Thinking about it carefully, I found that these two films, separated by decades, have a lot in common. The main line of the story is all about cars. The protagonists are all veterans, all people with racial prejudice. In the end, both of them chose to take revenge on the madness of this world. It's just that their way of revenge is completely opposite. The revenge among the taxi drivers is the vengeance of violence and violence, and the revenge of flesh and blood is a duel of martial arts. The revenge in the classic car at first resembled those westerns of the old man when he was young. Everyone was waiting for the moment when the cowboy drew his gun, but ended the battle in an unexpected way. Finally, there is legal principle, fair confrontation with violence. The old man completed his sacrifice and self-redemption, and the cowboy never shot the last shot of his life. The purpose is nothing more than to give people some hope.
In the past, American movies have always had "Korean War plot" and "Vietnam War plot". Many social problems have been attributed to these two wars that were considered wrong. In particular, the Vietnam War spurred the mainstream American society to carry out a deep reflection, which has been imprinted in the hearts of the American people for decades. Hollywood has brought us countless classic films about the aftereffects of the Vietnam War, such as Taxi Driver, First Blood, Apocalypse Now, Deer Hunter and so on. But history is going away from us. There are very few people of that generation who participated in World War II and the Korean War. The generation of Americans in the Vietnam War has reached old age. In other words, it's time to review history, liquidate, or atone for sins. Before, there was another film that also touched on this theme with a bleak attitude, which is "Old Nowhere". The old people are unable to cope with the madness of today's world. The past glory is gone, their ancestors are waiting for them in death, and they are withdrawing from the stage of history. "Classic Cars" is actually a continuation of this expression. But before leaving completely, there is one more thing to do, which is to give one's life a statement. The old cowboy is unwilling to bring the scars of the war and the brutality of his youth to his grave, so he wants to challenge the sins of the younger generation with the hope of social justice, and also a chance for his own final salvation. The classic car is a legacy left by the old man to the young at the end of the film, and it is also a continuation of hope and glory. They want to pass on their spirit from generation to generation.
Go back to more than 30 years ago. The United States in "Taxi Driver" seems to have no hope and no way out, so it is necessary to give everything a stormy end. Young young skills seem to never get hope, unless the evil itself is physically eliminated. The generation that has experienced war is unwilling to the degeneration of society. They have lost the glory of the war era, and they are also losing their faith in the peace era. So turning violence against violence became an outlet, the solution of that era. After so many years. The social degradation in "Classic Cars" is still the same. So this time they got the opportunity to fix the error and tried another solution. What will happen in the future? It is unknown, but their era and mission are over.
When the taxi driver used his fingers to execute himself like a pistol, he must be executing a moral judgment on himself. Now, the old cowboy shoots young criminals like a pistol with his fingers, and he is also executing a certain sentence. This is a relay. The non-existent bullet has already been shot, hitting the guilty person. No matter how many years have passed, people always look forward to certain imperfect heroes to fulfill a certain mission and carry out certain moral judgments for society. Similarly, no matter how time passes, generation after generation will always move towards the same destination. Our fathers will wait for us there holding the torch.
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