The great director David Lean has made two films about middle-aged love tragedies, one is "Meet and Hate" in 1945, and the other is "Summer Time" in 1954. The former is extremely famous, and the latter are not so famous. However, in my opinion, "Summertime" is also a profound love tragedy.
It is said that the relationship between each person and the other half of his life is like an apple divided into two halves, and only when the two halves are put together can they bite tightly. However, the paradox is that everyone's other half is left in a distant place. The probability of the two halves meeting is extremely low, approaching zero. The reasons are various: age, health, income, family, ethnicity, etc., but the most paradoxical is time. What if you and your doomed significant other live in different eras?
After all, the love tragedy told in Hate to See You is not the worst kind, that is: two people who should love each other live in different eras, however, it is still the worst kind. family blocked. The hero and heroine in "Meet Hate Too Late" are all married and have children. Their encounter, acquaintance, and love develop naturally like running water. They are the apples whose two halves are separated, and they are each other's true other half.
At this point, what should they do? Is the choice family? Or love? In fact, the strength of this story is that whatever they choose, the ending will be tragic. Behold, gentlemen: if they choose love, they will face constant pressure from family, society, and their own ethics. Can this kind of love last forever? If they choose family, they will face regret every day for the rest of their lives. Because life is only once, after all, true love is so thrilling. It is also for this reason that "Meet Hate Late" is a masterpiece of love that really touches the tragedy of life.
Summertime is another tragedy. The heroine, Miss Hudson, is a middle-aged woman who lives in Ohio, USA, and works as a secretary. After years of accumulation, she was finally able to come to the beautiful water city-Venice for a relaxing trip. The hero, Mr. Mario, is a handsome middle-aged man who runs a small antique shop in Venice, has a estranged wife, and a son who helps him with his business. Once the fire of their love was wiped out, it was like a spark of fire, and soon it became a prairie, and they fell in love quickly and deeply. However, it didn't take long for the heroine to bid farewell to the hero and leave Venice as if to escape, saying goodbye to this love. why is that? When I watched it for the first time, I was puzzled. So I read it again carefully, carefully pondering every word the heroine said and everything she did, and the answer seemed to be clear.
It is said that when a person reaches middle age who has experienced the vicissitudes of life, it is the time to understand life and learn to enjoy life. The heroine in the film met the love she wanted at this time, and she should have overcome all difficulties to pursue love. But at this time, she chose to give up. There must be some obstacles that are difficult to overcome, right? On the surface, this obstacle does not appear to exist. Although the male protagonist is married and has a son, his son welcomes her, and his wife has been separated from him for many years, living her own life, and their marriage exists in name only. In other words, there is no obstacle for the male side. That's on the woman. Is it the ethics of Miss Hudson as an American? We know that the United States was founded by Puritanism. Regarding marriage, Puritanism believed that marriage was sacred and the third party was sinful. If Miss Hudson can't make up her mind to be with Mario because of this, the film must do some foreshadowing and rendering, but the film doesn't say a word about it, it seems that the problem lies elsewhere. After careful exploration, I have come to the conclusion that Miss Hudson's tragedy stems from her own weakness of character - cowardice.
Miss Hudson is cowardly, which is explained at the beginning of the film. After checking into a small hotel in Venice, Miss Hudson quickly became acquainted with the hospitable inn proprietor, but when the proprietress invited her to a party, she refused. Originally, when a traveler came to a new place, attending a local gathering was the best chance to learn about the local life, but she refused for no reason. The reason could only be her cowardly character. She is cowardly, always afraid of new things, often living in her own little world, chewing alone and desolate. She also longs for friendship and love, but always within a safe range. So, her only friend in Venice is a homeless little local boy. This is the best proof of her character traits, for innocent children are always safe to associate with confidence and boldness. Even in the process of interacting with Mario, we can find how her cowardly character hinders her expression again and again. If it weren't for Mario's courage, the love between them may only be in the cradle forever.
There are various obstacles to love, such as time and space, nationality, family, personality, health, income, body, etc., any one of them can become a stumbling block for love. However, the stumbling block to love by a cowardly character is a major discovery in Summertime. This obstacle is so small and so powerful, so powerful that it destroys hard-won love with the same neatness. Life is precious, and love is equally precious. "Summertime" reminds us that some of the great tragedies in our lives are caused by small factors.
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