When chatting with the residents of the community, the following questions are often asked:
"He's 10 years older than me, can we be together?"
"I'm in love with my teacher, what should I do?"
At this time, I would rummage through the box to find the disc, gently blow off the dust on it, and stuff it into the DVD player.
Because it's the answer: Harlow and Maud (1971)
America in the 1970s.
Harlow is 20 years old and has a quirk that likes to pretend to kill himself to get his mother's attention.
He would pretend to hang himself in the living room to get his mother to look at him more.
Pretend to cut your wrists in the bathroom.
Fake drowning in the pool.
"Suicide" in front of his mother.
But my mother didn't feel anything about his prank, no matter what he did, she didn't see it.
So Harlow was very, very, very alone at heart.
To dispatch loneliness, Harlow buys a hearse and travels around to attend other people's funerals.
As a result, he met someone who understood him: Maud.
Maud is a 79-year-old woman who likes to steal cars and wander around.
She came to funerals often, noticed Harlow, and was curious about him.
Once, she happened to steal Harlow's hearse, and the two struck up a conversation.
It was only then that Harlow discovered that there was such a fun person as Maud in the world.
Maud lived in a train car in the suburbs, planted with flowers and plants inside and out, and collected many exquisite furniture, musical instruments, and works of art.
She installed a spreader on the window sill, and with a pull on the rope, she was able to spread the food to feed the birds.
She also has a distiller, where she can put snow in different places, and you can smell the smell of that place.
Maud is out of tune with ordinary people.
When not going to funerals, she likes to watch workers demolish houses.
Have a picnic at the junkyard.
Go to the botanical garden to see plants and get close to nature.
Or go to the arcade to play marbles with young people.
Once, when she saw that a small tree on the side of the road was not growing well, she dug it up, stole a car and transplanted it into the wild, and was almost caught by the police.
Another time, when he taught Harlow to sing and also to play the banjo, she sang:
If you want to sing, sing, if you want to be free, let go...
In short, Maud is an old lady who can play, which makes Harlow feel the vitality that has been missing for a long time.
Finally, once the two talked about their hearts, they learned about each other's past.
It turned out that Harlow lost his father since childhood and was neglected by his mother.
Once, when he failed an experiment at school and set off a fire, he sneaked home tremblingly without telling anyone.
The school thought he was dead and came to inform his mother.
At that moment, he saw his mother faint, and for the first time felt that he was cared for.
So from then on, he kept trying to get his mother's attention by pretending to commit suicide.
And Maud, who escaped the Holocaust as a young man, was tired of all isms and spirits.
Because he died once, he was so fearless.
In this way, the two lonely hearts are getting closer and closer, and finally one day, Harlow confessed to Maud: I love you.
Maud said: I love you too.
But soon, they will be separated again.
At Maud's 80th birthday party, the two were having a good time, but Maud told Harlow that he had overdose on sleeping pills and would die at midnight.
Because she had long thought that she would die at the best age.
In the ambulance, Harlow said to Maud: "I love you.
Maud said: Very good, but now, let's love more people.
"Harlow and Maud" was released in 1971, at first because of the sensitive content, the box office and reviews were not good.
But later, its humor and romance were gradually recognized by the audience, and it continued to be popular at midnight.
For example , the Westgate Theater in Minneapolis, USA , has shown Harlow and Maud for three consecutive years since 1972, with a total of 1957 shows.
The locals suffered from severe aesthetic fatigue and had to protest to the theater, demanding that it be screened.
During this period, the two leading actors came to the theater to participate in the film's second anniversary celebration.
As a result, there were still signs asking for the screenings behind them.
In this way, "Harlow and Maud" has become a cult classic that is sought after by the niche, and has derived many by-products.
Such as novels and plays of the same name created by the original screenwriter.
Among them, although the drama has little influence, from the 1980s to the present, it has been staged in the United States, Britain, France, Canada, South Korea and other countries, and there are many versions without interruption.
There are also many Harold and Maud-related gadgets on the shopping site.
Like a T-shirt.
notebook.
Small decorations and more.
For nearly half a century, fans of "Harlow & Maud" have expressed their love for it.
For example, an uncle named Ken Robert in the United States copied the hearse in the movie by himself.
You know, Harlow's hearse in the movie was a modified car, and it doesn't exist anymore.
But the uncle spent a lot of money, made in-depth investigations, and strictly restored the appearance from the movie to the interior.
He also kept a banjo case in the back of the car with Harlow's suicide props.
Tattoo lovers love Harlow & Maud too.
An American netizen tattooed "Harlow and Maud" on his arm and wrote:
I am listening to the soundtrack of the film, and it means I choose to live my own life.
There are also people who use their own bodies to keep Harold and Maud together and never separate.
Others wear the phrase " go and love some more " as a life letter stripe on their backs.
On Amazon.com, 72-year-old Sharon Crandall said she had seen the film in 1971, later recommended it to her daughter and son-in-law, and today recommended it to her granddaughter, but she still laughed.
Many older people say they saw the movie for the first time when they were Harlow's age, and now at Maud's age, they still love it and still recommend it to family and friends.
Why is "Harlow and Maud" so popular with American audiences?
The #1 review on imdb is probably the answer: because it says, you can be who you want to be.
In the 1970s, Americans experienced the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and the economic crisis, and found that the government they had always trusted turned out to be "murderers" and "liars."
They were desperate for emancipation, and rock, hippie, and counterculture movements flourished.
"Harlow and Maud" was born at this time, conforming to this trend.
There are many metaphors to reality in the film, for example, Harlow's mother introduced three girlfriends to Harlow.
First, study politics.
Second, do business.
The third one is an actor.
Harlow had no communication with them, just used "suicide" to scare them away.
In addition, the mother also entrusted the relationship to send Harlow to serve as a soldier, wanting him to become a killing machine.
Harlow made a mess of it by asking Maud to play the anti-war figure.
These plots mocked the hypocritical social mainstream culture and brought out the preciousness of love and life.
So, if you're in love with someone but don't know if you should, watch Harold & Maud.
You will understand that love is two lonely hearts that warm each other, nourish each other, and become a better version of themselves together.
The so-called morality and rules are all superfluous.
They do nothing but bind you.
Reminds me of the end of "Harlow and Maud" where Maud dies and Harlow drives his hearse down a cliff.
Don't worry, this is Harlow's last fake suicide. Maud's love brought him back to life.
This ending tells us: the world always binds you in different ways, but love can set you free.
So if you can, be brave to love.
For more cultural interpretations of cult films, please pay attention to the public account: Uncle Zhao in the mail room
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