Film Review Wrong Meeting Half Life: Music Dream And Half Life Loneliness

By Hong Xiaowen

In the past piano theme movies, we can always see the plot of talented pianists who dazzle the public with their superb skills under the halo of the protagonist. However, the German film "Lara" has a different way to tell the story of Lara who gave up the piano career "halfway" and her son Viktor, a mediocre pianist. The two generations of performers depend on each other and misunderstand each other.

Lara, who has studied piano since childhood, gave up the position of chief because of the professor's "no talent", and devoted her lifelong dream and love of piano to her son Viktor. In order to cultivate her into a talented pianist, she forced her son to participate in various piano competitions and obtain various certificates against her son's will. Although the adult Viktor has really embarked on the piano road as Lara wishes, the deep estrangement between them has been difficult to repair.

On this point, the film does not directly present the contradiction between mother and son, but presents the estrangement of the two in a metaphorical way: the first scene of Viktor in the film is that Lara looks at his giant poster from a distance outside his personal concert, just like a passer-by who happens to look up and see a star advertisement. What was Lara thinking, expressionless at the time? Is she regretting that she forced her son to learn piano in the past? Or proud of the son who gave his first solo concert? Or do you feel sorry for your failed career as a chief pianist? The film leaves these possibilities to the imagination of the audience in a blank space.

The time span of the film is short, and all the stories take place on Lara's 60th birthday. This kind of diary shooting method is very challenging for the producers, because it is easy to make the film into a dull journal. Therefore, the director sets layers of suspense for Lara's identity and life experience, so that the audience can constantly guess the reasons for the protagonist's abandonment of piano career and the breakdown of her relationship with her family according to the evolution of the plot. In her interaction with her son, ex husband, mother, neighbors, and former colleagues, the image of a proud and cold-blooded, impersonal but warm-hearted and enthusiastic woman gradually leaps onto the screen. In order to set off the loneliness of the protagonist as far as possible, the main color of the film is cold gray, and the camera language also magnifies this gloomy feeling. Careful viewers will find that the camera hardly "accompanies" Lara's actions, but often uses a fixed panoramic mode, waiting for her to enter the painting, and quietly allowing her lonely figure to fade away.

The piano is the most important image in the film. There are five piano scenes in the film. The director skillfully uses this symbol to indicate Lara's emotional change and turning point. For the first time, "evasion.". In a strange neighbor's house, after the police searching for certificates, they saw that the owner's piano had a whim, and she was stumbling on the bench. However, Lara, as the witness of the search, was indifferent to it. She kept her back to the piano and frowned slightly, just like a disdain for clumsy piano skills and a cold attitude of rejecting others thousands of miles away. Looking back on the opening scene after watching the complete film, we will find that the director has laid down the foreshadowing that the piano was her regret for the first half of her life, so she subconsciously chose to avoid it.

The second time, "discipline.". Waiting for Viktor's Lara in the music room, she couldn't help sitting next to the child who was lazy between piano practice and pointed out that he was "probably more suitable for playing the trumpet". It's a reproduction of Lara's teaching of young Viktor - professional, harsh, and mean.

The third time, "timidity.". When Lara came back to her mother's house, she could not help opening the cover of the piano she had played when she was a child. But when she saw her mother, she took back her hand that wanted to touch the keys. This suggests that Lara's piano learning in her youth may not be supported and understood by her mother, which also affects her relationship with her son.

The fourth time, "listen.". At the concert, Viktor expressed his mixed feelings of complaint and gratitude to his mother by playing his own music, and Lara in the audience finally heard his voice.

The fifth time, "reconciliation.". When she learned that the professor's evaluation of her "lack of talent" was just to encourage her to improve her piano skills, Lara untied her heart knot for many years. After returning to her residence, she went to the house to borrow her neighbor's piano in the name of giving wine. Finally, she played the repertoire that she had not played for many years, and poured out her loneliness, unwillingness and resentment. This echoes with her evasive attitude towards piano in the first act. In the first half of her life, Lara was depressed for the piano. Finally, because of the piano, she got the strength to move on and complete her reconciliation with herself.

Therefore, this is not just a German version of the music education film criticizing "tiger mother and cat father". On the contrary, it is more about how a woman who is celebrating her 60th birthday deals with her relationship with herself, her family and her dream. Lara's story is actually the portrayal of many mothers from ancient times to the present -- the loneliness that is not understood, the unfinished dream, the regret of youth. It raises an important proposition to us: is it possible for a woman with mediocre career, family discord and marriage failure to realize her personal pursuit in her later years? Fortunately, the sonata played by Lara at the end of the film after decades gives us a positive answer.

At 60, Lara said goodbye to her depressed first half of her life, and it was also the beginning of her dream in the second half of her life. May every Lara in the world have the courage and the opportunity to play her own music.

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