For European movies in 2023, it may be said to be a year of "accelerated recovery" due to the Hollywood writers' strike and setbacks in production progress. After three difficult years in the epidemic, the market has seen new changes. Not only has the box office increased to a ce

For European movies in 2023, it may be said to be a year of "accelerated recovery" due to the Hollywood writers' strike and setbacks in production progress. After three difficult years in the epidemic, the market has seen new changes. Not only has the box office increased to a certain extent, but cinemas have more space to screen art films, small films and local films; middle-aged and elderly audiences are also regrouping , return to the cinema. These performances are undoubtedly gratifying.

At this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival, we saw the new Spanish film "A Bathroom of One's Own" shot in 2023. The author does not know exactly the market effect of this film in Southwest Europe, but it is certain that it was released in the year of European film recovery and was selected to participate in the main competition unit of the "Golden Goblet Award". All this seems not to be the case. By chance.

The story of the video is not complicated. Antonia, who is over sixty years old, is a model housewife. Her daily life is nothing more than washing, cooking, and tidying up the house. She wakes up early and stays busy all day, providing her husband with three delicious meals a day and laying the foundation for the family. Harmonious taste atmosphere. Antonia has become accustomed to all this, and her husband Oberto has turned a deaf ear to it. However, one day suddenly, Antonia discovered her special hobby: a special liking for writing in the bathroom, and she has never stopped since then. This somewhat arbitrary and bizarre behavior not only brought her spiritual release, but also brought a lot of fun to her monotonous life, changing her human form and appearance. As if she had become a different person, Antonia finally lived out her own life and became a spiritual fairy. Watching her straddling the wall and peeping at the crowd, mysteriously walking into the bathroom of a neighbor next door, and often sitting on the toilet seat, mindlessly thinking about things and waving her pen like a horse, we almost couldn't help but laugh out loud. Come.

It should be said that the director's imagination is extremely rich, and in the almost magical narrative unfolding, the multi-prisms of modern elderly life are revealed. Gaps between family members are inevitable, but they are often obscured due to "visual paralysis." Fortunately, her husband Oberto is not so ignorant. Facing Antonia's changes, Oberto turned from surprise to alertness, from helplessness to sadness, from doubt to anger. The film Yu Xu calmly displays these textures of family life. The ensuing long-term contradictions and violent conflicts are even more unbearable: Oberto categorically kicked the male helper Bob out of the house, chased the young man next door who provided bathroom convenience for no reason, and scolded his wife's friend Conchi in a serious way. In the end, he and his beloved wife had a disagreement and turned against each other - and their life as a couple fell into crisis.

Some comments said that director Lucia Casal Rodriguez was concerned about the living conditions of women and created a feminist film for women. There is certainly nothing wrong with that. However, as an older viewer, I also see another meaning of the film - that is, how to fully understand and respect the different personalities of the elderly. This understanding must come from the heart and be regardless of conditions. of. As we all know, due to the laws of nature, the elderly have slowly withdrawn from social jobs, and family has almost become their only spiritual haven. Some people have gradually developed their own habits and hobbies in order to cope with boring and monotonous work. They may be "a bathroom of one's own", or they may be socializing with old friends, socializing around, immersed in writing... As long as it is beneficial to physical and mental health and enriches old life, they should be respected.

The current problem is that in the current era of rapid development of social life and rapid advancement of science and technology, not to mention that others often misunderstand the elderly, tolerance and understanding between the elderly themselves often become an insurmountable problem. This is actually a common problem with worldwide universality. However, due to the commercial nature of the market, movies rarely take the initiative to express them as themes (because the main audience of movies is young people aged 20-35).

In fact, one of the important characteristics of the movie is its mass appeal, which can even be said to be universal. Since its birth at the end of the 19th century, film has almost become the main art form that resonates with people around the world.But I don’t know since when, movies have gradually evolved into the preserve of young people. The reasons are quite diverse and complicated, and there are few exceptions around the world. Unfortunately, the arrival of the all-media era has not improved this situation. On the contrary, due to the construction of the image communication matrix, the age barrier has been further expanded, blocking middle-aged and elderly audiences from the cinema.

Taking my country as an example, in 2022, the number of elderly people over 60 years old will reach 280 million (accounting for 19.8% of my country’s total population). It is estimated that by 2050, the number of elderly people over 60 years old in my country will reach 520 million. The rapid growth of the elderly population and the relative lack of spiritual and artistic life among the elderly have become a prominent social phenomenon. However, there is still a lack of sufficient attention to the image viewing of theme content for middle-aged and elderly audiences. The blessing of market big data and box office algorithms has further strengthened this tendency. There have always been fewer movie themes suitable for the elderly on the market, and theater facilities, ticketing services, pricing mechanisms and time arrangements have also failed to keep up. to meet the actual needs of the elderly, so the probability of the elderly entering the cinema has always been low.

At the same time, due to over-reliance on artificial intelligence and data algorithms, academia and industry are unclear about the changes in the elderly audience market. There is almost no research on the image preferences of elderly audiences. Some places have introduced preferential measures to attract the elderly to watch movies. It ends without a cure, forming an idling and cycle in a certain sense.

Rodriguez not only keenly felt and raised this common topic worldwide, but also tried to take it seriously and answer it. The second half of the film deliberately leaves enough space to allow the once proud Oberto to reflect and reflect in a layered manner, until he takes the initiative to enter the "bathroom", exchange heart-to-hearts with Antonia, and reconcile. "To untie the bell, you must tie the bell, and the heart disease must be cured by heart medicine." This bright and warm evil tail is like a breeze, and it is also a demonstration, anchoring the underlying proposition of the commonality and resonance of human society, reminding the world Give more careful attention to the spiritual life of modern elderly people. As a result, this Spanish "small film", which is not considered a "major masterpiece", has its own unique meaning and value. What's more, it's both magical and realistic, both playful and watchable?

Author: Li Jianqiang

Text: Li Jianqiang (Professor of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Vice President of China Film Critics Society) Editor: Xu Luming Editor: Shao Ling

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