"Lust and Caution", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", and this "Billy Lynn's Halftime Battle" are Ang Lee's " Divine Trilogy " in my mind.
The obsession with the human heart is the thread that runs through Ang Lee throughout the three films. His most direct question to people's hearts is, " Why do people make such decisions at that moment ?"
What attracted him most to these three stories, made him have the urge to shoot, and what he most wanted to figure out, was that all these protagonists had made extraordinary actions, WHY?
In "Lust and Caution", why did Wang Jiazhi let Mr. Yi go? In "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", why did Yu Jiaolong jump off a cliff? In Billy Lynn, why did Billy Lynn decide to return to the battlefield?
Ang Lee wants to understand the most unpredictable and unreasonable part of the human heart.
To this day, we have been unable to explain why humans have decisions and behaviors that violate the principles of evolution. These decisions will put people at risk of life and death, put their safety at risk, and would rather walk into a dangerous place, jump into a lion's den, and plunge into a desperate situation where there is no way out.
We cannot explain it because we are bound by human finitude and mortality. As a weak individual with limited means and short life, greed for life and fear of death, seeking advantage and avoiding disadvantage should be the single choice of human behavior pattern. But why do we still care:
what is love? What is freedom? What is the meaning? What is eternity? What are duties, obligations and loyalty?
Or even put the consideration of these issues above life and death, so as to make decisions that go against the desire for survival in difficult, dangerous, and desperate situations?
We cannot answer this question from the perspective of human nature alone. So I think the answer lies in the divinity in man .
Such an attribute transcends the finiteness (be finite) and mortality (be mortal) of individual life, and makes man have the same eternal and immortal attributes as God. This was originally an attribute unworthy of this world, a sacred and noble attribute that distinguishes man from animals.
To tell the truth, the exploration of the human heart is very tempting, but it is also extremely dangerous. For there is not only the divine but also the animal. There are forces that make people transcend life and death, and there are snares that make people succumb to the forces of death. Therefore, the exploration of the human heart requires a very important precondition . This precondition does not require you to be strong, intelligent, or sincere. This premise is actually very simple, that is, your search must "persist to the end" - "don't stop asking" .
As long as a person does not stop questioning, then he will never fall into the trap of evil forces, because all traps are lies and will disappear into the invisible under the constant questioning.
The fear of death, the fascination with dark forces, the excitement of violence and destruction are all lies. Those who fall into these traps are not because they are not strong enough, but because their love and attachment to the truth are not deep enough or strong enough.
They are satisfied with the momentary pleasure and excitement provided by the lie, and stop asking and searching, so they can never reach the deepest part of the human heart. They think they have arrived, but in fact they are still far away, they think they understand it, but in fact they don’t know anything about the human heart.
However, a person who does not stop searching will pass through the fog, respond to the evil with questions, and continue to move forward to face the trap . In fact, as soon as one persists, the lie dissipates. It simply cannot resist the persistent torture of people. Your persistence and questioning will bring you to the deepest desire of the heart, what is there? It is faith, hope, and love, and that is where the divinity of man lies.
Why are "Lust and Caution", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and this "Billy Lynn's Halftime Battle" said to be Ang Lee's "Divine Trilogy"? Because these three parts, from different perspectives, deduce the decisions that people make to show their divinity at a certain moment.
Back to Billy Lynn.
The story of "Billy Lynn" is a contrast between a "true" event and a "false" event. Ang Lee's use of 120-frame technology also serves such a transformation between "true" and "virtual".
Scenes of war are real, celebrations are fake; death is real, heroism is fake; life and death are real, falling in love is fake; responsibility is real, investment dividends are fake.
The real scene is not sensational, only restrained, detached, and watched from a distance from a restrained perspective. The fake scenes are full of passion, using super close close-ups, stirring emotions, and colorful renderings and contrasts to construct a lively but unreal world. This kind of unreality successfully dispelled heroism and made a great mockery of heroism.
Therefore, the scenes that are often used to promote patriotic veterans, such as returning home, reuniting with relatives, being awarded medals, shaking hands with admirers, etc., do not arouse our feelings at all in the film, because we know very well : This is not the place for tears, this is a misunderstanding .
The public misunderstanding of Billy Lynn as a triumphant hero, the scumbag's taunting of the military's gay policy is a misunderstanding, the sister's accusation of war injustice is a misunderstanding, the cheerleader girl's quest for supposed romanticism is a misunderstanding. And all these people's understandings/misunderstandings have nothing to do with the decision Billy Lynn is going to make .
Billy Lynn's decision to return to the field was not a heroic one. If we see it as a display of heroism, then we are making the same mistake as the public in the movie. It's not because he recognizes the rationality of this war. Regarding your sister's questioning, do you still want to disturb other people's countries? Billy Lynn was speechless. Not to be a hero in the hearts of cheerleaders girls, but to be a deserter in order to be with the girl.
So why? Billy Lynn has to go back, simply because:
It's just it is. It's what it's supposed to be, where I belong, what I'm supposed to do.
This is a " true to heart " decision.
Even if this decision means death, I cannot escape "myself," this responsibility and obligation that comes with "who I am," and this mission. It is not easy for people to know who they are, where they belong, where they should go, and what they should strive for. And once you know your own destiny, whether you are willing or not, can you be loyal to your heart, it is even more difficult.
This fate is the destiny that the dead monitor Billy Lynn told him. I don't think this is meant to be destiny here, this destiny refers to the mission of the moment. Fulfill your destiny is not the fulfillment of fate, but the fulfillment of your mission.
The squad leader's death and Billy Lynn's decision to return to the battlefield are all loyalty to this mission.
It is not because of the friendship of comrades-in-arms that I have to go back, but because I am loyal to my mission, I have to be responsible to my comrades-in-arms. He couldn't leave the injured squad leader behind and accept his sister's arrangement, even if it meant hurting her sister. That's why during the national anthem, in the flashbacks, Billy Lynn sees his sister's brokenness and his own destiny, and tears flow. Because that is a choice that has to be made, a decision that has to be made. To be loyal to fate means to give up attachment to life and concern for family members. It's not about being a hero, it's not about living up to expectations, it's just: it's just it is, it's just who I am, it's just the way things should go.
Lust and Caution is for love, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is for freedom, and Billy Lynn is for loyalty .
All of their protagonists acted out of the ordinary. Knowing that she was in danger of being arrested, Wang Jiazhi still let Mr. Yi go. Yu Jiaolong knew that there was no hope of freedom in her current world, so instead of reluctantly trying to be a lady of the desert, she jumped and jumped off the cliff. Faced with the call of his destiny, Billy Lynn chose to stay true to his heart, even if that fidelity might bring death and his sister's heartbreak.
These people, whose desire for loyalty, freedom, and love outweighs the desire for life, and life pales in comparison. This is what the deepest desire of the human heart is, love, hope, and faith, and it is also the divinity in man embodied in these three films.
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