The film is adapted from the real firefighter casualties after 9/11-the 2013 Arizona Fire.
On June 28, 2013, a forest fire broke out in Mount Yanel, Arizona, involving millions of square meters. The Arizona government dispatched 250 firefighters to the scene to put out the fire and arranged for helicopters to carry out aerial sprinkler operations to cooperate with the rescue.
Nineteen firefighters from the "Granite Mountain Master Team" did not leave enough safe space during the fire fighting process. They were swallowed up by the forest fire and sacrificed heroically. US President Barack Obama called these firefighters "heroes" in a statement.
It is said that this is also the forest fire that killed the most firefighters in at least 30 years.
In the movie, Eric (played by Josh Brolin) is the captain of the fire brigade, and he personally formed the fire brigade.
The movie tells the story of this group of novices gradually becoming mature under the leadership of the captain.
The whole movie does not have a clear main line, and there are many elements shown. There are bridges for the fire brigade to fight fires and the life of the fire brigade as ordinary people. This makes the movie look less like a main theme movie, more like a realistic documentary or biographical film. . Makes the movie more real, and also makes the character's image more three-dimensional.
For example, Eric, as the captain, has an extreme personality. He always believes in himself and does not want to listen to the opinions of others. He loves work and is addicted to work. He has the ability to be a leader, but because of this he is not good at interpersonal communication and does not pay enough attention to family.
If his fire brigade wants to become the vanguard, it must participate in the assessment. The content of the assessment is actual combat, extinguishing forest fires.
During the assessment process, the assessor with 40 years of fire fighting experience provided suggestions to Eric, but Eric was stubborn and had to confront the assessor.
Afterwards, Eric felt that he had made the right decision, and he said that if he was asked to choose again, he would still do it. But he understands that his fire brigade may not be the vanguard because he smashed the examiner.
However, although the examiner felt that Eric was defiant, he was conquered by the strength of this fire brigade, so they still passed the examination.
It seems that not all examiners like flattery and bribery. As the saying goes, "more sincerity, less routine", sometimes sincerity can move people.
Just like the movie "Going Forward", there is no routine, no sensationalism, but to move the audience with sincerity.
Eric has the ability to think independently, has his own beliefs and principles. He will not make everything to please others. This is an advantage at work, because such a character is destined to be conscientious and diligent. He only does practical things without telling others. Nonsense, just do business without superficial work.
But in the family, this becomes a disadvantage. He cares too much about work and ignores his wife. When he was first with his wife, he insisted on not having children. After six years, he was also reluctant to consider the issue of childbirth and even seemed a bit selfish.
So much so that his wife forced herself to become a strong woman, try not to rely on her husband, and did not even tell him if there was a car accident.
It is precisely because of Eric's human weakness that he appears to be a flesh and blood, vivid character, close to life, close to reality, and looks like the people around us.
After all, no one is perfect. If there are no violations, no mistakes, and no shortcomings, it is a robot.
Brandon’s personality is different from Eric’s. He tries to balance work and family.
He was originally an addict, a gangster, and a thief. His ex-girlfriend didn't like him, and even his biological mother felt ashamed.
But he still had a trace of kindness in his heart. He wanted to be a good man. After discovering that his ex-girlfriend was pregnant by accident, he asked to be held accountable without even thinking about it.
The ex-girlfriend may think he is insincere, or he may dislike him, saying that he can take care of the children and tell Brandon to stay away from her.
Brandon joined the fire brigade without hesitation in order to prove that he was not just talking, but also to live with his daughter decently.
His perseverance also helped him successfully become a firefighter and made a significant contribution to fighting fires. Through practical actions, he moved his ex-girlfriend and finally was able to meet his daughter.
At the moment he saw his daughter, the rough man was so excited that he cried on the spot, because he knew that his efforts were not in vain, and at the same time he felt the experience of being a father.
Earlier when Eric asked him why he wanted to be a firefighter, Brandon said: "I have a daughter, and I want to give her something I never had."
This kind of thing is responsibility. Brandon proved that he was not just talking on paper, but doing what he said.
Later, his mother began to worry about Brandon's life and asked him to change to a less dangerous job, which caused him to fall into a complicated ideological struggle. Brandon is not Eric after all, he can't put down his family. He has not been accompanied by his father since he was a child, and he has lacked the love of his father since he was a child. He can't let his daughter have no father like himself.
