"News of the World" reminds me largely of the new "Midnight Sky," starring George Clooney a few weeks ago, and the two films are strikingly similar in some ways: the same old man meets an inarticulate kid. The girl, in order to send the girl back to her family, the old and the young embarked on a long and dangerous journey, and the vehicle broke down in the middle, so they had to walk on foot, and eventually became sleepy, hungry and exhausted.
Even, there is a scene in "Midnight Sky" where George Clooney and a child encounter a blizzard in a snowy field. He calls out the girl's name in the snowstorm, but there is no response.
In "News of the World", there is also a scene where Tom Hanks encounters a sandstorm, in which he also gets separated from the little girl...
These two movies are both adapted from novels. I checked them, and they are not the same author's work, but the story of "sending a woman home" probably has been explored by the authors of the past dynasties. Some mature templates and routines, using In Texas in 1870, or the North Pole after the end of the world, it can fit into the plot without too much violation.
However, the quality of "News of the World" is definitely better than "Midnight Sky", which is too streamlined and not detailed. It focuses on the division of the people and the bond brought by news, plus two people The way home is naturally full of emotions.
It's a pity that the director failed to establish a strong and clear connection between "News" and "Girls Returning Home", which made the two parts of the film look a bit separated, so this film can't be said to be good, and naturally not bad, I like Tom The audience of Hanks' performance might as well take a look.
Spoiler alert
"News" and "Isolation"
The selection of "news" can be said to be a very interesting entry point. At that time, the communication was blocked, and the people living in the inconvenient areas were busy at sunrise and sunset, and they were busy every day, but occasionally a newspaper reader would come Therefore, it brings news from all over the world (it looks like it is actually all over the United States), so that everyone can glimpse the silhouette of the world at their leisure.
The meaning of this "reading the news" has been sublimated several times in this film. At first, it was just to bring important news to the people, but later in the newspaper reading in the Red River Valley, the gap between the people in the north and the south after the civil war was revealed.
This is very much like the two factions of the people in the United States that are divided now. They represent different interest classes, and therefore they are also disgusted with the rule or governance of another party. The riots in the US Congress a while ago were caused by such a "split" Even if they live in the same country, people will have differences, and they will fight against differences. This was the case in the United States 150 years ago, and the United States today is also the same.
This "fragmentation" was pushed to the top in Erath County, where the newspaper reader played by Tom Hanks was asked to read only the racist stories written by the local county owner, the local stories were not spread, the stories outside It is also restricted from entering.
In fact, this is very similar to our current Internet society.
I don’t know if you have such an experience, when you watch some modules that you are interested in, your social media/news app will start to push more and more of the content you like, gradually squeezing the rest.” What about news about "random" topics, and in the end, let you look at the past, all the content you like?
This is actually a kind of "island of information" based on the recommendation algorithm. Your content only flows in your small circle, and more content is slowly hidden because of your neglect. Everyone thinks that the tip of the iceberg they see is the whole picture of the world, but it is not.
This is the meaning of reading newspapers and news from all over the world. We should not only care about the one acre of land in front of us, but also see the changes in the world. We can’t just focus on the content we like, those we dislike, What we ignore is equally important.
The way home for two
Another story in the film is that Tom Hanks took the little girl Joanna home. When the little girl was young, her family was killed by the aborigines. Tom Hanks' task is to send her back to her distant relative's house (not too far away, actually).
In fact, I wrote this long trek at the beginning of the film review. It is still relatively templated, and it has everything in it. The girl started to be wary of Hanks, and then gradually got to know and trust Hanks. The protection of the people can also bring them out of the predicament in times of crisis.
However, in the movie, the plot development of Joanna being sent home and picked up is probably more of a rational way to express a communication between cultures.
Two civilizations that warn each other, one is strong and the other is weak, but if you try to educate the weaker civilization purely with the dogma of the stronger side, then this "education" actually evolves into "imprisonment", this world belongs to all civilizations , we should be extremely tolerant rather than rejecting, or intolerant because of our own likes and dislikes.
This is the core similarity between sending a girl home and reading the news.
The film also designed a "Road to Home" plot for Tom Hanks. Like the girl, Tom Hanks' home also has no relatives. I guess this is probably a complaint of a meaningless civil war and thinks. In the end, it sends a signal of unity, but I feel that this paragraph is not necessary.
Ideal "Spark"
There is also a very interesting branch in the film, that is, John Kelly, a young man in Ellas County. Among the villains under Mr. Farley, John is one of the few existences with unshakable conscience.
It may not be appropriate to use a conscience, but a more appropriate description is that he knows too little, so he does not have a clear understanding of good and evil, and after Farley killed his brother Tommy, he did not feel resentment.
And it was Tom Hanks' story of "The Miners Fighting with Death in the Mine" that let him know that in the larger world, workers do not always have to surrender to fate, and miracles exist.
In fact, did the eleven miners really survive? Maybe survived, maybe just a consolation from Tom Hanks (I reckon John Kelly was illiterate and couldn't read newspapers), however, it planted a seed of hope in John's heart, and on the way west, he was the first Once no longer relying on others to control his own destiny.
All of this is the miracle of that news.
Tom Hanks has a good foundation in picking scripts. Every year, one or two movies with major protagonists are considered a conscientious model worker. "News of the World" is not too outstanding in Tom Hanks' films. It is quite satisfactory, but there are also some its highlights.
The information closed one hundred and fifty years ago still exists in today's society.
The division of the nation a hundred and fifty years ago still has its aftermath in the United States today.
Just as social media banned Trump's account, capital, if it so chooses, can show us the exact opposite message. They can hide their own scandals, so that people only care about the trivialities of the stars.
So, the newspaper reader 150 years ago, the leader who led the people to see the bigger world in the miserable life of the world, the leader who made people rise up against oppression, is this still the case in today's era? Does such a role exist?
Even though we already have convenient means of accessing world information, in an increasingly cyberized world, do we have the ability to break through the current information blockade and cognitive limitations, and see the really important "big news"?
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