As the old saying goes: a thousand readers make a thousand Hamlets. Everyone projects their own experiences and emotions when appreciating a literary and artistic work, so that they have different experiences. There are many angles to interpret a movie. For this film, some people see family affection, others see religion. I will only talk about one of them, and it is also a word that always comes to my mind when I watch it: nostalgia. Look up the dictionary to know that the word means: nostalgic, nostalgic. It's two dimensions, two emotions. One is space and the other is time. Therefore, it feels that there is no suitable word that can properly and adequately translate this word. So just like Hysteria doesn't have the right word to translate it as "hysterical", I transliterated nostalgia as "that's a peach", just transliteration, and nothing else.
Perhaps it can also be simply translated as "homesick". Homesickness is to miss the hometown, and hometown has dual meanings of space and time in many cases. For those who have been away for a long time, their hometown is not only separated by mountains and rivers, but also by years. Many people say that their hometown is no longer and they can’t go back to their hometown. In fact, it’s not that they can’t cross a distance of 100,000 kilometers, but perhaps it’s more that they can’t go back a few years.
The film's director, acting, lines, and cinematography are all top-notch, and it's not surprising that it won an Oscar for best cinematography; But the serene nature of Montana, combined with a heartwarming soundtrack and calm but infectious narration, has melted the soulful into the bland plot. Just like the river in the film, it flows quietly from a distance, but when you look closely, you can see the ups and downs and waves from time to time. At the beginning and end of the film, old Norman, who is too old to lose all his relatives, too old to tie the fishing line with unsteady hands, is alone on the great river that runs through his life and melts into his soul, using that kind of art How did he feel when he was fishing with faith, the fly-fishing method his father taught him? Relatives, lovers, friends, every face he once had, the figures of the two childhood brothers who practiced fly fishing on the big river, all of which he was familiar with, and what he relied on in his heart passed with time and the big river.
Another movie, easily linked, is Legends of the fall. The same is the West, and the story takes place in the same time period, from around World War I to around the 1920s. The protagonist in Autumn Legend, the second of the three brothers, Tristan, is wild and free, just like the younger brother Paul in the two brothers in this film. In Legend of Autumn, the natural scenery is more magnificent, the soundtrack is better, and the plot is richer. The style of expression is also different. The legend of autumn, like the title, has a slightly more legendary plot; while this film is completely bland and realistic.
The plot of the movie is very simple, and there should be no spoilers.
At one point in the film, a hymn quoted by the Presbyterian pastor's father in his sermon has already pointed out the emotion the film is trying to express: "Backward, turn backward, Oh time in your flight, make me a child again, just for tonight ".
The original title of the movie is "A River Runs Through It", which means a river flows through it. This river connects time and space. This end is the old Norman, which is upstream due to memory, and the source is the old hometown. After years, the memory may only be left in pieces, just like the waves on the river, shining and warming the heart.
When watching this film, there will be an emotional resonance in the heart with the old Norman. This feeling is complex and simple, subtle and indescribable, it is a peach.
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