Inscription: The most terrifying thing in the world is not the immediate punishment, but the loveless future. "Blood Guanyin" was directed by director Yang Yazhe and premiered in Taiwan, China on November 24, 2017. The film is based on the "Liu Bangyou murder case" that occurred

inscription: The most terrifying thing in the world is not the immediate punishment, but the loveless future.

"Blood Guanyin" was directed by director Yang Yazhe and premiered in Taiwan, China on November 24, 2017. The film is based on the "Liu Bangyou Murder Case" that occurred in Taiwan in the 1990s, and is centered on the Tang family, mother and daughter. It tells the story of the Tang family, headed by Mrs. Tang, who made a profit through careful planning to move between politics and business. After the film was released, it won the 54th Taiwan Golden Horse Award in 2017 and the 37th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2018.

As a political thriller, in order to increase the suspense of the film, the director shot the film in reverse order. On this basis, a large number of images were added for metaphor and explanation, thereby aggravating the desire of the film. Expressing the sense of fate and tragic atmosphere.

1. The selection of images throughout the film

Although a large number of images are used for metaphor in the film, only the two images of Guanyin and jade jewelry are used throughout the film. To some extent, these two images are also The power and money that people compete for throughout the film are the embodiment of power and money, and they are also the actual manifestation of human inner desires.

The image of Guanyin first appeared in the Tang family. Tang Zhen, the youngest "daughter" in the Tang family, gave it to Mrs. Tang. Then, through Mrs. Tang's hands, it was given to the wife of the dean Wuliang Wang who was in the limelight at that time. At this point, the Guanyin statue has entered into the development of the entire story with the Tang family as the intermediary. On the one hand, the initial turning of the Guanyin Statue reveals the dominant position of Mrs. Wang in the opening of this "power" game, paving the way for the subsequent reversal of the status of both parties. On the other hand, the "appearance" of the Guanyin Statue also symbolizes Mrs. Tang's own desire comes out of the cage. Through Lin Sang’s mouth, he learned that the Avalokitesvara statue he asked Mrs. Tang to choose and gave to Dean Wang’s wife. This also revealed another role of the Avalokitesvara statue as a clue image in the film: the Avalokitesvara statue was the one chosen by several forces through Mrs. Tang. An important symbol of connecting forces. The occurrence of "Guanyin cut off her hand to ward off disaster" also tightened the audience's heartstrings, creating a strong suspenseful atmosphere for all subsequent stories.

Later, as the story developed, the Guanyin statue passed through Tang Ning's hands and was given to "Xiao Qingliu", a low-level official of the Building and Construction Department, in the name of buying and selling antiques. After "Xiao Qingliu" died, the Guanyin statue passed through Tang Ning again. Ning's relationship with Ning was transferred to the police station, and the death of its short-term holder "Yinhai Xiaoqingliu" and Captain Liao's mistake caused the symbolic meaning of the image of Guanyin to change. At this time, the Guanyin statue not only It not only shows the huge desire deep in Mrs. Tang's heart, but also becomes the embodiment of the secret desire in everyone's heart.

At the end of the film, the Guanyin statue returned to the hands of its original owner, the Tang family. At this time, Tang Ning had died. The bow of Dean Wang’s wife made Mrs. Tang the real winner of this political wrestling match. The final change of ownership of the Guanyin statue also symbolizes the true ownership of a large amount of power and money in the final struggle. After devouring everyone, Mrs. Tang became the true form of the "Blood Guanyin". As an important image throughout the film, the Guanyin statue has completely completed its move towards the theme of the film, becoming a veritable "Blood Guanyin".

Guanyin Bodhisattva is a Buddha who saves people from difficulties and liberates people in Buddhism, but here the "Guanyin Statue" has become the source of people's troubles. The director chose the image of "Guanyin Statue" to represent rights and desires. The incarnation of Guanyin itself is full of irony. Even the most holy symbol in Buddhism cannot escape the end of being infected by human desires after entering the world. Guanyin is stained with blood. It is the director who uses the image of Guanyin to plunge mankind into endless trouble. Standing aside and ridiculing the battle of desires.

Like the Guanyin statue, the jade jewelry in the film, as an important image in the film, has also changed hands many times. The jade jewelry first appeared as a bribe for Mrs. Tang to win over Lin Sang and Mrs. Lin. A set of jewelry is scattered in various colors. It shows the key position of the Lin family at the beginning of the development of the "Amitabha" project.Then, on the eve of the massacre of the Lin family, Mrs. Lin hurriedly forwarded it to the county magistrate's wife, which foreshadowed the Lin family's complete loss of power in Amitao's plan. As a victim, the Lin family was completely annihilated in Mrs. Tang's overall plan.

As an image of the film, the change in ownership of jewelry also shows the changes in status of everyone in the "Amitabha" project. As the character of the county magistrate's wife gradually fades away in the film, the reappearance of jade jewelry is At the end of the film, Dean Wang’s wife gave the jade bracelet she was wearing to Mrs. Tang. The final transfer of the jade bracelet also represented the final change of ownership of the power status. Mrs. Tang became the last owner of the jade jewelry, which is also the " The real winner of Game of Thrones.

