movie "Steel Piano" is a domestic literary film directed by Zhang Meng and starring Qin Hailu and Wang Qianyuan. The background of the film takes place in the old industrial zone in the northeast during the reform of state-owned enterprises. It tells the story of laid-off workers Chen Guilin. Retaining the custody of the daughter mobilized a group of absurd stories about stealing and making pianos.
It is worth mentioning that the film does not use a tragic tone to show the sad lives of these marginalized people, but uses black humor to show the optimism and helplessness of a group of people. Whether it is expression or audio-visual language, adds a sense of absurdity by incorporating elements of black humor. Today I will interpret the charm and practical significance of this film from the perspective of black humor.
01 Through the montage and surrealistic expressive techniques, reveal the absurd character
1. Through the montage technique, show the sadness and bitterness behind the comedy
Super Mario:
There are two Super Mario game music in the movie. The first is Chen Guilin painting piano keys for her daughter on paper, and the soundtrack game is successful; the second is the ex-wife sending her daughter back. At home, the court’s divorce summons is on the table, and the soundtrack game here failed. Super Mario is a metaphor for the worker Chen Guilin. The first music symbolizes that Chen Guilin has overcome difficulties to "make" a piano for his daughter, and the second music symbolizes that the daughter made a realistic choice after the ex-wife met her daughter. Director uses game characters and music to metaphor the protagonist's situation, which adds a sense of comedy to the original tragedy atmosphere, which is quite absurd in contrast to the helpless reality.
Canopy:
has a conversation between Chen Guilin and his ex-wife Xiaoju in front of the canopy twice. The first time was at the beginning of the film, Xiaoju filed for a divorce and took her daughter away, and the second time appeared when Chen Guilin gave up fighting for custody. The canopy behind the two of them is very symbolic. The canopy behind Chen Guilin loses the canopy and looks tattered. One side of the canopy isRuins; the canopy behind Xiaoju is intact, and the road and houses on the other side of the canopy are also exquisite. The contrast of is quite dark and humorous, representing the different destinies of the two, and the identity of one poor and one rich. In the end, no matter how hard Chen Guilin works, her daughter has actually chosen the mother who represents the wealthy. Very ironic.
2. Express the irony and romance behind the humor through surrealism.
Surrealism in movies refers to the use of unreal, irrational, and inconsistent images and behaviors to express certain specific meanings. "The piano of steel" uses surrealism in many places to express the irony and romance behind the humor.
When the piano-making project is about to be completed, a group of exotic singing and dancing performances are interspersed: Chen Guilin and his band friends are playing the Spanish Matador in the steel factory, Shu Xian wore a red dress and performed a vigorous dance. This group of surrealist shots of was very exciting. It not only promoted the production of piano, but also added a sense of weight to the narrative of the film. It dilutes the reality of tragedy with the comedy of singing and dancing. , Adding hope and romanticism to the hopeless and helpless real life of the people at the bottom.
uses these surrealist techniques to express the sadness and joy of the little people in black humor, showing their powerless but optimistic life state of fighting.
02 Through the audiovisual language of black humor, the deep meaning behind the absurd is revealed. The composition, music, and lines of the
film are all very classic. The black humor of Northeastern people can be seen everywhere, combined with the narrative festival, and the absurdity has a deeper meaning behind it.
1. Visual language: Combining composition, light and narration to highlight humorous elements
Chen Guilin and his friends discussed the issue of piano material during the meal. The composition here pays tribute to the "Last Supper". Coincidentally, this is also the last time this group of people have a meal together in the film. In terms of the plot, when Chen Guilin talked loudly about "if there is difficulty, we must go up, and if there is no difficulty, we will also go up." Everyone just focused on eating. Finally, Chen Guilin ended the conversation with "my spoon". The plots and lines of are very dramatic, and they form a strong contrast with the oil painting-like composition.
borrowed from the pig-killing Liu in Chen GuilinThe conversation between the two of them was very humorous: Chen Guilin asked Liu to borrow money, on the grounds that "you have a &39;industry". Liu sarcastically replied, "killing pigs is also an industry?" "Hiding the money in the toilet tank was discovered by his wife" as a reason not to borrow money, but Chen Guilin humorously said, "General drugs are hidden there." Through the dialogue between the two, we can see the borrower and the borrowed The humor of the money man.
