At any time, interpreting the works of Hou Hsiao-hsien is an adventure. It’s not because his works are too complicated and difficult. On the contrary, Hou Hsiao-hsien’s works have a straightforward and neat narrative. Once you finish reading them, you will understand everything. It seems that there is a lot to say, but when you want to say it, you find that the director has already said it. Finished
" Sad City " is also such a typical Hou Hsiao-hsien work -
I think Hou Hsiao-hsien's "Sad City" can be compared with Yang Dechang's " Kuling Street Teenage Murder Incident ". "Sad City" tells the story It is about the conflict between the Japanese army and the original residents after the National Army took over Taiwan, and "The Murder of the Boys on Kuling Street" follows closely behind, showing the living conditions of the new participants after the National Army officially moved to Taiwan. The two works can complement each other and serve as mirror images of each other, jointly showing the fate of individuals in the turbulent history
In order to facilitate everyone's understanding, I made a simple brain map to sort out the characters of "Sad City" Relationship:
At the beginning of the movie, what was played on the radio was Emperor Showa reading out the " Final War Edict " - In 1945, the Japanese army announced its unconditional surrender, opening up the background of the story
At this time, in the Lin family in Keelung, a baby fell to the ground. , this is the grandson Lin Guangming
Lin Alu, the eldest son of the Lin family, has four sons. The eldest son Lin Wenxiong is in charge of family affairs, has a wife and a concubine, and has a daughter and a son; the second son Lin Wenlong was a local practicing doctor who was called during the war. He went to Luzon to work as a military doctor, but has not returned yet, and his life and death are uncertain; the third son, Lin Wenliang, worked as a translator for the Japanese army in Shanghai during the war. After the war, he was arrested by the national army on charges of traitor. After returning to Taiwan, he was mentally traumatized and received treatment; Four sons Lin Wenqing , who has been deaf since childhood, runs a photo studio
Lin Alu was supposed to have many children and many blessings, but three of his four sons were "abnormal". This is tragic enough, but as the story unfolds As we unfold, we will find that this is just the beginning of the tragedy.
After Wenliang recovered and was discharged from the hospital, he was involved in the illegal activities of "pirating Japanese banknotes" and "smuggling drugs". He was framed and imprisoned. After he was released from prison, he went completely crazy; Wenxiong was also later The gangster who framed Wenliang was shot to death; at this time, the February 28th incident occurred. Wenqing was secretly arrested because of his close association with progressive people. His life and death were unknown
In the huge Lin family, of the four men, in the end, none of them had any history left. It is common for wheels to whiz by and injure innocent people.
When we watch "City of Sadness", we must understand that era.
During the war, Taiwanese society, as a colonized party, was both subtly influenced by colonial culture and suffered causing huge economic oppression. In 1945, the war ended and the National Army took over Japan. These original residents saw a turning point and thought that their suffering would become history. However, unexpectedly, after Chen Yi became the chief executive of Taiwan, the governance of Taiwan was nothing more than child's play.
On the one hand, because Due to language and cultural barriers, conflicts often occur between the National Army and Taiwanese residents, but the National Army holds the barrel of a gun. In a series of conflicts, the only ones who suffer are the original residents, and the authorities almost condone this. Attitude. On the other hand, in order to deal with the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in the mainland, the Kuomintang regarded Taiwan as a supply warehouse, shipped a large amount of people's livelihood supplies to the mainland, and at the same time printed banknotes to cope with huge financial expenditures. This has caused an extreme shortage of social materials in Taiwan. Coupled with the inflation caused by money printing, prices in Taiwan have risen three times a day, making people's lives miserable. In "City of Sadness", they joked about themselves:
Everyone eats, everyone eats. Riding, no one hurts
In this case, private sales, smuggling, etc. happen from time to time, so in the movies we watch, many ordinary people engage in these illegal activities. In fact, it is not difficult to understand.
As a national army, naturally we do not want to lose these With limited resources, they searched day and night, preferring to kill a thousand by mistake rather than letting one go. Finally, this led to the tragedy of February 28th -
On February 27, 1947, the Taiwan Monopoly Bureau conducted an operation to investigate illicit cigarettes. During the incident, he injured cigarette seller Lin Jiangmai and accidentally killed citizen Chen Wenxi.This aroused strong dissatisfaction among Taiwan's original residents, who took to the streets to demonstrate the next day. Chen Yi compromised on the surface, but actually reported the rebellion to the Nationalist Government. On March 5, Chiang Kai-shek sent troops to reinforce Taiwan and began a large-scale violent suppression. Many places were cleared of rural areas, and unjust, false and wrong cases occurred frequently, with many casualties
二Shortly after the February 8th Incident, Taiwan entered long-term martial law, and white terror followed. This period of history has been kept secret ever since.
"Sad City" not only tells the tragedy of a city, it actually depicts a tragedy through individuals. The tragedy of every character in the movie is full of inevitability in this paradoxical era.
Wenlong evaporated directly because of the war; Wenxiong and Wenliang suffered repeatedly because of illegal activities. Illegal nature is wrong. , but the law is no problem? Wenqing was even worse. He guarded his photo studio as his duty, but was taken away inexplicably because of his association with progressive people like Wu Kuanrong - they didn't even let a deaf-mute go.
The mountains and rivers were broken, and his life experience was up and down. The storm is coming, and there is no escape.
And how do people living in this era view this era?
