"Sin House" is adapted from "The Inspector's Visit", one of the three famous West End dramas in London. The story is that at the family dinner of the Jazz family celebrating their daughter's engagement, a detective named Gould made a sudden visit and declared that he came because everyone present was related to the death of a female worker. The exposure of the noble family life and the "three-in-one" feature of condensing the whole story at the same time and place make the whole film show a distinct classical drama style. However, the ingenious arrangement of the story and the elegant expression, when chanting the lament of the death of a female worker, also deduces a fable of crime and punishment, love and redemption.
The film was translated as "House of Sin" because everyone in the Jazz family was facing a sin trial. A capitalist, Sir Burling fires Eva, a female worker who led the strike, leaving her in a dire situation. After being introduced to work in a department store, she was forced to resign because Miss Burling mistakenly thought she was being ridiculed; when she was down and out, Eva entered the social arena, and because of a "hero saving beauty" by Miss Burling's fiancé, she was forced to resign. Became his mistress, but was soon abandoned; later, Eva met Eric, the alcoholic young master of Burling, who was raped by him and became pregnant with his child; unwilling that Eric embezzled public funds to take care of herself, Eva She went to the Women's Rescue Association to seek help, but was rejected by Mrs. Burling, the chairman of the Rescue Association, as a liar. Desperate, Eva eventually swallowed a bottle of disinfectant and died in great pain.
On the surface, the plot of the story is too coincidental, and even the characters in the play have been reluctant to believe that the woman Gould spoke of was the person they knew. And everyone in the show has excusable feelings for what Eva did, so being convicted is too harsh and far-fetched. Therefore, although the film received a lot of praise after its release, it also caused a lot of criticism and doubts.
If only the death of the female worker were to be judged for the "involuntary homicide" of the Burling family, then this film would indeed be just a vulgar and narrow-minded work full of class prejudice. Even judging by the Bible, murder is only listed as the "Ten Commandments." "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." The sin that God has set for the world is not in man's violation of the rules of life, but in his own imperfection.
From this point of view, everyone in the Burling family, even the dead Eva, cannot escape the guilt. The stinginess and indifference of the Burling couple, the sensitivity and jealousy of Miss Burling, the fiancé's infatuation and infidelity, Eric's weakness and anger, and Eva's forbearance and concession, are the most important characters in this "sin house". The real sin of everyone. Because indifference breeds cruelty, jealousy breeds narrow-mindedness, infidelity breeds lies, weakness breeds resentment, and forbearance breeds oppression.
People fall short of God's perfection, so they are scattered into sharp horns, facing each other with sharp edges and blood dripping. In the film, Gould condemns everyone in the "House of Sin", but at the same time as the crime, everyone is already suffering their own punishment. The Burling couple, especially Mrs. Burling, must bear the sensitive and fragile reality of their children and the hatred from them because of their strong dominance. Because she hates her mother's domineering power, but can't resist, Miss Burling will be proud and inferior, but she also regards Eva's smile as a mockery of herself and angrily forces the department store to dismiss her. The opportunity for Eva to push into her fiancé's arms; the son who was raised under the power was equally distressed but incompetent, wanted to leave the family but couldn't, wanted to protect his lover but couldn't, and finally had to bear the pain of losing his lover and child. Many people criticize the excessive coincidences in the play, but even if this allegorical plot setting aside, if everyone really knows a different Eva, the entanglement of crime and punishment will not stop there. The Burlings will be unable to breathe because of their arrogant and domineering children; their daughters will live with sensitivity and anger under the pressure of being constantly vigilant against her people's ridicule; Disgusting yourself, falling into the abyss of collapse and depravity. After Gould left, Eric said to his sister: "You know what's the scariest thing? I'll do the same thing again." Hiring prostitutes and embezzling public funds is not just for Eva, these are just his hatred for his parents. Just revenge. Therefore, Mu Xin said: "A behavior that violates morality is usually judged on the basis of the nature of harming others, while ignoring that it harms oneself before harming others, and continues harming itself after harming others." Human sin does not need God. The judgment of the sin, the moment when the sinful nature was launched, has left a backlash of punishment on everyone.
