-Comment on "Deer Hunter"
In 1978, Michael Cimino, who was still unknown at the time, won eleven Oscar nominations for his "Deer Hunter" and finally won six awards. The film has not only achieved the reputation of the talented director Cimino, but more importantly, it has brought out a group of new stars: Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep and Christopher Walken, who will dominate Hollywood in the future. "Deer Hunter" has already tried his skills. Of course, the judges of the Oscars in 1978 would not know that "Deer Hunter" was just a short-lived inspiration for Cimino; let alone the success of "Deer Hunter", a brand new theme in the history of film was achieved. Vietnam War movie. Perhaps just because the Vietnam War is closely related to the pain of every American, more and more people are beginning to relive it through movies, feel it, and make great works one after another. Whether it’s another genius, Stanley Kubrick’s "Full Metal Shell", or action movie authority Oliver Stone’s "Field Platoon", or the equally intriguing "Apocalypse Now" and "Born in July" "Four Days" are all Oscar's momentary classics. Even the muscle man Stallone played "First Blood" sturdily in the name of the Vietnam War. However, "Deer Hunter" is still unique. It accurately grasps the emotional psychology of human beings, it has the subtleties in the storyline, its appropriate background music, and the most essential part of the war through the three male protagonists. On the one hand, they all show that the six Oscars are well deserved. It is sought after by the majority of movie fans, the research of film experts, and the thinking of related scholars are definitely not an accident.
In the sound of firecrackers in the Chinese New Year in the Year of the Tiger, I insisted on watching this film which is slightly lengthy (three hours), sad (you will know when you read), and sad (the three men finally returned home safely). I can't help but say that it is a challenge. Fortunately, I finally finished watching it. There was no fast forward and no rewinding. Miraculously admired his concentration (even the corners of Nicky's eyes were not wet and he didn't scream in the last shot of Nicky). However, when the film ended and Cavatina's melody sounded again, tears had already flowed silently.
"Deer Hunter" tells an uncomplicated story. The story takes place in Clairton, a small Russian-American town near Pittsburgh, the "steel capital" of the United States, during the Vietnam War. Among the five deer hunting friends in the town, Michael, Nicky, and Steven are about to head to the battlefield in Vietnam. Before leaving, Steven and his girlfriend Angela held a lively wedding. However, after the excitement, the three of them said silent farewell. The wings of the helicopter rumbled, and they had arrived in the middle of the rain forest and rice fields in Vietnam.
In one battle, the three were captured by the Vietnamese army. The cruel Vietnamese army forced Michael and Nicky to play "Russian Roulette". After some thrilling, Michael snatched the guns of the Vietnamese army, and the three successfully escaped. But in the process of fleeing, Steven's legs stayed in Vietnam forever, and will spend his life in a wheelchair from now on; Nicky is even separated from Michael and Steven. When Michael saw the anonymous remittance sent from Saigon and ventured to find Nicky, Nicky, who was once innocent and shy, had already abandoned himself and got trapped in the "Russian Roulette" casino in Saigon.
In order to persuade Nicky to go home, Michael did not hesitate to play a game of Russian roulette with Nicky at the cost of his own life, but this was not effective in the face of the iron-hearted Nicky. Just hearing a gunshot, Nicky's body slowly fell, and blood slowly flowed out of his temples. As a life, he no longer existed.
Nicky's death happened just before the end of the Vietnam War. ABC’s historical reports, coupled with the grief of losing loved ones, make "God bless America" sung in unison at the end of the film, which seems so sincere and moving. Amidst the singing, several voices sounded "To Nicky" one after another, and the film was frozen in the sound of Cavatina's music.
After watching "Deer Hunter", I think we no longer need to pursue the justice of the US in launching the Vietnam War; no longer need to explore how unpopular the Vietnam War was at that time; no longer need to bother about the politicization of certain film critics. Criticism: "Is the Vietnamese army really so cruel?" "How can the Russians love the United States so much?". These issues are indeed very acute, but unfortunately they have nothing to do with the theme of the film. The film does not truly reflect history. Moreover, the origin, development, casualties of the Vietnam War are not determined by ordinary people. Just as the Iraqi war film "The Hurt Locker", which won the Oscar with six awards thirty years later, the protagonist of "Deer Hunter" is just ordinary people in the war. What it reveals is only ordinary life. Ordinary suffering.
Political disagreements are eclipsed by the grand narrative of human struggle.
Moreover, those sufferings have already devastated a whole generation of people.
Cavatina
is a piece of music that runs through the entire film. It is at the beginning , there is it in the film, and it is at the end.
This is a piece of music that is not only favored by Cimino, but also includes Steven Spielberg. In another masterpiece "Schindler's List", its name is "Give me your Names".
