It was a 1993 film, directed by De Niro, and played the role of the father in the film. The film tells the story of what happened in the Bronx, New York, in the 1960s. Nine-year-old Carlo Gero witnessed a murder involving community boss Sinney, and out of awe for Sinney, he did not identify Sinney to the police. Therefore, in the later life, he was taken care of by Xinni. Carlo Gello's father, Lorenzo, is an upright bus driver. He saw this situation and was very worried about his son's growth, and rejected Sini's kindness several times. Eight years later, Calogello has grown up. He grew up in both school and street education environments. As he himself thought, "twice as smart as others". As a result, he was often entangled between two lives: on the one hand, he became friends with a group of black-hatred punks; on the other hand, he fell in love with a black girl. On the one hand, he obeyed his father's teachings, lived by the rules, and was a "tough guy" who did things by his own ability; on the other hand, under the influence of Xinni, he was not willing to be a "no one cares" person. A lot of things that eventually happened made him understand what kind of life he wanted.
Carlo Gello and his family are of Italian descent, and they live in the Bronx, a low-level community with a concentration of Latinos. Although immigrants have been here for a long time, people still stubbornly maintain the traditional Italian living habits. In the film, we see people drinking espresso coffee and tasting pizza in the Bibi bar opened by Sini, and Napoli folk songs are playing on the stereo, and the air is filled with a strong Italian romance.
Of course, people also followed the traditional Sicilian undercurrent of the Mafia. Community boss Sinny is a well-respected figure here. His status is somewhat similar to that of the ancestral hall elders here in the past, managing and maintaining the stability of the community in places where the government has no time to touch. In the eyes of the community, Xinni is a person worthy of trust. In the film, when he encountered those motorcycle riders who harassed the law and order, he immediately called his men to drive them out of the community. Of course, he must be doing some illegal activities behind his back, and he is a veritable mafia. For example, he recruited Lorenzo to pass a note to him and paid him $150. For example, when he saw his old friend for many years being attacked, He will kill the opponent without hesitation. Unlike other mafia bosses, he is more rational, and even in his ten years in prison, he is still reading and benefiting from it. I read Machiavelli, the famous Italian thinker and historian. Make him a rare understanding person. He sees his society very clearly, and he knows that the life he chooses is a road full of thorns, and he has to abide by the law of the jungle.
When Carlo Gero asked him, "Which is better to be loved or feared?"
He replied, "It's best to love and fear, but it's too difficult. If I had to choose, I'd rather others be afraid of me than love lasts. Friendship bought with money is worthless. The important thing is not to be hated. ."
Carrogello also asked him, "You never trust anyone?"
Sinney: "I don't believe it."
Carlo Gero: "A way of life of horror."
Sinney: "For me, that's the only way."
Among them, we can feel Xinni's sadness and helplessness. Carlo Gero finally pondered in front of Sinney: "A person's choice will affect his life." Maybe Xinni didn't want to choose this kind of life at the beginning, maybe he didn't think about the hardships and difficulties in the future when he chose, but since he embarked on this road, life forced him to keep going. Assassination was his final and inevitable fate, sooner or later. Nowadays, many people envy those bigwigs and respect those rich and powerful people. But as the saying goes: only see thieves eating meat, but do not see thieves beaten. If you only see the rich clothes and food of the local tyrants, if you know the hardships these people have endured, the difficulties they have encountered, and the responsibilities they are overwhelmed, how many people would make such a choice?
Carlo Gello's father, Lorenzo, is a completely different person from Sinny. He never envied other people's lives, and he didn't want to be like Sinny. He worked hard to keep his family eating steak once a week. Resist all kinds of temptations with strong perseverance. When he found out that his son was involved in Sinney's gambling and received a grant from Sinney for no reason, he was furious, dragged his son to Sinney, threw the money on the table, and said, "Sinny, I know that you do things by unscrupulous means, And everyone knows that I follow the rules. But this time you are wrong. Don't make fun of other people's families, this is my son, not yours." He knew that he and Sini were not the same, with Sini's power, of course Lorenzo Hope they don't interfere with each other. But once he felt insulted and violated, he would rather offend Sinney than lose his dignity. He's a real "tough guy".
