Now watch this film again, across the ditch of more than 20 years, everything feels like a lifetime. At that time, the young Leonardo had not yet boarded the Titanic, nor the uncle we saw in "Inception", nor the affectionate Gatsby, nor the crazy and greedy "The Wolf of Wall Street". At that time Leonardo was just a young child named Arnie, a silly, beautiful child. He sometimes rides dirty on the tree, sometimes runs wildly among the fields, and the afterglow of the setting sun shines on his face, pure and beautiful. That's probably why Gilert, played by John Nydepp, has been stuck in the town, even though he's always dreamed of leaving.
Yes, Gilbert is played by Johnny Depp. In fact, before seeing this film, I really didn't expect Niedep to play such a "normal" role. At that time, Nidepp was young and very handsome. He was definitely not the sloppy Captain Jack who was galloping in the Caribbean Sea in your impression. Most of the characters Nidepp chooses are inseparable from the word "weird". Every time he wears heavy gothic makeup, he has completed many peculiar works with Tim Burton. But whether it's Edward Scissorhands, or the vengeful barber Todd, or even the weird Willy Wonka in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," they're all alone. In fact, the pursuit of loneliness and even weird characters has always run through Nidepp's performance career. The same is true in "Different Sky", even after washing off the heavy makeup and playing a character that can be seen in reality, Gilbert is still a lonely and melancholy character, unlike the other characters that Nidepp prefers. fundamentally different.
For most of the film, Niedep's Gilbert is blank and helpless. A young man from a small town in Ndola, whose life is as boring as a "dance without music", has to shoulder the burden of the family. But whether it was the obese mother who couldn't bear the death of her husband and sons, the ignorant sister, or the stupid brother who caused trouble everywhere, Gilbert was suffocated. Until one day, those suppressed dreams of pursuing freedom were awakened again with the arrival of the girl Betsy. Betsy had the freedom Gilbert dreamed of. She travels around the world in her RV, travels the world unfettered, and has new and unique ideas. For Gilbert, it was a matter of time before he fell in love with Betsy, and that's exactly how the movie developed. A man who is eager to travel falls in love with a smart woman who travels everywhere, and once again longs to escape from his hometown, hoping to travel the world with her. It doesn't seem like a novel story now, but because of the film's soothing and real rhythm, it has a timeless charm.
It is for this reason that I have always felt that this is a film about freedom and responsibility. The boy shoulders the responsibility of the family, but dreams of escape and longing for the wandering in the distance. At the beginning of the film, the actor Gilbert and his mentally handicapped brother Yani are waiting on the side of the road for the RV to pass by. Boys seek adventure, men long to travel, and always want to go to the distant sky. The movie points to the distant road, and the RV passing by has already hinted that the male protagonist is about to leave. The newly opened Foodland in a remote town and the upcoming hamburger car all herald the impact of modern industrial civilization on the traditional service industry and the emergence of new things. The unchangeable life of the male protagonist will be broken sooner or later, and we can also see some traces from his younger brother Yani. The mentally handicapped younger brother often climbs tall trees on weekdays, and likes to climb the tallest water tower in the town again and again, from where he can see the distance.
There is a dialogue in the movie that I like very much. When Gilbert pointed out his house to Betsy, he said, "That's my house. It's incredible. It looks so small from here, but... it's so big inside." into a small group. This may be the director telling us again that sometimes the power that traps us is not as great as we imagined. The old house where the hero's family lives, symbolizing the heavy burden on the hero. Back in the beginning of the film, those old beams couldn't bear the weight of their increasingly obese mother, and each time they were repaired, they were barely holding on. There is also a dialogue in the film that left a deep impression on me:
"Gilbert, what ideals do you have, you can immediately think of them"
"New, a new room for the family...
I want my mother to do aerobics.. .I
want Aaron to grow up...
I want Alex to stop...
I want..."
"What do you want, yourself?"
"I want to be a good person"
At the end of the film, the fat mother finally left the sofa where she never got up all day long, climbed the stairs with her huge body with difficulty, and did not stop her heavy life after saying to Gilbert, "You are a hero." The old old house was also burned to ashes in the fire with the death of the mother. Gilbert, who wanted to be a good person, finally unloaded his burden, took his younger brother Yani, boarded Betsy's RV, and began to pursue his own life.
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