Unlike the "Death Poetry Society" film, which is a step-by-step approach to education, the part about education presented in the film "Burst Drummer" is an alternative extreme, and this extreme is often difficult to find better examples in real life as a reference, because when the individual erases all contact with the world and begins to fall into self-madness, this so-called highest state, probably, is only separated from the mental illness by a layer of window paper, let's call this extreme "the evolutionary history of genius".
What are the limits of humanity? No one knows, therefore, some people begin to try to choose to break through the limit in various fields, while some people choose to stand on the sidelines and watch others break through the limit. Whether it is a participant or a bystander, we can not give an accurate judgment, just like the movie "Burst Drummer", the director does not mix subjective attitudes into the story, he just becomes a bystander like the audience.
I think that when Andrew and Fletcher presented the most wonderful showdown at the end of the movie, slowly reflecting on what they had experienced before, perhaps, everyone probably had their own choices about how to grow.
"Burst Drummer" easily reminds me of the movie "Black Swan", when the protagonist is integrated into the self-fantasy, any external interference, becomes a shameful sin, and again and again for the self-harsh, even perverted requirements, slowly lose the self at the same time, but also into the fictional spiritual world.
In this world, there is only oneself, and I would love to call this kind of behavior "exquisite egoist", but I can't bear to disturb their madness. In particular, when the picture of Andrew and Fletcher finally looking at each other and smiling appears, I already know that selling the soul to Satan in exchange for self-transcendence has distorted the innocence of the original heart.
Watching the movie "Burst Drummer", I dare not have the slightest slackening, because the solemn and even depressing atmosphere conveyed as a whole has almost no overlap with the film's choice of jazz music as the main tone, and perhaps the director uses this contrast to cause an emotional tension to the audience.
Of course, one of the more important reasons is that as the story progresses, I am constantly worried about Andrew's self-choice, afraid that if I do not pay attention, Andrew will choose to end his life. This concern for the fate of the protagonist depends on the director's control of the rhythm of the film, and through the rapid editing switch in the post, in the exploding music, all the narration of the story is completed.
Andrew's home was full of material about drum kits, and every time I practiced alone in the classroom, I think, in addition to being able to prove myself, it was more out of initial interest. Because, through the interest to promote the realization of self-worth, is a legitimate thing, although, in the eyes of others, engaging in music is a non-proper thing, but this preconceived judgment does not make Andrew compromise on this, which is a kind of maintenance of the original intention.
Try to do a good job and must do it well, in the middle of them, if there is no support of the original intention, but only to blind transcendence, then, in the end, it will only become a soulless body, or a cold machine, which is the transformation of Andrew after meeting Fletcher. Many people have tried to figure out the difference between genius and ordinary people from Fletcher's almost perverted sternness, but what I see is the distorted evolution from man to tool, and the obscenity that always stands in the perspective of personal interests.
After Andrew came into contact with Fletcher, his simple love for drums began to strengthen and even evolve into a contest for fame and fortune, and this expansion of selfish desires was like Pandora's box, and Fletcher was the one who opened the box. Fletcher tried to recreate a top band to complete the transcendence of self-honor, and Andrew tried to use Fletcher as a springboard to complete the entry into Lincoln Center or any top band, becoming a core drummer, and the starting point of both of them was all contrary to the original intention of the creation of the art of music.
I think the director felt that the duel between the two was far from enough, so he turned jazz, which originally had a free soul, into wild and restless. When fame and fortune became the only option and love became the original intention of forgetting, I began to understand the horror of Andrew's father when he saw his son finally explode the performance. The son is still the son, but the soul is no longer the soul, Andreu became Fletcher, and Fletcher was the "teacher" who guided Andrew step by step and gave the soul to Satan.
At the end of the film, the two look at each other and laugh, slowly entering the darkness with the drum beat, which pushes the audience's emotions to an irrepressible climax.
This perfect performance is only the beginning of a tragedy, not only andrew's tragedy, but the tragedy of the whole society, because Andrew will inherit Fletcher's ideas, and this idea will be transmitted in the same way, and eventually form a terrible social circle.
When watching this movie, the first famous quote that came out at the first time was probably the sentence "Genius is ninety-nine percent sweat plus one percent inspiration", because of the need for educational encouragement, we always deliberately ignore the second half of this sentence, that is, "but sometimes, that one percent inspiration is more important than the ninety-nine percent sweat", which is the avoidance psychology at work, always like to choose the favorable part to meet their own needs, and deliberately avoid the unfavorable part.
Watching the movie "Burst Drummer", there is also this choice of evasive psychology. Excited by Andrew's desperate efforts, glad for Fletcher's harsh teacher, immersed in the enemy-like master-apprentice relationship, and even clapping his hands for the perfect performance at the end, this is the common worship of genius, but is such a genius really the most perfect object of worship?
If you look at this movie carefully, in fact, you will see the director's most rigorous irony, for example, in order to be able to go beyond the limit with peace of mind, choose to break up with his girlfriend and choose to be isolated from the outside world; for example, even if Andrew has a car accident, he still rushes to the performance scene with a bleeding body, and the hands that are quickly broken are still left with bright red blood; and Fletcher's frame-up of Andrew completely exposes Fletcher's darkest mentality.
Although the director does not express a clear attitude, when using these struggle processes created almost out of the plot of life to satisfy the fantasies of ordinary people about genius, I think that a certain uncomfortable emotion has been buried in the hearts of the audience. In particular, after watching the movie, this chilling discomfort will soon make people break away from the carnival and then fall into self-contemplation.
Although "Burst Drummer" only uses an extreme case to provide a possibility for life choices, the director is not a complete negation of the need for effort in life, he is just challenging the traditional values hidden in people's hearts, and the so-called success studies are taken to the sky, so that people know that instead of superstitious genius myths, it is better to live their lives seriously.
Ordinary does not equal mediocrity, genius does not equal superiority, as long as you are always trying to live the best.
The story content of "Burst Drummer" is indeed very much in line with its movie name. Bursting, not only refers to the bursting of music, but also refers to the impact of thought, using the extreme to poke the extreme, the whole story is placed in a full horizontal line, so that the audience from beginning to end in a state of emotional tension, and finally, to achieve their independent thinking about life choices.
The beginning and end of the film echo each other, and the layers of drums with rhythm coincide with the changes of the characters from the beginning to the end, and this drum beat also constantly hits the soul of the audience.