"Shoot the Pianist" plot synopsis

"Shoot the Pianist" Synopsis | Appreciation | Afterviewing

1960 black and white film 85 minutes

Filmed by Carlos Film Company in France

Director: Fran?ois Truffaut Screenwriter: Fran?ois Truffaut Marcel Mousy Photography: Haoule Gutar Main actors: Charlie Aznavour (played by Charlie Collier/Edward Saroyan) Marie Dubois (as Raina) Nicol Berry (as Theresa) Albert Homey (as Signo) Claude Mun Sacher (as Maumo) Danielle Brownray (as Ehneste) Michèle Mehsier (as Krasis) Serge Davoli (as Bolino) < /p>

Plot synopsis

Accompanied by the melodious sound of the piano, the opening credits are superimposed on the keys of a piano flying up and down. When the music stopped, we saw a figure running desperately in the dark night. Behind him, a car with its lights on rushed towards him. He turned into a narrow alley and got rid of the car chasing him, but he fell to the ground instead. Fortunately, he was rescued by an old man passing by... This man was Charlie's brother Xi Ge, the protagonist of the film. He came to At his younger brother's residence, he told him that due to the uneven distribution of the stolen goods, the two robbers Maumo and Ehenest were tracking him everywhere, so he entrusted his son Fido to his care and asked him to be more careful.

Xigo and Charlie came to the bustling bar, and Charlie sat by the piano to accompany the singing and dancing people. The bar owners Paulino and Simon talked loudly about Charlie's talent. Suddenly two gangsters chasing Xi Ge broke into the bar. Charlie hid his brother behind a pile of cardboard boxes. The singer Bobby Lapointe sang a cheerful song. People continued to play and dance, and finally escaped. caused a disaster.

The crowd dispersed, and Charlie was ready to go home. The bar owner Paulino told him that the beautiful barmaid Reina was very attracted to him and advised him not to fall in love. Sure enough, Raina was waiting for him at the door, asking Charlie to accompany her on a night walk. As the two walked, Charlie tried to hold Reyna's hand, but she ducked away. When Charlie returned to his residence, Krasis, the street angel across the street from him, came to stay with him for the night.

Early the next morning, Charlie woke up his nephew Fido to go to school and went downstairs to the street. Maumo and Ehnest, who were waiting in the car, forced Charlie into their car with pistols, then found Reina's residence and forced her to sit in the car together to help them find Xi Ge's whereabouts. The car was speeding on the urban streets. Reina suddenly stepped on the accelerator and ran through the red light. The police caught up and stopped the robber's car. Raina took Charlie's arm and walked away, leaving Maumo and Ehnest to fight with the police.

Rena took Charlie to her residence. Charlie saw that the walls were covered with large photos and performance posters of the famous pianist Edward Saroyan. In bed, Charlie told Raina about his experience. It turned out that he was the famous and talented Edward Saroyan. Before becoming famous, he and his wife Theresa lived a happy life. He studied hard and practiced hard to perform in various places, hoping to become a great pianist. Teresa also tried her best to find a way for him. One day, an agent said to Teresa: "I can make your husband famous, but you must be my lover." The night that Teresa, who loved her husband, committed herself to her agent, Edward Saroyan became a hit He became popular and his name appeared on the doorsteps of major concert halls and opera houses. The radiant Edward frequently took his last breaths amid stormy applause from the audience. But after returning home, his wife was very cold to him, and Edward was in unspeakable distress. Day after day, the rift between the two grew wider. Finally one day, when Edward was about to kiss his wife, Theresa revealed the truth. She felt her body was dirty and refused to let her husband touch her. Although she has cut off contact with her agent, she can no longer regain the sincerity of her love for her husband. After hearing this, Edward was struck by thunder. He couldn't bear that his glory should come in such a dirty way, so he turned around and ran downstairs. He ran downstairs and suddenly thought of his wife who was in extreme pain. By the time he ran upstairs, Theresa had opened the window and jumped off the building to commit suicide.