Cavatina is originally Italian, meaning "little song, ballad", especially short lyrical songs. In the sense of instrumental music, Cavatina refers to a string music sketch with a beautiful and moving melody. In the opening, the tune is slowly as a song under the accompaniment of soft and soft strings, there is no lack of a touch of warmth, a touch of romance; but at the end of the film, the same melody Cavatina renders a kind of silent sadness, a sad but not sad nostalgia, the movie The theme is played to the fullest by the music here.
The clues of the film are also gradually unfolding in this sad but not sad atmosphere. In the first hour, what we saw was perhaps just the peaceful life in the small town of Clairton, a peaceful and happy life. The atmosphere at the wedding was lively and lively, with hundreds of guests dancing to the music of "Katyusha". The only exception may be the feeling of a US soldier in the bar about the experience of the Vietnam War-"Fuck it". At that time, the soldier faced three men who were about to go to the battlefield in Vietnam.
It can be considered that this is Cimino's true view of the Vietnam War.
The war came quietly, and the camera switched to the rainforests and fields of Vietnam. American soldiers trudged through the jungle. Gunshots sounded without warning. Many people fell, some were injured, and the rest became prisoners. In the Vietnamese military camp, something called "Russian Roulette" made them realize for the first time that death was far less vigorous than they had imagined before.
One-shot kills, without warning, ended forever.
Michael and Nicky were also pushed to the gaming table. In just a few minutes, they experienced the deepest spiritual experience in their lives: insults, fears, weighing, persecution, everything is unforgettable. Win or lose has nothing to do with you, but before you win or lose, your own destiny is doomed. You are just the prey to be slaughtered by the hunter. Death is only a matter of time. More importantly, for every second of your remaining life, the fear that life is better than death All will follow you like a shadow.
In the Vietnamese military camp, Cavatina was silent, cursing and gunshots had filled the sky.
After Michael escaped and returned to his hometown, people were fascinated by his military uniforms, berets and medals. But Nicky's fiancée Linda went further, and the psychological gap left by Nicky made her love Michael. In the darkness, Linda sneaked into the room, kissed the sleeping Michael on the cheek, and then hugged him tightly.
At this time, Cavatina's melody sounded again. What does it chant? The twists and turns of life, the joy of reunion, or the twists and turns of feelings? Maybe the three are both. For the lonely Linda, Michael's return is a remedy; for Michael, who is still a bachelor, isn't Linda another remedy? So the two moved closer, talked, and hugged each other. This is just a kind of mutual affection, not a mutual affection. It is not difficult to see from the film that worry and fear still accompany these two people. Can their relationship last? This is not the subject of the film, nor did the director say. We have only seen that love is so pale, helpless and precious in the context of war.
When Cavatina was about to appear for the third time, Nicky was dead, Steven was crippled, and Clairton was enveloped in an inexplicable sadness. A few old friends were sitting at the dining table, without greetings and smiling faces, only "To Nicky" and "God bless America" that everyone choked. Steven in the wheelchair was thoughtful, Michael's expression was serious, and Linda's face looked even more serious. pale. Many viewers' tears shed at this moment, and I am no exception. At the end of the film, Cavatina's melody slowly sounded, and the screen turned to darkness, followed by the cast and stills. Michael, Nicky, Steven, Stanley, familiar figures dazzled before his eyes, as if it had been yesterday. However, things are different, and war has changed everything. As individuals, they are small, humble and not worth mentioning, but it is these small tragedies and comedies that reflect the vicissitudes of an era. Their lives, like the Cavavatina that appears repeatedly in the film, are short and sturdy, hardly modified, and without gorgeous accompaniment and maneuvering. However, in the grand background of the Vietnam War, they appear to be so twists and turns.
The metaphor of
the deer The first time to hunt a deer, Michael, who was skilled in shooting, shot the elk in the abdomen, and the elk fell over.
The second time he returned from the Vietnam War, Michael raised his gun to aim and then put it down; after three repetitions, he finally chose to give up.
The first time that Nicky and Nicky were forced to play "Russian Roulette", Michael's courage was still alive and his fighting spirit was not lost; after a fierce fight, he finally managed to lead Nicky and Steven out of the Vietnamese army barracks.
However, in Michael's second Russian roulette, no amount of courage, fighting spirit, friendship, and even brotherly love can undo Nicky's death. One-shot kills is so clean, neat and cruel.
The BBC's comment on this is that "Russian roulette is a metaphor for reality". Deer, why not?
In Eastern culture, the meaning of deer is generally extended to power, interest, and even the world. "Whoever will win" and "Compete in the Central Plains" all show this meaning. In Western culture, the image of deer is very simple and simple. The deer symbolizes beauty, purity and life. Which one should we use? Different people have different opinions. But to be honest, I am not willing to give up either view. Perhaps, in Cimino's mind, the image of a deer is a fusion of things and perceptions.
