If the early stories of Ang Lee are better at expressing the tension of interpersonal relationships, such as the Pushing Hands trilogy, then, from Juvenile Pi to Billy Lynn, Ang Lee began to focus more and more on one person. Dig the story inward, focus on the subtle expression of personal loneliness, and then transform the pain of the soul into a mirror, reflecting the strangeness of the whole world. He is also more and more convinced of one thing, the more self-centered, the more universal it will be.
I have always admired Ang Lee's vision for casting roles. Whether it is the Indian teenager in the previous play or the American teenager in this play, they all have a complex temperament that is both simple and shy like a child, and obviously mature in their peers. Gentle nostalgia for the world, and eyes full of longing for the metaphysical ultimate. He can always accurately grasp the part that belongs to the youth, which is naturally moving.
There are not many vivid stages in a person's life. Adolescence is of course the most shining one. At that time, people grew up at an alarming rate, and their bones and breasts were constantly suffering from the sudden pain caused by growth.
At the same time, the speed of the growth of the soul is even more astonishing, faster than the spring bamboo shoots that sprout after the rain. The innocent and black-and-white worldview of childhood cannot accommodate a rapidly growing soul, just as childhood clothes cannot accommodate a rapidly growing body. , they collapsed rapidly under the rapid expansion of the soul.
The soul of youth is like a trapped beast, naked in the ice and snow of fate. It is eager to find a new set of values to protect itself. It has never been so eager to be protected, warmed, understood, and the light in the dark. guidelines.
The youthful body and soul, with their freshness and tenderness, are extremely sensitive, and they can pierce their hearts with a single touch. The boys and girls are so confused and unfamiliar with the world and themselves, the vitality like incendiary bombs is so real, and all the feelings are like fireworks blooming. That's the feeling that people who are numb after adulthood can't appreciate it again, so people always miss their youth again and again and miss those painful and wonderful feelings.
Looking at Belgium, I think of Larry, the boy in Maugham's "Blade" countless times. No doubt they are too similar. It is also a stunned young man who went to serve a military service and witnessed the death of his comrade-in-arms. He also fell into inextricable doubt and confusion about the meaning of life.
The difference is that Larry has since given up everything. He first got into the pile of books and read day and night for several years, and then walked on foot in a foreign country. He talked to many people, did many useless things, and wasted a great deal of time and future. He walked all the way to India. During this long and arduous process, the iceberg-like doubts in his heart were broken and dissolved little by little. Finally, he returned to London and became the most ordinary taxi driver. Only the royal city is the most hidden, where thousands of people hide like a sea.
Larry once said that the joy of life is like a cloud that covers the cliff of death. But if one day, the strong wind suddenly blows away the fog, and death appears so naked in front of your eyes, how can people who have seen all this run and jump as recklessly as before!
When Billy plunged the sharp knife into the jihadist's throat, he must have remembered those blood-red eyes full of pain and hatred. He had seen such a pair of eyes on a little Iraqi boy. Blind killing and hatred are passed down from generation to generation, taking away the love of people's lives, and it is not clear what it is all about and how to make it stop. And all of this was crowned with honor.
I'm praying for you, Billy's sister-in-law said, I'm really proud of you.
When the pretty cheerleader girl kissed Billy, she said the same thing before leaving. I pray for you and I am proud of you.
Praying for you, I hear that too often. But who really cares about whom? Do the people who pray for you really care about your life or death, or do they just show a kindness without cost?
Billy said, it's better to have only one point than nothing.
The jihadists are more respectful than you.
Only sister Catherine suffered.
She is also a person who was rescued from the abyss of death, and someone who has truly experienced the pain of growing up. Only she knows how real and terrifying death is, how imminent it is, and only she knows that compared with life itself, the so-called honor is only fleeting and worthless.
But Billy finally chose to leave.
Because of Sergeant Brady, the dead squad leader "Mushroom".
The most beautiful scene in the whole play is the scene of Mushroom and Billy talking about cause and effect under the Bodhi tree.
If Billy is the Larry who is still confused, then Mushroom is undoubtedly the one who has found the answer.
No questioning, no confusion, he said, I was destined to belong here.
He said, Billy, don't forget that the shot has been fired, whether you stay in your homeland or die in a foreign country. The meaning of life is not to stay in endless thinking, not to get lost in all kinds of choices, not to be confused by the comments of others, it is to determine where you are now, what responsibilities you shoulder, your Who is life tied to?
You don't need to sacrifice for the country, for the honor, for any seemingly great proposition, the belief you want is only that which is greater than yourself.
All misfortunes come from unbelief, if every time you confirm a belief, you continue to overthrow it. Whenever you have hope, but you can't help but tear it down, use a rational microscope to magnify its shortcomings infinitely, pick and choose, whether it is a job or a lover, you will always doubt whether this is the best of? Why is this different from what I imagined? What's the point of this?
