Global Film Emperor

Chapter 464 Film Review of "Exile" (Part 2)

He got out of the car. The car door wasn't electric; it slammed shut with a bang, the yellow light flashed twice, and the car was locked. He carried his bag and greeted the security guard in the underground parking garage.

"Hey bro, working the night shift tonight?"

"Oh, Old Li was sick and took two days off. I covered his night shifts for two days, that's why he's back so late?"

"I went to the movies."

After a brief exchange, he pressed the elevator button. While waiting, he suddenly realized that he still had the cigarettes in his pocket, so he had to turn back, throw the cigarettes and lighter back into the car, and make another round trip. He smiled at the security guard, got on the elevator, and still didn't forget to put a few pieces of chewing gum in his mouth.

He was originally a young man from a small town, but he worked his way up to become a white-collar worker in the provincial capital in his twenties. It wasn't until he was over thirty, with a family to support, that he bravely took another step forward and came to the capital to become a professional film critic.

Sometimes he felt resentful, wondering why he didn't dare to step out until he was over thirty, but most of the time he was glad that he had at least made it and was doing the job he loved most.

It wasn't until he had worked for a while that he slowly came to understand that when to come and when to leave are all predetermined. Without his more than 30 years of experience watching movies, he wouldn't have been able to find this job. Coming in his twenties would most likely have led him astray from his dreams. So there's no need to regret it, because everything is just right.

The work is more tiring than the work in the provincial capital, and the money he can save may not be more than in the provincial capital, but it is something he likes to do. For example, he watched a movie until 11:30 pm tonight and didn't go home until 11:30 pm. It is more comfortable than working overtime to write copy until 11:30 pm.

Opening the door to his home, he finds his two beloved women in this small house that costs him two-thirds of his salary. He can feel at ease even without seeing them.

The lights were off in the room. My wife developed a snoring problem during her pregnancy, and it was quite loud; you could hear it from the living room. I changed into slippers, poured myself a glass of water, drank half of it, refilled it, and placed it next to the computer desk. I also turned on the computer.

Taking advantage of this moment, I tiptoed into the bedroom. My wife was still asleep, and the baby was sleeping soundly in the crib next to her. I sat down next to my wife, leaned over, and pressed my cheek against her forehead.

"Hmm~ You're back?"

"Ah."

Without a word, her soft hand searched for his hand on her body, finally slipping into his large palm to absorb his warmth. She fell asleep again, snoring softly once more.

A few minutes later, he gently withdrew his hand, walked to the crib, and turned the baby's body from lying flat to the side. The baby had been sleeping on a buckwheat hull pillow, which had flattened the back of the head. No matter which of the couple got up at night, they had to turn the baby over again.

Once everything had settled down, he left, closed the door, sat down at his computer, turned on the eye-protection lamp, took out his notebook from his backpack, flipped through a couple of pages, pondered for a couple of seconds, opened the document, and began writing.

This time, however, his film review was finally signed with a name other than a nickname.

"Hello everyone, I'm Lu Bo..."

……

"The film 'Exile' was just released today. As Lu Ze's comeback film after four years, many movie fans, including myself, had high expectations for it. And Lu Ze did not disappoint us. He delivered a film that can satisfy all movie fans. The film has a very profound theme. Even though I watched it three times, I still did not fully understand the film. I can only talk about it briefly. Please forgive me if there are any slight spoilers. If you have any different opinions, we can discuss them together."

"Before we go on, let me give a brief introduction for those of you who are not familiar with directors and filming supervisors. The directors of 'Exile' are the Mendeleev brothers from Russia, and Lucas Mendeleev, the elder brother, also served as the filming supervisor for this movie."

"If we exclude the short film they shot, this movie should be considered their debut work, which is what surprised me. Whether it's the story pacing, set design, camera work, color cues, or the final editing, it's all top-notch. Even though they have served as assistant directors and instructors for several films such as 'Rebirth,' they are not the helmsmen of a film. To have this kind of creativity, not to mention how much hard work they must have put in, their talent is absolutely top-notch."

"Most importantly, the three essential elements for a classic film—a first-class director, a first-class cinematographer, and a first-class script—all serve Lu Ze. Four-fifths of the film is dedicated to Lu Ze, while other human characters are relatively weakened. The film is told from the protagonist's perspective, interspersed with minor episodes, piecing together a complete Leo life."

"The advantage is that it highlights the protagonist's emotions, making the protagonist's character portrayal full and vivid, while weakening the supporting characters' plots, allowing the audience to evaluate the interwoven story itself from an objective perspective. This kind of pacing is particularly suitable for promoting actors. However, the disadvantage is obvious: if the lead actor's acting is not up to par, the character will not be established, causing the entire film to collapse. Of course, this is unlikely to happen in Lu Ze's works, because the protagonist of this film is only slightly introverted and socially awkward. The difficulty of portraying him is basically zero for an actor of Lu Ze's level."