Human beings are pitiful and tragic not only in the cruelty of being punished by sin and punishment, but also in their inhumane numbness and ignorance and arrogance. The Burlings were accused of sin, but they were not portrayed as wicked men. On the contrary, when Gould revealed all the truth, the Burling family, especially Sheila and Eric, were also panicked, unbearable, and guilty. But if they are guilty, then their greatest sin and ultimate punishment comes from unrepentant blindness. "Eva Smith is dead, you can't hurt her anymore, and you can't make it up to her, you can't even say 'I'm sorry, Eva Smith.' But you have to remember that there is still Thousands of people like Eva Smith and John Smith live strong with hope and fear. The suffering and happiness they have experienced are closely related to us, and what we think and think. All are connected. We are not alone on earth, we have a duty to help each other, and if humanity does not realize this, then the era of the end will come. Then we will suffer war, blood and pain This is the last word that Gould left to the Burling family, and it is also the last warning, but behind the warning, there is a compassion that can't bear to see "everything is a dog". But after Gould left, Sir Burling was still worried that he would lose his title after the scandal at home was revealed. Everyone was still accusing each other, and they were still thinking about how to cover up or even deny the truth of the matter. The cruelest contrast is that when everyone thought what Gould said was just a prank and was complacent, and toasted to celebrate, Eva was leaving behind her masterpiece and silently dying. Compared with Gould's warning, the last call to ring again is the coldest irony and final judgment of these ignorant and arrogant people. Just as Cao Yu said in the "Preface to Thunderstorm": "When I think of what a pitiful animal human beings are, I am filled with self-satisfaction, as if I were to control my own destiny, but often I cannot control my own destiny. I suffer from myself— - Emotional or understanding - teasing, of an unknowable force, - chance, or circumstance - teasing. Living in a narrow cage and proudly thinking that it is wandering in the world of freedom ."
Inspector Gould (god) in the film is undoubtedly the incarnation of God. During the trial of the Boling family, he was so stern and ruthless. But when he came to Eva and bid her farewell to her last journey, the tender gaze under the window and the tender hand after death exuded the deepest intolerance and compassion. But this kind of intolerance and compassion will naturally raise questions. Since the all-knowing Gould knows all of Eva's suffering and that Eva is about to die, why doesn't he lend a helping hand to save Eva from the darkness of pain and death rescued. In my opinion, this is the truest expression of the meaning of God's existence. Whether it is the God of the West, the God of the Middle East, or the Buddha of the East, these gods are the most omniscient and omnipotent beings in the hearts of the world, but their omnipotence and omnipotence have never eliminated death, poverty, and sin in this world. And the more desperate and miserable the world is, the more devoutly they will crawl under their feet, just because if they give up their belief in God, then not only will the body toss and turn in the sea of misery, and it will be hard to stop, but even the last hope and hope of the soul. Consolation will also be deprived. At this time, life can only fall into the boundless abyss of despair and disillusionment, which is the most unbearable suffering and pain of life. So the beginning of the film is a dialogue about God left by Eva: "Do you believe in God?" "Yes." "How can you believe in God?" "Because I can't believe in humans, but I have to Believe in one thing, or I will fall."
Yes, this most miserable and miserable life is the only person in the whole film who believes in God, because in this world, she has nothing, and the darkness of pain continues to erode her. In life, the only thing that can illuminate her is the light from heaven. Therefore, at the moment of the end of life, only she can obtain the warm watch and the unbearable mercy. Although the people who are dressed in brocade, jade and eat BMW cars can laugh to their heart's content and go wild, but the laughter and wanton they exchanged for despising and trampling on other people's lives, in addition to launching the axles of crime and punishment, make the express train of life run wild and insane. In addition to speeding forward on the track of perdition, where else can one find a trace of redemptive comfort and unbearable mercy? In this comparison, I don't know who is more pitiful.
I accidentally read a film review and found out that many people who believe in modern legal civilization criticized the film as a hypocritical work full of class prejudice and moral preaching. They believed that as long as the legal system was sound, Eva would suffer greatly. No, this is Eva's way of being saved, and I can't help but laugh. Not to mention how the madness of human desires and the indifference of human nature have made wars and murders take place in the past, present and future of this world, and looking at this age where democracy and the legal system have prospered, many lives are different between people and people. Human selfishness, indifference and cruelty lead to distortion and destruction. The law can punish Ma Jiajue, but it cannot save another life that has already died under the knife; the law can severely punish the traders who make poisonous food, but it cannot curb the greed in people's hearts; the law can restrain people's behavior, but cannot restrain people's desires the beast.
The law is the crime and punishment written by man, rough and blunt. The sin and punishment of fate are hidden in God's chess game, and the way of destruction and redemption is one and the same, and both are placed in the heart of man.
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