Since the advent of "pulp fiction" in 1994, independent films have truly ascended to the limelight and become an important force to be reckoned with in the film industry. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

At a time when the routines of large studios are becoming more and more serious and the lack of innovative and enterprising spirit, the enterprising and bold and solid spirit of independent films has gradually become the force behind the continuous progress of films, from "American Beauty" to "Brokeback Mountain" to "No Country for Old Men", the attention of independent films is continuing to heat up, and almost every year a batch of high-quality independent works can be found, which arouse the admiration of the academy and critics, such as last year's "Bomb Disposal Unit".

"Buried Alive" is such a typical independent film.

The story of the movie is very simple, it tells the story of a construction contractor from the United States, who was attacked while working in Iraq, and woke up to find himself in a coffin, tragically buried alive.

The most daring part of the film is that the whole work is shot in a coffin, without any other scenes at all, starting from the coffin and ending with the coffin, the world outside the coffin and the relationships between the characters are completely outlined by the lines, putting all the weight on the actors.

This not only puts forward almost strict ultra-high requirements for the script's lines - filling the information in a streamlined space, how to show what happens simultaneously inside and outside the coffin, how to express the story before and after entering the coffin, and how to restore the original background of the relationship between the characters in a critical situation, which are all difficult problems, but also puts forward an incredible test for the actors' performances, in the midst of extreme difficulties, panic, fear and despair, survival is the only one. Yes, but the actor must show the ups and downs of the whole mood, bring the audience's thoughts into a closed and confined space, avoid the boredom caused by a single scene for a long time, and avoid the boring repetition caused by limited camera scheduling.

In fact, there are not many works that tell stories with a one-man show, but there are very few that really only the male protagonist appears in the whole story like "Buried Alive". This is undoubtedly a daunting challenge, and the difficulty is unimaginable.

A similar theme, "127 Hours," is also a one-man show, but with a somewhat opportunistic approach, this Danny-Boyle-directed film focuses on Aron-Ralston, who narrowly escaped his life. During his hike, Aaron was trapped alone for five days for 127 hours after he fell in a remote valley and was unable to move due to a boulder holding down his arm.

However, Danny added antecedents and consequences to the length of the movie, not only telling about Aaron's preparations before setting off, the pleasure of meeting friends during the hike, but also about the rescue and hope after finally realizing self-redemption, and reviewing Aaron's life in a flashback way.

It can be said that this is indeed a one-man show, but it is a one-man show with many people participating.

In contrast, "Buried Alive", where all the scenes take place in a coffin, are more experimental, more independent, and more difficult, which is precisely the most valuable part of the movie.

When filming "127 Hours", Danny can be described as an accomplished director, not only shooting such a famous independent film as "Trainspotting", but also won the Oscar for Best Director with "Slumdog Millionaire", but even so, Danny still does not dare to easily try the way of only one scene in the whole story, because everyone knows that this method is easy to be too boring, too monotonous, too boring, and will be scolded by the audience and film critics if you are not careful.

"Buried alive" did.

The film's director and screenwriter are both newcomers, and director Rodrigo-Cortes has been mainly active in the field of short films until then, and his clever ideas have won a lot of praise, but short films and feature films are two completely different systems, just as sprinters don't necessarily perform well in long-distance running, and "buried alive" is only his second feature film.

Screenwriter Chris Sparling (Chris-Sparling) is an unknown newcomer, and "buried alive" is just his official screenplay debut.

The film firmly grasps the audience's attention, allowing people to follow the progress of the plot, empathize with the fate of the characters, and truly feel the intricacies and ups and downs of human emotions: pain, panic, panic, calm, self-denial, violence, fear, hope, sadness, pain, anger, fatigue, self-deprecation, ...... and finally despair. All this makes the process of watching the movie a kind of torment and a kind of enjoyment.

In contrast, "127 Hours" shows the three-dimensionality of a character in an all-round way, and celebrates the spirit of human beings who never give up under the limits of life and death, which is not only inspirational, but also shows Aaron's family bonds and motivation, which undoubtedly further excavates the core depth of the film; It concentrates on the struggle and pain on the verge of death, emphasizing the emotional details that are magnified to the extreme under the enclosed space, and the horror and fear run throughout, which is undoubtedly a big breakthrough for experimental films, but it is slightly inferior in terms of depth of thought.

