No one could have imagined that 32-year-old Shinobu Hashimoto and 40-year-old Akira Kurosawa would relied on three works - "Rashomon" in 1950, "Desire of Life" in 1952, "Seven" in just four years. Samurai" 1954, one entered the ranks of the world's greatest movie screenwriters, one entered the world's greatest movie masters. Shinobu Hashimoto, the first Japanese screenwriter after the war, Akira Kurosawa, the first Japanese and even Asian film director.
The male protagonist of "Desire to Live" is a model civil servant who is about to retire - Kanji Watanabe. As the chief of the Citizens Section of the City Hall, he has not taken a day off for 30 years. I have done a meaningful thing every day, and I repeatedly stamped various documents every day, and I have no responsibility for the problems reported by the citizens. The film mainly tells the experience of the protagonist who lives like a "mummy" in the last moments of his life after discovering that he has advanced gastric cancer.
The imbalance of family relations and the imprisonment of personal will by the government bureaucracy are the root causes of the tragedy in Watanabe's life. A son who lacks mother's love since childhood, under his father's doting, not only is not full of gratitude to his father, but also lacks basic patience and respect. In daily life, they are called at will, and they do not have the patience to communicate. Watanabe Kanji restrained his emotional needs in the dedication to his son, and gave up the pursuit of new life and new feelings. Long-term lonely life has undoubtedly had a negative impact on his lifestyle and quality of life. After suffering from stomach cancer, not only did he not receive the warm comfort of his family, but he also faced the misunderstanding and ungratefulness of his family. The failed family education, the unbalanced father-son relationship, and the bottomless efforts have only brought a heavy burden to Kanji Watanabe.
The young Kanji Watanabe also has career aspirations and wants to do something, trying to put forward plans in government departments to improve work efficiency. But the rigid, buck-passing, and intriguing bureaucracy changed him, doing nothing but protecting positions, doing nothing to be the best at everything, just killing time in the pointless chores of city government, accomplishing nothing, and when death came When I think about change. Although he finally did a real thing for one side of the people, it was too late and his life had come to an end.
Through the film, Akira Kurosawa not only raised a serious discussion on the eternal topic of "why and how to live", but also deeply demonstrated the prominent social problems in Japan after the war, and also gave a severe satire to the bureaucracy's prevarication and open infighting. and bashing, and the dilemma of how to balance personal and family relationships. As Steven Prince, author of "The Samurai's Camera: The Films of Akira Kurosawa," puts it, the film "goes deep inside the characters and looks at postwar Japanese society from the outside." These three Every point of the theme content can lead to an excellent work, and Hashimoto's superb screenwriting skills and Kurosawa Akira's master-level picture language are skillfully combined, and every point is fully expressed and cooperated with each other. , together to promote the development of the storyline. "Desire for Life" is not as influential in the world as its predecessor "Rashomon" and the follow-up "Seven Samurai", but it deserves to be comparable to it. Roger Ebert, who was the first person in Hollywood's film critics, regarded it as The best movie of Akira Kurosawa.
If you only had the second half of your life, what would you choose to do?
With relatives? Home is not necessarily a haven that can provide you with warmth.
After learning that he was suffering from stomach cancer, Kanji Watanabe wanted to talk to his family, but he secretly heard that his son and daughter-in-law didn't care about him at all, thinking about building a new house with self-employment money as a guarantee, and even planning to move out as a threat. The disappointed male protagonist left silently, remembering the past at the portrait of his retired wife. His wife died early, and in order to take care of his young son, he chose not to remarry, and he worked hard to raise an adult, but he did not get his son's gratitude and respect. When he heard his son calling him, he wanted to go upstairs to see his son with great anticipation, but the son just wanted to tell his father to close the door, so he froze helplessly in the stairwell and was disheartened.
Watanabe Kanji wanted to tell his son and daughter-in-law about his illness for the second time, but the son interrupted him unreasonably, misunderstood that he was spending money to support young women, and asked his father to divide up the property in advance to get his due part, shocked and angry. Bian Kanzhi was completely disappointed with his son.
