Review: The Fox and the Child

Have you ever dreamed about wandering in a forest everyday or making friends with a fox? Birds, trees and rivers or other nature things, seem to be more and more attractive to modern people. The farther we are away from outdoors, the more dreamful imagination we have toward it. The latest French movie, The Fox and the Child, which was built on beautiful fantasy, will certainly inspire your inner longing for natural lifestyle.
On that miraculous morning, when she was on her way to school, she met her fox. She was so beautiful that she loved her at once. While she was trying to approach the pretty creature, she found her. Their eyes met together. Though she vanished on the path soon, the short but magical glance became the very beginning of their friendship. From then on, the little girl went into the forest everyday, waiting for another unexpected meet with her fox.
The beginning of the movie was actually a real story of the director, Luc Jacquet. He had met a fox when he was a child. He couldn’t forget the meaningful glance with the fox. Therefore, he made the unfinished story into a movie.

A fox befriends a child. Does the plot make you think of a familiar book? Actually, the movie was adapted from a chapter in a French novel, The Little Prince.
“What does that mean tame?”
“It was an act that often neglected.” said the fox. “It means to establish ties.”

“What must I do, to tame you?" asked the little prince.
"You must be very patient," replied the fox. "First you will sit down at a little distance from me-- like that-- in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings. But you will sit a little closer to me, every day..." >

The Little Prince, which was written by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, has been a world-famous book for a long time. In The Little Prince, there are many strong hints of lives, which describe friendship, love, loneliness, selfishness..., etc. Similarly, in the movie, it is obvious that the interdependence between the fox and the little girl is a metaphor of the relationships between lovers.
On the other hand, the most successful part of the novel is that it is not only a children’s story but also a book for adults. The Fox and the Child did give me the feelings that it tried to be such a movie, too. In almost the whole movie, there are only two characters, the fox and the girl. The film was also filmed in a ten-year-old girl’s sight. However, though it did try to describe in an easier way, the hints are still too difficult for a child to understand. Because of the smooth and slow plot, some kids may feel a little bit bored. Other than The Little Prince, which is also an interesting book for most of the children, this is the only weaker part of the movie, but its Achilles heels.

Since there aren’t a lot of conversations, music plays an important role in the movie. The well control leads people’s emotions to the plot successfully. You can understand what the fox or the girl is showing easily by not only their expressions but also the music. It seems that the producers did take this part seriously. It even had three editions of theme songs, which are sung in Chinese, English and French.

People always ask something like, “Is this a good movie to see? What is it about?” They are actually silly questions. Some like this movie, some are not. I like this movie, you may not. But I can still tell you the answer. Yes. This is a good movie, which is meaningful and also beautiful. However, I can’t answer the second question. Movies are something that you need to see it by yourselves and then give your own opinions. To me, this movie is about the ties between people. What is your idea?
Go and enjoy the film. You may not like the plot, but the great music and the amazing forest views are also the things that you can’t miss.

The Music and the Clay

When I’m playing the piano, I’ll turn only a little lamp on. In the dim light, something invisible, such as melody, becomes much concreter to me.
Some people play the music, but don’t actually listen to it. I listen to my music and enjoy playing it in different ways.
Music is like the clay. I don’t change the dimension or the weight of it, but the shape. Under my fingers, it can be made into a lovely flower or a hamburger. It depends on the emotions I express. In such a way, I control the music, instead of being limited by the set movement.
Different types of music have its own music clay. Each piece of clay has its own color and touch.
For example, if I want to use a color Simple, but bright. It also takes less time to practice, giving my own style more space. Playing his music is just like playing a piece of soft light clay. I can mold it easily, making more complicated statues.
Mozart’s music is obviously opposite to Bach. Every single music note he composed has his own emotion and style. His music clay has dark deep color and tough touch. It’s hard for me to make it into something detailed statues like rabbit. I can only change the round into a cube. As a result, the best way of playing Mozart’s music clay is appreciating, instead of adding too much my own feelings.
Above all, Chopin’s music is my favorite. It’s more romantic and is often filled with his sorrow. His music clay is also soft, but has the color of violet. Though it’s easier to be molded, its special color does confine my creativity. You may admit that a violet bird is a little bit strange. But I enjoy its soft and emotional melody, just like a sentimental woman.
To me, music is like the clay. I don’t play it well and skillfully, but I do play it in the way I enjoy. In the dim light, I feel like I can see or even touch the melody. And I can express who I am and what I think completely. Some may complain that playing the piano is boring, that’s because they don’t play it in the way of molding the clay.

My Math Teacher

She has a squeaky voice. It helps her a lot while she is scolding us. Her legs are very short, so she always wears a pair of high-heeled shoes. She has dark and potato skin, which makes her look like a witch.
She was my math teacher when I was in 7th grade.
She always keeps a high suspicion to others, such as doubting our honesty even in a little quiz. Once, she asked me to meet her in her office because she believed that I cheated in a test. I tried to explain, but she didn’t listen to me.
After that event, she told us not to use correct pen during the tests to avoid us correct the wrong answers secretly.
One day, when one of my classmates was checking his answers after finished, he found that he had made a big during the calculation. So he canceled the equations by blue pen and rewrote it again. However, our math teacher didn’t give him the points though his answer was right. “You must correct it after seeing someone’s test paper!” she claimed.
During the class, she always spoke as if she was in a bad mood and would be mad at every possible moment. Once, while she was still explaining the solution of the question, some clever students already knew the answer and said it loudly. She didn’t admire them. In stead, she became very angry. “I know it’s 5. I don’t need you to tell me that it’s 5. How can it be possible that I don’t know it’s 5?”
However, it wasn’t the worst situation. She can be much more sarcastic when she scolds us. She have ever said something like “Don’t look at me with your dirty face!”
There was another time that I raised her nerves because of some little homework stuffs. She told me to stand in front of the table and keep.... During the whole disaster, I occasionally raised my eyes and looked into hers. It made her become much angrier.
“What are you starring for?” she asked. I turned my line of sight down to the floor quickly. But she wasn’t satisfied. “Is this a starring contest or something? Is that mean you want to compete against me? Do you really thing you will win?” She stopped for a while and said, “I really want to pull your eyes out.”
She kept scolding and starring at me as if she was going to eat me. Her dark potato skin became much scarier then often. She lifted her voice up, which hurt my ears a lot. At that moment, she really looked like an evil witch or a bad-heated stepmother in fairy tale. This is Ms. Huang, my math teacher.
Luckily, she isn’t my teacher anymore.