tearjerker director

Chapter 1646 No one can be wrong

The issue of the cost of "Source Code" is also a point praised by many people.

For example, a certain online film critic wrote: "Today, as the atmosphere of film commercialization becomes more and more intense, many brain-burning works have also been spawned, and these are often the dark horses that make a big splash. Audiences who are used to relying on the film itself to grasp the direction of thinking will naturally be impressed when they occasionally encounter a film that basically gives them full control of the thinking task. For this reason, the success of "Source Code" is actually a win at the starting line. Moreover, Director Li Yi is a director who is good at leading the audience's thinking and doing big things with little money. The earlier low-cost film "Moon" is a perfect example.

Science fiction movies can be divided into hard science fiction and soft science fiction. Source Code is obviously a soft science fiction that relies solely on scientific theories to establish the overall worldview. Generally speaking, low-cost science fiction movies will choose to go the soft science fiction route without exception, because this can greatly reduce costs. Moreover, sometimes, because there is no "mysterious" element setting, it can greatly enhance the authenticity and artistic appeal of the movie!
"Source Code" simply transplants the scientific theoretical hypothesis of "parallel universe" derived from the well-known "Grandmother Paradox". By creating a parallel space and repeatedly using time and space that can only exist for eight minutes, it presents a video exploring human nature and morality.

Source Code also has a considerable degree of commercial flavor, and it still can't stand loneliness and will not stand out. It is interspersed with a lot of action, explosions, and love scenes, and the service significance of many plots for the film's science fiction theory is almost negligible. It can be seen that Source Code is a one-size-fits-all movie, and its success is inevitable.

The "parallel universe" theory in physics has many hypotheses, but there is no ability to verify them.

Taking such a well-known proposition that has not been substantially resolved is a very pleasing idea. At least, it will not cause a big deviation in the audience's understanding of theoretical elements, and it can also trigger various constructive discussions among the audience. Of course, the theory of parallel universes is also a type of overuse in film history, but how to use it appropriately is a great test of the director and screenwriter's skills.

Since there is no strong scientific evidence, any interpretation of the theory is appropriate as long as the foundation is not changed.

The biggest highlight of Source Code is not the imaginative code virtual world constructed with theory, but the in-depth thinking on human nature and morality in the second half. For example, is it ethical to use dying soldiers for scientific experiments? Can humans change the past? Should we pessimistically miss the past or should we never compromise and grasp the present?

These simple questions that can arouse the audience's thinking have all been sublimated here. The propositions discovered above are no longer within the scope of science fiction, but have returned to real life. Science fiction is just a packaging. This is consistent with the creative thinking of "Moon": using science fiction theories familiar to earthlings as the introduction, it reveals various phenomena in real society that can arouse people's desire to discuss. However, "Moon" is more suspenseful, and the connection point with reality, "cloning", is indeed a hotly discussed but unresolved topic.

But personally, I prefer "Moon". In my opinion, compared with "Moon", from some perspectives, "Source Code" still has many aspects that should be "ashamed of itself".

The ending reveals a surprising ending: the male protagonist successfully came to another parallel universe and survived. In fact, according to the law of conservation of mass in the universe, the history teacher he replaced should also have survived. But where did he go? Why did he disappear for no reason? Tragic life does not need explanation. "

Of course, regarding the definition of soft science fiction and hard science fiction, some people think that the definition of soft science fiction is relatively vague. In fact, "Source Code" is not too soft!

At the same time, "Source Code" will inevitably be studied by many people to see why this movie is so successful.

Because after its official release, the box office of this movie has shown explosive growth.

And the discussion is still very heated. If you ask what is the hottest topic right now, it is undoubtedly "Source Code"!
Li Yi's speech at the Science Fiction Film Festival symposium was also released. He did it by using a circular, single space to tell a story.

Save money and effort, and accomplish great things with little money!

What’s interesting is that many people had the same discussion about the ending of the movie.

"I don't really care about soft science fiction or hard science fiction. This movie tells us that the most important thing is not to come up with a set of flawless "science fiction" elements, but to tell a good story."

"Whenever I think of the completely different stories you and I had in another time and space, I feel relieved that you and I have met on the same narrow road at this moment."

"When I saw the male lead appear as a string of text on the computer screen, I almost cried."

"It would be even more perfect if the ending was set on that last kiss!"

"Yeah! Why not just focus on that kiss?"

"So many people think that the perfect ending of Source Code should be the final kiss. This shows how vulgar it would be if it were to end like that."

"If I were given another chance, I would say to her, 'Everything will be fine.' If I had to put a deadline on this, I hope it wouldn't be eight minutes."

“I won’t comment much on the ending, but my favorite part of the whole movie is when He Qing sees the male lead as just words. I don’t know why it made me cry!”

“Through repeated attempts, the film gets more information and corrects its behavior. The director’s treatment at the end messes up the previously constructed world, but that’s okay. Just think of it as a transition from a science fiction film to a romance film. It brings out a lot of suspense while watching and sparks a lot of discussion after watching. It’s good.”

Of course, a good movie cannot be without many details.

There are also people who have analyzed this aspect. In many places, even Li Yi himself didn’t know that I was so detailed.

“Many people are talking about the issue of hard science fiction and soft science fiction in Source Code. Personally, I think it’s meaningless because as long as the movie is a good movie, that’s enough!

Often, a good movie can be identified by observing some details!

