The film ＂The Bitter-tongued Lawyer＂： Human Nature and the Chivalry of Law.

Once known as "box office poison", it exploded in the movie market. Following the success of the box office in 2022 (Hong Kong film named "The Heart of the Rice Play"), the new film in 2023 (Hong Kong film named "The Big Bitter Tongue") broke the local film record in Hong Kong, and it also had a good reputation and response after being released in the Mainland.

Speaking of it, the plot of "The Bitch Lawyer" is not particularly new. It tells the story of a mother who was suspected of abusing her deaf-mute daughter to death. When supermodel Zeng Jieer woke up drunk, she found that her daughter was seriously injured in the head and was charged with abuse and manslaughter. Lin Liangshui, Zeng Jieer’s defense lawyer, was careless at the beginning of the film and was bent on buttering up powerful people, which led Zeng Jieer to be convicted under the perjury provided by her lover Zhong Jingyi and was sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment. In the midst of many obstacles, Lin Liangshui found evidence, helped Zeng Jieer successfully clear his grievances in court confrontation, and also completed his own redemption. Although "The Poisonous Tongue Lawyer" is called "suspense", similar plots have long been mature in previous literary works, and the key evidence of the case reversal is also expected by careful audiences. However, this is probably the success of this film — — Conscience and justice have always been an "eternal topic" that can resonate with the audience, and the discussion on how to achieve fairness and justice in movies is still realistic and enlightening.

Chivalrous spirit of modern nobody.

In the "first-round word-of-mouth picture" of "The Bitch Lawyer", there is a comment that this film is "an outstanding New Year film full of chivalrous spirit". It is a very meaningful perspective to look at modern life from the perspective of "chivalry", especially to introduce it into legal subjects. Lin Liangshui, the protagonist of the film, is a typical image of a nobody — — When I first entered the business, I tried my best to go to court, but I divorced my wife. He changed from a lawyer to a judge, and then from a judge to a lawyer, and entered a muddled and ingratiating survival mode, but was awakened by Zeng Jieer’s unjust imprisonment and embarked on the road of fighting against the dignitaries. The pattern of little people growing up and being redeemed is easily reminiscent of the classic "The White-faced Bao Qingtian of Jiupin Sesame Officials" (1994).

In the usual popular understanding shaped by popular literature and art, "Xia" often has an elite color. From the purport of "chivalry", it is often said that "the greatest chivalry is for the country and the people"; In terms of ability, "Xia" is often "Superman" — — Both force and morality are superior, so they have the ability to do justice. If we regard the novel as a typical example of "chivalry", then in this kind of utopian fantasy of literati, even if the chivalrous man lives in the next room and his career is unfinished, he still has a kind of arrogant spirit. However, in the film, television and literary works with modern background, if the "chivalrous man" is described too grandly, it will sometimes give the audience a feeling of "unreal" — — On the contrary, although there are shortcomings but unique characters (sometimes even villains), they often have higher popularity. It can be seen that the fantasy of a perfect hero often gives in to the common compromises and trivialities in the real society. Lin Liangshui of "Poisonous Tongue Lawyer" can be counted as such a figure. Obviously, "cold water" is the anti-training of "hot blood".Lin Liangshui at the beginning of the film also gives people a negative impression. But this little guy, especially the chivalrous little guy who is full of shortcomings, gives people an artistic contrast. In A Dream of Red Mansions, Cao Xueqin deliberately created the small role of Ni Er. Zhi Yanzhai commented that "writing four chivalrous articles, Ni Er, Zi Ying, Xiang Lian and Yu Han, can be described by fax", and "ruffian rogue, made by people" is probably the way of life of small people in the face of special reality, but in front of "righteousness", it is even more intimate.

The wonderful "martial arts" in this film can also make the audience feel "chivalrous". Different from the nonsense performance of "White-faced Bao Qingtian", the shooting rhythm of "Bitch Lawyer" is really comfortable in the climax of the debate in court. By carefully grasping the words and music of Taiwan, the confrontation between the prosecution and the defense can also give people an audio-visual feeling of martial arts experts. The screenwriter and director said in an interview: "In fact, I also thought about whether to incorporate action scenes when I was creating, but the cost of action movies is relatively high. It is my first time as a director, and it is difficult to get such a high cost. So I imagined how to make the literary drama feel like a martial arts drama, so I integrated this feeling into the confrontation between lawyers on both sides of the court. " Of course, the focus of the debate in the trial is "Wen", but the tit-for-tat of ideas can actually be compared to the "martial arts" of masters; The lines of this debate are mainly "Zhuang", but they are neutralized by "harmony" from time to time, which makes "Poisonous Lawyers" different from ordinary legal dramas in expression.

