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03 Jan 2022
HKAFF 2021 Young Critics Reviews (I)

HKAFF 2021 Young Critics Reviews (I)

 

Ballad of a White Cow

Written by: Brad Doo

 

The Iranian cinema has always been reiterating common themes throughout its many films. Oppression, injustice and favouritism. The directors of Ballad of the White Cow and its crew made this film hoping that it would be shown in Iran cinemas, but unfortunately due to political reasons, it was forbidden by the committee at first. The film was co-directed by Behtash Sanaeeha, and Maryam Moqadam, who also plays Mina as the film’s main protagonist.

 

She suffers immeasurable pain when revealed that her husband was wrongly executed. The film tends to focus on the life of Mina after revealing the death of her husband. The one woman’s determination in search for justice for her husband. The actress Maryam Moqadam has presented a character of hopelessness, sorrow, and the pain the character undergoes. Throughout the film and its many scenes, the camera tends to stay immobile.

A technique known as “static shot”. Providing a chance for us to focus on the scene more than ever, with no distractions, no rush. We can fully perceive the specifics of the scene, with clarity and certainty. The purpose of doing so was to emphasize the character’s emotions, the obstacles and the suffering they have undergone, whether it was Mina or her daughter. The director wanted us to pay attention to these vital details.

 

There are many elements in this film that highlighted and accentuated the normal things we experience in our own life. Such as raising a daughter, paying rent and having an economic struggle. The relation between the film and the society was very much relatable, especially to the ones low in the hierarchy. There are many happenings in the film where we experience it ourselves. We never tell our children that their father is dead, we protect them from the truth by telling another story, a lie. This is the goal of this film, its purpose is to relate to everyone by telling things, happenings that occurred in our life and have impacted us vitally. But most important it is to relate to the Iranian people because that is where the story is happening.

 

With many long and static shots, these elements made the pace of the film slow. For instance, in the recurring train scene. The mother and daughter were very closely framed. Both directors and their cinematographer Amin Jafari adds emphasis to this special and crucial moment by having a long and uninterrupted medium shot, indicating the hardship of the two and certainly the loneliness of the mother after losing her husband. The “two-shot” creates a visual relationship between the mother and her child. Highlighting the conditions and circumstances of their lives and how the death of one man, a husband, a father has altered their lives in a very negative way. On the road seeking justice for her husband, it was paved with tremendous obstacles. There is little to none that Mina could do. A helpless woman is obligated to take a stand against the supremacy of the government and the court. This again relates to the situation in Iran, that is the truth, the reality.

 

Reza, one of the judges that mistakenly sentenced Mina’s husband to death. Had helped Mina out of guilt, for mistakenly taking the life of her husband. When Mina learns about this, her anger for Reza’s sins is juxtaposed with the sympathy she had for him. Could she take revenge on the man, who mistakenly killed her husband but had been repaying his debt ever since. In one of the last scenes we see a cut between Reza’s choking after drinking the milk Mina gave him, to Reza not drinking the milk at all. This is a technique

known as “double meaning” as audience, we are unsure whether she is getting revenge or is she thinking about revenge. There is a perception that she does not want to be like Reza and all the judges that led to her husband’s death.

 

At the beginning of the film, and over the course of the film, there have been many scenes of a white cow standing in an execution area. The cow itself in many religious ceremonies symbolises the victim. And the white colour of the cow serves as pure innocence. The people around the white cow were essentially watching the ceremony being conducted as they killed the cow. The director uses cow as a conceptual part of the film. The cow in numerous religious ceremonies is being sacrificed and is dedicated to god. There are lots

of sacrifices being made in the film, especially about Reza, providing aid to the woman whose life he ruined completely. In the Quran, there is a chapter titled “The Cow”, revealing all the rules of execution, the quote “An eye for an eye” completely supports the fact that no matter whatever one does to redeem oneself, one can never be forgiven.

 

Voice of Silence

Written by: Chow Lok-yiu

 

《收屍人》主要講述以幫助黑幫處理屍體為生的泰仁昌福接到了處理小女孩草熙的委託,然而委託人卻在第二天被殺害了。泰仁只好暫時收留草熙,過程中泰仁草熙漸漸變得像家人一樣。然而,最後泰仁草熙送回學校時,草熙又選擇了向老師舉報泰仁。導演洪意晶常把形成強烈對比的事物放在同一鏡頭下,又刻意選擇在天晴時拍攝黑暗的故事,使電影充滿矛盾與諷刺。看來荒誕不經,其實發人深省。

 

