Third, the "dream-making" space boosts the development of the plot
The above explains, the huge gap between reality and ideals in the main characters in Zhang Meng's film constitutes the main contradiction throughout the development of the story, and at this point, Zhang Meng is very good at using space in a timely manner to "dream" for the characters in the real environment, thereby further promoting the development of the plot. For example, the dilapidated but very shapely abandoned factory in "The Piano of Steel" is both a "piano-making" factory and a "dream factory", and its own functions directly provide the necessary conditions for the central task of "piano" and the realization of the personal value of each laid-off worker.
Therefore, in such a relatively closed space, everyone's personality characteristics and the contradictions and conflicts of the story can be concentrated and reflected, thereby promoting the development of the plot. Another example is the scene in "Blessed Ears" in which Wang Kangmei secretly investigates the prospects of the shoe shine industry, but it is very exciting in just five minutes. In addition to being part of Wang Kangmei's livelihood plan after retirement, which is an indispensable plot of the entire film, it also vividly creates a dream of being a "cadre" for Wang Kangmei, who was laid-off and lost his power, and when he woke up, it was nothing more than empty. In this way, the director also subtly hints at the impact of the transfer of power in society on ordinary individuals living in society. Among them, space contributed to the promotion of this scene. The three main characters in the play: Wang Kangmei, the woman who shines shoes, and the man who shines shoes are arranged into a simple hut located on the side of a busy street with cramped space, and the distance between the characters is forced to shorten, and the sudden erection of smoke exhaust pipes in the house cleverly separates the already small space in the house. In this way, it is convenient to express the relationship between the characters through the lens language, and at the same time, it also brushes the dramatic conflict of this scene.
The film "On the Balcony" directly takes the specific space of "balcony" as the title, and the balcony landscape in the film mainly includes two: the man's balcony and the Lu's balcony. The main story after the death of his father in the film begins with the balcony of his uncle's house, but the main performance is the balcony of the Lu family where Zhang Yingying keeps peeping. To analyze how these two "balcony landscapes" in the film promote the development of the plot, we must first understand the behavioral motivation of the character Zhang Yingying, which is mainly shown in the film. Lacan once proposed the "three worlds" of imagination, reality and symbolism, and we have analyzed the revenge line about Zhang Yingying's psychological growth through Lacan's mirror theory, and this stage belongs to the imagination world. Below we will continue to analyze the emotional line of Zhang Yingyong's psychological growth process.
There is a key prop in the emotional line a telescope, which triggers a keyword to gaze one by one. Lacan believes that the symbol is the second alienated identity of the subject after entering society, subject to linguistic constraints and oppression. The language here is a form that refers to a set of conventional orders that were first established and recognized in order to alleviate the struggle between subjects, which became the prerequisite for the coexistence of the subject and others, thus forming the second alienated identity of the subject and laying the foundation for the gaze. There is no clear scope for reality, but it can be seen as the opposition of the symbolic realm, and when the symbolic realm is embedded in the realm of reality, desire is stimulated.
Just like Zhang Yingying peeping at Lu Shanshan, who is also a weak person in the film, looking at Lu Shanshan on the balcony through the glass window with red film, the crisp red color makes her every move shrouded in lust, Zhang Yingying even had a spring dream, but due to the constraints of morality and power, he just peeped and followed, although Zhang Yingying's dream does not exist in reality, but affects Zhang Yingying's behavior, so at the end of the film, Zhang Yingying exercised his desire for power on Lu Shanshan and touched Lu Shanshan. Lacan, in his dialectical discussion of the act of gaze, believes that "when the subject gazes at others, he is also being stared at by others", just as Zhang Yingying stood on the balcony of his uncle's house at the beginning, and looked at him through the glass like he looked at Lu Shanshan through the glass, creating a feeling that he was also being stared at. And Zhang Yingying, who is in the "I won't say it" in other people's people, also completed the construction of the illusion of self-subject in watching and being seen. In this process, the balcony as a space carries the act of "seeing and being seen", which becomes the driving force for the development of the plot.
