On the grasslands where the yellow sand is flying in Africa, Dr. Anton treats local residents in a refugee camp. Among these patients waiting for him to treat, there is even a pregnant woman who was cut open by a gang leader who had lost his conscience. a bet. The story goes back to Denmark. Christian, who had just lost his mother not long ago, and Anton's son, Elias, who was raised by his single mother, gradually became good friends. The reason why they were inseparable was that Elias was bullied by his classmates for a long time, and Christian's stab at both sides. . Behind the friendship of the children of these two mutilated families, the seedlings of violence and revenge are growing at an uncontrolled rate. After tasting the thrill of revenge, the child couldn't understand Anton's repeated tolerance in front of the local rough. This is also the reason of Anton's career - the
story turns back to Africa, professionalism drives Anton to treat the leg injury of the black boss who does all kinds of evil, but after the black boss is healed, he turns to Anton and the pregnant woman he can't save. In a fit of rage, he handed the life of Black Boss to the clubs of the Avengers. At home in Denmark, two lonely teenagers face their disappointing norms of the adult world, and finally go to extreme violence and encounter tragedy.
After the tragedy, a series of reactions of the characters seem to begin to explain, what is a "better world", the stubborn disease that human beings have been unable to overcome since ancient times - violence, which can grow on any soil, whether barbaric or civilized . A better world, in my opinion, is a world in which violence can be perpetuated without hatred and revenge. The film has a beautiful ending, where understanding and trust can be re-established between husband and wife, between father and son, and between partners. This is indeed a better world than a refugee camp where life is like a must.
For a film like A Better World, which focuses on humanistic concerns, it seems unavoidable to fall into the stereotype of formalization and symbolization. Even if the picture style has the randomness of a European film, the setting of the plot can't help but appear deliberate. Spanish director Agado Gonzalez Inaritu's 2006 work "Babel" is a film that has more references to this film. In this film, it expresses the lack of communication between nations. In multi-regional films, the symbolic meanings of images and plots are highlighted to the extreme, that is to say, even people like Inaritu are accustomed to narrating in the film as much as possible in a documentary manner ("21 Grams", " The creator of "Beautiful Mistakes"), when coming into contact with such a theme of ultimate sympathy from the overall height of human society, has to deliberately accommodate to a higher idea. If the essence of Babel is the word "communication", then this film is about "violence and hatred", and the content is by no means limited to these. It can also be regarded as a film about the previous generation and the next generation. Movies about influence, family, or even simply about fathers (such as Bill's previous screenplays, "Lost in the Fire," "After the Wedding"). The Danish female director Susan Bier incorporated a heavy moral torture into the compelling plot, which is undoubtedly sonorous and powerful in presenting the unique mixed emotions of human beings.
The scenes in the film that take place in Denmark often show patches of yellow land under the setting sun. I think this should be more or less the color motif set by the director. This is a better world, but it is also the same world as Africa, which is covered with yellow sand. In layman's terms, when we think of the word "better world", it is usually used to express a vision, which is self-evident. And changing the film's English title from "Haevnen" in Swedish to "In a Better World" was a great way to conquer the Oscars.
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