白色物质

在我心目中无疑这部影片是阿姨《钢琴教师》后最好的作品。

影片所呈现的状态是那样的无状态，甚至没有任何的时代性，所有人物的目的性都被降到最底线，另一方面反而显得很可疑。那种来自政治、文化、人性、生存的讨论都被高高挂起。如此题材能通过这样的方式表现实在是很特别且难得。

虽然克莱尔·丹尼斯多次说这部影片是属于于佩尔，但是她的跨越艰深和浮躁的影像和音乐还是赋予了影片层次。其实她还是非常传统的影像叙事主义者。

阿姨的表演现在真的是拍个后脑勺都有戏，导演也真没少拍她的背影，而在影片中她的活力甚至表现得超越20岁的年轻人。

听说是反映了女性的坚强。但是这部电影实在是一般，拖沓，沉闷，简直是部烂片。
片中58分左右有男性的露点片段。
女主角不愿离开她的咖啡园，丈夫最后被杀，亲生儿子最后纵火烧了自己的房屋，女主角最后把丈夫的爸爸给棍棒杀死了。丈夫相好的的那个女人生的孩子也被杀了。
法国电影怎么老是给人很沉闷的感觉，换做好莱坞的团队来做，该是怎样的一番风景啊。

于佩尔，这个法国女人，真是越老越有味道。当年只看到她骨子里有一种倔强，很少看到她的笑，如今依然很少看到她的笑，那份倔强却在时间的老坛子中孕育出一份说不出的美丽气质。难道是因为法国也跟中国一样，明星青黄不接，年轻一代徒具外表，连花瓶的位置都是抬举，还得那些老帮菜出来铁肩担道义，力挽狂澜？
由于影片的故事背景牵扯到中国影迷最难以理解的西方种族问题以及非洲部落冲突问题，所以对于剧情理解基本上都是浮云，只能看看女主角长的怎么样。
此外，喜欢咖啡的朋友倒不妨看一下这个片子，里面有阿拉比卡咖啡从采摘到烘焙的全过程。话说当年我还年轻那会儿，有一天突发奇想，打算将来有一天在中国混不下去了就去非洲种咖啡。看了这部片，我决定还是在中国好好混吧。
在一个放眼望去，街上拿枪的人比拿手机的人还多的国家种咖啡，简直就是找死。我还不想为了那一杯纯正的阿拉比卡咖啡，就冒险去给黑人当活靶子。
还不是蓝山的。

很沉闷的一部电影，唯一看不厌的女主角棱角分明的那张脸，记得挪威的森林最后一段关于皱纹的描写，莫名的连那细纹都喜欢了！

喜欢自强自立的女子，还带有的那份善心，但在电影中就眼睁睁的看着她慢慢竖起的大厦顷刻之间的崩塌，只是电影末段的十分钟，所有的努力化为乌有，真他妈的！

电影的主旨是什么？那段历史？那份自传？非我族类，其心可诛?

