The reason why the old cowboy wanted to take the murderous soldier on this difficult journey is actually very simple, one is out of revenge, and the other is out of insistence on promises. This kind of spirit is loyalty in ancient China, and friendship between cowboys in the West of the United States. This kind of fist affection can always make people feel warmth in the cracks of cold bullets. The old cowboy's behavior is straightforward and unrounded. In the case of unsuccessful negotiations with the police, he directly broke the door to capture the enemy and excavated the corpse. This indiscriminately revealed a true temperament and great joy. He knew that this action would offend the secular law and offend the military police, but he was still fearless and unwilling to turn back. His perseverance and stubbornness were the embodiment of the simple and straightforward western spirit.
In addition to the old cowboys, there are many characters in the film who show generosity and antiquity. The blind old man living alone by the side of the road is generous and uncompromising in dealing with strangers, and he is admirable in his graceful heart. However, as the people at the bottom, they are naturally resistant and sensitive to official representatives such as the army and the police, and strive to protect the same people. Bear hunters drank alcohol and ate large pieces of meat, which are the most typical representatives of such heroes. There is also the sincerity of the Mexican girl when healed the soldiers, the fierceness in revenge, and the smile and grudges afterwards, which is enough to be an image of a heroine who is straightforward and clear-cut. Even the prosperous proprietress has a bottom line of love for the old cowboy in her heart, and compassion and sense of justice are hidden in her coquettish bones.
Salvation is the theme of the film, not only to the soldiers who do wrong, but also to the old cowboys who have promised. The young soldier's youth and weakness made him choose escape as his way out, so his salvation was passive, and he had to go through more pain and torture. Such a long march is undoubtedly a precious experience for him who was originally empty and helpless, enough to enable him to learn the sense of responsibility of a man from the awe-inspiring righteousness of the old cowboy. For the old cowboy, he is actively fulfilling the salvation of his soul by fulfilling his promise to his best friend. Just like Xiao Fengsheng's perseverance to protect Ah Zi for the sake of A Zhu's last words, if a man who promises a lot of money, if he can't keep his promises, he is no different from being responsible for murder. Whether the place they found in the end was the hometown of the deceased, or whether what the deceased told the old cowboy before his death was just a beautiful lie, these are no longer important. The important thing is that they have gained freedom and peace of mind through this journey of salvation.
Such stories also implicitly imply the cycle of cause and effect, and unhappy retribution. Escada had a romantic relationship with Dabing's wife, but died by unknowing Dabing. The soldier had beaten a Mexican girl on the bridge of her nose, but was later infected with snake venom but could only beg her for treatment. The dramatic plots of various evil causes and consequences are in line with Christian doctrine and also express the director's position of good and evil. There are two scenes in which the parties raised their guns and hesitated to put them down. One was a policeman facing an old cowboy trekking on a mountain road, and the other was an old cowboy facing a soldier who had fled. This shows the director's violence against gunfire. Disgust and retention of the compassionate and good side of human nature.
Although the old cowboy is expressionless from start to finish, his tough guy image is still very clear, and his words and deeds are bold and powerful. His relationship with Escada and Private Mike can really be said to be "treating friends as warm as spring, and treating enemies as ruthless as autumn leaves." When he was in Mexico, he suddenly called to propose to the proprietress, which also showed his inner softness and made his image more plump and delicate. Private Mike is also a typical character. From the very beginning of his beating the illegal border crossings in Mexico, it can be seen that he was impulsive and irrational, which paved the way for him to kill Escada by mistake. After a crying confession, he became mature and strong, and he would actually care about the safety of the old cowboy. Without such a personality change, this journey would be meaningless to him.
At the beginning of the film, the scattered narrative from the perspective of each protagonist is very characteristic, which helps to strengthen the audience's true feelings. But for the overall tough style and heroic sentiment of the film, this can only be regarded as a small skill. The theme of returning the dead body is very legendary in itself, coupled with the arrogance of the old cowboy, the film is full of the rough martial arts temperament of the white horse. In my impression, it is difficult to find these intriguing things in Chinese martial arts films. Although there are cultural background factors here, if today's Chinese martial arts can't get out of the action-playing screen blindly, I am afraid it will be difficult for them to make a higher entry.
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