The tone of the film is very dark, sad, dull and mysterious. The background is always a gloomy day in the UK, the camera is slow, and the characters' reactions are even one shot slower, creating an atmosphere of slowly advancing and clearing the clouds and seeing the fog. The big story frame, it is a spy film, because to find out the "mole" (undercover) of the Circus (British spy service), no one can be trusted, and it is scattered on everyone, and every character in the film is alive. in a gloomy world. Originally, the life of a spy is a double world, everyone has multiple identities, and there is no one who can talk to and trust - there is, it is unreliable, and it is not long-term. Look at what kind of contradictions and suffering the Circus spies are in.
The wife of Smiley (the protagonist of the film, the hero who finally caught the mole) had an affair with his colleague, which made Smiley very disappointed, unbearable and unwilling.
Jim was caught and released for the mission, not only hurting his body, but also suffering from mental torment because he suspected that he was betrayed by his lover.
Guillam was forced to break up with his same-sex lover in order to keep his family from being implicated.
Tarr fell in love with his Soviet girlfriend (a spy from the Soviet Union), who eventually died in the Soviet Union in order to escape to Western society. Tal and her are far apart, and the saddest thing is that he doesn't know it, and is still waiting eagerly.
Connie was expelled from the rounder (in fact, she was just a pawn in the rounder). In her memory, her former comrades in arms were all her "boys". She said to Smiley, don't tell her who she is if you catch a mole, She just wanted to remember them as they were.
Then the camera will flash back to the era when the rounders seemed to merge with each other without suspicion. A Christmas party, the audience sang the Soviet national anthem (the British are really funny), what a beautiful era, this scene is very nostalgic . There is a sad nostalgia - the better the past, the crueler the reality.
So who is the mole, it's Bill. Bill was the top rounder, with a coquettish tie, exaggerated and dashing demeanor, pretentious, and mighty, and he was not only the lover of Smiley's wife, but also Jim's lover. (Yes, it's bisexual. Well, it can be ignored here...) And judging from the "friends" who finally entrusted Smiley to take care of him, his private life is very busy. Bill obviously doesn't live in the shadows like the aforementioned characters, in fact he himself is their shadow. It was he who caused them trouble. The whole film, except for the monologue after he was found out at the end, shows him sideways, very obscure and ingenious.
Bill's surrender to the Soviet Union was a re-choice of his values. During the Cold War, the British Empire no longer had the mighty power of the empire on which the sun never sets. Britain was already in decline, and it even became a pawn in the struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union. How many Chinese people who have heroic plots for Britain have serious doubts about the ideology of this country and even the West. Bill was disappointed with the western world, wavered in the ideology he had believed in for many years, and turned to the Soviet Union. It must be said that there is an idealistic feeling in it. Bill may think this choice is sublime, but in reality, as Smiley finally hinted to Bill, you're nothing more than an errand for the Soviets. This is indeed the biggest tragedy shown in the film: the ideal or belief that you were willing to fight for suddenly collapsed. In fact, Smiley himself felt sad, each in his own camp. Is there any point in putting together dignity, freedom, life? Are the choices individuals make right or wrong? Are the sacrifices worth it? — No answer. Sad to do so much and end up not knowing what the point of it is.
In addition, of course, the tragic factor of the people in the film is that the so-called spy life is that everyone is betrayed, everyone is suspicious, and everyone suffers from loyalty and betrayal. Characters always feel a sense of loneliness, which shows how important trust is.
Also want to say: Bill and Jim's relationship. Bill is Jim's comrade-in-arms, gay lover, spiritual pillar, beacon, literally all the meaning in his life. Of course Bill loved Jim too, or he wouldn't have been so sad when he knew Jim was shot and tried to save Jim. However, they couldn't cross the barriers of their respective camps. When Jim finally knew that the Mole was really the Bill he had always suspected and didn't want to doubt, he could imagine his loss and pain. But Jim loves Bill so much that he is afraid that Bill will end up being severely punished to prevent him from being hurt more, and eventually picks up a gun and kills the arrested Bill himself. The handling of this part is simply wonderful. First, they looked at each other and laughed at the Christmas party in their memories. The background music was the French song "LA MER", performed by a female voice. He fired his gun and shot Bill at the sound of the music, and Bill fell to the ground, and Jim shed tears. The whole picture is natural, affectionate and not sensational, which is really a top-notch treatment. (Actually, my description is very bad, it is not enough to show one ten thousandth of what the film shows.)
In addition, there are Smiley's wife Ann and Soviet spy chief Kara, who are only mentioned by name in the film and never show up, but they feel It is the ubiquitous people who pose a huge demon to Smiley. This threat and the sense of shadow it brings make the conflict stronger and it is also a very interesting way to deal with it. Then the cast is too strong, Gary Oldman, Mark Strong, Colin Firth, all of them are very eye-catching. . . . In order to avoid turning to nympho, 5000 words are omitted here, huh.
In a word, the way the whole film is handled is very special. The twists and turns and secret expressions may be good for the British. The film is adapted from the novel of the same name by the British novelist John Le Carre. There is a BBS TV series Zhuyu in front, which is said to be considered It's a classic that's hard to beat. The film attempts to restore the essence of the novel with more than 2 hours of images, which is obviously a very challenging job. So if you don't know the background of the story, it is impossible to understand it the first time, but once you understand it, you will find too many directors' ingenuity. For example, Smiley specially changed a pair of glasses. Vice, in reality is another, to distinguish different scenes. Of course, I think the handling of the finale is a little lacking. After Smiley dug out the mole, he returned to the rounder. At this time, the music became cheerful, and it seemed that the situation of the whole rounder after capturing the mole began to brighten, which dispelled the final scene of the film. The tragedy means, of course, that it is still a masterpiece.
I think this movie will become one of my personal top 10 movies, and it is definitely worth savoring.
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