After watching a movie I always like to read some film comments on DouBan, which has become a habit. I found it interesting to read people's very diffrerent views on the same movie, which also reflects the depth and rechness of art. Movie is not news report, even a news report contains different contrary facts and views.
As usual, I also read some comments after watching Boy A, and found many people are very fond of this movie, some of them even had written long commentarys on it, talking about the boy's pathetic destiny, the director's splendid story-telling, the photographer's authentic shooting and so on.
Most of commentarys have payed great attention on the protagonist a boy who murdered a young girl with his childhood mate when he was very young, after few years' life in prison, he was taken away by a society instructor named Terry to work in a tranporting company under a new name Jack, Jack worked very hard in the company and made a few new friends, even a girl friend. By a very haphazard chance, he and his new mate Chris saved a little girl from a car accident. Every thing seemed great for Jack, as if he has got a new life, as if he has forgotten his terrible past (even though he had naightmare every night), but past will never leave him alone, Terry told him there are people out there who were claims for his life with a 50 thousands dollars' award. One day he found his girlfriend is nowhere to be found,and few days later his boss told him that he need not go to work anymore, while he was going out to find what's going on, he ran into a few journalists waiting outside his door, he went back to his room, realising that his history has been found and leaked, he called his mate Chris, but Chris called him a liar and murder and blame Jack's girl friend's disapperance on him. He called Terry, only got the voice mail. With no one to turn to, he jumped out from his window and catch a train to the last station, committed suicide on a bridge.but Chris called him a liar and murder and blame Jack's girl friend's disapperance on him. He called Terry, only got the voice mail. With no one to turn to, he jumped out from his window and catch a train to the last station, committed suicide on a bridge.but Chris called him a liar and murder and blame Jack's girl friend's disapperance on him. He called Terry, only got the voice mail. With no one to turn to, he jumped out from his window and catch a train to the last station, committed suicide on a bridge.
Many commentors has sympathized with Jack's affliction, and talk a lot about how childhood suffering in familly illtreatment can influence one's mentality and life, and how people and the society can't tolerate or be more inclusive with other's past faults or crime. These are all very important subject for this movie, and I do think these are also what the director tried his best to express. But I this most of people has neglected a very important detail.
The influnence on one's life by childhood shadow is a permanent subject for movie and literature, so many movies and novels have written and reserched on it from many different angles, many have digged much more deeply than this film. If the director just want to tell a heart-breaking story and won some tears, it isn't worthy to spawn this serious a movie.
Jack's suicide is of course due to the break out of the truth, but let's think about who has told the truth and why. When Jack found those journalists outside his door, he went back and call Terry the man who took him out of prison and gave him a new life, the man who has been always protecting him since then. But at that fatal moment Jack can't get through to Terry, Terry was his last chance and last Saviour. We can imagine or deduce that if Terry answered Jack's call and told him what to do, maybe Jack won't die. But where's Terry?
The movie told us finally that it's Terry's son who found out Jack's history and told the press, and it's also Terry's son who hid Terry's telephone and stopped him from rescuing Jack.
When Terry asked his son why he did this, he told Terry that when he got drunk on sofa, his son had heard Terry saying Jack, you are the greatest fucking achievement I've ever had. The movie didn't tell much about Terry and his son, but we can tell from their few coversations that Terry had divorced with his wife many years ago, and his son lived with his wife since then, like many child from devorced family, he don't want to go to school, don't want to get a job, don't want to face the reality, only stay at home and do nothing. After many years' life around the world, he come back to his father, after a few days' living together, their relationship seemed be much better, but in Terry's son's eyes there are still Jack between them, Terry seemed care much more about Jack than himself.When he heard Terry call Jack his greatest achievement he felt jelous and deeply hurt and he “want Jack feel what I feel”, he said “I want to ruin him.”
Boy A didn't focus much time on Terry and his son, but I do think the director want to tell us sth from Terry's son's action. We can tell from their coversation that Terry's wife devorced with him also because she coundn't endure his paying too much time and attention on pepole like Jack.
While Terry called Jack his “greatest achievement”, which caused indirectly Jack's death, we propably can guess Terry also had a bad childhood like Jack, which make him want to help people like Jack to find a new life. That's also why he sacrificed his familly and happiness for his cause.
This is of cause just my guess. Maybe if the director add some segments of Terry reminiscing his own past, we posibblely can know things better. But after all this movie is about Jack, if the director add too many things about Terry, the whole ambience maybe be ruined for it.
If there is a novel about it, maybe we can hope for sth more.
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