"The Lobster" is an independent film by the Greek genius director Yorgos Lanthimos.
In layman’s terms, the so-called independent films are art-house films that have no box office but can win awards. Such a niche movie can gather a large number of big-name stars, and the lineup is surprisingly strong. This shows its great artistic charm.
This is a weird movie with a strong moral, absurd and thought-provoking, funny and darkly humorous. The movie is very weird from the beginning. An indifferent woman is driving on the road. The shot lasts for a long time, which makes people feel abnormal. Sure enough, she got out of the car while driving, walked directly to the horses grazing on the roadside, shot one, then got back in the car and continued driving.
In this city, police patrols are not to catch criminals, but to keep an eye on singles. Once a suspected single person is found, both men and women will be put into a special official car similar to a police car and sent to a hotel. ?Ah, being single is a sin!?
The male protagonist David was abandoned by his partner and became single, and was sent to this special hotel. He was accompanied by a dog, his brother. Become a real single brother. This hotel away from the city is a hotel with mandatory speed dating. The hotel rule is that you cannot speed date for 45 days before you have to become an animal of your own choice.
It was in this hotel that David’s brother turned into a dog after failing to find a suitable companion. But David had the ingenious idea of ??turning into a lobster through speed dating. Because lobsters have blue blood, they have a long life and strong fertility.
There are many single men and women in the hotel. They were arranged to act in unison, eat, sleep, and hunt. Dress uniformly. Women must wear long skirts and men must wear black suits.
The morning training every morning is to carry out various harmful propaganda about singles. Promote the benefits of being in a relationship. Opera, sketches, lectures, etc., the content is very rich. In addition, there are various shooting and killing games, all designed to stimulate you to find your favorite partner faster.
It should be easy to find a partner like this, but the hotel has a rule that partners cannot lie and must be sincere. ?Love and loyalty are the most important thing?
Everyone takes risks in order not to turn into an animal. A handsome young man broke his nose every day to please the girl who always had nosebleeds, so they speed-dated successfully.
The hotel rewarded them and said that if they encounter troubles and problems in their future lives, they will give them a daughter. ?Is it too much like a real marriage?
I burst out laughing when I saw this! Only those who are married can understand instantly!
David thought so too. However, he declined the soda cracker girl's advances. The Saltine Cracker Woman not only pleases him, but is also willing to be nice to his brother, the dog.
But if you don’t like it, you just don’t like it. You can’t pretend to be fake. David would rather choose the cold woman who shot the innocent horse. If you want to win the favor of an indifferent woman, you have to pretend to be as indifferent as her. So when they were taking a bath, the indifferent woman pretended to choke on the small fruit in the wine glass and fainted, while David chose to watch silently and coldly. He thus succeeded in gaining the indifferent woman's consent.
But the next morning, the indifferent woman shot his brother, the dog, and David finally couldn't hold it any longer! He could pretend for a while, but he can't pretend forever! The indifferent woman exposed David's cheating behavior, report him. David couldn't bear it and killed the cold girl with the help of the hotel maid and turned her into an animal. Then fled the hotel. Escape to the forest opposite the hotel.
This large forest is a holy place for escaped singles. ?Going from one extreme to another?
But the forest has completely different rules than the hotel. Contrary to hotels that actively encourage speed dating this place is completely abstinent. No ambiguity is allowed, no flirting is allowed, and no love is allowed, otherwise you will be severely punished. For example, a blood kiss involves cutting off the lips that two people kissed.
The movie has three locations, the city, the hotel and the forest. Only those with a spouse or couple are eligible to live in the city. Hotels and forests are both reflections of very harsh extreme social systems or default social good customs. With a strong meaning. Very much like China right now. The way elders treat their children's marriage and love is basically like the plot of a movie.
Either the configuration is successful quickly and the task is completed. Otherwise, you will become single and be disliked by others.
I once suspected that this 2015 movie was a surreal movie based on China’s current social problems. In other words, this kind of problem is very common in society. Whether it is China or foreign countries.
People judge whether a person is successful first by whether he has a harmonious family.
I have always believed that in a society, the more single people there are, the happier they are, and being able to choose their lives freely is a sign of social progress and civilization. In this regard, "The Lobster" is very ironic. This movie is completely different from most movies we see. Regardless of the narrative, deconstruction, or even the soundtrack, it is very magical and weird. The shots are beautiful and the plot is very wacky.
Basically, you have to watch it 2 or 3 times before you can see its wonder. Overall this is a very quirky and beautiful movie. The only domestic film with a similar approach that was reluctantly sidelined was Jiang Wen's "The Sun Also Rises." This movie is really suitable for Chinese audiences. It is suitable for both unmarried people and those in a relationship. More suitable for Chinese parents.
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Author: A Qiu (public account A Qiu from Tsing Yi Street)