Black-and-white films, with crisp echoes of high-heeled shoes, are my favorite European tones.
The story takes place in a small German town after World War I. Franz's parents, his fiancée, Anna, were devastated by his death. A French man named Adrian appears mysteriously and lays flowers for Franz in the cemetery. After hesitating and flinching, Adrian came to Franz's house, calling himself Franz's friend in desperation, and in the expectant eyes of Franz's mother and Anna, he began to tell the story of how he and Franz were studying in Paris s story. While being comforted, Franz's parents gradually projected their feelings for Franz to Adrian, and even gave Franz's most precious violin to him. And Anna—it's unclear whether it's because of emotional substitution, or because it's always easy to fall in love with the same kind of people—also secretly in love.
Everything seemed to be happy. Until one day, Adrian could no longer bear the torment in his heart and confessed his true identity to Anna - he never knew Franz, but killed Franz on the battlefield of the confrontation between Germany and France. who came to Germany in search of forgiveness.
Adrian asks Anna's forgiveness, and Anna cannot forgive. Perhaps it is impossible to forgive the person who killed the lover, and it is impossible to forgive himself who fell in love with this person. But she still went to the station to say goodbye to Adrian. Adrian said that he wanted to tell Franz's parents the truth and asked for forgiveness, but Anna lied to him that she had already conveyed it; Adrian asked to continue writing letters to them in the future, and Anna said that it was enough to write to her alone. She would read it to her parents.
Seeing this, I was really shocked by Adrian's scum.
It is undeniable that he is also a victim of the war. He believes in pacifism and cannot live normally because of the unbearable guilt of killing, and has thought about suicide countless times.
However, if you need forgiveness, are you so cruel to tell Franz's family that you are the murderer and ask them to forgive you? Aren't you making trouble for people?
What's more, you entered their world as Franz's friend, gained their trust, and projected their love for their son. You go and tell them "I'm sorry, but I actually killed your son." , how do you want people to forgive yourself? You're not trying to piss people off.
You still look righteous and awe-inspiring, I really want to slap you. Your so-called integrity and magnanimity are just pursuing the moral loftiness in your heart. In fact, you are indeed extremely selfish.
After Adrian left, Anna was caught between Franz's parents and Adrian, and had to face the truth alone and deal with both sides with lies. Maybe it was because she still couldn't forgive herself, or maybe it was because the hope of life that she had finally rekindled was dashed out of her heart, she walked into the cold lake in winter, wanting to end her life. Although he was saved, his heart was dead.
Franz's parents want Anna to be happy and encourage her to go to France to find Adrian. After a lot of hardships, from Paris to Adrian's hometown, she finally found him. Take a walk, chat, and have fun.
- We forgive you.
--Really? Great, I'm so happy. You don't know, I've been wanting to die since I came back.
Anna's forgiveness is sincere. Although she was hesitant to set off, even though she hadn't told Franz's parents the truth, she was 100% sincere and firm when she told Adrian that he had been forgiven.
Because in the process of looking for Adrian, the closest clue was the record of Adrian in the mental hospital. The doctor said that he was in a bad condition and was about to collapse. Seeing this, even if I hate Adrian as much as I am, Yu couldn't bear it, and wanted Anna to find him quickly to comfort him; Anna eagerly and expectantly looked up Adrian's whereabouts in the hospital's discharge records, but the address she finally found was a cemetery in Paris, and she couldn't help crying— -I am as hard-hearted as I am, and I also feel sorry.
Fortunately, the Adrian that I saw at the cemetery was not this Adrian.
Everything seemed to be happy again. At least in Anna's eyes. They then return to Adrian's house together, and he warmly introduces Anna to his fiancee, Fanny, like an old friend. At the dinner, Anna played the piano, and Adrian and Fanny sang love songs in love. Anna couldn't hold back her inner sadness any longer, and rushed out the door crying. Adrian escorts Anna to the train station, calmly and briefly recounts his arranged marriage with Fanny, and kisses goodbye.
In fact, when Anna saw Adrian, he just returned from hunting. Although he claims to have been miserable without being forgiven and contemplates committing suicide, it is clear that his life is not that bad.
Although he was not forgiven by Franz's parents and Anna, he had already performed his own apology ceremony and thus obtained his own forgiveness.
From the beginning, it didn't matter that Franz's family didn't forgive him, all he was looking for was his own forgiveness.
He couldn't accept that he, who believed in pacifism, had become a murderer, so he had to apologize and show himself that he couldn't take it easy.
Now that the apology has been made - no matter if they did not forgive him - then he is still the young literary man who believes in pacifism and loves poetry and literature. If they forgive, then they can be at ease; if they don't forgive, it's just that they are obsessed with hatred and are not open-minded enough.
Asking for forgiveness is often nothing but an act of extreme hypocrisy.
What I admire most about director Ou Rong is the plot where Anna searches for Adrian in Paris after a series of twists and turns, and finally "finds" him in the cemetery, showing another state of Adrian living in guilt. In the ups and downs, the audience truly and naturally realize that no matter how many reasons there are for unforgiveness, we do not want to see him suffer. So, even if it is hypocrisy, as long as he can live well, it is good.
Adrian was redeemed in his lies.
Franz's parents found solace in Adrian and Anna's lies.
Only Anna lives in reality and suffers from the pain that reality brings.
Only the truth is the most disappointing.
At the end of the film, Franz's parents receive a letter from Anna, saying that they and Adrian are living happily in Paris. In Paris, Anna changed her usual quiet and elegant appearance, wearing heavy makeup and wearing sexy black silk and stepping on high heels - like a different person - walked into the Louvre to watch Manet's "Suicide". She said that she saw the courage to live in this painting. The reality is unbearable, so let's create and act for yourself. Make-up, high-heeled shoes, bright and bright clothes, the magic weapon of girls' self-performed tops, honestly don't deceive me.
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