Film Name: 缉魂 / The Soul
This week’s most talked about and critically acclaimed theatrical release is The Soul.
Even though I was prepared for it, I was surprised by the richness of the elements in the movie, and more or less understood why the movie was well received: there’s something to be said for mixing and matching to such an extent, and integrating them well while still telling a complete story.
Of course, this “too many elements” of the film is inevitably flawed and its own limitations – the essence of the film is to explore the attitude and way of human attachment to life, to the partner, and gives a deep, tricky, self-contained answer, only this I didn’t like the answer.
[Friendly reminder: there will be spoilers below].
Many viewers’ first impression of “The Soul”, which is also the main attraction of the movie, is the “crime/suspense” theme.
Wang Shicong, the chairman of a famous pharmaceutical insurance group, died tragically at home, and the first suspect is his son, Wang Tianyou, while the first two beneficiaries of the deceased’s will, Li Yan (his new wife) and Wan Yufan (his partner for many years), are also full of suspicions, and the case also brings out Wang Shicong’s deceased wife, Tang Suzhen, and the prosecutor, Leung Man-chiu, and his wife, Detective Inspector Ah Zhaobing, intervene in the investigation, which makes the case even more intricate and complex. ……
For a two-hour movie, The Soul’s characterization and plotting are just right, neither too simple nor too complicated, which is commendable.
The movie’s suspenseful design and story reversal have also achieved a series of twists and turns: from the initial identification of Wang Tianyou as the murderer, to the introduction of the personality-swapped “Li Yan” as the real culprit, and then to Liang Wenchao and Wan Yufan to close the case in their own way, the layers of progress, leaving no big hole, with justice and personal feelings, director Cheng Weihao can control the whole process, not to fall off the chain, is particularly It’s not easy.
Moreover, the movie did not take the bull by the horns when telling the main plot of the mystery, did not mess around with the brain, strong reasoning and some other aspects, the audience can basically understand as long as they watch it carefully, which is worth learning from many of our peers who have a high level of skill.
However, the aforementioned down-to-earth, steady style and effect also largely means conservative and placid – the lack of surprises in The Soul’s step-by-step narrative and reversals is actually more of a disadvantage for a crime thriller, and this, coupled with the cold, sullen aura that permeates the entire film, makes it difficult to call this movie It’s hard to call this movie “wonderful”.
In addition, the film’s emotional drama is very large (will be further developed below), although the thematic and suspense line does not conflict, but still crowded the reasoning, revealing the truth of the content of the space, resulting in an imbalance in the pace, and even have a “sense of disconnection”, which is also I think the movie “not good enough to see This is the first reason why I think the movie is “not good enough”.
The Soul” also has two elements that cannot be ignored, namely ‘science fiction and spirituality’, and in some parts of the bridge to play a substantial combination of chemistry.
Set in the near-future of 2032, the film is actually quite restrained in its sci-fi elements, with large curved touchscreens, more automated cars, and more flexible smartphones, except for the neon lights in the wide shots of the city, which the audience can naturally accept.
In contrast, the “paranormal” in the movie is much more energetic, with talisman formations, tattoos, voodoo spells, and so on, and for a long time shoulders the responsibility of creating suspense – except that Tang Suzhen cursed Wang Shicong with her death, which seems to be a real manifestation (not in the movie). really manifested (the movie did not specify), this treatment makes me a little speechless ……
It’s not hard to find that the sci-fi/spiritual elements in the movie are strictly serving the plot, and there’s nothing too remarkable about them. I even think that they’re all designed for one setting: the RNA brain-switching technology.
This core setting is gradually revealed in the middle and late stages of the movie, and the main suspense and focus of the movie revolves around this setting – this technology is not only the hope of brain cancer patients to survive, but also allows the human will (soul) to borrow the body of another person to be “reborn”. In this way, Wang Shicong tries to achieve immortality and take control of his business, while Leung Man Chiu solves the case and lives on.
With this setting, The Soul not only realizes the combination of sci-fi and psychic elements, but also elevates the reasoning and narrative to a higher dimension. It is a slight pity that the film does not further explore the ethical and moral aspects, or else its depth and thoughtfulness would be more considerable.
Of course, the audience soon understands the focus and choices of the movie, and the real theme of the movie is about people who are not willing to die, can’t let go of the world, and transcend the obsession of life and death.
Think carefully, will find that the movie is everywhere is such an obsession, the story of the fate of all encompassed in it:
Tang Suzhen is willing to burn everything because of her deep-seated hatred for her husband; Wang Tianyou nearly kills his father with his own hands only because of his indissoluble attachment to his mother; Wang Shicong is brave enough to do the brain transplantation experiments only because of his greed for the desire to hold the throne forever; Wan Yufan is a ruthless enabler of the evils of the world, only because of his unprincipled pity for his lover; Li Yan, who has become the new personality of Wang Shicong, kills out of the same desire for power as his own; Ah Bao knows the law and violates the law, and kills out of the same desire for power as his own body; Ah Bao knows the law and violates the law. Li Yan, who has become the new personality of Wang Shicong, kills people out of the same desire for power as his own father; Bao Bao breaks the law only to let his terminally ill husband live a little longer; Liang Wenchao returns to his soul with a borrowed body only to find a balance between public justice and personal feelings ……
Similar obsession you and I have, it haunts all those who are born with love, what “The Soul” wants to do is probably to express some thoughts and seek a touch of solace through this story.
This is also the reason why I don’t like “The Soul”: the ending of the movie is that Bao and Chao are “reunited” in prison, which should be said to be more complete and gentle, but this story needs a more “tragic” ending to reflect the story itself should be the price and meaning. However, the story needs a more “tragic” ending to reflect the cost and meaning of the story itself, and such a speculative reunion is obviously a bit of a cop-out.
When the movie ended, the words “Dedicated to my parents” appeared on the screen, thus, more or less also understand Cheng Weihao’s choice …… I respect the director’s will.
The Soul is a well-done genre movie, though it could have been made better.
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