This classic family ethics film was filmed in the United States in 1979. At that time, under the background of the feminist movement, the divorce rate in American society was getting higher and higher, and the number of single-parent families also increased sharply. The appearance of this film is a reflection on the family relationship in the United States at that time. Its English title is literally translated into Chinese as Kramer vs. Kramer. This title directly reflects the contradiction of the problem, that is, the relationship between the hero and heroine in marriage and family contend. And only one-third of the entire film involves the heroine, which does not positively reflect the asymmetry between the hero and heroine in the family, but makes the audience feel their confrontation, which is inseparable from the successful shaping of the hero. It's open. It is Mr. Kramer's series of performances that show the two's gradually disharmonious marriage relationship and broken family life from the side.
First of all, the film successfully created the image of a husband who was divorced due to his busy work and had no time to take care of his wife, and finally understood and cared for his wife.
At the beginning of the film, Joanna had already packed her bags and was about to say goodbye to Ted, but Ted repeatedly interrupted her to talk about her work. This shows that Ted has no patience and care for his wife, and also shows how much Joanna is. The helplessness and pain, she has nowhere to talk, nowhere to vent, she can only choose to run away from home to redeem herself. There are three scenes in the film where the two are separated inside and outside the elevator. The first time was when Joanna left the house, and Ted was powerless to dissuade him; the second time the court debate ended, and Ted didn't listen to Joanna's explanation and took the elevator to leave; the third time was at the end, when Ted asked Joanna to be alone with the child. This shows that the relationship between the two has changed from estrangement to conflict to relaxation, and the elevator door separates the two like the feminist movement. Ted's initial confusion and grumbling to the final understanding shows a transformation of a husband as well as a transformation of male power in the family.
Joanna is a representative of women with independent consciousness. Her departure represents the resistance and dissatisfaction of such women to traditional family roles, and believes that women also have the right to pursue self-worth and personal development space. As a husband, Ted must first question and block. Just as he asked Margaret "How much courage did he have to abandon the child?" He believes that Joanna should always be a traditional woman like a good wife and a good mother. And later Ted learned to understand and tolerate, which is a moderation of the relationship between the sexes.
Ted is also a father figure who loves deeply but can't express it, forbears and works hard to take care of his children.
On the first day after Joanna left, Ted scrambled to make breakfast for the children, and ended up scalding himself and making a mess in the kitchen. At the end, when Ted cooks the last breakfast for the child, he is methodical and has a tacit understanding with Billy, which forms a sharp contrast. It shows that he has adapted to being a single father and has learned to take care of children, which is a successful transition. In the beginning, when he sent Billy to school, he hurriedly shoved Billy to strangers, and later he went to work after watching the child safely walk into the school gate, which is also a manifestation of the growth of a father. And when Billy was injured and needed surgery, he insisted on staying with the child, which explained his guilt and deep love. Losing his job in order to take care of Billy, and finding a job in one day in order to fight for Billy's custody, this is undoubtedly a manifestation of his responsibility for his children.
Throughout the whole film, Ted was the father representative of the single-parent family in the United States at that time, explaining from the side the lack of women's family roles when fighting for the realization of their rights. What we should think about is how men and women can build a balanced marriage and family relationship. In this process, we must make concessions and understand each other.
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