This is a film adapted from a real sensational event in the UK at that time. So I think there is no question of spoilers.
Looking at the word "rebel" in the title, the first thing that people think of is the behavior of mutiny, rebellion, and surrender in the war. This behavior is rare in wars, but it is not unique. But at that time, Britain did not have wars with other countries. So, why "rebellion"? Where is the "traitor"? What is the ending of the "rebellion"? It has attracted people's special attention, and it is also the cause of the sensation.
It happened in England in 1787. At that time, the British government sent the scientific research ship Bounty to Tahiti in the South Pacific to collect breadfruit saplings, intending to transplant them to the British mainland, hoping to grow bread to feed the large numbers of black slaves in the country. Regardless of how absurd the task seemed now, the Bounty set off under the leadership of Captain Bligh. The Bounty belongs to the Royal Navy, and Captain Bligh is of course also a navy establishment, and the official rank is captain. It stands to reason that his crew members are also members of the Navy, but what we see in the film is a group of stragglers. In addition to the decent crew, there are also strong men who are randomly captured from the street and prisoners who are ready to redeem their crimes. Management is difficult. Naturally it is very high. But Captain Bligh was a greedy and cruel man. The crew was slightly at fault, serving with a whip, and several of them were just to satisfy his abusive desire. In this way, after Bligh's repeated violence, he finally provoked first officer Fletcher Chris. He led a mutiny and seized command of the Bounty. He also chased Bly and a few of his entourages to the lifeboat and let them fend for themselves. Fortunately, in addition to his brutal character, Bligh has a strong side. With his rich sailing experience, he has gone through untold hardships and finally returned to England. The Chriss returned to the island of Tahiti, where they had just left, brought their girlfriends, and drifted to an unknown desert island to make a living.
I checked it on the Internet, and a total of five films with the same name and the same story were shot. Namely 1916, 1933, 1935, 1962 and 1984. Because of the age, no resources for 1916 and 1933 were found. I read the remaining three parts one after the other. The 1935 version starred Clark Gable; the 1962 version starred Marlon Brando; the 1984 version was full of big names, with Captain Bly played by Hopkins, first mate Chris played by Mel Gibson, crew One is played by Liam Neeson, which is a strong lineup. After reading it, I feel that the 1984 version has the best director scheduling, story structure and photography techniques, and the 1962 version has the strongest human touch, and the 1935 version is the 1935 version that can trigger people’s in-depth thinking, the most authentic description of the event, and the most complete character. of. The difference between the three versions is not in the performance of the actors, but in the script. Before writing this impression, I found out that the latter two versions were nominated for the Cannes Film Festival and Oscar respectively, and the 1935 version was the best picture of the 8th Oscar. It really deserves its name. So my own perception revolves around the beginning of the 1935 edition.
The first question is where does Captain Bligh's power come from? How should he use power? In the film, at the beginning of the departure, Bligh announced to all crew members on the deck: "All crew members must remember that I am your captain, your judge, and your jury." It was almost impossible to say "I am Your God" too. The old saying goes well: kindness does not take control. Strict requirements are right, but such strictness is based on justice. The use of power can only be implemented normally under the premise of public approval. People don't doubt Bligh's professional skills, but it doesn't work to do whatever he wants with superhuman expertise. Regarding the recent behavior, Chris sees clearly: "He is not punishing people for military discipline, he likes others to kneel and flatter." Bligh disregarded the life and death of the crew, violent at every turn, and ordered the officer to make a small collision. Bym climbed to the mast, letting the sun and rain rain. The crew revealed that he was depriving him of rations, and he came up with 24 whips. The military doctor was seriously ill, he still let him participate in the assembly, and died on the deck. What's ridiculous is that before each torture, Bligh also pretended to quote the naval doctrine to prove his legitimacy. But "for the crew, a thoughtful sentence is better than a nine-tail whip." What Bligh did not expect was that once public opinion was lost, the legitimacy of his power would have been lost. The subsequent mutiny proved this truth. A ship is a small closed society. In the vast sea where no one cares about, Bligh can certainly serve as the captain, judge and jury. However, once the crew shows their strength, they don’t have to oppose the country or King George. , It is more than enough to knock you down as a captain.
Look at the official history again. After this rebellion, Captain Bligh was spurned by the judges in the film, but instead of being punished, he was transferred to another ship to continue to serve as captain, and he also experienced two small battles during the rebellion. In the rebellion, the official position has risen sharply, from the captain to the retirement of the lieutenant admiral. This makes people have to question the British philosophy and system of governance. After all, it is the draconian law enforced by Britain that supports Bligh's brutal methods. This is a digression.
Another question, the crew from the British Empire went to Tahiti and met those beautiful indigenous girls. Are they looking for sex or love? In the '84 version of the film, the mutiny directed by Chris seemed to be entirely for the Tahitian girl, and the captain's injustice was just a fuse. In the 35th edition, Chris said: "I never thought there would be such a perfect person in this world. They are innocent and kind. And, they are noble." Is it really the case? It is hard to imagine that a woman living in the primitive stage of society has a life-long hard work and has never accepted modern civilization. Even though she is the daughter of the chief, it does not seem to be "noble". And between an English gentleman and an aboriginal girl, they can't even understand the words, and there is no common language in other aspects of life. You can marry her on impulse, but how will you get along in the decades to come? Unless you treat him as a free nanny. True love is the communion of hearts and the agreement of ideas. So, the choreographer described this pastoral life too idealistically.
The third question, how do you treat Chris' final choice? Chris faced the cruelty of Captain Bligh and said when he couldn't bear it: "Even if we want to be hanged, we have to do it upright!" In fact, Chris is a very rational person. Regarding Bligh's violence, he repeatedly endured it until he realized that the punishment Bligh imposed on people was to destroy their spirit and deprive them of their freedom. He also understands what he will face, as Bym said: “He himself punished him more severely than the judges sentenced him.” We can think about it this way: If Chris returns to China, he will only be hanged. In an instant, he could hear the familiar accent from the friends and the jailer when he was in jail, and he could feel the mountains, rivers, fields and rivers of the motherland when he was exiled. And his final helpless choice is to break away from civilization, return to the primitive, can no longer enjoy a civilized life, can not experience the habits of civilization, or even think about civilization. The price of all these pains is to live with self-esteem. We have a saying here: It’s better to die than to live. Everyone will hesitate and hesitate when facing this kind of moment. In the 62nd edition of the film, Chris once had regrets. In the 35th edition, the crew also opposed burning the warship, saying: "In this way, we will never be able to return to England." Ignorance? To live or die? Everyone's choice is extremely difficult. Of course, I think I have seen through the hypocrisy of a civilized society, except for Gauguin who is dedicated to the pursuit of returning to the basics.
At the end of the film, Bym said in a court statement: “They didn’t ask for comfort, and they didn’t ask for safety. If they had the opportunity to talk to you face to face, they would say: Let us choose to do things freely, and don’t treat us as slaves. They are free British people. All they want is the freedom that England expects everyone to have." I agree with him very much.
There is an interesting scene in the film that has nothing to do with the subject. When the warship that Bligh commanded against Chris ran aground, Bligh ordered the hatch to be opened and the prisoners Bym and others boarded the lifeboat. Bym said to Bligh: "Thank you! You saved us." At this time, Bligh pointed his left hand upwards disdainfully, tilted his head, and yelled: "Mr. Bym, I won't leave you alone. Come on. Ship!" A look of a savior with a look of contempt. Charles Lawton is absolutely amazing!
My rating: 8.0.
View more about Mutiny on the Bounty reviews
