The first thing that attracted me to the film was seeing how high a person's self-cultivation, character, and conduct can be achieved in a secular society. Lewis, an Oxford professor played by Hopkins, is knowledgeable, authoritative, and has a strong self-awareness. He lives almost entirely in the spiritual world of rational thinking. . In front of such people, ordinary people will inevitably appear superficial and reckless and willing to lose. So do I.
Another character in the film is Joey, a Jewish woman from the United States who is divorced with a child, middle-aged, bankrupt, and terminally ill. She is unfortunate from every angle, in her own words: Can't God give me a discount? However, she lived a strong and real life. Although she was trapped in the mud, her soul was noble, and she always accepted life calmly and optimistically. Compared with Louis, she is more like a layman living in the dust, but she lives with tenacity and weight. In front of her, people often feel like a spring breeze, and once again pick up the courage to sail the ocean.
When Louis met Joey, he met his real opponent. In front of the sharp-spoken Joey, Louis seemed to be confused and at a loss, and slowly the theory that Louis adhered to was broken. I thought this was not a challenge to a life attitude, but more like a spiritual sublimation. Because Louis doesn't live a false life, just more real than Joey. And Joey's truth comes from the courage she has honed in suffering. Louis chose to protect safety in the fortress of knowledge prematurely due to the loss of his mother when he was a teenager. He lacked Joey's courage and could not experience in life. The joy of being a strong man. It can be said that Joey came to give him this inspiration and bring him this strength. Lewis once said: Why should you love when you know you will lose? And Joey told him: Pain is part of happiness, it's the deal of life. Louis seemed to wake up. The sharp and wise dialogue in the film is worthy of careful savoring. In the face of such a strange woman, I believe no one will not like it. Louis was no exception, he fell in love with Joey, even knowing she was going to die soon. It should be said that Joey taught him to love, to feel life, to experience real joy and pain.
It's hard to imagine that such a rather dramatic story is actually adapted from a true story. The Lewis in the play is the famous British novelist who wrote "The Chronicles of Narnia". A collection of essays "Qingqing RuMei". I have no knowledge of Lewis himself, nor have I read his writings. But this movie really touched me. Reason makes people noble, and love makes people pure. Facing life, we can only feel it seriously and enrich it to live up to this life.
A good film often writes the deepest truths in the plainest tone. In 1994, sandwiched between Schindler, Forrest Gump and Shawshank, "Shadowland" seemed too low-key. But I believe that anyone who has seen this film will be moved by its profound and timeless poetry, which will be unforgettable for a long time.
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