Focus: The Nested Structure of Film and Drama
The opening night is probably John Casaveti's most influential film. Say it briefly.
Nested structure. The nested structure of this kind of film and television drama is also called play in play, which blurs the boundary between truth and falsehood and presents a real and illusory drama environment. The film restores a real drama ecology through the work and psychological state of the cast members before the premiere and that night. The actress hovers between the assumption of drama and the reappearance of reality. In her confusion and anxiety, she seemed to see Susan struggling on the stage (perhaps the actress was very nervous before she went on stage). This narrative structure influenced directors darren aronofsky (20 10), Mexican director alejandro gonzalez inarritu (20 14) and noah baumbach (20 19).
Multiple mirrors. Perhaps it has something to do with Kassaviti's being an actor. He is very familiar with the plight and problems of the actors themselves, so the multiple mirror images reflected on the actresses are social problems worthy of attention. For example, it is meaningful to think about women and aging caused by the middle-aged crisis of actresses. For example, the subtlety between actors and fans, when the fans got their autographs and died in a car accident (this scene was reproduced by Spanish director Amodova in the film), the actress was shocked and at a loss. For example, the actress's family problems, bad blood between her and her husband. For example, the actress's input on the stage, the audience while appreciating her talent, while chewing her gossip, through a drama actor's life, very vividly reflects human nature and group consciousness.
Improvise. Improvisation is the characteristic of Kassaviti's film, which was introduced earlier and was brought to the extreme in this film. There are two points to pay special attention to when appreciating the film: First, rowlands's performance difference after several stages is the director's unique narrative skill, and the same character collides with different sparks in different times. It not only practices his drama view, but also makes the characters enter a state of forgetting themselves (that is, unconsciousness). For this reason, Woody, the master of literary films? Allen specially adapted the play. Secondly, rowlands's contrast on and off the stage, self-confidence in front of the stage and self-denial behind the stage were properly balanced by rowlands.
The symbolic meaning of the freeze-frame picture. The whole film moves naturally and smoothly, and the characters become more and more three-dimensional with the development of the plot. At the climax of the successful premiere, the picture came to an abrupt end, which really made people want to stop, showing a kind of incomplete beauty. Casaveti knows the loneliness after a successful performance, and those brilliant parts must stay on the stage. For the actor, the ending moment is the end and the beginning, which leaves a blank space for the narrative and allows the audience to think for themselves.