白色物质

电影没有明示时代背景，但在《白色物质》里，跨过这块殖民地上的各种无法解决的历史冲突，显明的是生活里另一个密实存在，秘密实在而又很难公开遭遇的存在。更多是通过Marie N'Diaye的镜头——也许过分地带有呼吸感了，我以为对准的是那些历史之外的事物：它依附在那块土地上每一个表面，大气，植物作物，水以及对它们直截的接触。
　　　　
　　　　
玛利亚是在一个资本主义上升期确立信念的人物，她的父亲像是一个关键，给予她种植园甚至她存在的一切——如果这么说不算太严重的话。但在历史，传续中的种植园是它跌宕行进的一个小小平台，翻云覆雨手下没有什么是恒久的。玛利亚认可种植园——那种令人感动的劳作-收获的天经地义——其实是不认可历史跌宕。所以她的儿子受辱以后要去摆脱白色物质去加入未来；玛利亚在困境中和儿子一样加入了历史，可加入的是过去。她用大棒敲毙父亲——不管是为了自己信念的坍塌还是为了被父亲“谋杀”的孱头丈夫。在这里，历史或很有疑问了。
　　　　
　　　　
可能不同于小说，影片最后揭开个人历史因果时一下子变得含蓄抽象，那也许是因为摄影机无法记录事情太多。比如屠杀根本不是可以记录的——面对屠杀，你只有受死或反抗，此时摄影机何其虚伪呢。于是在这么抽象的镜头中，生存的具体困难必须抽象为必须的历史抉择，不过在此之前，风景已经通过Marie N'Diaye眼中的密实存在，不再教人去抉择。
　　　　
　　　　
美妙的场景之一是，或者唯一美妙的场景是，在劳作了一天的夜晚，玛利亚吃着简单的卤汁拌米饭闭目休息，而一直通过牙买加音乐为义/叛军宣扬正义的DJ忽然迷失在雷鬼音乐本身里。让我不避俗套地说一句：这如许一夜，是秘密而又实在的存在，一瞬历史外的人生。

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).』

一开始很不自觉地要猜这究竟是哪个国家，是什么战争，在哪个年代。后来随着故事的进展，也就都忘了这些疑问。反正这些好像虚幻，又好像真实的事件，都在告诉我，一切都将一发不可收拾。

片中几乎每个人物都被用了特写，他们不同的处境不同的经历似乎一直在存托于佩尔的倔强。每个人都在说着逃离，而鼓动大家逃离的，是直升飞机上一些白色物质对另一些白色物质的警告。然而，我们也不能确定，留下来，是不是另一种方式的逃离？逃离这种必须落叶归根的失败感？

如果一个女人可以镇定地面对一些持枪劫路的匪徒，说着我认识你，我也认识你，我认识你们每个人，我tm还认识你舅舅！那么我们可以认定她就是一个不相信危机的人，她这种不信危机的镇定是可怕的，却又是飞蛾扑火般的脆弱。是的，她那么单薄地走在泥土地上，却在做着一些果断的劳动。这种让人心疼的徒劳，让我明白了，殖民，只是弱者的逃离。

当人们执着地听着电台的警告，告诫大家能走即走时，她却把频率调在雷鬼乐电台，这种懒散的调调和整个时局如此不和谐。不和谐，便会被颠覆，电台人的被杀，就预示了故事的结局。这个女人太让人抓狂了，连她自己都说这庄园不是她的，但是她掌控一切。这种想掌控一切的欲望，让她家破人亡。

最后终于明白了，其实这繁杂的一切，都只为了述说一个女人，那为什么不都删了，也许会更好。

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.