Xin Yukun, as a post-80s director, has a strong personal style towards films, and is a rare creative film director in the Mainland. Under the situation that the domestic film market is full of commercial films and "box office sales", Xin Yukun pays more attention to how to tell good stories and protect his creative space. He did not leave the market, but joined his own creative style on the premise of catering to the market. As the first debut directed by Xin Yukun, Heart Labyrinth has achieved great success at a small cost of about 2 million yuan, becoming the highest-rated Chinese film in 20 15 years, and its box office reputation has gradually increased, which is undoubtedly a success for his own film debut. Because of her successful debut, Xin Yukun was also labeled as "low cost and high box office". You know, in China's films, the last one who can meet this requirement is "Crazy Stone" directed by Ning Hao, which is also his debut. Although both films are film noir, the difference is that Xin Yukun pays more attention to the combination of suspense and social phenomena, while Ning Hao presents the films in a way of "tears in laughter".
Most of Xin Yukun's films are about rural life. By exposing the ugly phenomena in real life and showing the evil in human nature, we are prompted to think about the current social life and human nature. The release of Heart Labyrinth shocked the whole Chinese film circle. In the small rural world he outlined, he outlined a dystopian black fable. Although the photographic texture is rough, under the simple and realistic lens, Xin Yukun's unique symbolic language is integrated, forming his unique personal expression style, which shows his thinking on China's real life problems and his discussion on human desires. Xin Yukun is different from other young film directors. He is neither arrogant nor impetuous, and even hopes to interpret real life through movies. However, movies can't change the reality after all. He can only express what he sees and thinks through movies and hit people's hearts directly.
Director Xin Yukun tells us a dystopian story by means of nonlinear narrative, flashback and interlude. The plot seems complicated, but it's actually very simple. What happened to different people in different places at the same time? The stories of these characters are coincidentally connected in series. The ending is not just the beginning, but the beginning is the middle story, which has aroused the audience's appetite well. The director brought the audience into the complex narrative well and let the audience participate in solving the case. As the coffin was pulled out by mistake again and again, the audience's sense of participation became stronger and stronger. But the director soon made the murderer and the people in the coffin public, not to solve the case, but to let the audience clearly see how fragile human nature is at this time. Once a lie begins, it will be rounded up by countless lies. Lies are like balls, they only get bigger and bigger.
The film is divided into three parts, and each part tells a story of a person. When telling the next story, it takes a few seconds to transition. The three stories go hand in hand and finally converge on a coffin. Generally speaking, it is like a "coffin-caused bloody case". At the end of the story, the director told us the cause and effect of all the events. Xiao Zongyao went home because of Huang Huan's phone call, and Huang Huan told him to go home because of his best friend's suggestion. His best friend and her mother met the white tiger at the temple gate. After the white tiger worship, Xiao Zongyao's mother came to seek peace and happiness for Xiao Zongyao. This is the cause of the incident, and then coincidentally all the characters are connected in series. After the avalanche, not a snowflake is innocent.
After watching the movie, many people will be puzzled by the time clues in the film, thinking that the time span is very long, but it is actually just a story of five days and four nights. You can understand the story as long as you string together the cause and effect. Although the story seems simple, it is a coincidence set by the director again and again. Every story is parallel and interlocking. From God's point of view, we didn't understand the truth of the incident until the end, and we were very happy. This exciting sense of rhythm and suspense is attributed to the nonlinear narrative structure. Through nonlinear narration, the film presents a bizarre case from different perspectives of different people, and finally pieces together the complete truth, which contains profound philosophical thinking.
Compared with other art films, Heart Labyrinth doesn't have many scenes to analyze. It pays more attention to stories and themes, but it is not without them. Some shots and storylines give us a feeling of sudden realization.
At the beginning of the first scene, Qin Li is worshipping with incense. The director used the overhead lens. Generally speaking, looking down at the camera can make the characters small and humble. Looking down at the front of the camera gives people a feeling of looking down on all beings from the perspective of God. At the end of the story, it is also a overlooking shot taken from the front, which not only makes the film more complete, but also gives people the feeling of looking at all beings from the perspective of Buddha. There are also a few places in the film where overlooking lenses are used, so that we can see the "darkness" hidden in everyone's heart through God's perspective. When telling Wang Baoshan that she wanted to kill Chen, the director used a close-up shot overlooking. In addition, when Wang Baoshan called Li Qin back, it was also a close-up view. Here, it is difficult for people to see the facial expressions of the characters, but they are close-ups, giving people a feeling of wanting to hide and showing the inner depression of the characters. Besides, as I said before, close-ups overlooking can also show God's perspective, so can everyone.
