Obviously it is a war film, but the very literary name is "The End of the Journey". Those who like war movies should be wary.
What is the end of the journey? After watching the film, I realized that the journey is the journey of life, and the end is death. This is a literary and artistic film dressed in the cloak of war. The theme is about several views of life that are bound to die. The three protagonists, one by one, go to meet the unknown death, just like "Rogue One". During this process, the three attitudes they showed, the three attitudes towards war, either pessimistic, or indifferent, or courageous, constitute the focus of the film.
It is said that it is a war movie. Actually, there is no decent war. People who like war movies must be disappointed. The background of the story is the forefront of the First World War. The time is March 1918. This is a decisive time. The Allied Powers headed by Britain and France and the Axis Powers headed by Germany will soon be divided, and the war will be completely over half a year later. At this time, in the Saint-Quentin area of northern France, the British and German troops were hiding in their respective trenches. The nearest distance was no more than 60 meters. A deadly battle was on the horizon.
Now that there is such a setting, everyone definitely hopes to see a fierce battle with artillery and human flesh. However, it did not.
"End of the Journey" is not about war, but about people under war. It is about three outlooks on life and three human natures under war.
In fact, a large number of topics related to human nature in the war, whether it be art or academics, appeared after the Vietnam War. We were exposed to a lot of these topics, only initiated by Hollywood, which reflected the folk anti-war sentiment into the film, and then became a big picture. "End of the Journey" moved this topic forward, avoiding the Vietnam War and the subsequent Bosnia-Herzegovina War and the Gulf War, but jumping directly into World War I. The environment is unfamiliar enough, but as far as the theme of the movie is concerned, go It was a risky move, and it was not so appropriate, just as the issue of external humiliation in the Qing Dynasty had to be discussed in the Tang Dynasty. During the First World War, the biggest problem was that the weapons had been modernized, but the tactics were mostly the tactics of the cold weapon era. The emphasis was still on the tactics of the human sea, and the hardship between people was the main factor in the battle, so the casualties were extremely high. . Unlike the current war, people should avoid confrontation between people as much as possible, relying on the competition between science and technology, bombing first, people are only used to clean the battlefield in the final stage. "The End of the Journey" has less war scenes and advanced topicality. The combination of these two factors affects the attention and scoring of the film. Those who like war films think it is too boring, those who like literary films find it difficult to accept the setting of war, and both fail to do well, which is a bit embarrassing.
Let’s talk about what the movie says. Let’s take a look at the background of the story.
The general background is the "Spring Offensive" of 1918 that took place in World War I, also known as "Emperor Offensive", "Emperor Battle", "Ludendorff Offensive", etc., and there is no unified name. Because of the "October Revolution" that took place in Russia in 1917 the previous year, Soviet Russia under Lenin reached a consensus with Germany. Russia cut a large area of territory and obtained a German-Russian armistice agreement. As a result, the German army was free to take action on the Eastern Front. Nearly 50 divisions and nearly one million German troops were released on the Western Front. This caused a sudden change in the situation on the Western Front. For the first time, Germany was more in number than the Allied Forces. At this time, the US military has officially entered the war. Although it takes time to mobilize, it can already send nearly 50,000 soldiers to the battlefield every month. Therefore, Germany must fight quickly, and problems will arise when time is delayed. Finally, in the spring of 1918 (March), the Germans launched a huge offensive. Because the commander-in-chief of the German army was Ludendorff, this offensive was also called "Ludendorff Offensive." Some people believed that it was an offensive directly launched by the German emperor. The name should be called "Emperor Offensive." The name of the unanimous failed to reach an agreement. But as long as we talk about the offensive in the spring of 1918, everyone understands it.
Before launching the offensive in 1917, France was defeated in May in the "Nivell Offensive" launched by its own side; Russia, which had just completed the "February Revolution", also suffered a disastrous defeat in the "July Offensive," and then the "10th Offensive" broke out. Revolution" and signed an armistice agreement with Germany. The Allied Powers were faced with a situation of defeat and division. Both the Eastern Front and the West had to be in a state of rest and reorganization. They could only defend passively and could not launch a counterattack. The German army is on the verge of victory and morale is booming. Of course, it can also be said that Germany is the end of the war. After all, the First World War will end in November 1918, and Germany will soon be completely destroyed.
Specifically for the spring offensive, the German army withdrew from part of the French territory in response to the French "Nivell offensive" in the previous year. Before leaving, Germany implemented a scorched earth policy, where the wells were poisoned and the roads were destroyed. The implementation of this policy was so perfect that until the "spring offensive", France still failed to repair these roads. So when the German commandos in the spring offensive re-occupied these areas of France, both sides were unable to complete supplies in time. This is also involved in "The End of the Journey". The British army on the front line cannot get effective back-up, and this is the reason.
As the Germans were more prepared and had the advantage of manpower, they also adopted new tactics and new equipment (as evidenced by the fact that they all wore gas masks when they occupied the land in the film), they almost defeated the British in the early stage, and they fought directly. Tens of thousands of people died. Later, the German army even advanced to Paris, so that the high-level military and political leaders of the Allied powers had a willingness to surrender. The French government was preparing to withdraw from Paris. You can truce.
