At first, I thought it was an apocalyptic science fiction movie, mixed with war memories.
After seeing it, I gradually became better and clarified the context of the story. In fact, this is the illusion and reality of an Afghan battlefield veteran.
The story is not complicated. The director used three lines to tell the story. The first line is Gabriel’s consultation with a military psychologist. This is Gabriel’s current situation, which is the present tense of the story; the second line is Gabriel’s experience on the battlefield in Afghanistan. When he and his friend Davin fought back against the enemy's sneak attack, they rushed into the enemy's shelter and cleared the battlefield, but Davin was unfortunately killed by a hidden enemy. After Gabriel eliminated the enemy, he found that he had killed a mother and son. The story of this line is Gabriel’s memory, a real memory; and the third line is Gabriel and Davin looking for his wife and son in the end times. This is actually a kind of illusion of Gabriel, he sacrificed in his friend Davin. Later, I found out that my wife Natalie and Davin had a leg. The double damage of war and emotion caused Gabriel's psychological and spiritual damage. He felt like he was in the end times, which caused a strong hallucination.
At the same time, the story tells three pairs of relationships, namely the emotional entanglement between Gabriel and his wife, Gabriel and his son, and Gabriel and his friend Davin. Let me talk about the story of him and his son first. This is the most important clue in the film. He left his son, looked for his son, and finally found his son. The whole story shows a strong relationship between father and son, but it is a pity that there are not many ups and downs and changes in this relationship. . Then there is the story of him and his friend Davin. Gabriel first went to the battlefield in Afghanistan and later fought side by side with Davin. Unfortunately, because of his negligence, Davin was killed, and Gabriel fell into deep self-blame. But at the same time, he discovered the indiscretion between Davin and his wife, which made him fall into deep distress. The last is the story of Gabriel and his wife Natalie. There is not much description in this story. It is mainly at the beginning and the end, that is, before leaving home to go to the battlefield. He had an unpleasant conversation with his wife, but later he came back to find The son was blocked by his wife.
The two best shots in the film, one is that Gabriel was attacked together with Davin and others on the Afghan battlefield, then counterattacked the enemy, cleared the battlefield, and encountered the enemy shooting in the room. The scenes of war memories and narrations are switched repeatedly, creating a very tense atmosphere, which is more appetizing. With many years of experience in watching movies, when soldiers shouted "Clear" with guns, I had long imagined that the enemy would shoot with secret guns, and I could estimate the consequences. But that's it, I still feel nervous and suspenseful.
In another scene, Gabriel finally ran home to find his son. This period of switching between Gabriel's hallucinations and the memory of finding his son was also thrilling and touching. Especially when Gabriel confronted his wife Natalie with a gun, he wanted to find his wife, but in the hallucinations he regarded his wife as an enemy. He hesitated to kill her, and his wife begged him weakly. Here, the director's handling was still lagging behind, and the gun aimed at his forehead finally did not pull the trigger. According to my experience as a director, Gabriel should have shot Natalie in the ear irrationally, shocking her to the ground and shocking the audience. This also provided a reason for the police to shoot Gabriel later, otherwise the police shot was a bit sudden and lacked a sufficient reason.
This film feels a bit like a propositional composition. It was made for veterans with PTSD to reveal their survival plight, because it is said that every day 20 American veterans will commit suicide due to this syndrome. The director's answer sheet is still very thoughtful and conceived, but the completion is a little less exciting.
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