It can be understood that "127 Hours" is a work shot for the awards season, while "Buried Alive" is a work shot by the director to explore a whole new field. Once upon a time, Danny Bauer showed sharpness and sharpness in "Trainspotting", but it has gradually disappeared, from indie to mainstream, and "Buried Alive" really shows the sharpness and audacity of independent films.

This can be seen from the treatment received by the two films at the year-end awards ceremony, "Buried Alive" was almost ignored and did not win any nominations, let alone awards, while "127 Hours" was highly praised, and even won many nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars in one fell swoop.

Of course, a very important part of the reason also comes from the "buried alive" actor Ryan Reynolds (Ryan-Reynolds).

The handsome Canadian actor is more often known for his handsome appearance, and works such as "Fake Marriage", "Green Lantern", and "Deadpool" have made him a place in Hollywood.

In fact, Ryan won a lot of reputation with his performances in the early stage of his career as an actor, and his wonderful performances can be seen in works such as "Nine Degrees of Space" and "Scarlet Lonely Words", some are cute, some are spoofed, and some sexy/sensual, but at the same time they are not lacking in the madness and fragility hidden in their eyes, and the sensitivity wrapped under the coat can often move people's hearts. Maybe he's not a top actor, but when it comes to the right role, he does have two brushes.

"Buried Alive" is one such work.

In "Buried Alive", Ryan truly shows the confusion, struggle and pain of human beings under desperate situations, and the complex and fragile emotions firmly grasp the hearts of the audience, making people feel empathy with them. It must be admitted that Ryan did his job brilliantly and became the most important piece of the puzzle to be "buried alive".

But Ryan's work is far from amazing, if his performance is placed in "127 hours", then it may be enough, because "127 hours" is crammed with a large number of flashbacks and clips to assist, and the plot material is used to fill in the image of the characters, and the audience will have a more direct experience of the character's three-dimensionality;

It can be understood that Ryan showed the emotions required for a thriller movie, but did not complete the story required for a drama film. For example, when he called his wife in the movie, what happened between the two of them; when he called his colleagues, the other party's attitude implied that he usually had a problem; when he asked the government/government officials for help, his attitude did not change much, and his psychological ups and downs were not clear enough; and what kind of content did his last words contain at the last critical moment?

"127 Hours" uses memories to complete these puzzles, while "Buried Alive" requires Ryan's performance to complete, and when he fails to achieve this goal, it also affects the overall quality of the film.

In fact, in Lan Li's view, the movie "Buried Alive" is not only a thriller movie in a confined space, but also can be further excavated, one is the family crisis of the American middle class, the conflict between the male protagonist and his wife, the opportunity for the male protagonist to choose to work in Iraq, and the mid-life crisis that the male protagonist faced before the accident, these details are all affecting his later distress, especially the reaction reflected in the desperate environment.

The other is the condemnation of capitalist bureaucracy, on the one hand, the hypocrisy and treachery of the company where the male protagonist works and the prevarication of responsibility, they are more concerned about the fact that they do not need to pay more compensation than human life; on the other hand, the relevant departments of the government/government continue to shirk and do nothing, the slogan of "never give up the life of any citizen" is shouted loudly, but the actual actions are chilling, and the core idea of the supremacy of interests alludes to the real purpose of the United States in launching the Iraq war.

The connotation of this movie is far more excavating and watchable than imagined. However, compared to "127 hours", the director and screenwriter of "Buried Alive" are inexperienced and can only put all the burden on the actors, and once Ryan's performance is not able to have enough height and depth, the overall quality of the work can only decline.

In fact, this is also one of the typical characteristics of independent films, and when the experimental nature is particularly strong, success and failure are also failures.

But this is undoubtedly a perfect fit for Lan Li, this is the performance opportunity he dreamed of: a chance to really devote himself to acting, a chance to really challenge his limits, a chance to really test the bottom line of his talent, and a chance to truly interpret his acting skills!