This movie called The River seems to be underrated. The pace of the whole film is very slow, which may make some people feel unacceptable, but for me on just right, because such a pace, this over and over again on the fixed shots of ordinary life scenes, which allows people to chew slowly emotional cohesion, and finally converge into a river, slowly and at the same time profoundly flow into the heart of the viewer.
We can see the son's struggle for neck pain, we can see the old man's thirst for sex, and when he touches someone's head, he is ruthlessly rejected, so he and his grandson end up together in this place of venting their desires.
There is also the wife's desire, which is obviously suppressed. We fell into contemplation with the heavy rainstorm outside the window. The pouring rain seemed to be a mockery of this unbearable family, a mockery of this uncontrollable world. We had no control over the rainstorm that penetrated the house, and we had no control over our sexual orientation or our husband's love for us. We can't control everything, and in the end we can only give in to our hearts and desires, just like grandfather and grandson making love together, unethically approved yet our own choice.
The river is more suggestive of the true face of this society, which is a pool of stagnant water. The pain that cannot be removed, the desire that has nowhere to rest, the suppressed feelings that can not be exploded, can only suffer in silence. At the end of the day, the old man who lusted after the flesh of young men met his own relatives and declared his principles with a slap of anger, but could not change any status quo. Later shots, we see life seems to be back on track, yes, that is like the elephant inside the room, existing, but not allowed to mention. At the end, Kang stands under the wind, under the early morning sun, and I thought he would jump off the building, but did not. The movie ended, without a soundtrack, depressing, but worth remembering.
We can see the son's struggle for neck pain, we can see the old man's thirst for sex, and when he touches someone's head, he is ruthlessly rejected, so he and his grandson end up together in this place of venting their desires.
There is also the wife's desire, which is obviously suppressed. We fell into contemplation with the heavy rainstorm outside the window. The pouring rain seemed to be a mockery of this unbearable family, a mockery of this uncontrollable world. We had no control over the rainstorm that penetrated the house, and we had no control over our sexual orientation or our husband's love for us. We can't control everything, and in the end we can only give in to our hearts and desires, just like grandfather and grandson making love together, unethically approved yet our own choice.
The river is more suggestive of the true face of this society, which is a pool of stagnant water. The pain that cannot be removed, the desire that has nowhere to rest, the suppressed feelings that can not be exploded, can only suffer in silence. At the end of the day, the old man who lusted after the flesh of young men met his own relatives and declared his principles with a slap of anger, but could not change any status quo. Later shots, we see life seems to be back on track, yes, that is like the elephant inside the room, existing, but not allowed to mention. At the end, Kang stands under the wind, under the early morning sun, and I thought he would jump off the building, but did not. The movie ended, without a soundtrack, depressing, but worth remembering.