自卫

本来只想写个短评，但写着写着发现电影能表达的短评好像盖不下。。。

首先核心的自然是杰西的一指禅了，这一下忽然就回忆起夺宝奇兵里的经典GIF

夺宝奇兵

爆头完再对尸体BB真是个好习惯，多少反派死于话多。

本来影评应该就到这里了，但是另外一想，师傅其实也是死在自己由始至终准守的规矩上，其实在杰西跟他爆料的时候就可以直接秒杀，但是还是在道场进行对战，虽然一部分也是轻敌，但更多的是相信杰西跟他提出对战的规矩，包括之前在道场，蓝带上夜班断手，都是对于自己规矩的维护。

这里又提到了规矩，其实这里的道场就像一个小江湖，每个学生都有自己的站位，段位低的就要站在段位高的右侧，在杀狗男得到黑带的时候，红带的女主就要自然换位。包括十一条道场规矩，都是在维护这一个小江湖。一个有等级的江湖。

然而规矩却不一定是对的，这个道场的规矩都是师傅及大师对于强者的理解及自己认为对的事情，然后再把这些规则放上道理灌输给学生，用枪是弱者的表现，男人就要听重金属，女人不能拿黑带，所以把对的事情与片面的事情联系起来，就会给人一种这样做没错的感觉。就像即使学员看到师傅被杀，但是死于一指禅，就依然会准守规矩。

既然有了规矩，就需要能在规矩之内发泄的出口，否则准守规矩又有什么意义，晚上组队出去施暴就是这样一种方式，既能发泄，又能得到认可，腰带上的红圈正是一种区别的特权。其实这里就跟搏击俱乐部有一点相像了，都是在规则内充斥着荷尔蒙的暴力，而又认可这种暴力。

自卫的艺术

搏击俱乐部

其实这样看来这里的规矩何尝不是一种正确宣泄暴力的出口，段位来标定阶级。

God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it? -- Nietzsche, The Gay Science

The film starts with our martyr whose name is Casey. Casey has been carpentering for a company diligently for 10 long years as a sensible accountant. But since he is in a surrealistic film, his coworkers deny him of everything. He is biologically alive but devoid of being-in-this-world. Even the narrator bullies him by expose to us his most private moment of musterbation. He is a slave, living in the antithesis, the denial of his own being-aliveness. Unable to act for himself, voluntarily disavowing all of his own liveliness. He lives his life as if his alivneess itself is a sin and a torment. And which is possibly due to an ancestor or his being tricked to bite a fruit.

He was crucified by four gangsters from Motorbike Ville. Life instinct kicks in. Resurrected on a hospital bed. He is reincarnated with the superpower of affirmation. Immediately he affirms his own life. He wants to be alive. He wants to protect himself. He doesn’t know how. The teller told him a hand-gun will do. Yes. The ultimate phallic signifier.

Affirming is, however, not easy. He bumped into a contender of his will of “to own a handgun” — it was the rule number 11 of the Karate Academy — “Guns are for the weak.” He acted like an orange peremptory bady. He stopped affirming his own life and began to affirm the reactive thought of “I am not weak.” He found himself a new passion. Yes, the Karate Academy will save him.

His protagonist sized life instinct propels him forward. After only two months of training, as a yellow belt, he defeated his brown-belt classmate. He is now ceremonially a real karate man.

But an antithesis can not exist by itself. It logically presupposes a thesis. And in our case the thesis is “Karate is for the strong” and it in turn presupposes the Karate Academy’s(the slogan giver’s) existence. His yellow belt is an amulet signifying the Academy. It empowers him. He can not affirm himself without it. He needs the academic affirmation to be a phallic-owning real man.

The Academy reels in, all of this is but the Sensei’s trap. The Sensei now demands our protagonist to serve him. Whatever Casey feels, whatever he wills, the Sensei overpowers him. He is again being bullied. Only this time with blood dripping down from his hand. He ceases to be a man, he is a tool willed by Sensei. He eventually ceases to be a human. The cost to be a real karate man is to give up his own life.

