——Interpretation of "Saving Private Ryan"
[Summary]
During World War II, when an army of one million landed on the beaches of Normandy, a small group of American soldiers led by Captain John Miller penetrated into the enemy’s area. Risking his life to save a soldier James Ryan. James Ryan was the youngest of the four brothers in the family, and all three of his brothers died in this battle. In order to prevent the unfortunate mother from suffering the loss of her son, the generals of the United States Combat Command decided to send a special team to rescue her remaining son safely from the war zone.
When the soldiers of the squad fell into the enemy zone and faced various dangers that came at any time, they gradually doubted the rationality of this task: Why is this soldier worth letting eight soldiers risk their lives to save? Why is Ryan's life more valuable than theirs? However, despite their doubts, they resolutely implemented the orders of their superiors.
The journey of salvation is also a road to death. The hardships along the way have brought a deeper and more angled salvation.
[Keywords] role arrangement, narrative structure, director's thinking
一. Redemption figure
① Captain Miller: Before the war, he was an ordinary teacher in Pennsylvania. On the way to execute the order, the seemingly paradoxical order has been entwining him. He has never stopped thinking. He believes that this action is not to save A Ryan, but to save everyone, he turned the order to save one person into an action to save everyone. He deeply regretted that he sacrificed a comrade in arms because he ordered an attack on the radar station. His hand Shaking uncontrollably, he clearly remembered the number of soldiers killed under him. It was a life saver and a proof thinker. He is thinking about the meaning and value of life. He believes that it is worth sacrificing life for the cause of justice and peace. His career implies that he is the mentor of Ryan’s life. He not only saved Ryan’s life, but also enlightened him. The meaning of his continued living.
② Jason: A member of the squad, he is an excellent sniper and also a Jewish avenger. In the shot against the German sniper, he showed a calm and meaningless character. He read Jewish scriptures to shoot. Killing in the name of God.
③ Capa Zuo: An Italian New Yorker, a member of the squad, he finally took off his amulet and brought it to the little French girl. After being hit by a German sniper, he took out his family letter in the rain and worried that his blood was stained. After the letter, this is a good soldier with a kind heart!
④ Wei Yiyun: a small team medic, he bravely rescued the wounded in the rain of bullets on Omaha Beach, he recalled the time with his mother, with a touch of sadness and deep attachment. When he was injured looking for bullet holes, he showed an understanding of human tissues. His helpless performance in the face of death contrasted with Capa Zuo's struggle before his death.
⑤ Merissy: a member of the squad, a Jewish national. He declared himself a Jew in front of German prisoners of war. The German bayonet he got on the beach also implied that his fate would eventually end in the hands of the Germans.
⑥ Rabin: A New Yorker, a member of the squad, has a humorous conversation. He is very disgusted with the mission. He is very easy to get emotional. Because of the death of the military doctor, he declared that he was leaving the team, and was finally left by Captain Miller.
⑦ Michael: squad member, sergeant, the person who knows Captain Miller best. He is Captain Miller’s best deputy. He collected soil from Italy, North Africa, and Normandy. On the last line of defense by the bridge, he always followed Miller. He was a respectable veteran.
⑧ Urban: German translation. In the battle at the radar station, he observes the battle through a scope. In the battle at the bridge, he is just a transporter of ammunition. Therefore, he has always been an observer of the battle and an outsider of the war. , But in the end facing the German prisoners of war, he eventually became a war participant, which also showed his new understanding of war and a deeper understanding of life.
One of the reasons why this film can stimulate people's reflection on life is that the director has a unique insight into the choice of characters.
Captain Miller is a typical incarnation of justice. He was born as a teacher. He performed well on the battlefield. He was responsible for the leader of the operation to save Ryan. However, the film did not rush to position Miller as a simple savior. The first floor portrays it as a life thinker and a person who saves people’s spiritual world. The position of the thinker comes from Miller’s strong spiritual motivation. Whenever the team members quarrel for the task of changing eight to one, they all It is Miller who controls the whole situation and can unite everyone again at the end; the person who saves people’s spiritual world is more clearly reflected in the opening 25-minute bloody battle. This bloody battle scene can be divided into In the two parts, the first part focuses on the narrative, telling the bloody and cruelty of the war, and the second half focuses on the characterization of Captain Miller. It can be seen that the image of Miller is a process of gradual enlargement in these two parts. When the war is at its most critical moment, whenever it is the bloodiest and most hopeless, the next shot must be Captain Miller. He is commanding the battle in the rain of bullets. No matter whether he succeeds or not, he is constantly redeeming. Life, he has continuously completed self-reflection and spiritual return during the two deafnesses, and the victory of the Omaha landing battle finally tells people the return of a redeemer who has experienced great grief in life and spirit. Such a person who is righteous, bright, and deeply humanistic care manifested everywhere has become the best platform to carry the film's connotation, and the series of stories that follow are perfectly unfolded on such a platform.
In the European battlefield of World War II, the participating countries were Britain, France, and the United States against Germany and Italy. Therefore, the director also had special considerations in the selection of other characters.
Both Jason and Merissy were Jews. The killing of Jews by the Germans during World War II made them both have a deep hatred of the Germans. Jason was killing the Germans in the name of God, and their ultimate destiny Like their nation during World War II, they endured endless suffering; Capazo and Rabin were the spokespersons of typical American images. Their sense of justice and humor all reflected the American spirit, and the two of them had such personalities. It also has a certain political meaning; Evian, Michael, and Urban are the symbols of the three spirits of human beings. Evian represents the humanitarian spirit of saving the dead and helping the wounded. Michael represents brotherly friendship and right-hand man. He was the incarnation of cowardice and cowardice, but after the baptism of his lost life, more things were reflected in him. Bravery, return, and repentance and atonement of the soul. At the same time, considering his career is also a reflection on the intellectuals themselves. .
