Catholicism, Jews and Polish communism are cleverly brought together. The approach of directors and photographers is very worth mentioning. The composition processing of the landscape is similar to that of Nebraska, mainly through the classic method of black and white thick and thin lines, contrast and arrangement of light and dark areas, it goes without saying that it is beautiful. However, the cutting of the main body of the character is ruthless. Even if the character is in the center of the story, the composition and layout are cut in the most abrupt place and placed at the edge, such as leaving only half. A close-up of the face with only the upper waist and the upper part above the chest and placed at the bottom of the picture. Especially with the latter’s composition, the scene outside of people always occupies an extra large space (so that the English subtitles of many shots are placed in the shadows at the top of the screen, otherwise people can’t see them), so I use this space again. The composition that highlights the scene itself is often a ritual cross (window frame) composition that reflects the religious atmosphere and oppressive solemnity. This dual composition mode can be said to completely break the traditional photographic aesthetic framework while retaining the classic three-part composition. It expresses the director's intention to stay away from the subject of the narrative, just like a scientist who wants to minimize the impact of observation on the observed object itself. In addition, there are several cross-frame diagrams formed by the praying nun Ida and the sleeping aunt on the bed. This Christian cross itself is a symbol of contradiction. The vertical is a pious and passive Jewish orphan who believes in the Catholic Church. , Heng is a pre-communist prosecutor who is Jewish but has atheistic qualities. This cross is bound to be unstable. So we can see the mutual influence between the two people. The only Jewish relative not only "counts the ancestors and forgets the ancestors", believes in God, but also hides her beautiful long hair in the nun's hat. This piety makes the aunt suspicious. , To her always cynical and empty one-night stand lifestyle; at the same time, Ida also suspected that she liked the talent of a male bar musician and secretly took off her hat in front of the toilet mirror. These are slowly heating up during the journey to find the remains of Ida's parents and brother who was allegedly massacred. Until the final disintegration of the cross, the horizontal and vertical can no longer appear at the same time. Under the extremely calm indoor shots and the overflowing phonograph music, the aunt opened the window and jumped down, just like Madio jumped off the balcony during a firework carnival in "Bright Life". The strong contrast made people almost suffocating. Ida dressed up as a city girl after her aunt's funeral, tasting the forbidden fruit and drinking alcohol for fun. "Follow me to the beach, it's so fun there" "What about?" "Then we will get married and form a family." "What about?" "Then...just normal Life. "She was silent, because it was this ordinary life that made her aunt lose the courage to live.
Going back to the movie itself, I think this approach is the opposite of Ozu Yasujiro's style. It is also a fixed camera position. Ozu always observes people through the knee position. The height of the lens is absolute, while Pawlipowsky puts the lens according to the absolute standard of human beings, shattering the observation of the characters in the background. The former makes people approach the characters, and the parents are short; the latter makes people leave the characters cold and isolated, and is better than Jia Muxu, who is good at this. The movie also has an element of tribute to Ozu.) It's done even better, and the whole character seems to be missing.
In fact, there is still much to be said. The personality and basic contradictions of this story can be clarified throughout the entire Polish history of World War II. The text is very open; there is also the continuation of the tradition of discussing divinity in Polish films, although it is not Ida. The theme of the nun’s crucifixion is reminiscent of the Polish religious classic "Nun Joanna" that I saw at Lincoln Center at the beginning of the year. Place it at the edge of the screen.
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