If it is said that Michael’s first time shooting a deer, there is also a kind of "ambition" and a heroic complex of "one arrow at the throat" is contained, then in the second deer hunting, the image of the deer can almost be hidden in his heart. The beauty, purity is equal. Is that purity in your heart okay? This is a question Michael asked himself and us.
The Vietnam War made him grow up, but it was not without a price. Michael became quieter and more taciturn. This seems to be a kind of maturity, but in fact it is not a kind of self-protection? The outer edge of temperament has been polished clean by the war, and what replaces them is the magnificence of the inner world. What is war? What is life? Michael gradually understood, but said nothing. The deer in his heart is actually still there, but it has long been hidden among the thousands of flowers, and no one can see it at all. It is because they cannot see that the deer avoids the danger of being shot, but because of this, the beauty of the deer is not known to the world. Out of the instinctive fear of war, Michael deeply wrapped the beauty and innocence in his heart. There was nothing wrong with it, and it was this that made him avoid the final mental breakdown like Nicky. It's just that Michael's aroused youth is hidden in this way. He can no longer pull the trigger calmly as usual, and carry the wild deer back home with his partner.
The second time he went up the mountain to hunt deer, maybe only the confrontation with Stanley could be regarded as a big show of Michael's true temperament. There was a small dispute between the companions, and Stanley pulled out his gun and aimed it at Axel. At this moment, Michael stepped forward and almost arbitrarily told Stanley with his personal experience of "Russian Roulette" that life is actually precious. Maybe only at this moment can we see Michael's true heart. In fact, the deer in his heart is still there, and he is still noble and upright.
——It's just that he is never pure again.
Competing for life
I love you, love you, really.
——Michael, Saigon Casino, Vietnam. One minute before Nicky committed suicide.
When Nicky personally ended his life in Russian roulette, the news broadcast on American TV was this: "The last chapter of the U.S. military's battle in Vietnam." It's over. This is also the largest military operation in the history of the United States. Hayley Brown, ABC Broadcasting Company", with US warships and helicopters on the South China Sea in the background. The reporter's calm, calm tone made it easy for people to ignore the true meaning of the news for the 50,000 American soldiers: the war is finally over, the days of nervousness and fear are over, they can finally go home. Of course, this does not include the fifty thousand American soldiers who were buried in Vietnam, nor Nicky. Before his body was wiped out by his last shot, his soul had already gone with the wind under Vietnamese artillery fire.
Of course, we can say that everyone has been devastated. After returning from the Vietnam War, Steven found that he had no face to face his family because he was only half of his body left. Linda is Nicky's fiancée, and it goes without saying that Nicky's death will hit her psychologically. Even the tough Michael’s personality has changed: when Linda expressed his love to him, he, who was affectionate in his heart, did not immediately agree; on the Appalachian hunting ground, the deer had already stepped into the scope. But at that time, he finally fired an empty gun in the sky. This is no longer the old man, Michael, who showed his talents on the hunting ground.
But despite this, they are still alive after all, and there is hope when they are alive. In other words, they survived.
Nietzsche has a famous saying: "What doesn't make you fall makes you stronger."
In the race for life, they are still winners, even if they have been injured more or less.
The model who survived the race in the end is undoubtedly Michael after the war.
After returning from the Vietnam War, Michael couldn't help yelling, "OK?"
There was an echo from the valley, "OK?"
Yeah, he's still OK.
That night, when Stanley raised his shotgun to his companion, Michael used roulette to tell this friend that to live well, there is only one life. In this deer hunting, he did not have a prey. However, at that time, he had already experienced a spiritual cleansing, and had a deeper and deeper understanding and experience of life and the world, which is why he became stronger and more mature. It was from that time that the deer hunting began, that he had a more perfect and tough personality.
In the life and death fight of roulette on the battlefield, Michael was the winner; in the post-war life, although it was not without cost, he was the same. Whether it was from a handicapped nursing home to persuade Steven, who was on the verge of physical and mental collapse, or when he later created Vietnam alone and tried to pick up the desperate Nicky from the casino. A voice always reminded him: Competing for life is not easy, every moment is worth cherishing. Cherish the people around you, this world, and your unique self. Michael relied on his strong inner strength and his tenacity to be loyal to himself, and finally survived and made him the savior of Steven and Nicky.
The Vietnam War destroyed many things, including Steven's legs and Nicky's body, and Michael was also hit hard. But the soul is still there, and the soul is not gone. The war shattered the original mold of his character, and Michael rebuilt one with his own tenacious will. We can't say that this new Michael is more perfect than the original one, but the basic fact that Michael survived has allowed us to see his extraordinary. What's more, not only did he survive himself, but he also saved the proud and vain Stanley and the miserable Steven, and almost saved Nicky, realizing the sublimation of his soul. In this sense, it is certainly not an exaggeration to say that Michael is the winner of this life race.
Do not destroy in the race, but sublimate in the race.
You know, they ultimately pursue only one thing-life.
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