However, "Benevolence and Crown", which has been planted for a long time, still surprises me. Very simple story, but highly appreciative. At the beginning, the design cut from the perspective of the prison priest and Scotland Yard police officer was very ingenious, and the subsequent stories in the form of memoirs also drew the audience's appetite. Although the title of the film borrows from Tennyson’s poem "Benevolence is better than a crown, faith is better than blood", it is very ironic, but the theme of the film is not so much about moral choice, not about class. The mother of the master, Gong Yi, was originally a descendant of nobles, and was expelled from the house for marrying an Italian musician. Even after the death of the musician, her status in the family was not recognized. It is said that her mother would not hesitate to marry in pursuit of love is a brave act of contempt for class differences, but her future dukedom has silently emphasized the importance of class. From the mother's words, we can see how different class meanings are between "get a job", "go into trade", and "have a career". Even in the same middle-class group, there are also hierarchical differences, so Sibela, who was a childhood sweetheart with Louis, would rather marry an upper-middle-class employee, Leonor, who he doesn’t like at all. For Louis, who is a lower-middle-class employee. Facing Sibela's refusal, Louis understands that love and moral persuasion are useless, and what he really needs is a crown of class.
The British seem to place special emphasis on titles of nobility. In fact, Louis has already gained enough wealth and fame in the process of climbing all the way. The bank clerk position obtained after killing the heir to the first duke is enough to make Sibela regret his decision, but he still has to take the risk and get rid of everything. The eight heirs to the duke did not stop until he became the duke himself. However, what is the envy of the noble life? Obviously, in the Edwardian era set in the background of the film, nobility is a dead end. The heirs to the titles of several dukes are mostly old-fashioned, clinging to obsolete honours, and chattering about the great achievements of the past. The only distressing Henry has been doing nothing since he was banned from going to the club for drinking and recreation after he got married, until he was obsessed with photography and couldn't get rid of it. Even the old duke himself does not seem to have a happy life. Although he owns a castle and a large territory, he has to set up traps to prevent poachers, and his private house is also available for visits every week. Even getting married and having children has become a heavy burden. In contrast, Louis, who was born in the lower middle class, showed infinite vitality. Not only did he make his way in the workplace smoothly, but he also renovated and designed murders and played several heirs to the dukedom. When he finally accomplished it and was crowned duke, he received a summons from Scotland Yard. Louis thought that his crime had been revealed, but he did not expect Sibela to put him together-a guy who killed eight people but got away with him was planted for a murder that had nothing to do with him, and almost lost his head because of it.
In a sense, the film may be regarded as a class struggle in the form of light comedy. Since he was an adult, Louis has been trying to prove himself to the class that crushed him. For this reason, he has dealt with the upper middle class represented by the De Scott family and Sibela. And when his own position was above Sibela, Sibela's powerful counterattack was met, making all the contradictions finally concentrated on the two middle-class figures, and it became a struggle between the middle classes. Those De Scott aristocrats were simple or dull, and became the playthings of the two middle classes. Despite this, the energetic middle class, who is extremely creative and destructive because of profit-seeking, prefers the aristocratic life that lacks vitality on the surface. A poster of the film specifically added the title of "Sir" before the name of Alec Guinness when introducing the cast and crew. This is probably the lingering "self-hatred" in the bones of the middle class.
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