The Oscar-nominated film "Poor Things" is definitely the king of topics on social networks during this period.
loved it, applauded it wildly, and almost praised it as an unprecedented feminist work. Those who hate it feel insulted - why show female awakening through sex, or even scenes of being a prostitute? Aren’t those sex scenes contributed by Emma Stone a victim of the male gaze?
My opinion on this movie is that it is beautiful when it is beautiful, but it is unfinished when it is over. The fairy tale world is beautifully constructed, but I can only agree with the first part of that worldview.
The film is derived from the novel of the same name written by Scottish writer Alasdair Grey. The heroine is rescued by Dr. Frankenstein after a suicide attempt. The brain of the fetus in her belly was implanted into her body and gained new life. She was named Bella by Dr. Frankenstein and was raised as a giant baby with an adult body. She was both her own mother and her own child, experiencing life with a completely ignorant sense of blankness.
The Frankenstein doctor who raised her deliberately excluded society from her knowledge, so she was ignorant of social relations and ethical common sense, just like a little monkey breaking into human society. What she relies on is only her own strong animal nature: I want, I am happy, I feel, I am angry.
So, from the eyes of such a little monkey, the moral norms of human society are of course meaningless. As a result, she fell in love, eloped with others, and exchanged sex for life resources. Finally, after experiencing various self- and social explorations, she chose to inherit the mantle and wealth of Frankenstein's adoptive father and become a doctor living in a mansion. Frankenstein stories like
essentially explore the relationship between self and society. But in this story, the heroine’s self-exploration is almost all accomplished through dependence, which is why it has caused so much controversy.
There are different opinions on whether sex plays such a big role in women’s lives and whether it can achieve mental awakening. Individual experience cannot replace the voice of the group. We can only transcend gender differences and recognize its rationality in the natural development of human physiology. When children perceive the world, they will pay great attention to their own body and the pleasure it brings for a period of time. It is normal for children to masturbate and be sexually curious between the ages of 2 and 6.
And how to view sex, especially how to view sexual freedom, how to understand pleasuring oneself through the body, and how to understand the intimate relationship established through sex, is indeed a frequently discussed topic. In the work "The Lie Life of Adults" by the famous contemporary feminist writer Elena Ferrante, the protagonist girl achieves rebellion and independence through sex.
Therefore, the heroine starts from exploring the body, feeling, understanding, searching, and exploring the relationship between people and the world, which is also in line with human animal logic. However, the "finished" part of the movie is that after it completes the animal exploration , neglecting the exploration of sociality: humans are both animal beings and social beings.
The heroine saw the difficult life of civilians under the gorgeous cruise ship: babies died and countless people struggled to survive. She cried loudly and gave away all the money she could find around her, but she only stayed here without reflecting on why. She can live comfortably in food and clothing, with fine wines and fine clothes, but as a human being, the common people are being roasted by the fire in hell.
She knows the role of money, but she doesn't think about where it comes from, and why some people are so rich that they seem to be eating only clouds and dew, while some people are in pain but cannot get help. One person's bread is another person's life. Such a strong realistic stimulus did not cause confusion in her rapidly developing brain, which really went against the other side of human nature. In the
film, Bella and her best friends go to participate in socialist activities, but they only remain in form. The real actions about class, society, and economic rules are missing. Therefore, the end of the film naturally leads to a shockingly shallow awakening: she inherits Dr. Frankenstein's wealth, sits in the garden with her best friends, sips champagne, and enjoys the pleasure of revenge by turning her abusive husband into an animal.
If her knife only serves individual happiness, then what is the meaning of her awakening? So many people call it a cool movie, but I think it is more like a complete tragedy: a person who is so intensely and desperately searching for self-worth finally chooses a life that is delicate, frivolous, and has no other meaning except pleasure. The artificiality in this makes people laugh.
This is not insulting women, but questioning the evolution of human beings, and all philosophers and scientists, why do we need to seek meaning? We are just a group that regards refinement as the ultimate meaning and hides in individual luck?
Although I am disappointed with the ending, I do not think this is the deliberate dwarfing of women by director Yorgos Lanthimos. I believe it is a revelation of his personal outlook on life. Creation is the most sincere confession. What do you think is precious and valuable? To what extent you think about these definitions is often impossible to hide.
In the works of Yorgos Lanthimos, we often find this problem of wonderful imagination but insufficient thinking. For example, the 2015 movie " lobster " has a very imaginative beginning, talking about the future society. According to regulations, singles must find a matching partner within 45 days. If they fail, they will be transformed. Become an animal... But in the second half of the story, his imagination of rules gradually collapsed, and he was unable to construct a reasonable relationship between people, so the whole story began to fall into a false pattern.
"The Lobster" poster
The same is true for "Poor Things". No matter how exciting the beginning is, the ending is empty. Like a child full of questions and even anger, he has an amazing ability to express himself. He often raises questions about the deeply troubled world, but he is unable to give answers.
But that doesn't mean the movie is pointless. This stunning question mark, the crushing ending, and the controversy it caused are all the value of this work. Only good works can have a lasting impact, while mediocrity will only bring silence.
Director Yorgos Lanthimos is an outstanding genius in the contemporary film industry when it comes to the ability to raise questions and depict dreams. In this film, he used fisheye lenses and various magnificent scene designs. , the heroine's fairy-tale costumes create an allegorical atmosphere that transcends reality. His shots are like Homer's chant, telling his discovery, his confusion and his sadness.
And Sister Shitou’s performance also surpassed all previous performances. Before awakening her self-awareness, she was as ignorant as an innocent child; when searching for herself, she was crazy and decisive; even in the large sexual passages in the plot, she did not show any cowardice... Her control of the role surpassed that of " Philharmonic" "City ". Therefore, it is not impossible for her to win another Oscar for this role.
As I write this, I suddenly feel the confusion of Yorgos Lanthimos. When a woman’s strong self has awakened, how should she find her place in society? Like what Beauvoir wrote in "The Second Sex", is it easy to eat the sugar-coated cannonball again and destroy yourself with an easy life, or... maybe the only thing that can answer this question is reality itself.
Chen Mo
Editor in charge Chen Lingling