The acute memory of the Motorbike Ville woke him up. He wills again to be alive. He has learned his lesson. Using a pistol he killed the Sensei, took over the myth of the “index finger technique” which is the local phallic signifier in the academy and became the crowned king of a new dynasty.

The film ends here, and Nietzsche can only guide this far. There is no guarantee of a happily ever after. It's up to Casey to decide what to do next, and we have all seen how easy it was to fall into a trap. Our society is a web of traps weaved by those powerful but insecure people. “只能說當超人真的好難” said Jay.

Epilogue: Nietzsche the Nihilist. Nihilist, noun, “a person who believes that life is meaningless and rejects all religious and moral principles.” This can not be any further from the truth. The “nihilism” of Nietzsche is a two-fold formation. At its very core it a radical affirmation of one’s own life, of one’s own vitality, and of one’s own will to create personal values and to live by those values. It is in comparison to this stronger inner will to live that the outside laws seem afloat, hence can be rejected. This film is an excellent demonstration of the destructive potential of letting a social construct to take prior position over one’s own existence(Crusade, Fascism, Isis, to name a few in real life). And because of this rejection of all outside influences, this rejection of all fundamental law that can be used to judge one’s life, one’s life is then reciprocally said to be “meaningless.” The phrase “God is dead” should be followed by “long live the gods within.”

Casey刚开头就有种黑色幽默的感觉 杰西的肢体语言 偏暗的色调 低音弦乐器的节奏感 让人感觉莫名好笑

杰西怎么又是这种宅男 不得不说真的很适合他 这种角色 气质太搭了

跟狗狗抱歉“i am sorry 我不知道狗粮吃完了”天呐我太喜欢他了 好惨啊36岁 只有个小狗 还那么惨

音乐真的有意思 被一群摩托车追跑的那个镜头 人物居中 侧打 有一种戏剧化的感觉

越来跑的越快 想到了布达佩斯大饭店

杰西太适合社恐男了换衣服那简直就像是两个空间

俩人在打架 Casey在一旁格格不入 吗的 想到我练跆拳道的愚蠢样子了

这钢琴曲 配合练习片段 重复蒙太奇 然后放大

这感觉太好笑 有一种美感的暴力 还有一点可笑

拿到黄带窃喜那个表情演的太好笑了

看到杰西哭那我哈哈大笑 这个电影完全踩中了我的笑点太惨了哈哈哈哈哈哈哈

对男权讽刺的味儿太强了哈哈哈哈哈哈为什么要把蓝带的胳膊拧掉

后来整金属乐配合练习片段 到后半段就有点奇怪 有点黑色和暴力 角色转变的挺戏剧化的

论如何把一社恐人改造成恐怖分子

最后的转变太喜欢了 反男权到一定地步了

这个电影可以进入年度最爱 杰西 还是你牛

记得小时候放学被逃课和辍学的拦在校门口要钱的时候，搜刮一遍之后还要打上两耳光或者给上一脚，当年被打被抢后懦弱的一批，和电影中杰西.艾森伯格所饰演的凯西是一样的感受，又羞又怒，不敢和大人说，就暗地里学武术，还异想天开的想去“少林寺”学武，然后行走江湖，惩恶扬善。懦弱带来的自卑感是尚武精神的的原动力。只有以暴制暴才能消除被欺凌的耻辱，才能自我认同。从这一点出发，sensi既是施暴者，又是救助者，乍一看有点像在路上洒满钉子的补胎行老板，过路的司机爆胎漏气只能去他那里，可这种操作得限定在方圆周围“只此一家”的条件里，影片中，凯西被打后，凯西第一次走进的是枪店，只是“注册要等审核”使日益恐惧的凯西有点等不及。无意间看见“道场”的授课，抱着试一试的心态，报了课，结果被“sensi”的灌输的“荣誉感，等级制，成长机制所激励”更加专注于空手道的课，甚至扔掉工作全身心投入其中，因为这令他找回自信，一步步的强大起来。可他万万没想到是是，“道场”还有另一幅面孔：为了考验学员，通过随机杀人而获得晋级行动里，凯西这才明白：sensi才是始作俑者，自己只是碰巧成了sensi考验学员成长的工具，在自己不知情的情况下又成了他继续施暴的工具。故事讲到这里，凯西似乎也确实从空手道的学习里变的强大，一枪结束了叨逼叨逼还装腔作势的sensi，脸不红，心不跳.这部小成本电影以其特有的喜剧特质呈现，是2019年比较难得一见的小成本喜剧，在如今的疫情之下，远在美国的学子们还是买把枪靠谱。