The next day, the newspaper published: "The whereabouts of the famous pianist Edward Saroyan is unknown after his wife committed suicide."

Edward Saroyan wrote under the pseudonym Charlie. After Collier, he came to Bolino's bar to play the piano and chat. After he and Reina fell in love, the boss Bolino was very dissatisfied with Reina and found ways to make things difficult for her. On this day, when he insulted Reina in a rude manner, Charlie stepped forward, argued with him, and then fought. Bolino picked up a dagger and fought with Charlie all the way to the basement. Bolino dropped the knife and choked Charlie. While struggling, Charlie touched the dagger on the ground and stabbed Bolino's heart from behind. When the police arrived after hearing the news, Rayna and Charlie slipped out of the back door, drove a car that Rayna had borrowed, and drove toward the mountain where Xigo was hiding.

The two robbers Maumo and Ehnest, because they could not find Charlie and Reina, in order to track Xigo, they conspired with the female gatekeeper to take care of Xigo's son Fido. *** Krasis, forcibly kidnapped Fido at Charlie's home, put the child in the car as a hostage to hold Xi Ge hostage, and drove towards the snow-capped mountains. When they reached the foot of the mountain and crossed a small bridge, Echnest slipped and Fido took the opportunity to escape.

Charlie asked Reina to park the car and went up the mountain alone to meet his brother. After the brothers met, Charlie told him about the accidental killing of Bolino. Simon left a pistol for him and went out with his accomplices. At this time, Maomo and Ehenest were not far from Xige's hiding place. Soon after shouting to Xige, the two sides started a gun battle. Raina was afraid that something might happen to Charlie, so she ran towards him quickly. Echnest fired a shot at her, causing Raina to tumble from the top of the mountain and fall to the bottom. At this time, Xi Ge and his accomplices arrived, and Maomo and Ehenest drove away. Charlie and Fido stared painfully at Raina lying dead in the snow.

At the end of the film, Charlie returns to the bar and continues to play music that narrates the vicissitudes of life. The keys flying up and down in the opening film fill the screen.

Appreciation

"Shoot the Pianist" is the second feature film by Fran?ois Truffaut. His first film, "The 400 Blows," was his successful attempt to take up the camera and play in the "New Wave" after putting down his writing as a film critic for "Cahiers du Cinema." Although this film is deeply influenced by American B-movies, it is not difficult to see the "auteur's film" line that Truffaut has always advocated.

The film tells the story of an artist who loves music but is ignorant of the world. After an unexpected blow in his life, he changed his name and surname. Pianist Edward Saroyan and his wife Theresa originally lived a happy and peaceful life. Edward longed to become a world-famous artist one day. The considerate wife muddleheadedly accepted the offer out of love for her husband. After being exposed to the dirty conditions of an agent who could turn everything upside down, he found it hard to balance his mind after losing his job. In shame and regret, he jumped off a building and committed suicide. His beloved wife endured the humiliation and heavy burden for him and even died a tragic death. Edward was in pain and could not see the world again. Time passed by, and he changed his name to Charlie Collier and came to a small town bar to play the piano. However, because his brother had a problem with the gangster, he was implicated. He was first kidnapped and then shot (Truffaut). The title of the film "Shoot the Pianist" expresses sympathy and also contains a certain degree of irony). Even more unfortunate was Raina, a kind-hearted and self-respecting girl who had great admiration and love for the pianist. She was worried that Charlie would be brutally murdered, but she was shot and killed by a gangster. Any viewer with a sense of justice will feel sad and unfair about this.

There are many unforgettable scenes in this film. For example, bar singer Bobby Lapointe sang "Strawberry Praise" while covering West Coast, which is still widely circulated today. In another example, the robber Echnest swore to heaven that the material of his clothes was made of metal by the Japanese, and said, "If I lie, my mother will die immediately." As soon as he finished speaking, an old woman standing on the street immediately fell down. These shots have become classics.

Truffaut, who was born in 1932, was only 28 years old when this film was shot. Because he had just put down his pen as a film critic, the "auteur theory" film criticism principles and film creation methods he advocated are still clearly visible in his early works. However, in his middle and late works, due to his excessive indulgence in love affairs, The catharsis, the sharp-edged style of the past seems to have disappeared.

