Chapter 651 Five Poems (A long chapter of 5000 words) @Film Staff:
[Film: The Forest Without Flowers] My rating: ★★★★★
I just finished watching the premiere of "The Forest Without Flowers" in Taiwan, and I'm still not quite over it. It's like someone jumping into the sea to swim, and as they swim, the seawater turns into alcohol. This review was written entirely in a dream, so please forgive me.
Warning: This contains massive spoilers. If you're planning to watch the movie, do not continue reading.
I really don't want to give away any spoilers, but without considering the story, I can't make any judgment about this movie...
The following is the main text------------
[Five poems: A Good Daughter, A Wild Child, A Vague Lighthouse, A Forest Without Flowers, An Eternal Illusion]
Doing research before watching a movie is a habit of mine. The film, originally titled *The Forest Without Flowers*, was initially called *Anna Doria*, but was changed to its current name for commercial reasons. Out of curiosity, I searched for the origin of *Anna Doria* and discovered it comes from a poem by the ancient Greek lyric poet Sappho.
Sappho, whom Plato called the tenth muse, wrote poems mostly about her students, companions, and even adversaries—the vast majority of whom were women. The world she depicted was a small kingdom of women. The tagline used when the film "The Forest Without Flowers" was also taken from her poetry.
Therefore, before heading to the island for the premiere, I read through Sappho's poetry collection, just in case the film featured any imagery related to her that I wouldn't recognize.
This decision was indeed the right one. The song begins as soon as "The Forest Without Flowers" starts.
·First Poem·
“I have a good daughter, whose appearance is like a few golden flowers; my beloved Clus, I would rather have her than all of Lydia and the lovely island of Lesbos.”
—Sappho, *Daughter*
The film opens with an elderly person's reminiscences, a classic cinematic technique. Based on my preconceived notions about the actors' ages, I assumed the "good daughter" in the song would be Zhao Lele.
The film unfolds through the old man's memories. Zhao Lele does appear, but her behavior is anything but that of a good daughter. Upon entering, she whips someone, teases the servants, and berates her father's newly appointed adjutant. She is universally despised and utterly unacceptable.
Just as another lash was about to fall on the adjutant, a hand grabbed Zhao Lele's whip.
This was Lin Fengyu's first appearance.
Lin Fengyu's first appearance is as Zhao Lele's sworn sister. She patiently and earnestly teaches Zhao Lele not to hit people indiscriminately. From their conversation, it's clear this kind of education has been repeated many times. Lin Fengyu is the complete opposite of Zhao Lele; she is gentle, rational, well-educated, and very popular in the Zhao mansion.
At this point, we can see that Lin Fengyu's status in the Zhao mansion wasn't yet that high. The Zhao mansion was divided into two buildings, front and back. The front building was the territory of Zhao Cheng and his daughter Zhao Lele, while the back building was the residence of the women's choir. At this time, Lin Fengyu was still living in the back building, and if she wanted to find Zhao Lele, she could only keep running from the back building to the front building.
The scene in the movie is cleverly designed: two buildings stand facing each other, connected only by a sky bridge. The sky bridge is suspended in the air, and Lin Fengyu walks across it day after day, time after time.
The front and back buildings represent class, order, and the power structure prescribed by Zhao City. The front building represents the orthodox zone under patriarchy, accessible only to men and their offspring; the back building is the patriarchal haven for women, where they exist as property of Zhao City. But Lin Fengyu actively broke through this power structure, infiltrating the front building.
I can't reveal Lin Fengyu's identity for now, but Lin Fengyu's behavior of running from the back building to the front building perfectly matches the opening song - Lin Fengyu's transformation from "the person in the back building" to "the adopted daughter of Zhao City" is exactly "I have a good daughter"
After establishing Lin Fengyu as the sworn sister, the film returns to Zhao Lele.
·Second Poem·
“Adis, I have loved you for a long time, back when you were still a wild child to me.”
—Sappho, "But You, Monkey Face"
The second poem is presented not as a song, but as a painting.
In Zhao Lele's room, there are two paintings. One is an ugly monkey face, and the other is a picture of a boisterous, yelling child. At first glance, these two paintings seem to serve to illustrate Zhao Lele's eccentric and unpredictable personality; however, the film repeatedly shows close-ups of these two paintings, making their underlying meaning self-evident.