"In short, this is a movie that only serves Lu Ze. The audience's entire viewing experience is led by Lu Ze. In comparison, the special effects, which are discussed a lot in the short reviews, seem less important. Of course, I don't mean to say that the special effects are bad. The visual effects are certainly great and deserve the title of beautiful. However, as something that can be made by throwing money at it, it lacks a little bit of soul compared to Lu Ze's performance. It's like the difference between a painter's hand-painted artwork and a machine-printed product."

"Lu Ze's performance needs no further evaluation; he performed well as always. Although this movie doesn't have anything particularly emotional that requires the actor to express, so Lu Ze is just showcasing his basic acting skills, he manages to carry the entire movie with just these basic skills and deeply immerse the audience in the plot. Lu Ze's strength is self-evident; his basic skills are truly solid! Okay, let's cut to the chase and get straight to the point, talking about the movie's content."

"At first, I thought 'Exile' was just an ordinary desert island movie, similar to 'Cast Away,' but there are too many movies of this type, and it's hard to make any innovations. So my expectations were just so-so, because in my mind, 'Cast Away' is a masterpiece of this genre, and it's hard for the latter to beat it."

"But when I got to the movie theater, I was dumbfounded. The plot of surviving on the desert island was only about forty minutes. That's when I realized that the first forty minutes of the movie were just a setup. What would happen next? I had no idea. After all, this kind of movie is all about the spirit of tenacious survival. The life after being rescued is depicted rather lightly. The plot of 'Exile' exceeded my understanding of this type of movie."

"Then I realized that this movie, which I thought was a copy of Cast Away, was actually a complete anti-Cast Away movie, and a thorough rebuttal of Cast Away."

"After Chuck returned to human society, he became a human hero and his social status remained unchanged, while Leo became a beast in the eyes of humans. Even though he was also glorified as a so-called legend, the way people treated him and the emotions shown in their eyes did not lie, and Leo's social status declined drastically."

"The classic scene of Chuck's kiss in the rain after seeing Kelly was beautiful, proving that the two still deeply loved each other, but had to separate due to family constraints—the so-called unrequited love. But what about Leo? I believe Tina still had love in her heart. After all, she fainted like Kelly after receiving the call that Leo was alive, and she also cried her eyes out. But what did she do?" "Perhaps you would say that the existence of the child is what caused the two Tina and Kelly to behave so differently, but I don't think it has much to do with the child. Instead, the idea put forward in 'Exile' is more convincing. People are afraid of unexpected events in life. Joy is fine, but sad events make people eager to get back on track."

"If it weren't for 'Exile,' I would think the relationship between the protagonist and the female lead in 'Cast Away' was handled very well. But now, when I think back to that rainy night, it feels like an overly unrealistic kind of beauty."

"Both protagonists are stranded on a deserted island for many years, but the way they are treated by society after returning is extremely different. If you were in their shoes, which ending would you believe would actually happen?"

"It's still a matter of society's attitude towards Leo. Even though he's been glorified as a legend, his life experiences have been erased. After all, people only label the most commendable experiences of an individual. Just like criminals, whether you're a businessman, a highly educated person, or a scientist, once you've been to prison, what's the first label you attach to him when you think of him? He's been to prison, right?"

"At the same time, social attributes also make people unconsciously isolate themselves from people with different circumstances. I would also subconsciously stay away from prisoners. This is the intolerance of society. But even prisoners have their own circles. What about Leo? Where can I find someone who has lived on a desert island for many years? So the result is that he has no friends, no job, no family, and is even excluded to the margins of society. In the eyes of ordinary people, this man who even has difficulty speaking gradually becomes synonymous with a wild beast."

"There's a scene with a very deep metaphor that I really want to talk about, which is the dog on the beach. Many people may have just taken this scene as a normal interaction with an animal and not paid much attention to it. But this scene indirectly depicts Leo's real social life. The last scene is the best proof of this. Leo is playing with the dog, and there are two shadows on the ground that are indistinguishable. You can interpret it as Leo being the dog and the dog being Leo."

"Think about the dog's actions and expressions. At first, the dog wanted food because it needed to survive. So Leo was looking for work because he also needed to survive. Then, watching the other dogs playing frisbee, he had a longing to join in. But after Leo bought the frisbee, he didn't want to play anymore. Leo was the same. He wanted to seek social recognition and be accepted by others. He wanted to get rid of the savage label, but he was too ashamed to catch his own 'frisbee' (to be seen as a clown). He just wanted to get something to eat and nothing else. He would only take action if something external could stimulate him. So after Leo bit the frisbee, the dog played with it. And when the production crew promised to give Leo 50,000 yuan, he agreed."

"When the man and the dog parted ways at the dock, why didn't the dog follow Leo? Some friends said it was waiting for its owner to take it home, but I don't think so. This scene seems to still be a metaphor. A person is ultimately a person, and a dog is ultimately a dog. The dog considers Leo a friend, but not one of its own kind, so it won't accept Leo's help. After being rejected, Leo also left without even looking back. This is as if he also understands the boundary and distance between humans and animals. At this moment, he is still on the side of humans. The lobster scene later also proves this."

