A touching love story and profound humanistic care
The story told by the film took place in China in the 1920s. The hero Feen was a doctor of medicine who came to Shanghai with his lover to work and live. Fei's usual habit of concentrating on work Coupled with the inevitable feeling of loneliness in a foreign country, the heroine finally can't stand the loneliness. The deviant behavior of his wife made Fein very angry. Just like the male protagonist in the film "White" set a trap to put his unfaithful wife in jail, Fein also took revenge on his wife. A ruthless "veil": ignoring and indifferent to all his wife's actions, and forcing his wife to follow him to work in the hardest-hit areas of the epidemic that seriously threaten life. However, whether it is the male protagonist in "White" or Dr. Finn in this film, what is hard to hide behind their revengeful behavior is their deep love for their wives. In the years of working and living in the epidemic area and sharing weal and woe, Fein gradually felt his wife's repentant heart and true love for him, and finally took off the cold "veil" on his face and came together with his wife again.
If it is said that the "mental journey" of the male protagonist in the film is to gradually take off the "veil", then the "mental journey" of the heroine is that of love over time. Indeed, at the beginning of the film, the heroine Kitty did not have that kind of love for her husband. The reason why she came to China with Dr. Fein was to get rid of her mother's troubles, and he followed Fein to the epidemic area. Work was also forced by Fein's threat of divorce. However, in the years of sharing weal and woe in the epidemic area, Kitty gradually discovered the respectable and lovely qualities of her husband, felt deep remorse for her previous infidelity, and finally had an unforgettable love with Fein. Affection. However, the unfortunate thing happened after all, Dr. Fein contracted cholera and passed away soon, leaving only deep sorrow and regret to his wife, and to those who fought with him in the film. People, left to the audience who were moved in front of the screen. In this way, the film conveys a touching love story to the audience through the two different mental journeys of the hero and heroine, and is full of affection.
Of course, in addition to the touching love story, "The Veil"'s deep humanistic concern for the fate of the characters in a specific historical context suddenly enhances the ideological depth of the film. Just as "Out of Africa" interrogates Western colonial policies, and "The English Patient" discusses issues such as war, race, morality and ethics, "The Veil" also touches on the relationship between China and Western powers in the semi-colonial and semi-feudal society at that time: on the one hand We have seen that the invasion of imperialist powers has brought endless disasters to our country, and the Chinese people have adopted an attitude of hostility and hatred towards Westerners. Work and eventually die in the line of duty, while the nuns of the local church take care of the orphans who have no one to depend on. It is undeniable that these actions are more or less self-interested, but we can feel it more from it. It is the great humanitarian spirit it embodies. Perhaps, a sentence from the head of the film to Dr. Fein is very telling: "If your country's army doesn't turn its guns on us, maybe our cooperation can be better." The
second narrative is first-class and well-made .
Perhaps the small town in southern China where the cholera spread in the film can touch my nerves more than the majestic and magnificent African grasslands. The narrative rhythm of "The Veil" gives me a better feeling than "Out of Africa" and "The English Patient". The film should also be compact and smooth. At the beginning of the film, Dr. Fein and his wife were on their way to work in the epidemic area, during which they used flashbacks and interludes to describe the identity background of the hero and heroine and their previous emotional experiences one by one, and the footage was edited smoothly and condensed. , never be sloppy, and explain the cause and effect of things in the shortest time in the most concise way. After that, the location of the story was moved to the epidemic area where cholera spread. At this time, two narrative clues were laid out in an orderly manner, the intense and severe epidemic control work between Dr. Fein and the local people, and the gradual emotional changes between Fein and his wife. The low tide connects and transitions naturally, and the severe epidemic that everyone is in danger and the final fate of Dr. Fein and his wife are pressing the nerves of every audience.
The film's performance in photography, art, location and other aspects is also quite outstanding, perfectly reproducing the style and appearance of an ordinary southern town in China in the 1920s. Although the atmosphere of the film is always shrouded in the shadow of the cholera epidemic, The picturesque scenery of the town surrounded by mountains and surrounded by mountains and rivers still makes us feel relaxed and happy. In addition to the beautiful scenery, the film's grasp of the pulse of the Chinese era at that time is also quite accurate: vigorous strikes by workers, young and enthusiastic progressive youth, ignorant and conservative backward villagers, local warlords and the national government's struggle for power... These have distinct The characteristics of the era's brand are all shown in the film, which makes the film have a strong sense of history and the times, and also makes us, as Chinese audiences, feel more intimate with the film.
In addition, I have to say that the soundtrack of the film is also quite wonderful. With the development of the plot, the music is sometimes tense, sometimes graceful, sometimes majestic, which makes every viewer feel the heartbeat. Among them, Lang Lang's three piano solos Undoubtedly the most gorgeous chapter of the film's soundtrack. At the beginning of the film, with the pictures depicting the characteristics of the times, the desolate, sad and sobbing piano solo reminds the audience, which suddenly brings the audience's thoughts back to the old China in the 1920s. Lang Lang's second piano solo appeared in the second half of the film. At this time, the hero and heroine have truly come together in the years of sharing weal and woe. With their experience of sightseeing on a boat, the beautiful piano soundtrack and picturesque scenery The beautiful landscape, the heart-to-heart bond between the hero and heroine... All these constitute the most romantic passage of the film. At the end of the film, Dr. Fein unfortunately died of a disease. At this time, the mournful piano sound and the innocent children's chorus sounded together. The film entered the most touching climax. Every viewer will be saddened by the tragic fate of the hero and heroine. God hurt.
Three Chinese and American actors join forces for best performance
Thanks to their outstanding performances in classic business cards such as "American X-Files", "Fight Club", "Mulholland Drive", "21 Grams", the two leading actors in "The Veil" Edward Norton and Nomi Watts enjoy a high reputation and word of mouth in the hearts of movie fans. This time, they also did not disappoint the audience. The two used a tit-for-tat and sparkling rivalry to perfectly deduce a pair of British The lover's emotional experience in a foreign country, the golden man of next year's Oscar winner and actress seems to be waving to them. Another important actor in the film, Toby Jones, performed very well. Playing like Jack Nicholson, he successfully created a shrewd and sophisticated "China Hand" image with his invisible acting skills. The humorous lines from time to time ease the audience's tense nerves from time to time due to the severe epidemic, and play a good role in regulating the atmosphere of the film. As for the two Chinese movie stars in the film, Xia Yu did not perform well because he had too few scenes, while Huang Qiusheng, who had a little more scenes, seized the limited opportunity to appear and successfully showed off his outstanding acting skills. The two scenes of speaking up and threatening the local warlord chief with tough tactics are unforgettable.
Conclusion
A specific historical background, turbulent historical years, and touching love stories... The successful combination of these elements has spawned scenes of touching and soul-stirring epic love, such as "Gone with the Wind", "Casablanca", "Out of Africa", So is The English Patient, and so is The Veil. Although on the whole, "The Veil" does not have the artistic charm of the above-mentioned masterpieces of film history, but in today's American film industry, "The Veil" can be regarded as a masterpiece with its excellent production level, touching love story, and deep humanistic care. A masterpiece of its kind. In the autumn and winter schedules that are full of strong films, after "Infernal Affairs", "The Banner of the Fathers" and "Iwo Jima Letters", another "Oscar Contest Seed Contestant" will debut, and at the Kodak Theater in March next year, several What kind of "Battle for the Golden Man" will be staged in the film, we will wait and see for the invitation of the
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