What’s interesting is that in the process of exchanging opinions between Brandon and Eric, they both listened carefully to each other’s thoughts. Eric understood the importance of family, and Brandon became more determined to save people from fire and water. , Decided to continue to sacrifice oneself to save others.
Brandon's thoughts touched Eric deeply. Eric realized that he owed his wife too much and decided to resign as captain next year, but he has been unable to restore his wife's six years of youth.
There are some truths that we didn't understand when we were young, and when we knew it, we were no longer young.
What Eric didn't expect was that his departure would be a farewell.
After all, he understood that the family is more important, but he knew it too late to make up for the responsibilities and obligations of being a husband.
And from Eric’s experience, perhaps Brandon can also learn to cherish the truth of cherishing family members as early as possible and not waiting for the loss to regret.
Mike is a veteran of firefighters and has a talent for music, so he formed his own band.
He was unobtrusive and arrogant. He said that Brandon was a "dumb Langdon", a "rookie", and even said that Brandon's lover was frivolous.
He likes to make jokes and teasing others. Even though it is out of date and hurts them, his nature is not bad, otherwise he would not come to be a firefighter.
When he was homeless, Brandon reached out to him, and the two of them finally settled their suspicions and established a deep friendship.
Later, Mike wrapped the corners of the furniture to prevent the baby from being injured, and being accompanied by Brandon when he was hospitalized, it is enough to show that the straight man also has a gentle side.
He fell in love with Brandon's nurse, but they did not tie the knot. There is no bloody line like "You wait for me to come back and marry you as your wife" in the movie, nor does it create an unparalleled love. Even until Mike's death, the nurse may not know that Mike loves herself.
The real hero is like this, he can't predict when he will sacrifice, and naturally he can't express his love to the goddess in time.
"Going Forward" is a heroic movie, but its style is very realistic. Deliberate sacrifice, forced sensationalism, vigorous love, and the opening of one enemy and one hundred and so on are not in this movie.
Based on my previous experience of watching heroic movies, I thought Mike would stage a birth and death drama with a nurse. I thought the firefighters would roar in pain in the fire. I thought Eric would sacrifice himself in order to save his companions. Langdon will drive the plane to rescue his teammates...
However, none of these bridges are available. They talked in the last second, and burned to ashes in the next second.
(It also does not rule out the possibility of some fragments being deleted)
All the 19 firefighters in the fire were wiped out, and none survived. Only Brandon who was outside the fire survived. Brandon couldn't do anything except beat the car tables and chairs frantically, because he was not an agent and had no supernatural powers.
On the surface, they were not tragic, not great, or even humble, but the inner core was extremely touching, and tears filled the eyes.
This is the case in real life. Life is as fragile as an egg in front of the raging fire. Even if there is a fire shield, it will not help. They don't have the indestructible body of King Kong, and they have no superpowers. They will undoubtedly die in the face of fire.
This shooting is not only to respect real events, but also to remove those fancy routines and restore the original beauty of the film. There are too many sensational movies, tears are too cheap, this kind of calm narration is even more commendable.
I didn't understand why they risked their lives to rescue the fire, and why they should let their families take the risk of losing themselves.
But when I see this, I understand that even if they are not firefighters, others will be firefighters. Even if they do not sacrifice, others will sacrifice, but they would rather sacrifice themselves. They are unwilling to conceal their lives, they just want to engage in such a high-risk profession, at the expense of themselves to save more lives. They sacrificed one family, but saved hundreds of families.
The moment they decided to become a firefighter, they had already made a choice in their hearts: My life does not belong to me, not to my family, but to the people.
As Brandon said: "I no longer feel guilty for surviving fortunately, but I am honored to be able to grow these good brothers. As you all know, they are heroes."
Seeing the ending subtitles show that they have defended hundreds of hectares of national land, protected countless families, and saved people across the United States. Seeing the story archetypes shown at the end of the movie, even the toughest guys are bound to cry.
In the face of these people who sacrifice the ego and achieve the greater ego, I want to say: You are heroes!
Facing such a restrained and realistic movie, I want to say: this is a heroic movie!
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