appeared are just fear of each other and the future. The director morphologically articulates the fear of new immigrants, turning the focus of the contradiction between social well-being and individual well-being.

"Later, the story of the old wolf came to the ears of a sage, he had the ability to communicate with animals, people respected him and obeyed him, so people went to the sage, and the sage accepted the people's request - the one who negotiated peace with the wolf. demanded, so he set off to look for the wolf, the sage traveled a long way, he walked and walked, and winter came, the sage was exhausted, he was cold and hungry, but still could not find a trace of the wolf, he did not What I know is that the wolf is also hungry, and he has been following the saint for a long time, finally one day, the saint fell, he fell on the snow, the wolf finally appeared, the wolf slowly, grinning and approaching him , Just when the wolf was about to eat him, the wolf suddenly smelled a smell, this smell he had never smelled stopped him, he sniffed again, what is this smell?"

"The smell of a good man."

The second stage of the film is also the most exciting part of the whole play as the story turns from the simple countryside to the city. The kind-hearted Lazaro is the embodiment of the legendary "Saint". Lazaro, a marginal figure, was used by Tancredi in the name of "friendship" but still believed in Tancredi, so he had the idea of ​​looking for help "Tancredi" later in the story. The sage looks for the old wolf.

What is kindness. The villagers endure hardships but oppress the most innocent Lazaro, the unskilled villagers take Lazaro to deceive the sympathetic city people, wear the most decent clothes and the most expensive pastries to visit the Earl's house but are rejected out the door and ask for pastries. Kindness is switched over and over in this film, and there is no standard.

The graceful music in the film to follow Lazaro is the biggest comfort and the saddest part of the whole play. When the lie was uncovered again, and the villagers who had nothing at all were accustomed to this complex society, Lazaro's loneliness left him at a loss, and only the hymn of the organ followed. Lazaro always feels happy in being needed, the oppression of the villagers is what Lazaro needs, and Tancredi's friendship is what Lazaro needs, and he follows because he is needed. Lazaro's happiness does not exist when it is not needed.

"Later, the saint became a bad guy, and the old wolf came back and took his life."

Did "Saint" Lazaro really go bad in the film? Following the villagers' fraud and bank "robbery" incidents are the inevitable result of the kind-hearted Lazaro's inability to integrate into this complex society. Lazaro, who lost his faith, died in tears in the beatings of the city people, and the tears made people sad. The "Old Wolf" once gave him a second life, but now the "Old Wolf" is back and has taken back his life.

In a way, in the end, "the saint who turned into a villain" and "the old wolf driven out by humans" had the same ending. The decline of the aristocracy, the contradictions of population employment and security issues, and how to face the reshuffled social environment are the cruelest and most realistic problems in the social evolution of the film. The gathering of urbanites and urbanites, the gathering of "bad guys" and "bad guys", only "sages" and "old wolves" are existences that will never have a place.

About the belonging of people on the fringes of the bottom. Lazaro, who is "happiness when you are needed", always wants to integrate into this group, working in exchange for the trust of the villagers, coffee in exchange for the love of the girls, and help in exchange for the friendship of Tancredi. The villagers who "scam for a living" spent all the cakes they bought in exchange for the respect of the former nobles. Whether it is Lazaro or the villagers, they have tried their best to enter the group,

There was a moment when I was needed, and I was happy at that time, but then it was gone.

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Extended Reading
  • Lionel 2022-04-05 09:01:08

    I dare not cross the river under the broken bridge, but I can walk to civilization. Beware of beasts by the chicken coop, but I can resonate with the wolf howl. I am a peasant in rags by the reaper of the tenant farm; by the modern excavator, I am a saint of youthful appearance. Falling from the edge of the cliff was not eaten by hungry wolves, but people fell into a well in the bank and stoned. He broke into the church to hear the holy sound, but was blasted away. The time between man and God, the language of man and beast, and the joys and sorrows of man and man will never communicate.

  • Santos 2022-04-04 09:01:08

    Four-and-a-half stars, the main competition has seen the most surprise now, and I hope that one of the three awards can be selected. Whether it is the form, image, theme, performance, actor selection, all aspects are very outstanding. The retro feeling shot by 16mm, the natural scenery of the countryside, the male protagonist with his own aura, the contrast between the city and the countryside, and the inadvertent surreal part. All make this film very rare, a naturalistic style, quiet and comfortable.

Happy as Lazzaro quotes

  • Marchesa Alfonsina De Luna: Human beings are like animals. Set them free and they realize they are slaves locked in their own misery. Right now, they suffer, but they don't know. I exploit them, they exploit that poor man. It's a chain reaction that can't be stopped.

  • Marchesa Alfonsina De Luna: He who knows himself well is humbled in his own presence. And the praise of other men provokes no pleasure. If I were to know everything in the universe and scorned the charity who would bring me the grace of God? Who would judge my actions? One should go beyond the thirst for knowledge that is the root of distraction and disappointment.