1 The ideal shaping of American-style civilian heroes
From "Mr. Smith to Washington" in 1939 to "How Beautiful is Life" in 1946, both of them can be included in the category of political films, and they all depend on Capra's pursuit of absolute democracy and freedom. His political beliefs are primarily reflected in the shaping of the protagonist’s image. First, the protagonists are all typical American idealistic heroes, practicing American democracy and justice, taking the happiness of most people as the pursuit of creed, and will never shrink from the power, and are committed to building a fairer ancient Greek city-state. The country, a society where the welfare of more people is spread.
James Stewart has become the spokesperson of Capra's ideal hero because of his sense of justice and affinity. In this film, he is a young senator who is fighting against corrupt companies that manipulate the right to speak, and trying to change the state of corruption and numbness in the U.S. Senate; in "How Good is Life", he is working tirelessly for the housing rights of small-town residents and fighting against monopoly. The chairman of the company. Confrontation with a powerful force that symbolizes the evils of modern society is the main action of the protagonist and constitutes the main event of the film. In this process, the American society recognizes the positive and enterprising, hateful, uncompromising, enjoyment of life and even harmonious family concepts. It constitutes the spiritual essence of the film.
Secondly, the American ideal heroes in Capra's films are all born of civilians and have a little bit of populist values. In this film, Smith is the commander of the Boy Scouts, and George in "What a Wonderful Life" is also from an ordinary background. For the creed taught by his father, he gave up a better opportunity to break through, rejected the same promotion opportunity as his companions, and settled in a small town. Not a rich life. This kind of character setting is undoubtedly beneficial to get close to more people, expressing the director's absolute democratic political pursuit and the fairness of the American dream, and it is also similar to the Confucian tradition of "safe and happy" in the East.
2 Ups and downs of confrontation plot
Capra's movies are also known for their ups and downs, fascinating, and interesting. The film begins with the death of Senator Sam and the need to appoint new members. It also lays the groundwork for the Willie Dam and Willie Taylor's to manipulate the bill. The inexhaustible selection of congressmen has led to the undercurrents and disputes of interests of various political forces in the state at the beginning. Smith, who seems to be a congressman, is actually facing great conspiracies and challenges, which makes the audience amazed. I squeezed a cold sweat for him at the beginning.
After arriving in Washington, the plot really began to twists and turns. Smith was inexplicably excited when he first entered the Capitol, he was nervous and nervous when he first arrived in the U.S. Senate, and was ignorant of the proposal process. The young people who were misinterpreted by the media and newspapers were outraged by the righteous indignation of the first proposal. Excitement, thorough understanding when getting closer to the truth, the anger and loss of being framed by the situation, the frustration of the proposal, the trough, the firmness and courage to rekindle confidence, and the uncompromising confrontation with the House of Representatives... The mental journey is also shown in nuance. Following the significant changes in the character's psychology are Smith's secretary Sanders and Senator Paine. The former was moved by his enthusiasm, and gradually incorporated the camp proposal into his own life, and slowly changed from a worker on the "democratic industrial assembly line" to a person who really cared about all of this; Senator Paine was Smith’s The opposite is set by the characters-a bureaucrat with a vested interest and a corpse, but the film also shows the complicated side of him as a former idealist. With the deepening of Smith's work, his psychological struggle has become more intense. On the one hand, he has his ideals and enthusiasm. On the other hand, he is the need for power and vested interests to maintain stability. It is hard to say which one is more important. Therefore, although the film is 130 minutes long, there is no sense of verbosity at all. This has to be attributed to the vividness of the plot and the fullness of details.
Similar to this film, "How Beautiful is Life" and "A Night in the Air" in 1934 also feature the tortuous plots, the distinctive and complex characters, and the vivid and interesting details. Capra's political ideals, artistic pursuits, and business The appeals are perfectly combined, giving a deep impression.
3 Capra-style dream ending
Perhaps the most criticized part of the film is the handling of the ending. In the end, Smith fainted due to exhaustion, but Senator Paine discovered in his conscience that he was emotionally out of control and publicly confessed to the truth about his and Willie Taylor’s sins, and his tension resembled David. Griffith's "Last Minute Rescue". This kind of wishful thinking is obviously too idealistic and is often accused of being naive.