The second part focuses on portraying Zhao Lele's emotional transformation towards Lin Fengyu. Zhao Lele's memories and present life unfold in parallel. First, she recalls her first encounter with Lin Fengyu, their interactions, and various clashes. Zhao Lele is always the one who provokes and acts recklessly, while Lin Fengyu is the one who is tolerant and guiding. Then, she breaks free from her memories and looks at the present.
As Zhao Lele's feelings for Lin Fengyu intensified, Lin Fengyu gradually stopped running between the two buildings and instead had his own room in the front building. Not only that, Zhao Lele often asked Lin Fengyu to stay in her room. This could be considered a small victory for Lin Fengyu. However, as of now, their relationship remains within the normal range.
The Third Poem
Tell me, of all people, whom do you love more than I do?
—Sappho, "Tell Me"
The scene in which this poem appears is even more explicit. It's directly a line from a poem that Lin Fengyu taught Zhao Lele. The moment this poem appears also signifies that their relationship has entered a new phase.
As Zhao Lele and Lin Fengyu grew closer, Zhao Lele gradually noticed many strange things. For example, the servants' contemptuous attitude towards Lin Fengyu, the fact that Lin Fengyu's room door was always locked, and the occasional appearance of Zhao Cheng from the direction of Lin Fengyu's room.
Meanwhile, as they spent more and more time together, Zhao Lele developed a certain dependence on Lin Fengyu. She became increasingly inseparable from this gentle and kind older sister, but a hidden premonition and her self-centered nature made her more and more impatient and domineering.
There are two climaxes in this phase.
The first one is the scene at the dinner table. Although this movie has many memorable scenes, this one is still one of my favorite parts of the whole film.
In my opinion, the greatest strength of *The Forest Without Flowers* lies in its female gaze. The entire film is told from Zhao Lele's perspective. Lin Fengyu is the object of Zhao Lele's gaze, Zhao Cheng and the servants are the foundation of her comfortable material life, and the back building is a lowly place unfamiliar to her. What Zhao Lele's eyes cannot see, the camera will not show; what Zhao Lele's mind cannot fathom, the plot will not reveal.
The dinner table scene is an extreme example of the female gaze. Lamb soup is simmering in goat milk, the surface trembling; Lin Fengyu uses a spoon to press out goat milk from the soup; Zhao Lele twitches her nose; the camera follows Zhao Lele's eyes, sweeping over Lin Fengyu's wrists, ankles, neck, and back… The director utilizes her cinematic talent to its fullest extent; there is no explicit exposure, yet every detail is a sexual gaze. Here, the director boldly has the camera shake with the frequency of Zhao Lele's blinks, making Zhao Cheng and the servants appear as blurry figures; in the thick imagery, the scent of breast milk almost seems to waft through the air.
Some lesbian films often sexualize the interactions between lesbians, filming scenes that resemble the lewd observation of two women's intimate interactions from an outsider's perspective. However, *The Forest Without Flowers* completely avoids this. The audience can only experience Zhao Lele's perspective—we can sense the desire in the camera, but it is not obscene or vulgar.
The dish of lamb cooked in goat's milk is also quite interesting. There is a verse in the Book of Exodus in the Bible: "You shall not cook a young goat in the milk of a mother goat." This is a very famous prohibition in the Old Testament.
In the scene at the dinner table, Zhao Lele provokes Lin Fengyu and even tries to dominate her, but is ultimately "tamed" by Lin Fengyu, gradually sliding into the position of a lamb that is led and subdued. Although she eventually throws the poetry collection into the mutton soup, this weak resistance is precisely the proof of her falling into the abyss.
Furthermore, Lin Fengyu, originally a member of the choir, is here personally feeding Zhao Lele—a dish of lamb stewed in goat's milk. The director uses these ancient metaphorical symbols to recreate desire and prohibition, violence and conquest—a truly symbolic spiritual feast of taboo!
The second climax is when Zhao Lele witnesses Zhao Cheng and Lin Fengyu's secret affair. Through Zhao Lele's perspective, the film slowly unveils the mystery surrounding the relationship between Lin Fengyu and Zhao Cheng. Although she had suspected something was amiss, the moment the truth was revealed still brought a sense of dread.
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