write at the front
This is my second movie of the week with Eric. It's my choice, I wanted to watch it before but I was afraid that my mood would not be peaceful enough to ruin this movie. So I choose to make an appointment to watch it at the same time and then discuss it, so that I will watch it more seriously, and there will be more ideas in the discussion.
Sure enough, during the discussion, there were many new insights from each other, and the interpretation of the film could be more comprehensive.
Written by me who wanted to record after a week's delay.
The kiss of redemption
Jack took the initiative to go to Yonoi and kiss him.
I was deeply shocked by this scene. Yonoi's restraint and suppressed desire did not erupt through himself, but Jack seemed to see through this desire and took the initiative to attack. Yonoi's dignity as a Japanese officer was trampled on by a man's kiss. Part of him was furious. In front of his subordinates, he had to give feedback. He raised his knife and wanted to throw it at Jack, but the other part of himself was his emotional self. But dragged him and didn't let him shoot. I seemed to see two forces colliding in his body, and in the end, he still couldn't make a move and fell down. The soldiers around him were furious. Jack trampled not only the dignity of their superiors, but also the dignity of the entire Japanese Empire. They rushed to Jack and beat him violently.
Jack had to die. It is not so much that the Japanese killed him, it is that he sought his own death.
This kiss is intriguing. The way of kissing is not erotic, but full of friendship. Jack kisses Yonoi, who becomes a redeemer, becomes Jesus, becomes God, trying to evoke the lost Yonoi and his humanity lost in militarism.
Yonoi's reaction is distressing. Compared with the "perfect Jack" like a saint, he is contradictory. He longs for this kiss. He may never think about it again. , he was angry. With tears in his eyes, he wanted to kill Jack, but he couldn't bear it. From his eyes, we could see his incomparably struggling heart. (I have to say that Sakamoto Ryuichi was really handsome when he was young, and that hidden weakness really broke my heart.)
2. Hometown - Jack's Shadow
The very incomprehensible part of the movie, about Jack's abrupt memory of his brother, flashed back twice. For the first time, he told Lawrence that his dark side, turning a blind eye to his brother being bullied, and disgusting his brother's disability in his heart, because of his brother, he is no longer a perfect Jack. He chose to run away, but his conscience kept tormenting him. The second time, when he was buried in the soil and was about to die, he recalled his hometown, home, and his brother said, let's go home together.
Perhaps it was the uneasy conscience of his younger brother and the shadow side of Jack that led him to finally choose to face Yonoi in the image of a savior. He wants to save a person's soul, he has to sacrifice himself and use his own death so that he can return to his hometown and face his younger brother again.
The part of recalling the younger brother may be to completely shape Jack's image and provide a motivation for his final suicide kiss. He came to the battlefield with a sinful, tortured conscience, to save an enemy, and there was no better way to save his own soul.
In fact, I don't particularly like Jack's image. It feels like the image of a western white tough guy hero. His appearance made the Eastern soldiers fascinated. He used his death to awaken the humanity of the enemy.
3. Language and winning and losing
The whole movie is like a ring, which is very interesting.
The film begins with the Japanese being the victor, and Japanese is spoken between Lawrence and Ohara.
At the end of the film, the Japanese are the losers and English is spoken between Lawrence and Ohara.
Losers don't deserve their own language. Only after winning and losing are the winners can speak. The losers don't deserve to have their own language. No one listens to what they say. Once lost, humanity seems to reappear. The last Sergeant Ohara was no longer irritable and became simple and cute.
The meaning of Merry Christmas
Sergeant Ohara said "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" twice, which was very touching.
The first time, he was still a winner, he was drunk, confronted the prisoners of war Lawrence and Jack, he said "Merry Christmas" and let them go privately. After being drunk, Sergeant Ohara regained his humanity. He was no longer an old lover, a collectivist military soldier who was always ready to dedicate himself to the emperor, he became a friend of Lawrence. The light of humanity suddenly flashed at that moment, surpassing everything. It was a really nice Christmas.
The second time, their identities were reversed, and Sergeant Ohara became a war criminal and was about to die the next day. He became a lot more peaceful, he was back to what he was. They recalled that it was a wonderful Christmas. Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. After that, the film freezes and ends. The only surviving Mr. Lawrence in the whole film's story told us such a story from his point of view. That was the last time he saw Sergeant Ohara, and the end of the war was fixed in the phrase Merry Christmas. War is cruel and bloody, but it is also human. Like a little starlight in the dark night, but enough to shine.
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.
Victory is also heavy. There is never a winner in a war.
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