Indulge in pleasure? The emptiness and sadness after the superficial carnival still makes people have nowhere to escape.
After being disappointed with his relatives for the first time, Kanji Watanabe bought a whole bottle of sleeping pills to end his life. The fear of death and the desire to survive made him give up. Unwilling to face death, in order to vent, he took out half of the money he had saved for decades for enjoyment, but he did not know how to use it. While getting drunk at a tavern, he met an unknown vulgar novelist and asked him to teach him how to spend 50,000 yen in one fell swoop. The novelist took him to play gambling machines, to fancy restaurants, to fancy bars, to see striptease shows, to night clubs and dancing, and to take dancers in fancy cars for the night...
happy? Being frightened by the sound of the orchestra in the restaurant, being tricked by the bartender and not knowing how to deal with it, watching the striptease with blank eyes, roaring and screaming like a beast, and feeling awkward and overwhelmed when dancing. Under the camera, Kanji Watanabe is out of tune with everything around him, and he often looks at the people and things around him with a confused look. The indulgence brought him by no means happiness, but the helplessness and embarrassment of derailing from society and others, and even the pain of annoyance. With tears in his eyes, Watanabe Kanji silently sang a love song from the 1920s in the bar with extreme sadness. He vomited after the attack of stomach pain, and smiled helplessly, as if he was silently mocking his so-called pleasure.
The inability to know what to do after sobering up is even more painful, and the unhinged life is pathetic and pitiful.
On the way home, Kanji Watanabe met Odakiri, a female subordinate who came to look for him to stamp his resignation. Young, healthy, optimistic, smiling and full of youthful vitality, Odagiri makes Kanji Watanabe envious and brings him a trace of happiness.
Odagiri was like the driftwood he saw before he was about to sink into the water, and wanted to hold on tight. Not afraid of misunderstandings, but also to meet Xiao Tianqie often, I want to feel the vitality of life from her, and I want to live happily like her, even if it is only for one day. The unbearable Odagiri accidentally woke up Kanji Watanabe during the last appointment - to do something meaningful. Watanabe Kanji remembered a previous request from the residents of Heijiang Town who ignored the blame - repair the culvert, renovate the sewage pool, and build it into a children's park. From then on, he was determined to devote all his energy to accomplishing this.
In his 30-year career as a civil servant, Kanji Watanabe is well aware of the inefficiency of various government departments and officials' shirk in the demands of the people. To facilitate the construction of the park, Kanji Watanabe asked the Parks Section, the Drainage Section and the Deputy Mayor for approval. In order to achieve the goal, he bowed down to the officials of various departments, tried his best to please, stalked, and even contradicted the deputy mayor, and did not succumb to the underworld personnel who wanted to convert the land into a food street.
Watanabe Kanji changed from the previous submissive and sullen, firm and calm, and his eyes exuded the light of youthful vitality. At the last moment of his life, Kanji Watanabe found the purpose of survival, which is the most meaningful thing he has done in 30 years, and it is also the driving force that supports his life now. On the snowy night when the park was completed, Kanji Watanabe passed away peacefully on the swing in the park.
What is the meaning of survival?
Life is short, and the pursuit of meaning may be meaningless in itself. But in the limited journey, always remain optimistic and curious about the world around you, keep trying to change, see things that surprise you, experience rich emotions, meet some people with different ideas, be proud of your life, at least not waste it time. A life of immutability and meaninglessness is a shameful stain on life.
If life is stagnant, maybe you should prepare some small stones, throw them from time to time, there will always be some interesting ripples, even if there is only a little bit, it is good to entertain yourself.
Watanabe sang that long-standing love song for the second time before he died. Instead of the previous sadness and sorrow, he was calm and calm in the face of death. Maybe a meaningful thing is enough to change your life.
Life is so short, girl
, fall in love ,
before the red lips fade, before the
passion turns cold , no
one knows what will happen tomorrow never come ...
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