At the end of the film, Mrs. Tang, who has been suffering from illness, still wears an jade bracelet symbolizing power and money on her wrist. At this time, the bracelet to Mrs. Tang is no longer a trophy that she won in the power struggle, but has become a The "golden shackles" that trap her give the film a fatalistic absurdity, and at the end the film is filled with the alienation of people corrupted by money and desire in Zhang Ailing's works.

In addition, when Tang Zhen grew up, he wore a bracelet on his wrist that was similar to Mrs. Tang’s, which showed the transfer of power within the Tang family from the side, and the Buddha statue that initially represented power and desire passed through Tang. The hand of Zhen was taken out, forming a perfect closed loop of power transfer. It also foreshadowed Tang Zhen’s final outcome. Tang Zhen, who grew up instilled by desire, became another version of Mrs. Tang, becoming the "golden woman". Another prisoner of the shackles.

2. The use of other images

In addition to the two images throughout the film, the film is also filled with the use of a large number of other images. The appearance of these images secretly foreshadows the plot development of the film and further improves the hidden plot in the film. Foreshadowing.

"Sugar" is also an image that appears many times in the film. "Sugar" first appeared at the scene of the massacre of the Lin family. The pronunciation of "sugar" is the same as "tang". From the beginning, it hinted at the hidden truth behind this massacre. The real mastermind is the Tang family. "Tang" appeared for the second time at the scene where the family members of "Yanhai Xiaoqingliu" went to beg Mrs. Tang. The candy in the child's hand broke to the ground, implying the relationship between the death of "Yanhai Xiaoqingliu" and Tang. The wife is also involved. The two appearances of "Sugar" are the director secretly telling the audience the true direction of the film's plot, paving the way for the final reveal of the truth.

"Oil paintings" often appear as backgrounds in movies. In the oil painting of the three Tang family members in the same frame painted by Tang Ning, the faces are greatly distorted, revealing the distortion between people within the Tang family. Family affection and relationship, and the film appears twice in the change of light and shadow. Mrs. Tang’s projection happens to cover Tang Ning’s face in the oil painting, which also indicates that Tang Ning’s final death in the film was caused by Mrs. Tang.

"Apple" as an image of death also appears in the movie, which is reminiscent of the use of "oranges" as an image in the movie "The Godfather" to imply the death of various people. The image of apples appears in Lin Pianpian's death in the movie and later in front of Mrs. Tang's hospital bed. At the same time, apples are the "fruit of desire" in the Bible, with the color of human original sin. In the movie, before Tang Zhen indirectly killed Lin Pianpian, he picked up the apples on the ground. This represents the release of Tang Zhen's own desires. Under the guidance of desires, he committed crimes with his own hands. And "fruit" has the same pronunciation as "karma" in the film's lyrics. The reason why the apple finally appeared under Mrs. Tang's bed also illustrates Mrs. Tang's current predicament of "cannot die". It was she who planted the seeds back then. The "fruit of sin", this kind of "karma and reincarnation" involved in Buddhism, gives the film a mysterious and fatalistic color.

In addition to the above images, many other images such as "oil paint", "bullet", "fish head", and "red rope" also appeared in the film. "Oil paint" appeared twice as an image, which promoted the relationship between Tang Ning and Tang Zhen. The ice-breaking relationship between mother and daughter also shows from the side that Tang Zhen, as a child, has a longing for emotions deep in her heart, as well as her desire for maternal love. "Bullet" as an image represents a threat. Once it appeared when Tang Ning threatened Marco with a bullet casing scratching the glass, and another time when the congressman's special assistant filled a fish's mouth with bullets to threaten Mrs. Tang. The image of "fish head" represents the close relationship between Mrs. Tang and Grandma Aying's family, which foreshadows Mrs. Tang's use of "human heads" to buy land later in the film.

The image of "red rope" was tied by Tang Zhen to Marco's ankle. On the one hand, it implies that Tang Zhen's love for Marco is not just a simple yearning, but also includes twisted possession and restraint. The red rope also implies that Marco has never been free from the beginning to the end. His love with Lin Pianpian was an almost perverted possession, and the final secret marriage with Lin Pianpian was caused by the forced control of others, who was used to calm him down. The public is angry, and the train that has always appeared in Marco's fantasy represents his desire for freedom and escape. At the same time, this "restraint" allows Marco to rape Tang Zhen at the end of the movie to vent the feelings that have been buried deep in his heart. The seeds of resentment and hatred towards the upper class are laid.

Conclusion:

The selection of imagery in "Blood Guanyin" is undoubtedly very excellent. Although there are many images in the film, they do not appear complicated due to director Xu's clever performance, and the imagery is perfectly integrated with the plot and atmosphere of the film. Together, it promotes the plot development of the film, better creates the suspenseful atmosphere of the film, deepens the meaning of the entire film to a certain extent, and gives the audience space to relive the film again.