However, the German commander-in-chief Ludendorff made a few blind mistakes in strategy, and the result was defeated. The British and French allied forces who recovered to their minds shot a carbine, but the German army was defeated when the situation prevailed and was no longer able to organize. Effective offensive, even strong resistance, was ultimately defeated, and World War I was completely over. Throughout the spring offensive, both sides invested a lot of energy, and nearly a million people were killed and injured during the entire war. Although the Allied Powers had won, it was only a miserable victory.
Understand these big and small backgrounds, and then read "The End of the Journey" to better understand.
The film revolved around the first 6 days of the "Spring Offensive". The specific location is in the Saint-Quentin area in northern France, where the German and British forces have faced off for nearly two years. Although the war was approaching, the soldiers at the time could not tell the prophet. The soldiers on the front could only be in a state of passive resistance, waiting for the Germans to fight over. They all know that the Germans will call in sooner or later, but no one knows when it will be? The British soldiers stationed (the movie is a British film, so the French soldiers are artificially filtered out, and only the British are left). Under the guidance of superiors, a company must be at the forefront for 6 days every month. Withdraw in 6 days, and then switch to another company to go up for defense. These six days are a kind of torture for everyone. After all, no one wants to die in battle. Many soldiers are afraid that the war will start within the six days of their garrison.
However, the war is always going to start, and it finally starts. "End of the Journey" has no grand narrative. It talks about the "spring offensive", but it condenses this fierce battle into one company (Company C). It was within 6 days of their garrison that the war broke out.
However, the film does not turn the scene of the war, but turns the scene to talk about human nature.
Captain Stannop (played by Sam Claflin) is the company commander of Company C. Once, he was a battle hero and received a lot of medals, but now he suffers from claustrophobia under the torture of the war, manic and irritable. The 18-year-old recruit lieutenant Raleigh (Asa Butterfield) is full of vigor and fearlessness, and he voluntarily asked to come to Stannop’s company because Stannop is her sister’s boyfriend, or his Senior, once took care of him, and Steinop said to him, "If you want to join the army, remember to come to my company." Deputy company commander Osborne (played by Paul Bettany) is a kind middle-aged man who is not happy or angry. He is kind to everyone and has an indifferent mentality to war. He will fight when he comes. If you don't come, continue to do your own business.
Three people make up the three levels of the war. In addition, Lotte’s Trotter (played by Stephen Graham) and the timid Hibbert (played by Tom Sturridge) were also embellished to outline a set of group pictures under the war. , But the focus is still on the story of Steinop, Raleigh and Osborne, and even Steinop and Raleigh. Among these three people, Steinop was tired of war, but as an officer, he had to shoulder the responsibility. He was under tremendous pressure every day, and his heart was tortured; for Raleigh, he had just joined the army. Soon, I came to the company of the idol I admired. Everything is novel. I have a passion and blood in my heart, eager to fight, eager to make contributions, and make a piece of his own sky. Osborne is a typical good old man. He is the only person in the company who can understand Steinop. He tacitly knows most of what Steinop means. Whether he expresses it or not, he is also the glue between the soldier and the company commander. He has great affinity, but He was actually full of fear about fighting, but he was still able to face it calmly, and since he was here, he had the mentality of fighting it well.
At the beginning of the film, the camera was on Company C, where Steinop was located, and was about to change defense and head to the front. However, the war started during the period of their garrison. The mission of the Stannop Company was to hold the German offensive, unable to retreat, and had no backup.
The end result of World War I was that the Allied Powers led by the British and French forces defeated the Axis powers led by Germany. If you don’t understand the above background, you will go straight to "The End of the Journey" and you will often follow your inertial thinking and feel that the ending of "The End of the Journey" must be the British victory. But no, this film gave a huge reversal. It is in line with historical logic, but for the unprepared audience, it seems to be caught off guard. It feels like a big reversal, and the British actually lost.
At least, in this movie, the British are the loser, and Stannop’s company is annihilated, and no one survives. First, Osborne, then Raleigh, then Stannop and others...
The day before the war started, the British army had already learned of the German offensive intentions. They also asked C Company to organize a 10-man team to break through the German defense line, grab a prisoner, and make a confession to verify the authenticity of the German offensive. When choosing who to direct this small charge, Steinop suddenly discovered that no one was qualified for the job. In the end, under the guidance of Shangfeng, he chose Osborne and Raleigh as the leaders and led 8 soldiers. To complete the task. As a result, the task was completed, but 10 people went there, only 3 came back. Osborn stayed there permanently, only Raleigh returned with two soldiers and a German prisoner.
Despite the psychological preparation, the British army was still not ready when the war officially started the next day. As soon as the war started, Raleigh died under the bombardment of the Germans before the attack, while Stannop died in his own trench and fell completely. In the end, the British army fell and the C Company was wiped out, and the German army won.