But it must be admitted that this almost dreamy ending method is another embodiment of Capra's idealism and has constituted a significant personal style of his film narrative. As Smith’s final monologue before he fainted: "All of you don’t understand what a failed case is, Mr. Paine knows. He said that only failed cases are worth fighting. He has fought, and for one reason, anyone has fought. Because of a simple and clear rule: love your neighbor. Today this world is full of hate, and people who know that rule must have considerable trust. You know the rule, Mr. Paine, I love you for this, just like my dad. .You know that you are more attentive than anyone else for a failed case, yes, you will even die for them. You think I will be defeated, and you all think I will be defeated! I am not defeated! I will stand here and continue. Fight hard for failure! Even if this room is full of lies like this, Taylor and all his troops will enter here, and someone will listen to me. "Innocent and passionate, and very infectious, this is what Capra left to me. The deepest impression.
Just like at the end of "How Beautiful is Life", George, who was rescued by an angel, survived a mental crisis and returned home to embrace his wife and children, only to find that all the small town residents he helped came to his home spontaneously, and everyone gave it away. , Because he gave them a place to live. They said, "George is in trouble? Count me in." "To George, the richest man in this town." The film ends with the sound of everyone singing "Friendship Forever", facing this perfect America How can you not be impressed by the relationship between the neighbors in the town? Even though it is naive and ideal, it is beautiful enough to hold your breath.
In contrast, "The Twelve Angry Men", which also puts the democratic political ideals on the film, is much more rational, better than the deepening of the logical relationship and the continuous strengthening of the tension between the characters. This is of course related to the director's different character experiences.
4 Ideal American-style family-neighborhood relationship and female image
An important factor supporting Smith's persistence in this film is the strong support of the boy scouts and ordinary residents in the state. They always believed in Smith's value and tried to print their own newspapers when he was suppressed by public opinion, and they persisted despite their weak strength. Because of this, Smith's original motivation is for the healthy growth of the child, which constitutes the motivational event of the film. He is undoubtedly the godfather among the children in the town, from which one can imagine the healthy and harmonious neighborhood relationship in the whole town. This should have something to do with the era of film creation. The outbreak of World War II in 1939 plunged the entire world into a panic of trust. The relationship between neighbors in American cities and towns, like the ethical relationship of Chinese families, constitutes the foundation of the entire country. Maintaining and supporting this relationship is bound to be extremely important. The more remarkable performance is undoubtedly "How Beautiful is Life". As mentioned above, this film is simply an ideal template for American family-neighborhood relationships.
Corresponding to depicting this ideal relationship is the shaping of ideal women in Capra's films. They are smart and beautiful, believe in love, and are deeply convinced by the hero's personality charm. They are the most important backing and firmest force to support their ideal accomplishment. The female secretary Sanders in this film and Mary in "What a Wonderful Life" are both typical of this type. The former helped Smith grow from a stunner in the council to a fighter familiar with the rules, and told him when he was most frustrated and downturned that he was the man Lincoln had been waiting for. In the process of realizing the ideal, love naturally grew darker, she changed him and changed herself, and he changed the world. This reminds me of Han Han's worldview: "Women change men, men change the world."
Mary is more typical. For him, she gave up the suitor who could promise her a better future, bid farewell to the colorful world she had imagined, stayed in the town and devoted herself to being a housewife, living in a big dilapidated house, living in a dilapidated big house, and living in a plain and difficult life. day. This is only because when they were both young, she had leaned over his deaf ear and whispered, "I love you to death."
Only those who believe in love can make such a movie. Standalone, my favorite film critic, said, “I think there are always only two kinds of excellent movies, either life or the world of dreams. The highest state of the former is nothing more than Vigo, Ozu, and Hirokazu. Today I think I can add this name-Ridley Scott after Cameron, Tarkovsky, and Kubrick. "In my heart, Capra is also the dreamer. It's just that this dream has nothing to do with science fiction, it is only about ideals, fairness and justice, human relations and the best love.
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