After the Nationalist Army moved in, people in Xiaohai were discussing how to fly the new national flag: The Japanese flag is centrally symmetrical, so it can be hung no matter how it is hung, but how should it be hoisted the flag of the Nationalist Government?
This shows that ordinary people have not made advance predictions and preparations for the times. They are more concerned about their three meals a day and just want to live well. When the Japanese army was there, they spoke Japanese and hung up the Japanese flag. When the Chinese army came, they began to learn Chinese and hung up the blue sky and white sun flag. No matter how the times change, they will get better with the times. Having enough food, clothing and warmth to stay alive will become
. This is true in any situation. Times are the same. I believe that at this moment, we are definitely more concerned about what to eat next than the situation in Russia and Ukraine.
Ordinary people’s requirements are not high, but at some point, these basic requirements are still extravagant hopes. This basic requirement for survival has turned into a luxury, which makes the tragedy of "Sad City" more despair
But Hou Hsiao-hsien is still gentle, and he dilutes this despair through many side plots
For example, the love between Wenqing and Kuanmei, you come I go, paper is short but love is long. Communication through pen and paper eliminates the silent barrier and forms a small family. Their wedding happened just after Wenxiong's funeral, allowing joy to take over the sorrow, and the audience would not be so sad.
At the end of the movie, only the crazy Wenliang was left among the men in the Lin family, but their descendants were all running around the dining table alive.
These tender scenes not only dilute the tragedy of the work itself, but also speak of the hope beyond the work and in the future - Although the departed have left, the new ones have not stopped growing.
This is the warmth of the director, and also The warmth and brilliance shared by the human species: the objective environment changes from time to time, but tenacity, hope and love have always been rooted in human genes. And the more tragic it is, the more intense it is.
The shots of "Sad City" are also full of Hou Hsiao-hsien's unique style.
He uses a lot of fixed camera shots and empty shots. . This will test the audience's tolerance. At 157 minutes, it is very likely that I can't bear it. But when you endure it and read on, you will find the benefits of this style. It makes the whole work restrained, cautious and meticulous, just like trivial reality. Compared with the background, the story appears full and real.
At the same time, "Sad City" is telling the story of tragedy. In the process, there are very few shots of tragic details..The fate of Wenlong and Wenqing has become a mystery. The tragic scenes on February 28 did not appear. How Wenliang was persecuted was not told. The news of Kuanrong's death was only a letter from home... The audience had almost no chance to face the tragedy. This style of hiding tragic moments is common not only in "City of Sadness", but also in Hou Hsiao-hsien's other works.
Hou Hsiao-hsien explained this as follows:
In the entire era of change, life and death have become so natural and unavoidable. Like a river trickling down
This sentence is actually easy to understand. When the camera focuses on the separation of life and death, it becomes a special moment full of drama. However, in the process of great changes in history, separation of life and death is the most normal thing. . Only when people don't pay attention to life, separation and death can the ordinaryness of this scene be reflected, and the depth and breadth of this tragedy can be better felt. Listening to thunder in silence
Lines are another highlight of "City of Sadness"
Like "Guling Street", "City of Sadness" is also full of different accents, which is something that cannot be avoided when writing the history of Taiwan at this period. Many dialects are not subtitled, and you listen to the chaos. It is this chaos of lines that reflects the chaos of reality outside the story.
The lines of the main characters are very clear, especially Kuanmei's large number of voice-overs, which are full of poetry. , when she met Wenqing for the first time, she described it like this:
Showa On the eighth day of November in the 20th year of the Showa era, it was a sunny and cloudy day. With a letter of introduction written by her father, she went up the mountain to work at the Miners Hospital in Jinguashi. . My brother had no time to teach, so he asked his good friend Wen Qing to pick me up. There is already the coolness of autumn in the mountains, and the scenery along the road is very good. Thinking of being able to see such beautiful scenery every day in the future, I feel happy in my heart.
is concise and precise, explaining the events, outlining the environment, and showing the beautiful yearning in my heart, and Through this yearning, the character of Kuanmei was created.
I think the lines in "City of Sadness" are worth studying and learning from again and again - There are many words that can be left unsaid, but when they are said, they must be written in a useful way
Having said so much, it’s almost time to end. Let’s summarize
As mentioned above, "Sad City" is in the same vein as other Hou Hsiao-hsien's works, telling a simple story in a simple way, a family, a piece of history, and a sad city
This kind of Simplicity not only brings about nothing to say in interpretation, but also makes it not "good-looking" . Objectively speaking, "Sad City" is really not good to watch. It is long, has few lines, fixed camera positions, many empty shots, and noisy sound. It is easy for people to lose patience while watching the movie. But not good-looking and not good are two different things. Just as reading a refreshing novel is always more pleasurable than reading a serious novel, but serious novels are most likely to be better works than refreshing novels, "Sad City", like serious novels, is not good-looking. The good work
is light and easy, and outlines the ups and downs of the times through the ups and downs of the family. In the absurd current situation, some people became martyrs, and more people became burial victims. Cruel, absurd, and very real
At the same time, it must be emphasized that everyone should not misunderstand "Sad City". It is not a complete tragedy, but it can still glimpse a glimmer of light in the pervasive darkness.
Starting from the birth, it continues to revolve around The table run is over, and new hope is emerging from the soil of sadness.
I am Wen Dao. I recommend good books and movies from time to time every week. If you are interested, you might as well click and follow