In the end, you always choose to give up, choose to leave, you are never satisfied, you are always full of regrets, and you never have anything. You are like a bear breaking a stick, breaking one, throwing one, and never finding the biggest one in the field. Finally, when you look back, you are left with only the deserted wilderness behind you, devastated and in shambles.
Seriously, what is left of life in the end? Who has looked into the eyes of the deceased? Who can say that I am worthy of my life? Who else is alive now to be forgiven in the future?
Nothing can be absolutely pure and perfect.
Is this war justified? Is it wonderful? of course not.
It is full of death and killing, full of power struggles by politicians, full of endless calculations behind various interest groups.
The girls sang, "Oh, I need a soldier strong enough to protect me."
And your parents just need a good son to be boasted about by the neighbors.
There are also people who need only the light of your war hero to bless his business plans with a virtual feeling.
Some people even laugh at you for being just a stupid soldier, gay.
But who are you? Who are you fighting for? Does this war really make sense? What are you giving your life for? Is it the interests of the state, or the calculations of businessmen? Is it the glory of the parents, or the adoring eyes of the girls, their passionate kisses? What exactly are you fighting for?
If you want to give up, of course you can single out 1,000 flaws and 1,000 reasons.
But if you persevere, you only need one reason, and that is that you are in love.
You love the brothers who fought alongside you, the teens who were destined to belong here just like you.
You want to be with them, you want to protect them, they go wherever they go, and you do what they do. Just like Luther in the Bible, he answered without hesitation: Your God is my God, and your kingdom is my kingdom.
Baby Anne likes to say one sentence: the world does not meet my expectations.
Indeed, the world does not live up to anyone's expectations.
If you're smart enough, sooner or later you'll find that nothing is perfect enough to believe in, a job, a marriage, a war, a community. Any situation can be riddled with holes.
However, the world is not perfect, so do you feel at ease with your sinking heart?
Perfect, does it mean that you have to jump back and forth in 1,000 situations, constantly choosing the one that is more perfect and flawless to make it suit you?
No, it's you who can illuminate your situation.
Sartre once said in "Being and Nothingness":
"Fate itself is neutral, it is waiting to be illuminated by a purpose, in order to reveal itself as an opponent or an assistant. Like a rock, if I want to move it, It manifests itself as a deep resistance, but when I try to climb on it to see the scenery, it in turn becomes a valuable aid. People are always trying to show that they are not free by living in constraints If fate is not my choice, what responsibility do I have? What guilt can I bear? However, the difference between a hero and a coward is not whether he is afraid of death or pain, but whether he dares to face himself This kind of freedom, to take on one's own existence, that is the real freedom."
Just like mushrooms on the battlefield that is cruel enough to twist people's hearts, he never forgets to say to his teammates before every battle, I love you. Because he has understood that this war is not a war of the country, it is a war of his own, the war may be lost, but his belief has never failed.
There is an old Chinese saying that goes: A gentleman is determined, and a villain is determined.
What is a hero and what is a coward?
Those who seem to be extremely smart, they are never satisfied, they are always picking and choosing. They can never make up their minds about what to do. Because they are always too easy to see the flaws of this or that thing, the unbearableness of this or that person.
They always lose faith too easily.
So even though they have so many choices, they will never believe, always full of confusion. Always waiting, always hoping, always desperate.
Mushroom Billy said, this is desire.
So mushrooms said without hesitation, I went.
So he picked up his machine gun and rushed into the battlefield, as if martyrdom.
His eyes were so gentle and clear.
He is so strong and pure.
He had no doubts, he died convinced that he was happy.
Finally, he said, Billy, you're finally here.
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Additional point:
After watching a few days, many scenes are still continuous Playing it back in my head , I
couldn't help but praise Director Ang again:
Ang Lee is a perfectionist, so he was slow to make the film, but he really didn't hit the street.
The word Ang Lee means that you can watch it with confidence.
It took only 4 years for him to make one film. He was not forced by the fame, and slowly worked at his own pace.
The casting, the book selection, and the choice of the lens are all thoughts,
but the final effect is natural and smooth, and there are no traces of carving. This is master style.
When he photographed Billy, he was actually photographing himself.
Like Billy, he was crowned with the halo of an international director, and he was often drawn to various shows and regarded as a hero.
But he said to himself through this work:
I am a pure warrior, what I can do is to stick to my post, protect and do my duty.
DUTY IS PRIDE.
Because he knows that all happy people are the same, there is no choice
whether you praise or scold, whether it makes sense or not, I just want to do what I am destined to do.
He is firm in his original intention and is not moved by the external environment.
Like the god of sushi, like Haruki Murakami.
You are ordinary, really not because you are doing ordinary things
but because you are always pretentious and think that what you do is not worthy of you.
The truly extraordinary are those who take the ordinary to the extreme.
Let me sigh again: only pure people can make such awesome works.
Thank you Director Ang Lee. Looking forward to your next masterpiece.
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