電影中,泰仁草熙相處融洽,使我幾乎忘了他們本是綁架犯與人質的關係。到最後草熙供出泰仁時,我竟覺得泰仁可憐,後來才想起草熙是人質,這樣做合情合理。這也許就是導演想表達的東西——我們常被感性蓋過理性,失去判別黑白的能力。又或者說,是非黑白並不容易判斷。近年來各國社會紛爭不斷,有人縱然觸犯法例,卻是希望達義;有人表面平靜,背後卻是對社會不公、壞風氣的漠視。誰對誰錯?我們無從得知。就像泰仁昌福作為收屍人,卻擁有善良的心。這個人物設定本已是一個矛盾,告訴我們是非黑白的界線從來都是模糊不清。因此,在辨別是非前,我們必須多作分析。這也許亦是導演拍攝這部電影的原因。

 

電影亦刻劃出基層市民渴望上流生活,卻無法改變現況的無奈。戲中主角曾把委託人脫下的西裝外套併到身上比照,表露出渴望上流的慾望。後來更在委託人被殺後帶走西裝。然而,即便穿上西裝,泰仁也不可能成為上流人士。現實中,基層要翻生同樣難若登天。他們除了艱苦工作,賺取薄酬,別無出路。他們毫無話語權,聲音又有誰能聽見?電影充分反映了低下階層的無奈。這是每個社會都存在的問題,且也必須被正視。

 

最後,不得不提戲中演員的出色演技。泰仁是一個啞巴,飾演他的劉亞仁卻能透過表情及肢體動作感動觀眾。飾演草熙的小演員文勝雅表現亦有驚喜。當中一幕,計劃逃走的草熙本來表情凝重,帶點奸狡,忽然泰仁的妹妹走到草熙身旁,草熙迅速展露笑容。年紀小小但演技精湛到位,讓我留下了很深刻的印象。

 

《收屍人》在這個動盪的世代中帶給我們深刻的反思,但願有一日,我們都能找到判別是非的界線。

 

Costa Brava, Lebanon

Written by: Cheung Wing-ki

 

木欄相隔的兩地,是腐土,是淨土。腐敗與污濁正侵害着僅有的純淨,灰塵煙霧蓋過Walid一家上方的藍天,也讓他們面對家庭分裂的危機。垃圾的入侵打破了Walid一家的平靜,污水灰煙的侵渡,彷彿就是要令溫暖純淨的一家染上不可磨滅的污跡。從環保問題延伸到個人情感,種種的扣連,未見突兀。

 

捍衛淨土,或保護家庭,是他們的分歧。Walid與妻子反反覆覆的爭鬧,由剛開始的互相退讓,到分道揚鑣,都隨着環境而惡化。導演善用兩地之別,隨着原本泅泳的泳池被染紅,濁霧彌漫,污濁打破了界限,亦使夫妻之間的問題逐漸浮現。Walid堅守淨土,對於家園被破壞,怒不可遏,卻依然留守;Souraya重視家庭的健康,比起於垃圾堆生活,她更希望能夠回到相較潔淨的大城市下。這是他們產生多次衝突,隨着鏡頭下,烽火蔓延,他們的情緒亦到了極致。導演以特別的環保問題作為這對夫妻衝突的主因,映出了情侶夫妻之間的爭拗,到最後的退讓或堅守,都是心中的價值衡量。而最後Walid的選擇亦使人感動,他跨過了一直以來的堅持。家庭煙滅,樂土又何在,他堅守的意義又何在。對於家人的情意,壓過了他對淨土的執着,令他徑直地踩下了油門。

 

這部電影的另一特色,便是多個主線並進,一是環境的污染,二是夫妻的爭拗,三是青少年的情竇初開。Tara夾在父母的爭拗之中,身處泥濘之中,也忘不了對情愛的渴望。這是十分現實的景象,Tara對於探索未知領域的好奇是所有孩子蛻變成人的過程。在這個階段中,她能無視身邊所有的問題,投身於沉溺情愛的渴望中。這種對於未知的渴望使她難以自拔,導演只運用了Tara幾個鏡頭,如Tara親吻池邊等舉動,便映射出了青少年成長的現實。Tara踏入男子家中後,對於好奇心與孩子誤入歧途的傷心,不論是青少年或是為人父母的成人,都能深有共鳴,這亦是導演與電影的優秀之處,彷如畫龍點睛。

 

而最後讓我深有印象的一處便是奶奶對於生死的透悟。面對死亡時,導演沒有拍出那種對於分離而痛徹心扉的畫面,一切都是那麼的平靜,彷彿死亡就是解脫。這種對於生死的平靜,使電影在感情上得到了昇華。當一切世間感情事都如狂風亂嘯時,死亡卻帶來了一刻的平靜,這種生死浮華的對比,反而令人消除了對死亡的恐懼,就如飄蕩的落葉歸根。

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