Ironically, the composition of the two positions is very dramatic: in a symmetrical composition environment, the two compose the picture diagonally, one in the foreground and the other in the background, and the two always keep this distance during the conversation. , This sense of distance formed a strong contrast with the two people's words "we are friends". Through the contrast between the composition and the lines, satirizes the fragile relationship between people in the face of money, and at the same time brings out the difficult life of both parties.
2. Auditory language: through music and lines, to further exaggerate the humor and absurd atmosphere
First of all, the music shows the nostalgia of the steel workers: when
made the piano, the soundtrack was a passionate song by the Lube band, representing the passionate workers of the industrial age; Chen Guilin and his friends sang "Missing Comrades" on KTV, a group of people It is a nostalgic and tribute to the old times to put on a classic style with a very contemporary style. The era represented by these songs of finally passed away with the explosion of two large chimneys. While remembering, it is more to show the confusion of this generation in the turn of the times. Workers in the past were forced to be laid off during the change of the times. They still don't know where to go.
Secondly, the music exaggerated the humor and absurd atmosphere: At the beginning of the
film, Chen Guilin’s band played the funeral "Three Cars" for the funeral. The employer felt that "the old man listened to be too heavy and too slow", although Chen Guilin knew this was. The music commonly used in Russian funerals had to be changed to "Backgammon" according to the employer's request. This absurd behavior is quite ironic. Behind the cheerful music, it shows the real world of magicalism. started with such music and scenes, laying the film's absurd tone. When the
group seeks justice for the fat daughter, the picture of riding a motorcycle is matched with the surging song of the Lube band. This humorous episode for the brothers is not only showing the love between each other, but also . The group of characters have a high degree of identification with each other's social destiny, and a small matter makes them embrace each other, adding a seriousness and desolation to the absurdity. The
film enriches the character image and drives the narrative rhythm through the use of music, and at the same time adds humor and absurdity to the whole story, showing the optimism and helplessness of the lower-level characters under the changing times.
First of all, the humorous lines portray the character image:
At the beginning of the film, his wife Xiaoju said to Chen Guilin, "Chen Guilin, I tell you, the child will not be happy with you." At this time, Chen Guilin replied, "You use less happiness to scare you." Me." After learning about Chen Guilin’s divorce, a friend of
said: "If you leave, our brothers will be the same." Chen Guilin laughed at herself: "We are not the same, I am divorced, and you are widowed."
The lines with Northeast humorous style can be seen everywhere in the film. Facing the unsatisfactory life, they responded with half humor and half self-deprecating, stubborn with tenderness, and weak with optimism. This group of people frustrated in the wave of change lives with their unique humor.
Second, the humorous lines satirize the absurd reality:
Chen Guilin drew a "piano" for his daughter, and the daughter questioned whether the piano can be played. Chen Guilin said, "Daddy told you the story of Uncle Beethoven, Uncle Pei. I can’t hear my ears, and I’m not just playing it. “Behind ’s seemingly joking white lies are the sadness of the people at the bottom who try to get their children to receive a good education and live a good life, but they are The cold reality is defeated, only through such self-deprecating way to comfort oneself.
When Chen Guilin told his father that his wife had filed for a divorce from him, he described his wife this way: "She followed a counterfeit drug seller, and she finally lived the life she dreamed of for nothing." This sentence is very ironic. His lines reflect Chen Guilin’s inner anger and helplessness. What’s more ironic is that people who sell fake drugs make a lot of money, and workers who work hard are forced to be laid off to form wedding and funeral bands. Under the historical torrent, love has to lose. Give such an absurd reality. In the film
, these little people who have been forgotten by the times have no decadence and resentment. Instead, they use black humor to laugh at themselves, and use a comedy to interpret the core of tragic life.
03 Behind the black humor comedy, we are left with these three points of thinking. Although
is full of humor everywhere, the core of it is the criticism and reflection on reality. While the film shows the plight of these marginalized people under the transformation of the times, it also brings us a lot of realistic reflections.
1. Criticism of what you get for nothing: Even if you are deep in the mud, you have to look up to the stars.
Chen Guilin and ex-wife Xiaoju in the film respectively represent two types of people under the transition of the times. They chose different ways to redeem themselves: by Chen Guilin This type of people represented, they are not succumbed to life, relying on their own crafts to make a living; ex-wife Xiaoju and her new love, relying on the "speculative behavior" of selling fake drugs to make a fortune.