Fourth, the metaphor and symbol of space
The space under Zhang Meng's lens not only appears in the film with its original appearance as a location, but also is carefully designed and carries important narrative information, so it has a certain metaphorical symbolic role. The two scenes of ruins and railroad tracks selected here are very personal characteristics of Zhang Meng, and are covered in the three films discussed in this article.
(1) Ruins
Ruins often appear in Zhang Meng's films, whether it is the nameless house collapsed on the side of the road in "Blessed Ears", the dilapidated factory and bombed chimney in "The Piano of Steel", or the large-scale demolition area in "On the Balcony"... They are all ruins. From only showing the appearance of the ruins to ritually showing the chimney to simply putting the demolition of houses directly in front of the camera, Zhang Meng's performance of the ruins is becoming more and more "bold", bringing more and more strong shock to the audience. The architectural meaning of "ruin" is the garbage and destruction that cities and villages have become desolate and formed due to devastating damage, and it is always associated with words such as collapse and fragmentation. [3 On the surface, the "demolition and reconstruction" implied by the waste suspect corresponds to the era background of Zhang Meng's story; From a deep point of view, the destruction and elimination of the ruins themselves also symbolize the era that passed away and the people who were eliminated. Ruins are the epitome of a changing society, but also the spiritual ruins of people's anxiety, gap, and confusion.
Throughout Zhang Meng's three films, they all face a state of aphasia: Wang Kangmei can no longer sing the highlight moment of the "Long March Suite of Songs", in the face of the younger brother and sister-in-law who are addicted to mahjong and do not care about his father, the son-in-law who betrayed his daughter, the gangster son, and the daughter who is difficult to complain, he is difficult to express dissatisfaction, unable to establish prestige Even the retirement speech that should have belonged to his home field, was also interrupted three times in a row by the music of "News Network", and the "Long March spirit that he has always believed in is difficult to support his difficult life after retirement; Chen Guilin gathered his small detachment of laid-off workers, overcame all kinds of difficulties, and used their proud craftsmanship to build a piano out of steel, but in the end he lost to his wealthy ex-wife who "sold counterfeit medicine"; And Zhang Yingying is a young man who hovers on the fringes of society, has no plan and no pursuit for the future, from his birthday father's "for himself" to the boss's "I don't say anything", he has lost his sense of existence more and more. In this state, they all inevitably fall into the spiritual ruins of anxiety, gaps, and confusion.
(2) Railways
Railways have always been closely associated with trains, and they are the product of the Industrial Revolution, which brought mankind from the age of agriculture to the age of industry. The story background of Zhang Meng's films always takes place in the transition period from the industrial age to the new era, so the railway always appears in Zhang Meng's films as an iconic scene of the industrial age. Specifically, the railway appears in different plots and will have different meanings.
In "Blessed Ears", after Wang Kangmei's retirement farewell party, the camera cuts to a large overhead railway, and the rails are intertwined and do not know where to lead, which is a metaphor for the glorious years of Wang Kangmei's life have passed, and the road of life after retirement is twisted and turned, and I don't know where to lead. In "The Piano of Steel", Chen Guilin has the idea of building a piano, and when he goes to find Wang Gong to go fishing, the trains on the elevated railway in the background are neatly arranged and pass through the picture. Each carriage carries its own cargo, and together they are a complete train. Conversely, a complete train can not be less than a carriage, just like Chen Guilin wants to build a piano, and his small detachment of laid-off workers can not be less.
In "On the Balcony", Zhang Yingying accidentally meets Lu Zhiqiang after his father's death, and after tracking him for the first time, the picture flashes a train that whizzes by. The loud roar of the train externalizes the complex emotions surging in Zhang Yingyong's heart at this time, suggesting that his seemingly peaceful life is making waves again.
epilogue
In summary, it can be seen that Zhang Meng has a strong sense of space in the film narrative, he is very good at shaping characters through space, Moding tone to promote the development of the plot, space itself also has a certain metaphorical symbolic function, showing the director's thinking about society and the times and caring for the humanistic spirit of the living conditions of the characters at the bottom, so that Zhang Meng's films have reached unity in artistry and ideology. However, although his films are based on reality and reveal real problems again and again, they do not propose solutions to problems; In addition, it is also worth exploring in terms of commerciality.