Such multi-angle character setting and arrangement constitute the most important frame of film narrative, and set a reasonable tone for the unfolding of all stories and the excavation of the theme of multi-angle salvation.
two. A
good character setting in a salvation narrative requires a good narrative to fully release its own energy. The narrative of this film continues the director Spielberg’s usual narrative style, that is, the use of large color blocks to heavily display the film. Dig deep into small details. For this "Saving Private Ryan", this narrative style makes the original grand and touching subject matter more obvious. Through the film, we can see that the film has three parts in the grasp of the big color block: 1. Omaha Landing Battle ; Second, look for Ryan; Third, the battle of Shouqiao.
The first 25 minutes played a key role in creating the basic plot of the entire film. Although the landing battle was not directly related to the following narratives, character relationships, and conflicts of will, it played a vital role in strengthening the character’s personality and deepening the theme. The scenes such as the painting of the cross and the soldiers vomiting created a kind of tension and relaxation before the war, but it was followed by a really strong stormy attack. The long-shot narrative in the opening scene can no longer be found, and it is replaced by the battlefield. The fierce firefight, the broken arm and desperate hovering, the painful struggle of mother who was blown out of the intestines, the close comrades whose bodies were blown off and were pulled forward, the crazy offensive after exploding the D1 gap, until the end with tragic The price of victory in exchange for the victory, the sharp contrast between the blood soaked on Captain Miller’s two deaf faces and the pale complexion, all these are enough to make everyone who has never been exposed to war terrified, and at the same time make people who have experienced war in World War II The veteran has returned to the bloody and turbulent era of that year, and everything is so profoundly recorded in the hearts of every viewer; the second part of the film's heavy rendering is mainly the character narrative, and the members of the team are on the road. There has been constant arguing about the meaning of eight lives in exchange for one life. In the process of searching for this life, the team encountered a series of problems such as fake Ryan, German offensive, and sacrifice of members. Captain Miller’s value of life Thinking is also being touched step by step. Blood and killing are no longer the protagonists of the film. The thinking about life and the in-depth exploration of redemption have always lingered on the head of the entire team, and the disputes have been exchanged for more united rescue. Sacrifice is no longer the simple connotation of losing one’s life. Everyone’s inner salvation in the small team is exchanged for the passing of each life. The connotation that the film wants to convey is also being magnified and passed on in such a death one by one. At this time The thinking gradually changes from a small team member in the film to every thinker watching the film. This change is silent and silent. This is also the subtlety of the director’s narrative. A simple storyline will bring a complete human spirit. The world is revealed; the last part of the film is the battle to defend the bridge after the team finds Ryan. At this time, standing behind Ryan are all the viewers who have followed the film and experienced the baptism of the battle of 1 hour, 46 minutes and 29 seconds. At the end of the film, the audience is thinking. I think everyone pays tribute to Miller and his team when they hear Ryan say their name. What is left in their eyes is not just to Wade. And the miss of Capazuo, the more important point is him! it's him!
The real meaning of the film lies in this. The meaning of multi-angle salvation is to explain profound truths in simple forms, inspire more fanciers, and more mirrors to reflect the same light source. With more reflections, we enter the inner realm that we have never walked into. Actors’ performances, realistic art, real shooting, and excellent editing have become multi-faceted mirrors that reflect the connotation of the film, and the shell wrapped in the film itself is melted by the viewer’s thoughts, and the viewer will become a more reflective of these rays. Multi-node.
three. After the director of Redemption
gave Spielberg both fame and fortune in "Schindler's List", he seemed to have suddenly stopped his passion for creation. In a few years, he did not bring too many bright works until this war. The emergence of the giant system, in this superficial sense, is a redemption for his artistic career.
From this movie, the application of several large color blocks is like a blockbuster. While blowing up people’s inner world, he will use his thinking to integrate the audience’s thinking, and send new buds on the ruins of the soul. As far as every detail is concerned, the thinking of integration and grasp has also become the most important framework, just like the most shocking landing scene we saw at the beginning, although he asked the cameraman to ignore the subject matter and content when shooting. , Just need to hold the camera and rush forward with the soldier, but what is his confidence to say so? It is that the overall framework of this part of him is already clear to the heart. In the end, every sentence shown in the film is no longer a simple display of the horror of war. Every sentence is given the meaning of saving lives and saving the inner world of mankind.
The deeper redemption for the director is the inheritance and expansion of his thinking. From a timid man standing in front of Universal Studios waiting for a boy from Universal Studios with his own short film, to a director and producer in Hollywood’s money empire, some people would say that it was because of his unconstrained imagination. Some people say that it is because of his comprehensive talents in both art and business, but I think what is really commendable is this bearded director's multi-angle review and integrated thinking ability.
His thinking system is to grasp the most essential characteristics of things after observing things from multiple angles, start with the most exciting and shocking scene, and show this scene through different perspectives, from the smallest lens group to the overall film layout It's all like this. With the addition of editing elements such as different angles, different camera positions, and different length and short lens arrangements, a movie is born. In response to different themes of different movies, this bearded man will also flexibly change his integration plan, from "Purple" to "Empire of the Sun", from "Schindler's List" to "Saving Private Ryan", from "Manually From "Intelligence" to "Munich", and finally, from artistic genius to commercial giant, the redemption of thinking is the greatest redemption for the director of the film.
View more about Saving Private Ryan reviews