Procedural justice and consequential justice

Many aspiring Chinese and foreign filmmakers have tried to integrate philosophical speculation and social criticism into audio-visual expression. As far as the classic film and television works with legal themes are concerned, what is "justice" is an important topic that appears frequently. The same is the pursuit of "procedural justice" in court trials, 12 Angry Men (1957; Chinese version, 2014) focuses on its positive significance — — It seems that there are all kinds of witness and material evidence, but it may lead to unjust, false and wrong cases because of ignoring other possibilities. And also in the case of complete evidence chain, (1957) skillfully tells the story that defense lawyers and juries are influenced by the acting skills of perjury. In the Japanese drama "Winner is Justice" (the first season, 2012; In the second quarter, 2013), the "truth" was completely deconstructed: lawyers used all means to serve the interests of their clients, but did not care about the substantive truth and right and wrong.

Of course, "Poisonous Tongue Lawyer" does not aim at a comprehensive analysis of this problem, but the relevant plot also gives its own answer. From a neutral point of view, it has a complete chain of evidence to convict Zeng Jieer in the first instance. Although there is a sign language testimony that "mother never hit me" when her daughter came back to light, it is not enough evidence to be accepted by the court. However, Lin Liangshui, who witnessed this sign language, firmly believed that Zeng Jieer was innocent and embarked on a difficult road to reverse his conviction. The Poisonous Lawyer pointedly points out the following fact: if you only care about specific technical issues and forget that procedural justice is also the basis for maintaining substantive justice for a long time, then it is easy to take the position that "Truth is insignificant". The film reminds us that it is easier for powerful groups to modify factual information and control the angle of interpretation, which may lead to the loss of justice.

In this regard, the answer given by Poisonous Lawyers is — — common sense。 This English word was translated into "human nature" in the film. From a purely technical point of view, "yes" and "no" often have some special norms and standards. But in "human nature", "yes" and "no" cannot exist without life itself. From the perspective of Lin Liangshui (or under the guidance of the director), it is easy for viewers to go beyond the concrete evidence itself and believe in Zeng Jieer’s innocence, and a sense of responsibility arises that the protagonist is "doing justice for heaven" (writing "Heaven has eyes" in the film). This is a reflection on the program itself, but it can only be realized by "careful verification". "Human nature" or "common sense" is not out of date.

In order to highlight the drama, legal film and television themes often simplify the handling of the contradictions between the prosecution and the defense — — Prosecution and defense is a battle between decency and villains, and the victory of decency depends on the discovery of new evidence or the subversion of false evidence. And the truth is sometimes more complicated — — Different interpretations of the same material are often drawn by different ways of thinking and personal experience, which is not a simple moral issue. In this sense, The Poisonous Tongue Lawyer can be regarded as a "cool drama". No matter the sudden appearance of new evidence or the collusion between Jin Yuanshan and Lin Liangshui, the villains did not organize a real resistance. This reminds us of Jin Yong’s famous the legendary swordsman: the Wulin in the Central Plains was spared a catastrophe, and Ling Huchong, the protagonist, had the opportunity to enjoy a happy "the legendary swordsman" ending, for no other reason than — — The emergence of clear wind and Ren Woxing’s sudden death. However, it is the change from "heaven has eyes" to "heaven has eyes" in literary and artistic works that makes it easier for people to choose the upward path in reality.

In other words, if you go to the cinema to watch The Poisonous Lawyer, Wong Tze Wah’s excellent acting skills and sense of humor will be the first thing to sell. However, in addition to providing pleasant emotions and "justice will win", there are still many things worth pondering in the film. The audience who are familiar with Wong Tze Wah’s stand-up comedy must be well aware of this. (Author: Zhang Haosu; Author: Nankai University College of Literature)