Upon a Time in America": A movie that a man can't help but watch. The title on the top is Poppy's statement but close to the true meaning, and the title below is a modified statement but close to pretentiousness.
"Once
Upon a
Time in America": There is no perfect introduction to meaningful life , and the movie is no exception. If I only choose a movie that is close to perfection, in terms of my crude viewing volume and taste, I choose "Once Upon a Time in America." Although it has not won the grand prizes to show off at the Oscars and the three major European film festivals, the ranking of imdb is not conspicuous, and the stories and skills are not so shocking.
But "Once Upon a Time in America" is a unique movie. Its mixed life, prose and poetry, lyrical mood, like a world away narrative perspective, and meaningful character settings make it still today after more than 20 years. It exudes a long-lasting fragrance, it is a light yellow halo, soft and bright.
1. The mixed taste of life.
Someone once said that "Once Upon a Time in America" contains all of life. This is the most concise and accurate film review. The beauty of life does not lie in the beauty itself, but in the mixture of beauty and ugliness, people have experienced and experienced.
Evil is in everyone's heart and around. Noodles viciously raped Carol during the diamond robbery, and there was no excuse for him. At that moment, evil took over the soul of the noodles. Mikes viciously killed his brother to monopolize property, just a testament to his filthy human nature.
The same is true for good. When Dominic in Noodle's arms said "I slipped and fell" and died, the young Noodle stabbed the murderer regardless of the arrival of the police. This was the guidance of brotherhood and the inevitable nature of his kindness. Carol is an out-and-out slut, but he has paid the most for Mikes.
Complicated people have no inherent good or bad. If they are forced to distinguish, they can only be the reality or destiny that cannot be changed. Max's last confession cannot erase his vicious life; Dominic lost his young life, but achieved the most glorious humanity in the film. At the end of the film, the noodles who wanted to save their brothers in an informative way lay alone in the opium shop and laughed. Good and evil finally met in the contest of life and laughed. Evil always needs salvation, and this salvation is good.
2. The poetic and lyrical mood of prose.
In my opinion, no director has dared to poeticize the film so thoroughly like Sergio Leone. It surpasses the director’s own "Bounty Three" The masterpieces of "Macaroni" Western films such as "Trilogy" are also different from the golden routines of gangster films represented by "The Godfather" and Xicoses films.
The beauty of the image also reflects the beauty of life. When the noodles see Deborah dancing in the melodious music through the cracks of the brick walls, the light and shadow of the film shine with light, and the awakening of a teenager's soul is completed. And when the simple Patsy waited for Paggy with a cream cake, between the sprouting of sex and the temptation of food, we saw the innocence of Paggy who took a bite of the cake and our own childhood memories.
Even ugliness has been given a tolerant color by the director in the lingering between the lens and the light and shadow. When Deborah refused the noodles' courtship, the dull noodles destroyed her dream of life in the most vulgar way. The brutal rape in the back seat of the car was not so much revenge on Deborah, it was noodles. Destroy yourself.
Ennio Morricone (Ennio Morricone), Leone's master soundtrack, infused the film with weird and wonderful music. The use of panpipes, harmonicas, and trumpets is amazing, with a soothing and simple melody, allowing viewers to indulge in the nostalgic atmosphere of the streets of New York in the early, 30s and 60s of the 20th century, in a gentle and restrained way Come to show the rhythm of human nature and the ups and downs of life, lyrical meaning slowly wandering.
3.
The outstanding narrative perspective of "Once Upon a Time in America" is also reflected in the agility of the narrative style, and the poetic use of narration is perfectly reflected in this film. In the growth process of noodles and Yigan brothers, the juvenile juvenile, the loss of middle age, and the woodiness of old age are superimposed, and the dreams and mutations, loss and return of life are displayed in front of the viewer in this interlacing. Let us see ourselves in the travel of time, as if a world away.
Just like the pocket watch that made noodles and Mikes meet and separate, lost and regained, gained and lost, in the cycle of time-when is it 24 o'clock? -Things are not human. It is like the phone ring that lasted for a few minutes at the beginning of the article. It also travels through time and space, connecting to the scene where the brothers were killed, the smokehouse where the noodles are exhausted, the brothers when they were young, and the desire to talk when they were old. , It fell on the phone where the noodles betrayed the news in good faith to the police chief.
The change of the lens is also an expression of meaning. When the little brothers succeeded in the experiment of sinking salt and smuggling, a hazy color was brought out in the pure surface of the water. This skillful use of light and shadow hinted at the protagonist's seemingly bright but dark future. When Noodles reverently dated Deborah in a luxury hotel, the cold-toned sea outside the window of the table that Deborah chose was. Perhaps at that moment, those who were waiting for the noodles were destined to be cold and helpless.
Fourth, meaningful characters set up
brothers and anti-object stories are not new, and the gang theme is "The Godfather", but among the six brothers of "Once Upon a Time in America", noodles and Mikes are faintly opposed, and Paige and squint ( Cockeye's love and meaning, and Fat Moe's and Dominic's simple sincerity, still show an extraordinary dramatic tension. With the addition of three women with different personalities, Deborah, Carol, and Page, this movie about life and growth has become complete and credible.
Robert De Niro's performance in this film reached the peak of his career. This is not to deny that he was in "Taxi Driver", "Angry Bull", "Good Guys" and "Deer Hunter". "The great performances in movies such as "Stealing the Wire", but in 1983, De Niro's state should be the true peak of his film career.
This year De Niro is exactly 40 years old, which is a peak for an actor. He has the best experience, feelings and state, and encountering a masterpiece like "Once Upon a Time in America" is a good thing that complements each other. He interprets the dullness and loss of middle-aged noodles and the compassion and persistence of old age convincingly. It is hard to imagine whether we will be saddened by this complete bastard if we are replaced by others.
Both the shame and inner suffering of Mikes murdering his brother surfaced on the knife-cut face of James Woods. Similarly, Deborah's vanity and fragility, fat cowardice and loyalty, Kahlo's licentiousness and sincerity are all vivid and unusual under the actors' soul-possessed performance.
What can not be forgotten, of course, is Dominic's face like an angel and his unforgettable street jumping, and the cream cake that little Paige ate every bite.
The end,
just as we can't see through the complicated life, there are too many details and feelings in "Once Upon a Time in America", but the more we say, the more we miss. There have been too many comments on this film-it was originally a story about a person's life, who can tell it for a lifetime-everyone just expresses the feelings and emotions that are mixed with personal experiences.
Rather than saying that the ultimate destiny of noodles is the destruction of the dream of life, it is better to say that he has completed the salvation of himself while walking. It has surpassed the moral preaching of good and evil and has moved towards a starting point full of affection. At that moment, destruction is rebirth, silence. Is the best cry.
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