I look at literary works and watch movies. I like old literary works, preferably before the middle of the 20th century. They feel full-bodied, new ones can’t be understood, and some are full of tricks but don’t feel much benefit. Movies like new ones. The Oscars like to watch back and forth after the 1990s. If you go forward, you feel that you are not interested. If it comes to black and white movies, you tend to bite the bullet. Because movies are, after all, the spectacle of visual effects, the stories and techniques are new, and often cannot hide the old pictures and music, but "Road to Glory" is just the opposite. The new stories and techniques often make people ignore the old pictures and music. ——In fact, this is not rigorous, because Kubrick’s pictures (especially color) and musical consciousness are precisely the most advanced. Let’s just say that the technology of light and shadow is old — I can only say that his new is too good. Ahead, as if from the future.
The entry point of the film is very reasonable, very relaxed, and very deep. This is a consistent feature of Kubrick's movies. He does not exhaust his efforts to create some seemingly majestic atmosphere, just clean the surroundings and develop it calmly, but excellent music, The combination of camera and dialogue often catches people at the beginning.
The plot of the story is not complicated. The French general A ordered his subordinates to perform an impossible task for his military merits-attacking the German ant hill (the name has profound meaning). The distressed division commander Dax finally decided to execute it. After the lead charge, the entire army was almost wiped out. In order to shirk responsibility, the general demanded that three people be selected from the army to carry out the death penalty in the name of a passionate army. In order to save his subordinates, Dax with a sense of justice defended his subordinates in court, but failed to improve the situation. In order to save people, Dax resorted to checks and balances, trying to get General B to intervene in the trial by revealing the army scandal. But none of this changed the result. The army scandal turned out to be General B's weapon to get rid of General A.
The film bluntly shows the inferiority of the French that are comparable to the Chinese. This is why the modern history of China and France is so similar. Because of the critical force of the film, it was once banned in France. The background of the film is the battle between France and Germany during World War I, but the German soldiers never appeared from beginning to end. What we see is how the upper ranks of the French army compete for power and profit under the current situation of the enemy. Dereliction of duty, the chaos of how the lower class looks around at a loss. Compared with Germans, French people have more vulgar emotions and less rational thinking. Faith is ridiculous to the French, so they can play dazzling things that they consider ridiculous and use patriotism. , National spirit and other vague things to encourage subordinates to die and contribute to their own promotion. It is precisely because of the lack of fact that they need to make up for their guilty conscience by verbally playing tricks. Therefore, France has always had the most "grand" theories. The most "great" goals, the "Declaration of Human Rights," the "Social Contract Theory," and the "Separation of Powers" all originated in France. These theories immediately became the foundations of all politicians. The foundation, every day, year after year, as if a new world can be created by turning one's hands. But the new world in the mouths of the French is often fruitful on the soil of other countries. Even the French Revolution, which was regarded as a bloody disaster by the international community, did not establish a stable democratic system. It is still democratic and restored. The restoration of re-democracy is due to the fact that people who play politics use theory as a pure tool, and without the enemy's attack, they smash empty plates to pieces in disorderly competition. As Tocqueville said, the French have not lived a normal political life for a long time.
At the end of the movie, the German appeared, but she was not a general, not a commander, or even a soldier, she was just a poor German captive, but when she sang European folk songs with tears on her face, she was originally The French soldiers gathered in the tavern for fun, were moved to tears. This shows that Kubrick may not be a strict nationalist. He is closer to a cosmopolitan. Perhaps in his eyes, there is only the difference between the poor and the rich, the ruler is divided by the ruler, and there is no clear nationality. Divide. Because in the dirty tavern, the same low-level German girls and French soldiers were in tears, missing their relatives the same, and praying for peace the same. And in the magnificent general mansion (Kubrick deliberately used language at the beginning of the film to exaggerate the luxury of the general mansion, in my opinion), these powerful and powerful people who are studying power and chanting patriotism may be at any time Will dance hand in hand with the enemy for the same reason (Betain provides us with a great example).
Movies can also be considered from another perspective: do we need vulgar warmth or sensible coldness? When learning from each other's strengths cannot be achieved, this is often a problem we do not want but must face. A commander like Dax who cherishes the life of a soldier too much and seriously disagrees with his superior commander, in the machine-like harsh German military camp, he will be dealt with in less than half an hour, because he has shaken his iron will. And although the dignitaries in the movie have repeatedly shouted for the will of steel and the belief in victory, like other things they advocate, they are unable to do and do not fully agree with them. Therefore, even if Dax repeatedly and the dignitaries in the movie In disagreement, he can still survive, continue to fight, and even continue to exert the influence of his own thoughts. So, from this perspective, General B's furious reprimand is actually the most gentle attitude. Because in the final analysis, the low-level soldiers in the tavern need not say anything, even the middle-level representative who escaped from accountability-the battalion commander, will sincerely apologize before the person who is framed by himself executes the sentence, and the upper-level representative-the major, who reverses right and wrong. When they read the judgment book, their eyes flickered and their voices faint. From beginning to end, thinking about justice and survival is still a problem that bothers them. And this kind of problem, in a totalitarian society with a high degree of unity of will, is completely cancelled: justice and survival do not have to be considered, only victory is the only one. We will feel disgusted by the vulgarity, selfishness, prevarication, and hypocrisy of the French, but we will feel warmth from their ubiquitous human thinking; we will sincerely admire the Germans for their firmness, self-discipline, sense of responsibility, and meticulousness , But there is fear in their black thinking way beyond human nature. In the final analysis, what is the connotation of human nature is an inconclusive question, whether it is down to animal nature or up to mechanical nature, and which boundary is crossed, human nature is not human nature, and therefore human is not human, it is a complicated one. problem.
year 2013
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