In the context of the times, it is impossible to say which of these two choices is right or wrong, but through the film, we can see the value orientation shown by the director: Chen Guilin, who has no power and money, can gather a group of people to make a piano. In addition to brotherhood, what is more about ’s resistance to Chen Guilin’s ex-wife and those who sell counterfeit drugs. The workers have a high degree of social and destiny identification at this moment. They recreated them by making pianos. Examining the self and finding the value of self-existence, they still retain the simplicity and steadfastness, and make a silent struggle against speculators who get nothing for nothing.
Wilde once said, "We are all living in the gutter, but there are still people looking up at the stars." Even though the efforts of these people cannot keep Xiao Yuan or the chimney in the end, they still struggle with life. Don't do things that go against your conscience. Even if your life is still bad, you still have ideals and persistence.
On the other hand, when facing desires, how many of us can stick to our original intentions, and how many are moved by evil thoughts? This is what this black humorous tragicomedy leaves us all thinking.
2. Implications for reality: How should individuals respond to the uncertain "black swan"Correct? In the movie
, although Chen Guilin and the workers are unemployed, they still have skills. They formed a wedding or funeral band to make ends meet with their musical instruments. But if you look back in time, you will find that history is far more cruel than the movie. many.
wrote in a report in the "China Youth Daily" that when Professor Guo Yuhua of Tsinghua University went to Northeast for research, he learned that a retired employee wrote in a letter to the mayor:
Accounted for 20% of the population. Due to the extremely difficult life, the increasing number of family disputes among employees, and the rising divorce rate, the most serious are the abnormal deaths of death due to poor life, such as taking drugs, jumping off the building, lying on rails, hanging themselves, and refusing medical treatment since 1998. happens sometimes.
Under the torrent of the times, these fringe people can do nothing.
Putting aside this history and looking at the present, we are still facing many uncertainties: economic crisis, global infectious diseases, major layoffs, and in the face of uncontrollable "black swan incident", can we also deal with it freely? ? Just as people reflect on the epidemic, realize the importance of having a skill and sideline, and realize that they have rethinked time, work, and life. I think if we can, like Chen Guilin, still have a craft in the face of uncertain changes, we will be more optimistic and calm. The
film not only shows this history and the plight of the marginal people under the historical torrent, as viewers, we start from the personal level, and the deeper viewing attitude should be to learn from this tragedy and learn how to deal with the "iron rice bowl" The uncertainty caused.
3. Reflection on the predicament: find the meaning of life, optimism overcomes the misery
completes a tragedy with a black humor tone, and behind its humor, what is most worthy of our learning and reference is the optimism of these low-level characters With an upward mentality.
Facing the survival dilemma, Chen Guilin and his partners chose not to yield and embarked on the road of self-salvation. Although their original intention of making the piano was to retain Xiao Yuan, in the end, the piano was for them a remembrance of the past glory and a struggle against reality. They use humor to resolve the suffering and sadness of life, and use optimism to cope with unbearable conditions.
Victor Frank mentioned in the book "The Meaning of Life", "The most important thing in life is to discover the meaning of life. When you find something you love, you will find the meaning of life. When you After enduring hardship, you will find the meaning of life.” In the film, the lost workers used the piano to give meaning to life in this period of time. They optimistically deal with the difficult life and find their own value. This spirit is very worthwhile We learned.
Nietzsche said, "Anyone who can't kill me will make me strong." Faced with a difficult situation, choosing to resist, redeem, or to surrender and endure determines whether a person will become a major event. Only by optimistically facing pain and happiness can we go further.
Conclusion
"The Piano of Steel" is a more successful domestic black comedy, regardless of its performance, composition, music and lines, it is commendable. And behind the black humor, what the director wants to show us is the plight and sadness of these little people under the change. That era is gone, and the beauty is no longer, but under the torrent of the times, how should individuals find The issue of salvation is still worth discussing today.
Nietzsche said, "People who suffer do not have the right to be pessimistic." I hope that when we struggle and struggle, we can all have the same courage to face optimistically as these people in the film.
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