The plot is so simple that it doesn't even need spoilers, but that's not the point. Like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the film is an elegy to a bygone era.
Mr. Dongmu's directing style, like his role, is simple and tough. The two-line narrative unfolds flatly, pushing each other, closely following the theme, and the rhythm of the story strictly conforms to the classic emotional curve. The narrative is compact, without a single nonsense, without a second of extra shots. There is no camera switching every six seconds, no eerie lighting with exaggerated emotions, no background music that appears for no reason, and no grand and empty artificial themes. The film deserves five stars for its steadiness, solidity, and sophistication in telling the story.
In this movie, crying is crying, laughing is laughing. Cry without mustard, laugh without tickling you. The old man Dongmu had no expressions from beginning to end, but no one did not understand the characters' emotions, and no one was indifferent. With such a sincere and touching emotional mobilization, this film deserves five stars.
But the so-called elegy, in addition to the narrative and emotions, the most outstanding is the details. The details of "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" are rather mysterious, and some are not for the general public to see, and many of them allude to Dongmu himself. The symbols of "The Mule" are much simpler and more straightforward, and can be understood by audiences of this era. The Internet, mobile phones, roads, flowers, James Stewart, these images appear repeatedly in the film, and their meanings are simple and clear. James Stewart, in particular, represents the old-fashioned, graceful, brave, and enthusiastic conservatism of Americans, and it's a fitting compliment to the protagonist of the film. I believe that in the design of Mr. Dongmu, Earl's idol is Jimmy Stewart, so he will be particularly ashamed and blame himself for not being a qualified husband and father. Even for Mr. Dongmu himself, he may hope to become a perfect legend like Jimmy Stewart.
Four years ago, when the competition for the U.S. president was in full swing, the TV station broke out the recording of Wang's understanding, "Grab 'em by the p****". Mr. Dongmu took the risk of the world and jumped out and said, what about this, in today's society, zz is too correct. In this movie, Earl calls a black couple n**** and two Mexicans beans, but so what? He really helped the black couple change the tires, and even helped two Mexican drug dealers out of the siege. Earl did not talk about equality and freedom, and even went to prostitutes to sell drugs, but he was enthusiastic and sincere, and all the money he made was used to help his family and build the community. When he saw people who went astray, whether it was drug dealers or the police, he sincerely discouraged him. In the end, he pleaded guilty in court, relying on a conscience.
Of course, to discuss whether such a moral view is correct, we can chat for two hours over and over. But this code of ethics is at least self-consistent. Everyone I know helps, and all the sins I see are atonement, in line with simple Puritan values; prostitution is part of enjoying life, and drug trafficking is a last resort. In this way, refusing to zz the correct movie, refusing to blindly exaggerate the protagonist of the character, in several recent "Joker", "Green Book", "The Hunger Games", and various superhero movies, it is a counter-current, and it is also a trend. Stock clearing. Bringing the self-consistent and incorrect morality to the table is at least better than the artificiality of other "mainstream" movies, and the song is attached.
Going back to the theme of the movie, the simplicity is even more surprising. Running forward alone, don't forget your family, don't forget yourself. If you extend it a little, you can see the theme of the times and the social level. When a country runs forward, don't forget "decency" and the bottom line. Especially when the police look at the issue of racial enforcement, they are repeatedly used to whip the whip. The irony is that these are really racist. What I said in the previous two paragraphs has already hit the liberals in the face, but when it comes to decency and the bottom line, it has hit the big commander in the face again. The old man Dongmu, a sturdy man, is not flattering at both ends, and will not give face to anyone.
Thinking of the westerns made by Mr. Dongmu back then, a hero is a hero, justice, bravery, and omnipotence. And the protagonist of this film is the hero, who is powerless and helpless in his heart. Even so, it is still necessary to maintain that decency, that freedom, that sincerity, and that enthusiasm. This is the attitude the United States should have now, and this is the echo of this elegy to American society.
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