东方的承诺

4.5/5

0.5是扣掉和教父的差距

以及最后咋成无间道了我还有点失望来着，害。(But that explains why he always seems a little bit of unwilling to carry out his jobs.)

But the other things？

Well-done.

As Mortensen comments, “ it’s a well executed” but also well produced film.

No wonder he likes Cronenberg, I would like to work with a director like that - put everything in order and really know how to communicate with the actors, above all, can shoot really organized movies.

All elements of a movie are there.

Directing, setting, costume, make-up and hair, editing, sound, cinematography, lighting, framing, acting, music, everything is 98% perfectly done. I am not saying it is perfectly done simply because it does not produce you a whole picture of a world or human. It does not have that kind of really big scale. It is more individual-oriented. But this is not a thing to blame. Few movies carry that big scale. It’s few, and that is why they are precious.

But still, it is still about humanity.

Usually I have nearly nothing to say on a good film, since it needn’t me to give the same credits as the other critics have already given. Because in most cases, good movies are similar, bad movies, on the other hand, have their own bad ends.

I love the script that really makes every character shine in this story. You can name each character and who they are and picture what they are like in the movie. I can even remember the prostitute the male protagonist fucked in the house. No one is just a tool there. They exist for their own reason. And it does not tell a story that has to be right or wrong. It has that complexity in life and world. I love the work of this script. It is definetely crafted with care and delication.

And Viggo Mortensen does give out a in-depth, complicated, detailed, sophiscated and controlled performance in the action of grace. He definitely walks into this character’s heart and shows the audiences what is on the surface so that you can try to see what is really in his heart. It is definitely a charming performance. 【Of course he himself is charming too. Like Cronenberg, he also has a power of seduction in this film, by playing his character but also him himself as an actor in good manner and grace.】

However when he walks towards Vincent Cassel for the baby, I think I saw some Aragorn there.

And the music, especially the one when the ending credits begin, it sounds so much like the theme track of The Ring and Mordor in the Lord of the Ring. Then the subtitle shows “Music Howard Shore”. Well, that solved out the mystery.

You can really see the tradition of cult films of Cronenberg. In scenes when he presents the direct violence. You can see how he approaches and It does always usually come with a veil. They are brutally direct. The bleeding of a little girl, the cut in the throat, the blood covered on that baby( which gives a gently misty and even a jelly-like filter instead of a sharply violent presentation) and the shots of the corps. When he does not avoid the violence on the body and keeping the camera to it, that’s the moment I realized, “Damn, it’s a fucking R-Rated film! I can’t I can’t.” Then only the bathroom naked-fighting scene is bearable. It’s violence. But it is only violence.

As for other violence in this movie? They are either about power or the mix in humanity. And the betrayal in the mafia becomes the weakest one, since Nikolai was not originally one of them, it reduces the power of that betrayal and being used. It only makes people hurt to find out the truth of humanity. Only when people feel that hurt, can they really change and learn.

Vincent Cassel really has that feeling of a spoiled, naive child. He is Dudley with a relatively good(?) heart. That’s a really child-like character and he nailed it in every detail.

The godfather in the mafia is good. The actor gives some smallest chages in facial expression and emotions. All perfomances are executed in detail. It is sophiscated and done in seemingly ease and grace.

Noami Watts is good, too. There are no many scenes where she can play with or show off her skills, but she takes out some deepest emotions in a crying scene while looking at the baby. That’s the moment when she links all her character’s actions together and completes the role.

Fortunately they didn’t emphasize on neither the “love at the first sight” thing nor “love relationship” , or I will be very disappointed. It is good that their feelings stop at that one kiss. It might be a kiss of mutual understanding or any other meaning. But it’s good just not being just constrained to “love”.

It’s good. I think I’d better change the score into 4/5, since there are still some pities I feel sorry about.

But anyway, it’s still a good movie overall.

ps. that stone bracelet Nikolai holds reminds of the bracelet the emperor holds in Zhen Huan Zhuan. kind of interesting (though it might be an old trope).

话说之前中土沙雕bot有个投稿说维果同志给拉贡加了不少社畜的感觉，就突然想起这个就又想吐槽一下无间道设定。

本来嘛，老叔朝司机喷口水，然后司机拿出手帕无奈擦脸，挺让人有种，虽然我仿佛高高在上杀人如麻，但还是遭人唾弃，在黑手党一群看似好像优雅的杀人如麻的人中间，办事优雅，干净利索，好像被人害怕就像掌握了某种权力，但其实夹在老子儿子中间难做人，还动不动就被指使来指示去，也没啥作为人类的尊严可言。其实司机差点被拿来顶包受死如果不是无间道设定的话，应该对角色会冲击很大的，有种信仰正在逐渐（加速）崩塌的感觉，但因为这个无间道的设定，反而让人觉得有种shrug and says “Fine, that's it”的感觉，就开始变得有些程式化的无聊了。一下影片深度就从人性尊严堕落到苦逼社畜了，本来嘛，擦被喷的口水跟尊严有关，结果整个无间道一上来，一下就变成了“这工作真tm难做”的无奈社畜了。要不是后面Vincent Cassel的哭戏，还有V说他自己想当王（dbq我拉贡DNA又动了）而不是说“我是警察”，也没有老教父被生擒的“正义打败邪恶”的镜头只有一个新教父坐在桌前的镜头留有余味余音绕梁，也没有强行让女主女儿有个爹，这片子真的会垮。好在收住了。要不然真的gg。

不过柯南伯格真的好爱Viggo哈哈哈，把他拍的好美哈哈哈，嘿嘿嘿☺️

背影西装好性感哦嘿嘿☺️【不过为啥要背过去喝酒，interesting，就不展开分析了，我只关心他到底喝没喝

Ps.看了一下其他的评论，有一个点明了这个影片存在的问题：提出，涉及了很多问题，但并没有深入进去，也就是说没有给出思考的痕迹和空间，就跟“它闭塞的空间和扭曲的人物与空间的关系”一样，感觉它的思想深度也被它闭塞的空间局限住了。

对于片名《东方的承诺》里的东方和承诺里所展现的地域，人种，民族，父权，家族，我反而没有其他网友所感受到的有那么深刻，不过尔尔，我本人没有感到这些问题的探讨，也许是还没有break down this movie？之前一刷没有非常直接或深刻的体会。它展现了，但也浅尝辄止了。停在了大概这个位置👇

不过是个完整的故事，

但无间道还是太扯了，拉垮【再次怨念