At the beginning of the film, during the first explosion, Lin Yunbin woke up in an empty cabin. Later, the film revealed that Lin Yunbin was killed in a helicopter. The temperature in the cabin was getting lower and lower, which may mean that in Lin Yunbin's subconscious mind, the space capsule might be a safe place to stay.

When watching the movie, all we saw were video conversations between Lin Yunbin and He Qing, but Lin Yunbin did not answer many of her questions. I don’t know how you all felt, but I was furious. But later on, we discovered that theirs was not a real video conversation, but just a string of codes, and Lin Yunbin’s "words" were translated into computer language... I admit that I got goosebumps all over my body at that moment.

The lame professor kept emphasizing that it was futile for Lin Yunbin to do anything and that he could not change history. He only had 8 minutes and could not waste time. He had to do his best to find the murderer. But in fact, every time he exploded and re-entered, there would be a shadow of the previous time. For example, when he first crossed over, the heroine Chen Juan was indifferent to the hot drink that suddenly spilled on his shoes, but when he crossed over for the second time, she helped him wipe the stains on his shoes.
8 minutes is also a detail. In the film, Lin Yunbin did not die several times even after more than 8 minutes. I myself don’t quite understand the issue of 8 minutes. It may be the shortcoming of liberal arts students with too narrow knowledge. After reading other people’s opinions, I personally think that the most reasonable explanation is: everyone’s memory length is actually different. The point that really brought Lin Yunbin back was the train explosion. From then on, the memory of Li Zheng (the dead history teacher) really ended.

But there is actually a scene here that cannot be explained. After Lin Yunbin got on the train, the train exploded and he did not return to the space capsule. He fell on the rails and was run over by the train before he returned. So I still think this should be a hint that the source code is far more than what the professor described, and it coincides with the theme later!
On the train, Lin Yunbin called the professor, but the professor told Lin Yunbin that he would not be able to receive the call in reality. Later, he also sent a text message to Christina, but at the end of the film, we saw through the window that the professor answered the transferred call from Lin Yunbin. In the end, Christina also received the text message. This should be a parallel world.

Based on this, I personally came to the conclusion that the source code project is not a simple time machine that can go back to the past and change the future. Because there is no way to explain the grandmother paradox, this should be a derived parallel world. In the original world, the professor seriously underestimated the project. Lin Yunbin discovered the difference of the project in the process of completing the task and sent a message to He Qing for help...

Then this will enter a cycle, a spiral cycle, with an unrestricted world line, an unstartable source code, and an infinite routine mode started. In the first world, Lin Yunbin may have been forced to participate in the source code project, but his participation in the projects in each subsequent world may have been required by the text message sent by himself in the previous world.

These are the details of the main storyline that I can think of. Let me talk about some smaller details.

The pace of the film is still very slow at the beginning, and you can count the number of explosions, but it becomes faster later on. Many of Lin Yunbin's actions seem to be cheating. When pulling the bomb line, the captain said, "Please don't blow me up again," but there was no scene of the explosion before that, which shows that he has done this for countless times. He is so skilled that it makes people feel distressed.

There is another small detail that makes people feel sad. We all know that the professor promised him that he would let him die after completing the task, and he agreed. But after successfully catching the bomb murderer, he said to He Qing: Let's clear his memory and reopen the source code.

Can I reasonably suspect that during the two months when he died, this was not the first time he had carried out a project, but that he had carried out many projects before and had requested death at the end of the project?

Another one is about the expression of human nature, which is actually the case with "Moon".

I never have hope for human nature, nor do I despair of it. Human nature has never been bright, but it is not always dark either.

In this regard, "Source Code" does a really good job, vividly displaying the entanglements and ethics of human nature.

The main theme of this movie is still science fiction, and the depiction of human nature is just a branch, which is not deliberately expressed. Instead, the depiction of human nature is used to promote the development of the plot. Everything serves the main theme, which is natural, smooth and unpretentious.

People are not black and white. The most hated person in the film is probably the professor. When Lin Yunbin came back again and again, broke down many times, and begged many times, the professor's expression was always indifferent.

Of course, the movie uses a contrast here. In the eyes of the audience, we see a real, flesh-and-blood Captain Lin, but in the film, for the professor, it is just a bunch of cold codes. He treats Lin as a tool, yes, not even a tool, just a tool.

At the beginning, He Qing was indifferent when facing the captain. She only urged him to complete the task, did not listen to his emotional appeals at all, and even sent him back before he could finish speaking.

No matter how he collapsed or begged, they turned a blind eye.

Later we also know the reason why these two people treated him like this, because at this time, he was not facing them in human form, but just a string of codes.

It is very similar to "Moon". In their eyes, a vegetative person may already be dead, and what remains is just a string of codes.

The clones in "Moon" were treated in the same way. In everyone's eyes, they were not considered human beings at all!
At first, He Qing had the same attitude as the professor, but later she gradually became unable to bear it and even began to reject the professor's behavior and decisions, and communicated with him privately, which further deepened the professor's cold-blooded image.

But the subtlety lies in that no matter how much the professor is hated, it cannot be said that he is completely wrong. His choice is actually a moral dilemma.

On the one hand, Lin Yunbin is one in a million. Only with him can this project be implemented. With this project, more people can be saved. Sacrificing one person can save millions of people. Should we choose to respect one person’s human rights or save more people?
On the other hand, Lin Yunbin dedicated his entire life and even sacrificed his life for it. Now he only asks that he be allowed to die after completing this mission. This is his only request.

The choice is in your hands, what will you do?

In the film, there is no absolute evil, and what is left for the audience is a question to think about that has no standard answer for many centuries. "

(End of this chapter)