The coffin was once again sent back and placed in the yard of the village Committee. The director of this shot didn't shoot the coffin alone, but put the coffin in the foreground and the characters in the background. Generally, the prospect is big and the background is small. The coffin occupies more than half of the picture, and the characters appear crowded, creating a feeling of depression and reflecting the inner crowding of the characters from the side. The seeds of lies exist in the bottom of my heart and can't be pulled out anyway. At the end of the film, Brother White Tiger walks past carrying a coffin. Three sets of faded-in and faded-out shots let us see the state presented by everyone. Xiao Zongyao's incomprehension and great disappointment let us see the complicated inner activities of the characters.
The most interesting part of the film is the scene in which Xiao Zongyao and his father look at each other in front of the coffin. The panorama shows us the relationship between the three, and the symmetrical lens shows us the entanglement between the two and the coffin. It also shows that no matter whether killing people or not, as long as they violate the law, they are all in the same position. In this clip, Xiao Zongyao and his father look at each other. There are two groups of close-ups. People are on the edge, giving people a feeling of being at the end of the road. Very depressed, very hopeless. This shot can actually have two perspectives. One is to pave the way for father and son to surrender, and the other is like a thorn in the back. Whether they finally surrender or not, this thorn will always be in their hearts. Once a person has a secret that he can't tell, his heart will become tormented, and this feeling will accompany him all his life.
Lens is the most intuitive form of expression in movies. Through the lens, we can see people's innermost thoughts. Everyone is selfish. No one will really do things that harm their own interests for others. Just like Xiao Zongyao's father, he burned the body for his own children, and because no one claimed the body, he was buried in his pigsty. Through this lens, we can see that the secret can be buried, but his heart can't be buried like a corpse in his pigsty.
People often say that "peace of mind is home", but what is the meaning of home in this movie? Or, in such an environment, is home still your refuge? In this movie, the white tiger is innocent compared with others. After all, life is the biggest in the world, and no one can decide a person's life or death casually, but he is worth it. If it weren't for his greed, how could he ruin his life?
Documentaries about chimpanzees have appeared in movies several times. On the one hand, they played a transitional role in the plot so that the audience would not be confused. On the other hand, orangutans are similar to people, and all forms of orangutans are exposed to people's eyes. The people in the film, like orangutans, are exposed to the audience, and even the village head who "plays dumb" doesn't hide.
Another most important object in the film is the medal, which represents a person's honor. Xiao Zongyao took his father's medal to pave the way for his later father to burn the body. What he has done is not worthy of this medal. Huang Huan hid the medal. On the one hand, he didn't want to leave his parents' side, so he tried to persuade Xiao Zongyao to surrender. On the other hand, once this medal falls into the hands of others, Xiao Zongyao and his father can't escape. Surrender and being arrested are two concepts.
Finally, the medal was buried underground, not only the honor was buried, but also the father and son were once "disowned" because of their work. Now they are very close because of this. Although the film pays attention to the story, the details can not be underestimated. At the beginning, it was mentioned that someone died in a mountain fire, which paved the way for the later burning of bodies. And the footage of the village chief receiving the medal. The medal represents the responsibility and honor as a village head, and the medal has been put away. From now on, what he did has nothing to do with responsibility, and he doesn't deserve this medal. And the death of the white tiger. It is reasonable to say that a young man will not die if pushed, but according to the plot of nosebleeds afterwards, we know that he is in poor health, and a series of plots before and after let us see the whole story clearly and completely.
As the saying goes, "details determine success or failure" is true, and the piling up of details makes us understand the deepest core. This small village is the epitome of the whole society. In order to satisfy their own selfish desires, people even take advantage of the loopholes in the law at all costs, but even so, the legal net is long and sparse, and the truth will come out one day. Even if you live for a long time, your inner suffering will still torment you. In addition to "killing for life", there is also Chinese education, which thinks that what you give your children is the best, regardless of their preferences. For the sake of his son, the village chief can go home more often and spoil his works in private. Just like many parents now, he is doing things that hurt children and feelings under the banner of being good for children.