电影我挺喜欢，但不推荐，闷且残忍......，不看也罢！

Claris Denis’s most recent film White Material addresses various problematic issues of the postcolonial world. Set in an unnamed African country, the film portrays a brave, independent but irrational white woman, Maria Vial, and tracks her continuous effort to protect her family’s crumbling coffee plantation. Despite the dual threat coming from the local government and the rebels, Maria refuses to leave the country no matter how chaotic and dangerous the environment is. As the tension of the civil war heightens, Maria eventually feels the consequence of her stubborn decision. The film delivers some important messages about post colonialism, especially through its title—White Material. “White material”, which is also mentioned by the characters in the film several times, not only implies the current tragic status of Maria Vial, but also exposes the issues of what is called the era of neocolonialism.
Despite her effort to harvest the coffee, Maria Vial is not welcomed at her home. Everyone, from the government to her ex-husband Andre, urges her to leave the country as soon as possible. Nevertheless, she still regards her coffee plantation as her priority. By hiring new workers, training them, and even priming the backup generator after the power lines were cut, Maria shows her dedication. Unfortunately, all her effort falls short, and her determination does not earn any respect for herself. Rather, throughout the film, she has been placed under gunpoint several times, which forces her into a passive position. Even though Maria insists this is where she truly belongs, the people around her still show her hatred, and treat her as “white material”. To examine the reasons for this, we need to look past the surface. When Maria claims that she “…couldn’t get used to anywhere else,” one of the workers on her plantation says that the reason she does not want to leave is because “[she doesn’t] want anyone taking what [she] has” (1:18:16). Thus, even though Maria regards herself as a native, she has always been in the dominant position since her family owns the whole plantation, and anyone else simply works for her. She feels the need to stay here, not because she “loves” it, but because she thinks she “owns”, or “controls” it. Now the civil war breaks out and the natives can arm themselves, Maria is descended to “white material”, enabling the natives to revenge their long colonized history. One time, the radio reporter reports through the radio: “As for the white material, the party is over…they are getting out, and they are right to run scared” (32:42). Indeed, when the natives try to reclaim what belongs to them, they regard any “white” as a “white material”, and the “white materials” have to be kicked out of the lands.
Moreover, in most circumstances, “white material” holds the meaning of ‘material of whites’ in the film. For example, one rebel soldier claims that the gold-plated lighter they found in Vial’s plantation is “white material”, meaning he thinks the lighter is something that belongs to the whites (25:03). Blond hair is another significant symbol. The camera always gives close shot to Maria’s blond hair, symbolizing her difference from other people. Similarly, blond hair is also her son Manuel’s main barrier to being treated as natives. Thus, he cut his own hair in order to join the rebels (1:05:31). Moreover, the ‘white’s materials’ here are not only what belongs to the whites, but also what the natives want from the whites. It is worth noticing that the natives do not simply find out the white’s materials and then leave – they take them. Before insulting Manuel, the two rebel kids sneak into his house and steal stuff, including Maria’s necklace in Mandrel’s house (55:30); after the two kids cut Manuel’s hair, one of the kids carefully smells it, like he cherishes it as a treasure (57:52); the rebels kill the people who work in the pharmacy, and then chew the pills, without knowing what exactly the pills are (1:31:11). All these details demonstrate how the natives desire the “white’s material”.
There are further underlying messages beneath this single term. First, notice that the lighter has been passed from character to character, which signifies that not just one, but most of them are influenced by the ‘white’s material’. In addition, whenever the term is mentioned, it is in English rather than French. It exposes that, today, the former colonized areas are controlled not only by their former colonizers such as France physically, but by the whole ‘white’s world’ economically and politically. Indeed, in the era of neocolonialism, many developed countries, especially those former colonial powers, apply international economic arrangements with their former colonies in order to maintain colonial control by using practices of capitalism and globalization. As what the radio reporter says in the film: “Boxer is hiding out amidst foreigners who rips us off and use our land to grow mediocre coffee that we’d never drink” (1:20:14). To the natives, the “white material” bring ‘white’s material’ to their lands and make ‘white’s materials.’ The economy of those underdeveloped countries is highly distorted by those who influence them. They desire ‘white’s material,’ and they are influenced by ‘white’s material,’ but at the same time, they realize that they are controlled and they need to revolt at some point. Therefore, both Maria and the natives are victims, since this inequality will only bring chaos and conflict instead of peace.

看過之後的第一感覺就是：空穴不來風。一場場戰爭、一場場政治鬥爭、一場場家庭糾紛、一場場學校裡的羣毆，絕不是少數幾個人煽動煽動就能燃燒起來的。在這些暴力之中其實正是我左邊、我右邊、以及我自己積極參與的結果。十年浩劫，絕不是那個老頭以及那四個人能夠持續不斷倒騰十年的，正是大家的暴力、大家的拳頭、大家的毒舌成爲了燃料。今天老兵節，早晨聽新聞還聽到一女兵呼籲說：『please do not forget there are women on the frontier of combat!』讓我不禁啞然，不以爲恥反以爲榮，此之謂也。
該反思的正是我們大家每個人。反對暴力，不僅反對被暴，而且反對施暴，這就是我的立場。
電影放過之後與導演claire denis的互動很讓人享受。claire denis中強外乾，看似柔弱，內心堅強而且有些暴力。我的老師karen解釋說：『she is french...』
claire說：『i dont want to be a film maker. i want to make films. i dont want to be someone. i will wake up in the morning and see...』『if you are very near to the camera, seeing fragments, it is something not serious. even killing is not serious, especially killing.』『editing is searching the best way for the film to be shown. but a film exists before it. (but) this film is made in an editing-room. hahaha...』『it is a dream: in a night marie remembers things.』『isabelle dressed in pink and i know it is the end. but suddenly i think it can be the beginning, the very beginning.』『the film is ready (for editing). it is only that i am not ready.』『without obstacles, something could be very boring. it is a good feeling to have obstacles. obstacles are cherish to a film.』『i have no i.d. in this film. it is isabelle. it is all about isabelle.』『the ending: maire murdered her father-in-law. i want to show she is too late. i dont know why (she murdered), but i would have done that...not sure, it is too hard (to murder a strong man), i will try, try to cut a finger (as a start).』