Rao Shuguang

  The poet Li Bai once sighed that "the heaven and the earth are going against the journey, and the sorrow is the same as the dust of the past", which undoubtedly broke the essence of life.

But in the face of the ultimate destination that turns into dust, must "sorrow" be the only emotion and attitude?

"Life Events" gives a different answer.

The film uniquely focuses on the role of "undertaker", and skillfully writes the grand issue of life and death in delicate emotional relationships.

In addition, the metaphorical characters and delicate detail design give the film a warm and realistic aesthetic connotation and aesthetic characteristics.

It should be pointed out that the heated discussion caused by the film has also inspired the Chinese film market, which has been hit by the epidemic for a long time, showing the vigorous vitality of the industrial dimension.

  Strong city fireworks atmosphere

  Compared with the quiet beauty and restraint of the Japanese movie "The Undertaker", "Life Events" is filled with a strong atmosphere of market fireworks.

The rich and crisp Wuhan dialect shows the local customs and character personality of a city.

It is particularly obvious that the protagonist Mo Sanmei ("Sange") likes to use "I" instead of "I", which is in line with the expression habits of Wuhan people, and also in line with his irritable and rude character positioning.

And Xiaowen's sentence "Eat noodles without garlic, half of the flavor" not only shows the eating habits of Wuhan, but also reflects the rhyming interest of folk slang and the innocence and cuteness of children.

Even when the characters quarrel, the dialect also highlights the advantages of conveying information and the appeal of language, and there is no obstacle to understanding.

For example, Xiaowen's aunt had two arguments with her third brother and her husband respectively. The dialect phrases that popped up one after another made the incident quickly progress. The complicated situation of Xiaowen's family was revealed, and the shrewdness of the characters also appeared on the screen.

  In the process of urbanization and globalization, although dialects are small and difficult to speak, they deviate from the trend, but they contain special regional culture, historical traditions and living conditions. Identity and belonging.

The deeper meaning is that it presents the most realistic representation of characters, regional culture, living habits and historical past, so that "reality" can be implemented.

  Of course, the iconic dialect complements the living landscape better.

The "Go to Heaven" run by the third brother is hidden in the alley, and the gatehouse is very narrow.

With the development of every business of the third brother, the audience can feel the daily state of the streets and alleys more.

The simple living conditions made the funeral ceremony of grandmother Xiaowen only held in the open space corresponding to the window, which could only accommodate a few relatives and neighbors. After the coffin was lifted, she had to turn around and walk out immediately.

Because of the cramped space, every household tries its best to make the limited space play as much value as possible.

Therefore, when the third brother went to the client's house, he often walked through the layers of sheets in the alley.

Or, you can clearly see the balconies of various households drying their shoes, the withered green plants, broken boxes and dried wormwood at the intersection.

The film itself is a complex living body constructed from multiple social and cultural elements, and it has the genes of geo-culture.

The simple dialect and life landscape in "Life's Events" exudes the atmosphere of the market, which can lead the audience to enter the context of discussing important issues in life.

  metaphor and questioning

  "Life Events" not only has the breath of life, but also directly touches people's hearts because of its sharp thinking on death, which is achieved through metaphoric setting and questioning.

The character relationship between the third brother and Xiaowen is especially worth reading.

Xiaowen always wears a double ball head and holds a red ying gun toy. He is a small "Nezha" alive and well.

The third brother has been wearing a gold hoop bracelet, and often wears a pair of tiger-print pants, which is a typical image of Monkey King.

Influenced by traditional literature and film and television works, the unruly and rebellious side of these two characters has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

And Nezha and Sun Wukong had an intersection in the fourth episode of "Journey to the West" - Nezha was ordered by the Jade Emperor to go to capture Sun Wukong, and the two fought fiercely, and the latter finally won.

  Specifically in "Life Events", Xiaowen was raised by his grandmother since he was a child. He didn't know his biological parents at all, and his relationship with his uncle's family was very estranged.

And Xiaowen also gave back to grandma in an incredible way like Nezha. With just a photo taken with a children's watch, he boldly shuttled to every corner of the city, and finally found his third brother, and kept asking everyone, who is wearing grandma Where did the "big box" go?

Young Xiaowen still can't fully understand death, but only knows that the grandmother he loves the most has finally turned into a cloud of smoke; those sweet pasts can only be recalled by playing back the voice in the watch; those deep thoughts can only be seen by looking up at the stars to dispatch.

  The third brother, who seems to be generous, is also like Sun Wukong, always out of tune with society.

In the face of his father's distrust, his girlfriend's betrayal, and social doubts, he kept asking questions, repeatedly expressing that he "wanted to change his way of life" and was unwilling to engage in the funeral industry.