This seems to be a very local small war, but the actual meaning is quite different. Judging from the status of Steinop, Raleigh, and Osborne, it was enough to refract the entire war. See the big from the small, and prove the war with human nature. In such a war, even if Britain and France eventually turned defeat into victory, it is still not a victor. There is no victor in the war, and there are only losses and deaths. All journeys must have an end, and the end here is death.
This is not a great film, but it was Paul Bettany that attracted me.
Paul Bettany, this guy born in 1971, is 48 years old and will be 50 soon. As an actor, he is not as successful as his wife Jennifer Connelly. This wife has at least received an Oscar in her acting career (the best actress in the Oscar with "Beautiful Mind" and the best actress in the Golden Globe with this film), but Bettany has never received anything in her life. What a decent award. The only best supporting actor who won an award was from "The Journey's End", and the award to him was actually the Beijing Film Festival of the Great Heavenly Dynasty. At the 2018 Beijing Film Festival, Paul Bettany won the Tiantan Award for Best Actor.
And my attention to him began as early as 2001 in "Knights of the Holy War". The film not only became popular with Heath Ledger, who was still unfamiliar at the time, but also brought Paul Bettany to the film world. His shots of walking around naked has become a classic. In the same year of 2001, in the brilliant "Beautiful Mind", not only Jennifer Connelly was radiant, but Paul Bettany also played an important role in the film, as living in "Russell Crowe "The FBI agent in my mind, Bettany's role is quite heavy. The two films in the same year gave Bettany a familiar face and received many offers. The following "Furious Sea Fighting" and "Dog Town" all have amazing performances, and the powerful actors seem to be on the rise. Because of this, he received a contract for blockbuster films such as "The Da Vinci Code" and "Iron Man".
Moreover, Bettany also teamed up with director Scott Charles Stewart to continuously shoot modern fantasy films such as "The Second Coming" and "The Exorcist". The film is not very good, but it has a distinct personal style, and it also set off a temporary topic. For a time, the protagonist and supporting role flew together, and Bettany's life was pretty good.
But suddenly there was no more. In 2011, Bettany continued to play the lead role in "The Exorcist" and the masterpiece "Shang Hai Tong", but then suddenly he lost the opportunity to play the lead role. During this period of time, he acted as the director himself, and made a "Shelter" starring his wife Connery, and accompanied by "Falcon" Anthony McKay, but the final effect was not good.
In addition, Bettany basically only played in Marvel. He got up early as the voice actor of Jarvis, the robot arm in "Iron Man". Later, Jarvis was upgraded to Vision and played in "Iron Man". "Avengers 2" played a big role, but Bettany never showed his face until "Avengers 3" finally showed his face, but the character turned into a weak chicken again and died. twice. This year, he also served as the anti-one in "Range Solo: A Star Wars Story". It was fun to travel back and forth in the two major IPs of Marvel and Star Wars, but he did not expect Solo to become a dud. Moreover, in recent years, he has also collaborated with Johnny Depp on two "Noble Thieves" and "Transcendent Hacker", but the final box office results were not good.
The only thing worth talking about is this "End of the Journey", anyhow Bettany also has a trophy in his hand. The officer he played in the film, Osman, was quite good, but he died too early. After all, the influence of the Beijing Film Festival is too small, I don't know if it will help Bettany's acting career.
The other two starring actors in "The End of the Journey" are Sam Claflin and Asha Butterfield. As for Sam Claflin, he first showed his face in "Pirates of the Caribbean 4", and then gained a large number of fans with the last three of "The Hunger Games". Later, I took two small-cost romance films, "Before Meeting You" and "Their Best", and the performance was not bad. But "Floating Dream" co-produced with Rachel Weisz was not too good. As the male number one, "End of Journey" actually had a poor box office performance. In 2018, he co-starred in "The Stormy Sea" with "German Girl" Shailene Woodley, but the result was not a big wave. It is estimated that there will not be too many opportunities to appear in the first-line production male number in the future.
As for Asha Butterfield, this is a blessed child star. He has starred in "The Boy in Striped Pajamas", "Hugo", "Ender's Game", "Miss Pei's Fantasy Castle", and "Back to Mars". Supporting actors have also participated in "Son of Rambo" and "Werewolf". Almost all of these works were born with a halo, and the starting point is quite high. But it is a pity that since the beginning of "Ander's Game", the box office of the film has been very average, and the subsequent productions not only failed at the box office, but also had a bad reputation. Even "Back to Mars" became a big bad movie. Asha was a little high driving and walking low, which cast a shadow over his future. Asha in "The End of the Journey" can only be regarded as quite satisfactory, nothing particularly dazzling, the good thing is that there is no long-term disability so far. I really hope he can seize the last chance, otherwise he might become another meteor again.
There is also director Saul Dieb, who looks like a newcomer, but as early as 2008, he had already shot works like "The Duchess", which was also the work of Keira Knightley at his peak. Ralph Fiennes performed superb acting skills. In addition, there are powerful actors such as Hayley Atwell and Dominic Cooper in the film, which is considered a very good work. Unexpectedly, Sol Dieb did not take advantage of the victory, but silently released "The End of the Journey" this year, but it was a bit unsatisfactory, and it was a pity!
View more about Journey's End reviews