"The following plot, including the program interviews, shows the starkly different emotional changes James displays when dealing with children and animals. He constantly distinguishes between racial disharmony and emphasizes the antagonism between races. There are gaps between people of different skin colors, and there are gaps between humans and lobsters. What impressed me most was the line: 'Because I am human, I eat lobster.' At that moment, all the animal rights activists I saw seemed to have turned into lobsters."

"Then, the program highlighted the friendly behavior of people who share the same race and the same ideas. For example, the owner of the lobster restaurant wanted to treat Leo to lobster, and the crew members showed compassion by helping Leo find a job. All of these were goodwill that arose from a sense of identity."

"The film then explores a series of themes about how to protect animals. The attitude expressed in the film is one that I agree with. If killing is for food, then it is justified. If killing is for profit, then it is justified. Thinking about it this way, I realize that I am firmly standing on the side of humanity."

"As for Leo, he wanted to stand on the side of humanity, but in the human community, he was an outcast and not accepted by society. This is the origin of his loneliness and social anxiety, until the second outcast appeared, which was bapa."

"I'm convinced that Leo's feelings for Bapa didn't develop rapidly, but rather gradually as Bapa became more intelligent. It was less about feelings and more about a sense of shared suffering. Animals living in human society and humans living in animal society are both suffering because of this, and this suffering can only be understood by the other."

"Am I an animal or a human?"

"Am I a human being or an animal?"

"The questions they asked me at the end still make me ponder, but I find it hard to give an answer. If we focus on appearances, the answer is obvious, just like James's affirmative answer. But if we delve into the soul, I believe no one can give an answer. In the end, we will still isolate them, respond with indifference and hostility, and reconnect with racial antagonism."

"So it's not surprising that they both suffered from depression. One committed suicide, and the other exiled himself, abandoning his human identity and associating with low-intelligence animals. Because low-intelligence animals don't care whether you are human or animal. Both were escaping, escaping the fact that they had become a hybrid of two different species."

"Then, a very crucial question arises: what does that whale represent? There are too many answers to this question, but I'll just give my opinion. The protagonist capsized because of it, and it reappeared during a storm. Then, it reappeared again when the protagonist was rescued. The last time it appeared was when Leo returned to the ocean."

"I'm not sure if it really exists, because the green vest that flashed by at the end of the movie left me with a lot of doubts. But if it does exist, then consider the early characters, like the oceanography professor Giles Rorns who died soon after. He and Leo actually have something in common: a longing for the ocean that you can see in their eyes."

"It wasn't just the two of them; everyone on the sunken Field had a love for the ocean. But at the same time, when they reached uninhabited waters, fear would show in everyone's eyes. The whale was the epitome of their pursuit and fear. When they were afraid, it leaped out of the sea and destroyed those who might have survived. But when you yearn for it, what you see is the beautiful sight of it leaping out of the sea. Even after Leo was rescued, when he met the whale, he felt reluctant to leave. Just as the old man and the sea said, everything is killing itself. Fishing took my life, but it also sustained me."

"Last but not least, the green vest that I almost missed is also the most controversial topic right now. That green vest was what Leo was wearing when he died, which has led to two opposing views."

"Whether Leo is alive and actually experienced all of this, or whether it was a result he imagined before he died, we don't need to be too concerned about whether what Leo experienced was real or not. It is precisely because of the open ending that this movie is not just one kind of experience. As a movie fan, I am in awe of the script written by Mickey."

“Every ending changes the overall meaning of the movie, like different sauces for hot pot. Whatever you dip in will make the taste different. Let’s make the simplest guess: is Leo dead or alive? We won’t discuss more detailed analyses, such as whether Leo died in the shipwreck or from radiation. If we analyze everything, the movie will lose some of its fun. If we explain everything on the first day of the release of Exile, other moviegoers will not be able to watch it.”

"If you're alive, then there's nothing to say about everything you've experienced; it's all real. The authentic flavor of the hotpot—what you see is what the movie is trying to convey. But what if you're dead? Does racial issues exist? Yes! Does the friendly sentiment between people of the same race truly exist? Yes! Does the struggle between animal rights activists and meat-eaters exist? Yes!"

"Does Leo's death or life affect this film? Yes! Then what's fake? Here comes the different sauce, friends, listen carefully: if Leo dies, then the core of this film will be changed. The fantasy version of 'Exile' will refute the ideas expressed in the real version of 'Exile.' Humans can't be friends with animals; mutual hostility and killing will continue indefinitely, after all..."

How can a human hear the thoughts of an animal?

"..."

The timing of death affects the flavor of the ending; this is a real phenomenon. I didn't mention it, but those interested can analyze it themselves, hahaha.

Currently, we owe 27.



(End of this chapter)