If you feel bad about yourself, you are the best. It is rare for a person to have something he likes to do all his life. As a parent, in addition to supporting children, he is the driving force behind them, instead of blindly asking them according to their own wishes. What you think is good is not necessarily what children like. However, this situation is also understandable. Sometimes, hobbies can't be the "iron rice bowl" for eating. This society is very realistic. You can't move without money, and few people can turn hobbies into weapons to make money. Therefore, it is understandable that parents are kind to their children, but they still use the right method. You can't just fight, young people have to fight for it. Only when you get through, will you know if you are suitable. Only when I get through will I not regret it. Don't try to cut off the child's wings, let him fly first. You really can't insist on having a home.
By coincidence, the whole film wants to express the competition between the ugliness of human nature and the absurdity of fate, and people try to manipulate fate, but it turns out to be useless. Different from the general story of changing fate, the film begins with killing people, but it is proved to be false under the absurdity of fate. Human nature tries to manipulate fate and yield to its own interests, only to find that there are many loopholes in it. Everyone has a secret in his heart, either his own or someone else's. It was he who kept the secret in his heart all his life. Once the secret is discovered, although the result is not satisfactory, at least he will not suffer any more. Just like the line in the movie, "There are some things in his heart, like a stone. If you press him for a lifetime, he will be good to you for a lifetime. As long as you speak, the stone will move to your heart. " So is the secret. Once you say it, it's not a secret.
Everyone in the movie has everyone's story, and everyone has everyone's thoughts. The village head who "played the fool" worked hard all his life and did his best for every villager, only to find that his selfishness killed "two people". Although he was not the most direct murderer, one was unable to "bury himself in the grave" because of his cover-up, and the other was because he fell off a cliff after answering his phone. Although he didn't kill anyone, he killed someone indirectly in the end. As the chief culprit, Xiao Zongyao escaped with Huang Huan after manslaughter. If it weren't for his father, I'm afraid he would have been caught. His behavior is not desirable. Although he escaped after killing someone, he failed to pass the test of conscience and turned himself in at home. From this aspect, we can see that he is not a heartless person, afraid of being implicated by his father and Huang Huan, and went home alone. Everyone's heart is a maze, just like the chain of suspicion in the dark forest law, which seems irrelevant, but in fact everyone is firmly linked.
Xiao Zongyao was seen by his father for manslaughter, by Wang Baoshan when the village chief burned the body, and by Da Zhuang when Wang Baoshan arrived in Li Qin. Da Zhuang gave his father the wrong information without knowing the truth, which led Wang Baoshan to feel guilty for his wife for life, and Da Zhuang mistakenly thought that Chen was dead. When he saw Chen, his subconscious reaction was not only panic, but also to make him disappear completely. Although he didn't have the heart to do it, it also showed his sincerity.
The story connects everyone together, and everyone wants to get rid of the fate that harms their own interests. In order to get rid of Chen, the body was taken as Chen, whether Chen was dead or alive. In order to get Li Qin's favor, Dazhuang moved to kill her. Huang Huan hid the medal to go home, and Xiao Zongyao took her mobile phone to prevent Huang Huan from going home. The most innocent and hateful white tiger lost his life because of greed. Everyone has his own things to do, and no one will do anything thankless. The human heart is the most elusive, just like in today's society, people get along with each other, you don't know if the other person is a person or a ghost, and you may be betrayed by him if you are not careful. People are very realistic, and no one will do anything that harms their own interests.
Back to the film, the film set the tone from the beginning, that is, ugly, "filthy" words, behaviors and actions all exude ugly "smells." Whether men or women, this ugliness has become a daily ugliness in Chinese style, which we don't want to see or recall. Some people say that it is not big cities but small villages that can see China clearly. There is no such thing as simplicity here, but more parents have shortcomings. In an ugly tone, lies fill the whole movie, and we all yearn for a utopian world. But how can there be utopia in this society? We yearn for the truth, but the operation of this world is based on lies. This is a cruel real world.
The lie in the film is not a real lie, it just rolls around like a ball, passes by everyone and finally becomes a bullet that can penetrate life. See the end and go back to the starting point, and you will understand what is real impermanence. Just like dominoes, the last card will eventually fall to the first card. In this circle where there is no escape, everyone is a loser.
A seemingly insignificant coincidence can actually crush people's hearts, because you don't know if this scene will be discovered. Everyone is trapped in the maze of life. When they want to go out, they find themselves farther and farther away, and they want to change their destiny with their own strength. Finally, they found themselves lost in this maze. Here, some people are trying to protect themselves, while others are trying to protect others. When the truth is burned by fire, some people choose to wake up.