"Yes, I believe that I can do this."
When I saw the title of the film, I naturally thought of the "Little Boy" in World War II, but I didn't expect this to happen in Stories from World War II.
There are many things mentioned in the movie, and Father Ollie's trust in his non-existent friend is religion, but he guides Pepper to be firm and friendly with Hashimoto, the Japanese. I read it several times and found that what moved me the most was the friendship between Pepper and Hashimoto, except for the encouragement from my father Babis.
Because in a war, Dad Babis became a Japanese prisoner of war, so their family began to have hatred for the Japanese. Among them, the most obvious one is my brother London, who in the conversation with other Japanese haters in the town also instilled this kind of thought into little Pepper - "If I can, I will tear every one of them by hand. Jap."
But in order to complete Father Ollie's "magic checklist" and get his dad back sooner, he approached Hashimoto. Although his intentions are not very simple, I think that Pepper is actually a blank sheet of paper, and his attitude and prejudice towards the Japanese are the reactions of those around him. Children are inherently simple, and their distinction between right and wrong is still unclear.
"As long as there is still a trace of hatred in your heart, your will will not succeed." Father Ollie was probably selfish when he said this? He hoped that the child would not fall into this strange hatred, although he didn't know if the force of will could bring back Pepper's father.
Father Ollie's list of magic sounds absurd, but everything on the list actually leads Pepper to a better direction and makes him stronger. Father Ollie convinces Pepper of the power of willpower that it can bring back his father.
From being on guard against each other, Little Pepper taking a small step back when he saw Hashimoto taking a step toward him, and timidly explaining "We are not friends." to others, to always thinking of Hashimoto and Hashimoto when there is difficulty. Complete the list together, invite Hashimoto to my home for lunch and tell my mother "He is my friend."
Mr. Hashimoto at that time, the folds on his face were wrinkled, just for a smile.
War is wrong, but it should not be pushed entirely on the people of the country. You can hate war, but it is not a wise choice to kill all Japanese citizens with one stick. Just like today, when the relationship between countries is slightly tense, there are always radical citizens who cannot tolerate all kinds of things related to another country, even if they are all things destroyed. Can you show how patriotic you are when you destroy it? Can such behavior affect anything in another country? Does not. Of course, this is off topic.
Halfway through the film, there is still no news from Babis. Hashimoto also persuaded Ollie: "You should guide this child to do something meaningful."
Is it meaningless to believe in the power of will?
No, in the war, they have no other choice but to strengthen their beliefs. Mrs. Babes's persistence, London's stubbornness, and Pepper's magic of willpower were actually made by faith. The townspeople were seeing Pepper shaking the earth with "magic" despite a "eventually with or without that kid" earthquake - even if I knew it was just a coincidence, but still thought maybe God was also Pepper's perseverance moved, right? The people in the town finally have a reason to speak their beliefs from their hearts.
"It takes courage to believe."
I also like Mrs. Babis, she is a kind and gentle wife and mother. Although her husband is dead because of the war with Japan, she did not lead Pepper to hate the Japanese, on the contrary , after she learned that Hashimoto was Pepper's friend, the three had a lunch together.
"I will always be Mrs. James Babes."
This is her pride and her persistence in love.
Throughout the film, the plot always takes a sudden turn where I don't expect it, and I have a good grasp of the characters' emotions - when Pepper first tried to get close to Mr. Hashimoto, Pepper brought him soda drinks. He couldn't resist Pepper and finally took it. I thought he was going to accept it, but it would be extremely abrupt if so. But Mr. Hashimoto went to the door and threw the drink in the trash can.
The ending is pretty good, but I don't feel too pretentious when I watch it, because I've already put myself in, and I really don't want to see a BE. The film is very positive and sunny, and it is probably a chicken soup that is not greasy when drinking. This review of mine doesn't highlight its inspiration, because I think these sidelines actually poke me more.
It's a very good movie. If you feel a little sad, I think you can watch it.
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