00:17:35 自截

《自卫的艺术》和《调音师》给我的感觉非常相似，都是有趣、刺激、血淋淋的，结局是看似弱势的一方成功反杀。它们在节奏上有所不同，前者会慢一些，但是如果你喜欢上述感觉，那么我相信你会享受《自卫的艺术》。更何况男主由Jesse Eisenberg这位金牌演员出演，他和融合了社恐、神经质甚至还有一点点可怜兮兮的神秘形象搭配起来，再完美不过了。

我历来不喜欢概括故事，也不爱看预告和影片简介，评分、口碑和演员是我“看”或“不看”的决定因素，所以原谅我没法在这里用情节吸引你们。不过请让我从另一个角度多安利一句：《自卫的艺术》简直长在我的笑点上。并不是说电影里满是一击必中的笑话，而是在某些场景里，你看见男主什么都没做、只是紧张地眨眼睛或者扭头就跑，就会很不体贴但情不自禁地大笑不止。黑色幽默向来是甲之蜜糖、乙之砒霜，希望这一次我有幸和你一起当“路人甲”。

看完之后有一些想法，但我要说明这纯粹是个人观点，也可以说是过度解读；我甚至不认为电影有这个意思。

世界有险恶的一面，大多数人会对此感到本能的排斥，但假如不逼迫自己去了解和适应，危险来临时逃跑无用，并且不幸的是，反抗也无用。体现在电影里的，是前半段的Casey逃不过被围殴进医院的下场；而即使龇出利齿，同样拥有德国血统（野性和无畏），德牧咬死了一个空手道黑带的男人（强大的迫害者），腊肠犬却在同样一个男人的拳下死在了温暖的家中。这二者的区别并不在谁更勇猛，而是谁更懂得自卫。

如何懂得自卫？

——当我说到“了解和适应”，并不意味着要将自己同化成不道德的模样，而是要在知己知彼之后对不同的情况做出不同反应，这就是懂得自卫。在平时，一个理性的人受他本身具有的道德观所控，举止和思想依然是他所追求的真善美，就像电影里Casey最终为武馆带来和谐；但面对威胁，他也需要拥有能给对方的小脑袋瓜“开天窗”的能力。

自卫艺术是好人必备技能，然而谁规定艺术都是纯净的，好人一定只能做好事？毕竟身体才是传道受业的本钱。

01:35:00 自截

最后是我对《自卫艺术》的一点不满意。诚然，一部具有启发性的作品就是好作品，这部电影本身的内涵也足够丰富——观众从中看出了鼓励挣脱桎梏、看出了要全心投入你所热爱之事、看出了讽刺刻板印象、某种空手道、法西斯式统治、兄弟会等等，但它们都并不深刻，原因是没能很好地和剧情结合。

我从整部电影里读出来的重要观点有二，一是积极共建文明美好社会，二是要力排性别偏见，尤其是针对女性的偏见。第一条太空泛太鸡汤了，观众对这样一部几乎可以说是神展开的作品有更多、更高的要求，这样一个轻飘飘的结尾升华让电影整体失重；第二条则太生硬，平权问题切入的时间太晚，给予的篇幅太短，唠这个反而显得离题。

所以总的来说，按照五星满分的话，我觉得它是一部介于三星半和四星之间的作品，离优秀只差一点点，很遗憾。

……话说杰西真是演得超绝赞好可怜可爱好想把他抱住搓搓喔（捂脸，溜了

Sophomoric feature film of US director/writer Riley Stearns, himself in real life is a practitioner and instructor of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE gets the jumping-off point right there.

