A movie I watched recently was called "Journey to Heaven", also known as "Everyone Is Well". The film is a remake of the 1990 film of the same name, "A Family's Journey". The original film was directed by Italian realist director Giuseppe Tonadore. It was released on October 18, 1990 and premiered in Italy and France. It was a delicate drama. For its profound representation of social and ethical relations, the original was nominated for the Palme d'Or and the Catholic Humane Spirit Award in the main competition section of the 43rd Cannes Film Festival. The 2009 remake was directed by Kirk Jones and starred Robert De Niro, Kate Beckinsale, Drew Barrymore and Sam Rockwell. Released in the United States, it is also a warm family drama. The music of the film won the 67th Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song (Nominated). Now, let's step into the film and savor it.
At the beginning of the film, the old father is busy with the party alone, and then the children called one by one to tell them that they had something important to do and regretted not being able to attend the party. The old Frank had not seen the children for a long time, and since the death of his wife, he felt more and more that he did not care enough for the children. So, despite the doctor's dissuasion, he decided to go to the four children's residence alone to visit them. First, he came to the house of his younger son, David, but no one responded. Downstairs, he only saw the paintings that his great painter son, the great painter in his heart, hung high for people to admire. Then he went to the house of his eldest daughter, Amy. The eldest daughter's house is very stylish and her life is very comfortable. Still, the quarrel between his grandson and his son-in-law at the dinner table made him vaguely uneasy. The eldest daughter, who started a company with a friend, was busy with work and had no time for reception. Before long, he went to the eldest son, Robert. The son is rehearsing music in the concert hall, sadly telling Frank that he's on a European tour and he's running out of time. In desperation he went to see his youngest daughter Rosie. Rossi hired a limousine to pick him up and described to him the dance performance he was leading. Frank wanted to see it, but it was over. Frank sensed the cover and decided to go home. He suffered a heart attack on the plane and woke up to find that everyone was around him to take care of him, except for David. After asking everyone to tell the truth, he finally learned that David had passed away. Frank learned everything from this trip, and he let go and accepted that his wife and children had concealed his good intentions. After leaving the hospital, the family got together.
The movie ends. We can find five liars inside. The first is four adults who lied to their father. The eldest daughter's marriage failed, her husband had a woman outside very early, and the son was full of hatred for his father. The youngest daughter used to be a brilliant dancer, but now she is outdated and no longer qualified to lead the dance. The eldest is just a drummer in a band who doesn't care if he hits a wrong beat. The youngest son, David, was a down-and-out painter who died of a drug overdose. Ask them are you happy when Frank leaves? They all affirmed, saying, we are fine, I am very happy. The last person to lie was Frank himself. At first, to keep the children from worrying, he said that his appearance was approved by the doctor. Finally, to keep his wife from worrying, he said that the children were all doing well. Such a well-meaning lie runs through the whole film, and the truth inside is a little sad, and there is a lot of intolerance and bitterness hidden behind the words.
Adult children keep silent about their predicament, only let the old father know that he is fine, that he has nothing to worry about, and even tells beautiful lies to reassure his father. And Frank talks to the young children in his sleep, and everyone is honest and telling the truth. What caused such a difference? Why do children become more distant from their parents as they get older? This is the core of the film's message - the relationship between parents and children. The relationship between parents and children is an eternal bond in the blood, but this bond can easily go through the test of the transition from intimacy to alienation. There are four reasons for this. One is that protectors often don't have enough trust to let their children take control of their own lives. No matter which child Frank sees, he will ignore their adult stature, instead showing the appearance of a few children who need to be protected. A recurring dialogue between Frank and David in the film confirms that as a father he especially wants to make what he thinks is the right decision for his children. But if you help your child make decisions every time, it will inevitably affect the improvement of the child's autonomy. Second, parents always hope that their children are more promising than themselves, so there will be many excessive expectations and requirements. Frank's grandson once said that he knew what his grandfather asked his mother: to be the best in things, and to be the first in life. And this kind of harshness actually brings invisible pressure and anxiety to children, they are afraid of disappointing adults, and they are afraid that they are not their pride (Robert and Frank quarreled about their inner grievances). Third, children have their own lives, and they will never be an extra or an upgraded version of the lives of their elders. Their lives may be very ordinary, and there will be chaotic bad times. But life will not be perfect. A too perfect life is not necessarily the essence of happiness. As an elder, there is no need to intervene. Fourth, children and parents need to communicate sincerely and know what the other party wants. When he was young, Frank blindly worked and would not even shift shifts to accompany and care for the children, so that the relationship between father and son was not close, and their secrets only talked to their mothers. When he wants to care about them, they can already face it by themselves. Therefore, the important thing is not to talk but to listen. In addition, any lies and concealments out of love should be understood and tolerated.