When he saw Xiaowen, who was also helpless, faced with the tragic car accident of his former rival, Lao Liu, and dealt with his father's funeral, he re-understood life and death, and began to realize the value of himself and his career.

  Different from "Journey to the West", in the relationship between the third brother and Xiaowen, the third brother is the one who has been changed.

Even though he was sloppy and took care of Xiaowen's food and daily life, he was never ambiguous; knowing that Xiaowen was always immersed in the sadness of losing his grandmother, he made up a fairy tale about "stars" to comfort her, and tried his best to repair the watch. Chat records; although he is rebellious and unruly, he is always well-behaved at the parent-child meeting at Xiaowen's school; he also reorganized the store and hand-painted the "stars" in fairy tales for the walls and van together with Xiaowen.

And Xiaowen will also share it with the third brother at the first time when there is delicious food; when Mr. Mo beat the third brother, he waved the red ying gun to protect each other; after the father and son had a big fight, she took the initiative to take the lead, so that the two could be relieved gap.

  Based on reality, guided by warmth

  Up to now, the cumulative box office of "Life Events" has exceeded 800 million yuan, setting a new high at the box office after the Spring Festival. This fact can undoubtedly inspire and enlighten Chinese filmmakers: the great changes of the times, the progress of China, and the needs of the people should all be widely noticed and presented.

And the film is also providing a sample of warm realism for an exhausted market.

  The film finds unique materials and inspirations from various social conditions, and uniquely depicts the funeral industry.

First of all, the operating norms of this industry have been fully presented, such as the regular arrangement of the remains, the concept of legal affairs

  words etc.

In addition, the real situation of practitioners in society has also been truly presented.

The owner of the wedding shop next to "Go to Heaven" not only forbids the third brother's car to park in the alley, but also looks down on the industry.

Even if they operate with integrity and professionalism, funeral directors will still be misunderstood.

Xiaowen's aunt had no reason to suspect that the third brother and the others stole the ring from grandma's hand.

  What can also be seen is the current view of family and affection.

In Chinese traditional culture and national psychology, family occupies an extremely important position.

With the development of the times and society, the composition of the family has changed, which has also led to changes in family ethics.

In the film, the reason why the third brother and Xiaowen can rely on each other is precisely because of the incompleteness of their respective original families.

The third brother only has his father and sister, and the deep connection between them is still a matter of real estate.

Xiaowen has never seen her biological parents. After her grandmother passed away, her uncle's family abandoned her like a ruckus, preferring to entrust her to a stranger.

Even if the third brother and Xiaowen are already in love with their father and daughter, they cannot become relatives in the legal sense due to the adoption system.

When the two had to separate, the third brother ran hard, wanting to leave a small text at the last minute.

And Xiaowen, after being brought home by his biological mother, ran back to find his third brother, transcending the traditional view of family and affection.

  Chinese people are very secretive about "death". Another practical significance of "Life Events" is the discussion of life and death.

The film talks about this grand and profound issue. It is not as profound as the "living towards death" proposed by existential philosophers, nor is it as complicated as Confucius's "unknown life, how to know death". Rendering "Death like the quiet beauty of autumn leaves".

On the contrary, the death in the film can be as light as the "smoke" and "big box" in Xiaowen's heart; it can be romantic like the last star fireworks, echoing the fairy tale of "stars" conceived by the third brother; it can be as joyful as holding one for himself during his lifetime. Funeral, and the soundtrack is the old man of "Havoc in Heaven".

The film skillfully uses various narrative techniques to ensure that the content has high audio-visual quality while adhering to the logic of realism.

  But there is still a problem that needs to be paid attention to. The keynote and core of "warm realism" is "warmth", which does not mean "chicken soup for the soul", nor does it mean cheap sympathy and optimism, nor can it go beyond conventional logic and be deliberately consumed.

At the end of the film, Xiaowen's biological mother suddenly appears, but this character is not laid out on the plot line and does not conform to the reality.

What needs to be more vigilant is that if the story technique has been flooded for a long time, the emotional mechanism discussed by Deleuze is likely to be transformed into a logic of operating emotions - the audience will empathize with the story or characters, but it is easier Being disciplined in it is unfavorable to the further expansion and re-innovation of realism.

Therefore, to create works of this kind, one must observe the reality from the two dimensions of morality and history, and must have an intuitive expression of the problem, but also must have one's own cognition and consideration.

  In any case, in the face of "life events", we should and must have a more open-minded life philosophy and attitude towards life.

  (The author is a film theorist and president of the China Film Critic Society)