Eisenberg is in his usual saddo form as the lonesome Casey, a 35-year-old accountant has no one but a pet dachshund for company. After being savagely mugged one night by a motorcycle gang, he balks at going out at night, and tries to buy a firearm for self protection but ends up in a dojo where karate is instructed by the upright Sensei (Nivola).

Beginning as a tabula rasa white-belt, Casey apparently makes goodly progress and soon earns his yellow-belt and gets an invitation to the night class, where the training becomes more combative, he witness Anna (Poots) mercilessly beats up fellow student Thomas (Terada) after losing a promotion to black-belt to him, and another student Henry (Zellner) has his arm viciously broken for attending the class unheralded, a sinister vibe of hierarchy and sexism rightly supersedes the hitherto more lighthearted tone, to say nothing of the wanton violence on show.

Motivated by Sensei, Casey successfully morphs from a beta male to an alpha one (even if it costs him his job), or he eagerly pretends to be. After socking an innocent lush under the insistent instruction of Sensei, he begins to have doubts (why Sensei keeps filming him with his camcorder for his assault?), and in the wake of his pet’s premature death (dachshund is deemed not masculine enough for a man), an action betrays the evil-doer’s rashness and inopportuneness, and an accident of barbaric battery that he literally clocks a plainclothes policeman to death, Casey needs to burrow into the 411 (including the belated revelation that Sensei and his co. are actually his attackers) and face a final showdown with Sensei. Only this time, he will not play by the honor-bound rules, the brainwashing needs to be put paid to, once and for all.

Bracingly, the story mines into the touch-paper issue of toxic masculinity, a ubiquitous stigma breeding on the male sex and should be answerable for a big chunk of the scourge that plays havoc among human species, but Stearns’ troubling standing on the gun control (it is such an ill-conceived decision for the clincher occurs like that in the movie), that obfuscates itself with the “guns are for the weak” message and the rising-of-an-underdog trope, takes some shine off its offbeat, effervescent veneer, and when Casey finally vouchsafes a new leadership to the sole member of the weaker sex, it is too condescending an ending to stomach, however good Stearns’ intention is, yet, that ill feeling is thankfully alleviated by Poots’ steely resolution and undimmed asperity, only if the film could allocate more room to dwell on Anna’s story, that’s why we need female filmmakers now more than ever.

Shot in an overtly frugal budget with subdued lighting, mostly interior, THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE’s most prudent movie is to assign a charismatic Nivola the role of Sensei, the amiable mentor figure who can simultaneously telegraph earnestness and dispassionateness in the same breath, despite of Sensei’s blinkered bigotry, we cannot blame Casey for knuckle under his mental indoctrination because Nivola makes him impossible to resist, even after we are fully convinced that he is the bane of any sane being’s life, on the off chance, we still wish he might have some justification up in his sleeves. Slowly evolving into one of the most versatile actors of his generation, Nivola has his brilliance seep into Sensei’s every ruthless action, manipulative ploy and assertive delivery, could he be a cult leader, devotees would be come running.

In toto, the film is a black comedy welded with a frivolous brutality that might be queasy for some to watch, but underneath everything, it is a magical realism allegory about the prototype of dichotomic masculinity, gives the lie to its poisonous core but runs away with a quirky conceitedness that needs some modulation.

referential entries: David Zellner’s KUMIKO, THE TREASURE HUNTER (2014, 6.8/10); Richard Ayoade’s THE DOUBLE (2013, 6.1/10).