2022.10.25
A harmonium that invites light and love.
The biggest reason why I love ``Punch-Drunk Love'' so much is that each shot is imbued with iconographic meaning. In other words, it's very cinematic.
Let's take the opening scene as an example. The main character, Barry, makes a phone call in a corner of a bleak office. For some reason, he seems to be inquiring about a campaign where he can accumulate airline miles. The camera captures Barry standing on the left in a drawn position, and the right half is in a mysterious composition. Moreover, part of the wall is painted blue, and Barry, dressed in a bright blue suit, is completely immersed in the scenery. The implications of this opening are quite clear.
Part 1: Barry is in a corner of the office, mentally cornered.
Part 2: The color of the wall and the color of his suit are the same → Barry is buried in society.
Part 3: Saving up mileage and getting on a plane → Barry wants to change himself and is about to jump out into a new world.
Eventually, Barry rushes out of the office with coffee in hand. It's still early morning in the San Fernando Valley, and it's dimly lit. Suddenly, a car rolls over in front of them, and then a mysterious truck leaves, leaving behind a harmonium (a type of organ). The meaning of this scene is also clear.
Part 1: Car rollover accident → Barry is about to get into trouble.
Part 2: Harmonium → Barry is about to have a romantic encounter.
Morning finally arrived in the San Fernando Valley. Lina, Barry's angel, appears as if surrounded by light. The somewhat unusual keyboard instrument harmonium invites light and invites love. There's a scene where Barry and Lina talk about the harmonium in the car after getting violent in the washroom and being kicked out of the restaurant, and the fact that a halo-like beam of light is reflected on the screen can be said to be very symbolic. (Moreover, as they were on their way to their car, the truck carrying the harmonium passed by.)
"Punch-Drunk Love" (c)Photofest / Getty Images
When Barry arrives in Hawaii and finally manages to talk to Lina after much effort, a telephone booth lights up flashing. Sunlight shines brightly on the other side of the silhouette of two people hugging each other in a hotel. The love between two naive people is blessed by light.
By the way, a creature called a harmonium appears in Kurt Vonnegut's famous science fiction novel " The Titans ."
This creature is attached to a singing wall inside a cave. That's how they eat Mercury's song. The depths of Mercury's cave are warm and cozy. The deep walls of Mercury's caves emit phosphorescence. It emits light like a yellow daffodil. The creatures living in this cave are translucent. When they stick to a wall, the phosphorescence emitted by the wall passes right through their bodies. However, when the yellow light from the wall passes through the creature's body, it turns into a brilliant aquamarine. (Excerpt from Kurt Vonnegut's " The Titans ")
This is completely my imagination, but this novel may have been the source of inspiration for the harmonium to become a symbol of light.
Since this film, he has stepped up a gear with films such as There Will Be Blood (2007), The Master (2012), and Phantom Thread (2017), which are disturbing, sinister, and dark. The wrapped works will be sent out one after another. We had to wait until `` Licorice Pizza '' (21) to encounter PTA's work once again enveloped in light. From now on, I'm sure they'll deliver movies that are as dazzling as the sunlight that shines through the San Fernando Valley.
(*)https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/love-at-first-sight
Text: Rui Takeshima
A pop culture writer who wants to be kicked by Hit Girl. Host of the web magazine "POP MASTER".
(c) Photofest / Getty Images
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