Chapter 8 Poor Gaspard, Poor Humanity: The Hole, 1960

Poor Gaspard, Poor Humanity: The Hole, 1960 This is Jacques Baker's last work, rigorous, calm and hard.From the TV series "Prison Break" to "Papillon", "Escape from Akara", and then to "Death Row" (Bresson) and "The Hole" (Letrou), through this clue to the "classic prison break movie" "Backing back, it is interesting to find out how from classic movies to commercial movies, how the way of describing people and society has gradually changed. Throughout the 1930s, Jacques Baker remained Jean Renoir's assistant, student and friend, and his films often had a certain bright poetry.After "Money Can't Be Touched", his style turned to be more concise, tough and direct.Therefore, both the subject matter and the texture of "The Hole" remind people of Bresson's masterpiece "Death Row Prison Escape" four years ago.But the two films are quite different in how they handle action and sound. "The Hole" does not have the sound outside the prison in the off-screen space, only the sound inside the prison is amplified (mostly the noise dug for the escape). The direction of expression of the two films is inconsistent.

Much of the film is a scrupulous account of how Gaspard, a well-dressed and wronged criminal, joins, takes part in, and betrays his roommate's escape plans (Jacques Baker's WWII capture provides the film with authenticity. experience).Many commercial prison break movies emphasize that human beings have a desire for freedom, while "The Hole" emphasizes purely human nature.Jacques Baker's camera often watches for a long time how the concrete is hewed and how the steel window is sawn off. The whole process is long and cold.But when everything was completed in a perfect and orderly manner, Gaspard informed him because he knew that he was expected to be acquitted, which made the entire escape plan fall short.The long and arduous process and the short and sudden ending immediately show how fragile human nature is.What a good movie wants to say is always self-explanatory, without metaphors, without explanation.

Finally, the cellmate said "Poor Gaspard!" to the informer with contempt, and of course to every vulnerable person. Ginza Nightlife in Progress: When a Woman Walks Up the Stairs, 1960 Many people who wrote Naruse's biography said that Naruse owed his reputation to Ozu's praise. At that time, Mizoguchi and Ozu had established their status as masters in the West, but until now some Westerners wrote books on film history or Eastern directors still missed Naruse. Seto.Naruse was desolate in his later years. He once read articles saying that he often drank alone, muttered to himself, and occasionally said, "Look, I'm not bad, and Ozu also praised my "Floating Clouds"...." It sounded desolate.

"When a Woman Walks Up the Stairs" is not Naruse's most classic work, but it is also his more important work in the late Toho period. In 1960, Naruse made several films.The subject matter is similar to "Ginza Makeup" starring Kinuyo Tanaka ten years ago. It is about a woman who works in a bar in Ginza. She has to maintain her noble dignity and continue to contribute to her family; , And longing for new emotional dependence.Depicting a woman who lives in pessimism and is resilient seems to be one of the consistent themes of Naruse's films.Watching his film is really "people are in it, ready to come out".Naruse's works are different from Ozu's easy-going mood, placing his characters under the almost suffocating social oppression, "as if exhausting himself, but gathering up his courage" (I saw someone use Raymond Carver novels on a par with it).

Works like "When a Woman Walks Up the Stairs" are also called "dramatic documentaries wrapped in melodrama" by researchers. It seems that the world of Ginza bars mentioned in the movie is quite narrow, but it also includes Show you the whole picture of society.Not only can I see the nightlife in the Ginza area of ​​Japan in the 1960s, those wine girls and benefactors; I can also see the differences between the rich and the poor, especially in the family who pretends to be a factory owner to win the favor of women.In addition, this movie has precise front and back, scheduling and movement, and at the same time has a precise depiction of the characters' inner hearts. Naruse's shots are like a timer.

The heroine is Gao Gaoxiuzi, who was used by Naruse in the later period. From "Conductor Hideko", he has starred in ten of his "Lightning", "Wife's Heart", "Floating Cloud", "Flow", "As a Woman", "Women's History" and so on. remaining videos.Gao Gaoxiuzi called this calm and gentle old man a "bad uncle" in his autobiography. Before he passed away, he told Xiuzi that he wanted to make a movie with "no set, no color, and an all-white background".What kind of movie should a movie only have the face and body of the actors?