Of course, a large part of the brilliance of "Journey to Heaven" is due to the excellent acting skills of the actors. The starring Robert De Niro perfectly interprets a loving father who sees through the lies of his children, as if he is one of the thousands of ordinary fathers in life who hope that their children will become dragons and their daughters will become phoenixes, but in their hearts they wish them a happy life. rather than a character created. Speaking of Robert De Niro, the stern violence in "The Godfather" 2 contrasts sharply with the film's delicate love. In this film, he has gray hair, kind eyes, and wrinkles cover every inch of his face. Dressed in plain clothes, with an outdated camera. Back slightly hump, walking slowly. But the corners of his eyes and mouth seemed to be full of drama, conveying worry, disappointment, and helplessness. Robert De Niro has created a quite three-dimensional and plump father figure. Alone, Frank took the bus, the train repeatedly, and dragged the noisy suitcase alone in the empty street that was completely unfamiliar. Kindness, he will kindly give some money to feed the hungry little gangsters on the flyover, fearing that their parents are worried. After all, he can empathize with the hearts of parents who worry about their children. Therefore, he even wanted to teach the gangster to be polite, but was robbed by the man maliciously and angry, and smashed the medicine on which his body depended. Without the medicine, he chose not to tell his daughter. He is proud of his children and his education and protection of them. Whether it is a strange conductor or a bus passenger, he can't help but talk about his "scenery" children. Everywhere he goes, he takes pictures repeatedly, leaving commemorate. He is also very humorous, he declined invitations in a funny way to the prostitutes who appeared in front of David's house, and he had a good face, and insisted that he was a golf master in front of his grandson. He didn't know the suitcase had a handle, and when his grandson told him, he always used his handle to drag the suitcase to other children, even on the stairs. The resulting noise on the stairs just reflects the loneliness of an old man. It is the image of such a flesh-and-blood father that allows us to truly touch his heart to see the children who are not happy but conceal his heartache and sentimentality, which deepens the sense of echo to the plot and themes. In addition, the strength of other actors is also very strong. The eldest daughter Kate Beckinsale once starred in "Pearl Harbor", while the youngest daughter Drew Barrymore played the heroine of "50 First Dates". The natural and unpretentious acting skills of the two actresses portray the introverted and agile personalities of the two daughters in a delightful manner.
An impressive segment in the film is between 73 and 78. Frank flies home. The director did not directly express his inner unease, but first turned the camera to the thick clouds outside the window, conveying his nervousness and anxiety through flashing thunder and lightning, implying that bad things were about to happen. Frank walked into the toilet and quickly washed his face. He pressed his left hand tightly on his chest, his face flushed, gasping for breath, and his breathing became louder. At this time, the director used the roar of the plane to imply his confusion, and used the water in the water glass on the seat. Ripple pulsations replaced Frank's uncontrolled heart, breathing, roaring, heartbeat, and various sound effects were mixed, and various vibrations were further intensified. The stewardess pushed the door open, the inquiries were weakened, and the face was blurred, that is, the old father's consciousness began to blur. Then, the scene switches to the backyard of the house where the dark clouds are fluttering, the hazy picture, the blurring of the details, and a very surreal sense, indicating that this is unreal, and the rhythm is gradually slowing down. The camera moved forward slowly, Frank was very clear at this time, and he also knew that he should not be busy with work, but should give his children more company and listening, so that they will not lie to him when they grow up. And the children showed their young state and confided that they did not want their father to be sad. The children return to childhood in the form of heart-to-heart with their father at the dinner table, which deepens the audience's sympathy for the father and tolerance for the children. There was no smile on Frank's face, his brows furrowed, his face scowling, and he questioned each child worriedly. When it was the turn of the most worried David, his uneasy worry reached its peak, his tone became extremely serious, especially when the children laughed indifferent to his warning, he was really angry. He was furious that he gave everything for them and only got everyone's smirk and coping. The music became mournful, the dark clouds were about to float overhead, and a large depression shot the raindrops that were getting bigger and bigger overhead, as if the dampness in Frank was dripping. The children leave because of the rain, tell him, if you love your mother, say what she likes, say we are all fine. Frank, alone, looks up at the rainy day, and an upward, fast-forwarding pullback cuts the scene to Frank lying on the ambulance, when it is also raining in reality.
Although the plot in the dream is heart-wrenching, the overall tone of the film is bright and soft, the conventional linear narrative arrangement, and the rhythm tend to be gentle, which means that the film will not have a hopeless ending. In order to connect and promote the plot, the director repeatedly used voiceovers. When Frank leaves the child four times, the director will insert the shot of the pole freeze and the wire pan, as well as the conversation content of several children on the phone. One aspect is a reminder to the audience of Frank's previous occupation: coating electrical wires. Second, it hints at the protection of his children throughout his life and reinforces the theme. Three, through the chatter on the phone, we also learn about a child who barely showed up, David, and his situation. A lot of hidden plots and information have been added to deepen the audience's understanding of the plot, and thus have a more sense of substitution for Frank's heart.
Regardless of the plot or characters, this is a warm and touching family film. It will also be remade in China by Zhang Guoli and others, looking forward to seeing the Chinese version of Tianlun's Journey in the New Year.
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