The film tells the story of Denmark's one-day -- strictly speaking, only a few hours -- of the war against Japan. In my memory, this is probably only a paragraph of text or even a few sentences in the textbook. However, through the detailed depiction of scenes, characters and plots, the film shows Denmark's conflicts in this short period of time vividly. I deeply felt how vulnerable and hesitant Denmark, as a small country, was in the face of a sudden German invasion.
Regarding fragility, the film's expression is intuitive: the scarcity of the army, the poor equipment, the lack of reinforcements, etc., all reflect the inability of Denmark in the war of resistance. The director seems to focus on two details to describe: one is the "bicycle". In the face of the German armored forces, the Danish army's main equipment in preparation and actual combat was just the bicycle. Watching the soldiers practically rehearse how to dismantle and reload their bicycles as quickly as possible, watching the soldiers desperately riding their bicycles to the front lines in the early morning and retreating for their lives, it was ridiculous, and then a deep sympathy oil. However, live; the second is "preparing for war". The director apparently deliberately focused a lot of the shots on the loading of the Danish soldiers and the deployment of their positions. Whether it is the so-called "huge" 40 bullets per person, or facing the German armored vehicles, the Danish soldiers are still hastily stuffing bullets into their rifles one by one, setting up machine guns on the open grass plane, and fighting in the German army. Approaching step by step, each of their movements seemed so clumsy and powerless, they couldn't help sighing: failure was already doomed, and the struggle was in vain.
Compared with the description of the "fragile" military power, the "hesitation" in the heart is the focus of the movie. It can be found that the eyes of every Danish soldier in the film are full of unease in confrontation and extreme fear of the unknown. Whether it is the top commander of the front line played by Russ Mikkelsen, or the second lieutenant played by Johann Philip Asback, and the stinky soldiers, their eyes are always flickering and can't be found. The perseverance of a soldier. Among them, the actor's performance is particularly vivid. Although he accepts orders from superiors resolutely, and commands orders from subordinates is decisive, but his melancholy eyes truly reflect his inner world at that time: Is it really going to fight against Japan? Can you really resist success? Can the position really hold? Will reinforcements from the rear come? One question mark after another appeared in his heart, and the fragile reality gave him one cruel answer after another, and the spiritual defense line that supported his inner heart gradually collapsed, until finally he had no choice but to announce "surrender".
In fact, he had already expected these answers, but as a soldier, he was reluctant to admit it easily and was willing to do the final struggle. Perhaps, this is the truest portrayal of the Danish grassroots soldiers at that time: with a sincere patriotic plot in their hearts (even if the complicated history makes the Danes and Germans in Jutland have an unclear relationship), they are willing to serve The defense of the country made their own sacrifices, but their enthusiasm was not of the same mind as the will of the country, and all efforts were finally realized in vain. At the end of the story, the German officer was very curious and asked him why he had been fighting for so long after the government announced the surrender. His fragile heart was finally pressed at the last straw: it turned out that from beginning to end, our struggle was futile. It is even contrary to the will of the country. How absurd and uninhibited is this, it makes people laugh and cry.
I love the scene at the end of the story, when the hero and the surrendering soldiers ride through the village road, watching the children outside the car window jumping on top of the German armored vehicle that they had destroyed before they frolicked. This scene clearly implies that the Danish army also made the greatest effort, even if it was so insignificant. I think the Danes will not deny the fact that the country surrendered to Germany early, but they still hope to tell the world a more complete history through the film "War Day": the rapid surrender of the government does not mean that the Danish people have not done anything Resistance, in fact, they have the same pain of being trampled on and the sorrow of losing their country like other nations invaded by fascism. Even today, 70 years after the end of World War II, they still have a chaotic feeling in their hearts. But deep into the scars of the bone marrow. This scar stems not only from the fragility of national strength, but also from the hesitation of people's hearts. Perhaps, for Denmark, at the moment when the government announced its surrender, the mood of the country and the people was extremely separated. This separation caused the nation to suffer The unspeakable pain that other countries cannot understand, and the Danish people today have to bear the silent complaints it brings.
In short, "War Day" is heavy and even more sad. This sadness may not be as bloody and unsightly as other countries, but failure has become its helpless ending. This embarrassing result reveals that it is a weak and small country. Vulnerability and hesitation in the face of war. Ask yourself, isn't that what we, who advocate the pursuit of peace, are really trying to defend?
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