We will never surrender, we will never give in, we will fight to the end, we will fight in France, we will fight on the sea, we will fight in the air with confidence! We will defend our homeland at any cost, we will fight on the beaches! Fight where the enemy has landed! Fight in the fields and streets! Fight in the mountains! We will not surrender at any time. Our overseas empire, armed and protected by the British fleet, will continue to fight, even if our island or most of this island is occupied by the enemy and starved. ------- Churchill
When reading the above passage, Tommy in Dunkirk was in the throes of saving his life, and in the train car he would not know that a few days ago London, what a huge test and struggle the person who said this has gone through. Fortunately, "Darkest Hour" fills this gap we don't know about.
It seems that starting from "Saving Private Ryan" in 1998, the film and television dramas describing the World War II period began to focus on the little people on the battlefield. It seems that this can better reflect humanistic care and reflection on war, but war is after all. Initiated by politicians, what role they play in it is also a very important question. "Darkest Hour" brought people's attention back to Churchill, the British Prime Minister at the beginning of World War II, and let people see how a great man became a great man.
As a lonely island country outside Europe, the conservative Britain has been taking advantage of the contradictions between European countries to implement its own "European balance of power" policy, but the appearance of Hitler made the British panic. On the one hand, Hitler and Mussolini, two cunning statesmen, pulled the talkative British Prime Minister Chamberlain into endless political negotiations, making the British government always have extravagant hopes for peace; on the other hand, Germany's lightning-fast The armored torrent quickly annexed the European countries, and soon squeezed the British military and political power on the European continent. In this case, Churchill became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
The above are all told to us in history textbooks, and in "Darkest Hour", we also saw something we didn't understand, that is, pressure from within. Although Chamberlain was forced to step down, he still has a strong political force in the ruling Conservative Party. In addition to him, the Viscount Halifax is also a major political force in the party. Unfortunately, Chamberlain and Harry Fax is a staunch supporter of the "Lord Peace faction". In their view, making Churchill the prime minister is only an emergency measure. If they don't obey their words, Churchill will face the fate of getting out.
This is the mess Churchill faced when he came to power, both internal and external. Because the film focuses on Churchill, there are not many scenes of "foreign aggression". There is only a set of shots in which the defenders of Calais were completely annihilated, and this set of shots is enough to show the British army in the European battlefield. What a crisis it is facing. What's more terrifying than this is the knife from the back. At this time, Churchill is like standing on a tightrope. If he is not careful, he will fall into the abyss.
While watching this movie, I kept asking myself, what would I do if I were in Churchill's place?
I think this question is also a question that a lot of people ask themselves while watching.
That's what power is, when it bestows you the highest honor, it also hangs a sharp blade above your neck. Peace talks, this is the unanimous opinion of the senior leaders in the party. If you listen to them, they will support you, and there seems to be a glimmer of hope for peace talks; resistance, which means putting the lives of the people of the country before the gambling table , Europe has fallen, and the Americans are watching the excitement. The 300,000 troops in your hands are facing countless enemies, and there is little hope of victory.
You, what will you do?
I think most people will not choose the latter in the face of this situation, because the risk is too great, and there is almost no chance of winning. This is the greatness of Churchill. He was also shaken, but he was firm in his heart. He used his hoarse voice to tell the bigwigs in the party, Europe, and the world that he would never surrender, and Britain would never surrender. .
The name "Darkest Hour" couldn't be more apt. At that time, Europe was almost completely shrouded in the shadow of the Nazis, and the United States in the distance was in a fog of isolation. In the entire northern hemisphere, there was only a faint flame of England that could be extinguished at any time, but even so, Churchill. It also firmly maintains this spark of fire, so that it still burns tenaciously in the darkest moments. This weak fire symbolizes the will of human beings to yearn for freedom. This will burns forever, traversing history until eternity.
In addition to recording the great moment of Churchill, this film also gives us a kind of strength, that is to believe in justice, freedom and light, even if the whole world is in darkness, even if everyone sneers at you, Don't let the fire in your heart go out. Although in front of the world, we are like a candle that will be blown out at any time, but with firm belief, the faint light will explode the whole night.
Finally, let's talk about Gary Oldman, the star of the film. As soon as the film was released, there were calls everywhere for him to be awarded the title of the next Oscar actor, which is very rare. Because every year, several biographical films specially tailored for the Oscars appear in Hollywood. These films are made closely around the hero and heroine, in order to focus on the acting skills of the protagonists and impact the Oscars. For example, last year's "Fences" and "First Lady"; the previous year's "Birdman", "The Danish Girl" and so on.
"Darkest Hour" is undoubtedly a member of this team, and although it is a bit deliberately careful, Gary Oldman still deserves an Oscar for it. Because he played this role so movingly, with a small look, a cough all his life, a dirty word, and a small gesture , people completely forgot Sheriff Gordon in "Batman", and forgot about "This Killer Is Not Too Cold" Perverted police detectives, forgetting Sirius in "Harry Potter", forgetting Dracula the vampire in "Four Hundred Years", in front of us is Winston Churchill himself, the grumpy, A fat man who loves cigars and who can't speak clearly but has a strong heart. Although the plot is a traditional routine, Gary Oldman still performed infinite brilliance within the limited framework.
In the darkest time, the brightest light. Whether it was Winston Churchill or Gary Oldman, they did it.
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