Truffaut once expressed his views on "auteur cinema" to the American film critics. In view of the fact that before the 1950s, Hollywood had always implemented the producer system, and everything was decided by the producer, it was difficult for directors to develop their own creative styles. Therefore, Truffaut proposed: "Future movies will be more personal than novels and will become An autobiographical form, like a private diary confession." It should be said that Truffaut's proposition has been fully reflected in some of today's films. Several of Marguerite Dura's films with strong literary qualities and unique personal style, such as "The Lover" and the recently released "North China Lover", can be called "Confessions of a Private Diary".

Truffaut believes that several famous French directors such as Jacques Tardy, Eric Rohmer, Robert Bresson, Jacques Baker, and Jean-Luc Godard The works of others can be classified as "author's films". The starting point of the "auteur theory" is that the film produced by a director with a certain concept must be completely in accordance with his own conception and accurately reflect his personal concept. When writing articles, novels or poems, people often say that "the article is like the person", and when making a movie, "the film is like the person". Only by controlling the entire filming process can the director faithfully express his personal ideas. In this film, Truffaut strives to practice his own ideas and express his helpless despair about social injustice through the fate of the protagonists. It is extremely unfortunate for a great artist who was famous for a while to remain anonymous due to the tragic death of his beloved wife. He lives in a back alley with prostitutes and makes a living playing the piano in a bar. But even this kind of lingering life often had extraneous consequences. After his lover suffered a misfortune, in order to make a living, he still had to return to the town to play the piano and spend his remaining life. Now only the sound of the piano can express his deep sorrow. In order to express his resentment and despair about this social injustice, Truffaut chose Charlie Aznavour as the protagonist of this film. Charlie, who was born in 1924, was a well-known singer in France in the 1950s and 1960s, and was also quite famous internationally. He is a descendant of Armenian immigrants from Turkey and has been a folk singer for generations. His songs are full of sarcasm and despair about social injustice.

Truffaut chose him precisely to express his own voice. In fact, he fully embodied the director's intention.

Regarding the concept of "auteurism" in film criticism, Truffaut believed that there are no good or bad movies, only the director can distinguish them. A bad director may take advantage of a good script or famous actors to make a film that seems good on the surface, but in the eyes of strict film critics, this kind of film is worthless; on the contrary, a good director may encounter a bad film. A bad script, a bad cast, or budget constraints may result in an unpopular film, but it won't diminish critics' interest in the film. Taking a step back, it is impossible for a good director to produce all good films. He may also be abnormal sometimes, but this is irrelevant, because what is important is to understand a director's consistent thoughts and concepts, from the beginning to the mature stage. The ideological trajectory shown in his entire film career, each of his works may be an integral part of all his thoughts, a reflection of his thoughts at a certain stage, and naturally his works may be good or bad, successful or bad. fail. This is the case with Bergman's films. When they are good, they are extremely good. When they are bad, they are passable, but they are still bad. Another example is Jean Renoir, who often made different attempts, and his innovations were often ahead of his time. In 1936, he made a film called "Tony". The film's realistic approach preceded the Italian neorealism movement by more than ten years. In 1937, the style of "Beasts" he shot was completely different from that of "Tony". The gorgeous style of the film was even more gorgeous than similar Hollywood films. Then in 1939, he made "The Rules of the Game", which was the first psychological film that proposed to abandon the absolute principle of good and evil in human nature. At that time, French audiences and film critics rejected the film. A commercial failure doesn't make it a bad movie. On the contrary, many years later the French film critics themselves corrected their original evaluation and generally believed that this was Renoir's most personal and artistically refined film. As one of France's top directors, he is recognized by the international film community. All in all, from the perspective of "author theory", "authors" must be people like Jean Cocteau who have profound literary literacy and certain insights into social life. They constantly innovate and surpass themselves. Constantly exploring various film methods to express their own thoughts and concepts.