Carlo Gello grew up under the dual education of Lorenzo and Sini. Both Lorenzo and Sini are full of fatherly love for Carlo Gero. Although the way of love is not the same. When Carlo Gero did not identify Sini and was proud that he did not become a "gold finger", Lorenzo also recognized this Sicilian custom, but at the same time reminded him: "This is a trick for a tiger." Let Carlo Gero in " There is thinking between "Goldfinger" and "acting for a tiger", and he has his own moral judgment. When Carlo Gero planned to beat him up because the outsider lent him twenty dollars and refused to pay it back, Sini told him: "Violence sometimes doesn't solve the problem, you only spend twenty dollars to get rid of him, he won't If I bother you again, he won’t ask you to borrow money again, how much is it worth paying him twenty dollars.” When Carlo Gero admired Sini’s power and life, Sini said to him: “Don’t let me go. Road, this is my life, not yours. I have no choice, but it's not for you."
In fact, Lorenzo is not denying and contempt for Sini, but he just doesn't want his son to get too close to Sini, lest his son mature prematurely.
One of the issues that the film also touches on is the issue of race. It is normal for conflicts to arise between different ethnic groups. And black Americans have a long history of being enslaved, and it is difficult to fundamentally change. Today, it has developed to the point where they look down on each other. In the film, white people call black people "niggers" and black people call white people "white bread". I don't want to say more about the reasons, but there is another factor, which is skin color. Generally, if we look at foreigners, we can't be sure just from the nose. We have to carefully identify whether they are from Xinjiang or Europe. When foreigners look at Chinese people, they must first identify whether they are Japanese or Chinese. And blacks and whites can be seen at a glance by their skin color. In the Bronx, within easy reach of the Italian community is the black community. We saw that five black lads hummed softly together, which was a perfect harmony. The hip-hop music that swept the world was born here. And Carlo Gero's girlfriend, Jane, is more like what he feels: beautiful and noble. But because of traditional prejudice, blacks and whites are just not pleasing to the eye. In 1968, the United States "Civil Rights Act" was just promulgated, people showed a little tolerance to black people. Carlo Gero found a black girlfriend, Sinney supported him very much, and Lorenzo showed a tolerant side even though he was dissatisfied. But fights, arson and death between blacks and whites in the film were still the norm at the time. The mentality of racism is still deeply rooted. Get a glimpse of the black riots in these months. It can be seen that equality and freedom still have a long way to go in the United States. In the end, it is necessary to move towards mutual respect and integration between different ethnic groups. I think what Carlo Gero was thinking next to the charred corpse should be: everyone's life is life.
The story structure of the film is perfect. De Niro's director is also very good. Particular mention should be made of the description of the details. The fat man who will lose every time he gambles, the young man who doesn't pay back the money he borrowed, many inconspicuous details are well echoed before and after. At the beginning of the film it is mentioned that the bar owner has a wig on his head. In the later brawl, a rider grabbed the bar owner and flashed footage of a wig. While Carlo Gello was chatting with Sini, the bartender came over and recommended that there was a good steak for lunch. Just as he was talking, he encountered a few motorcycle riders who were causing trouble, and Sinney dealt with it. After beating the riders, Sinney said, "They ruined my lunch." In that murder case, the young Carlo Gero It has always been thought that the two were fighting for a parking space. Later we saw that after Xinni was assassinated, Kami took a luxury car and walked to the mourning hall surrounded by everyone. In the end, Cami said to Carrogello: "Sinny and I have been through adversity for many years, and now come back to receive here." Only then did the audience understand the cause and effect of the whole incident and dealt with it very well.
My rating: 8.0.
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