On the last day of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, after watching "Mr. Bachman", I was going to go home and concentrate on film reviews, but found that someone in the WeChat group had thrown a Merry Christmas. After squatting for several days, with all my sincerity, this year's Shanghai Film Festival was completed ahead of schedule.
This film is one of the most popular films at this year's Shanghai International Film Festival. When you sit in the theater, you are surrounded by a celebratory atmosphere, and the applause rumbles at the opening. Seeing David Bowie appearing in the opening credits, the audience applauded, and seeing Ryuichi Sakamoto, the applause grew even louder. There are too many fans of Ryuichi Sakamoto, unfortunately, I came to see Takeshi Kitano and Nagisa Oshima.
The applause died down when Takeshi Kitano appeared on the screen, eh? Isn't Takeshi Kitano deserving of applause? So I clapped my hands vigorously, applauded sporadically, and heard the laughter of the audience in the back row.
The more I replayed it, the more I felt that the roles of Sergeant Ohara (played by Takeshi Kitano) and Lawrence (played by Tom Conti) were outstanding. Lawrence, how rare, the light of humanity, caught in the middle of the Japanese army and the British army, tried his best to mediate, and it was difficult to understand. Genoi issued an order to let the prisoners of war go on a hunger strike for 48 hours to punish mental laziness. The British army was full of grievances, and the anger was boiling.
Lawrence can see clearly and thoroughly that the tragedy of the Japanese army lies in believing that it is absolutely correct, and at the same time how the harshness and ruthlessness of it backfire on itself, and the price is painful. He suffered a lot, but he was full of understanding and tolerance. He did not think that a prisoner of war was humiliation, and that being a prisoner of war was also a kind of value. Perhaps because of this, he is the only surviving one of several protagonists, and his survival is also a rare hope and bright color after the battlefield.
Sergeant Ohara played by Takeshi Kitano, this gloomy and rude man who only beat and abused prisoners of war, released the imprisoned Lawrence and Jack after drinking, calling himself Santa Claus, and smiling all over his face. When I watched it for the first time, I didn't feel anything special. When I replayed it, I couldn't help but think: Santa Claus is not an ordinary person, Ohara, Ohara, did you know that the gifts on Santa's shoulders are also a burden? Does it weigh on the back?
Is Ohara's act of kindness a random act of drunkenness or a real expression of his intolerance, or is he deliberately using drunkenness as an excuse to "make a mistake"?
In the end, Lawrence went to visit Ohara in prison. They chatted and said that sake is a good thing. Speaking of that Christmas, Ohara said it was a wonderful Christmas, when he was drunk and let them go. Ohara is still smiling: Can I stay drunk forever? It seems like a question is not asked, and it is as heavy as a thousand pounds. I thought he would say, but I wasn't drunk that time.
He couldn't stay drunk all the time, he wasn't sober, not to mention sober, he didn't understand what crime he had committed, obviously he was no different from other soldiers? Even after the trial, he had too many doubts and incomprehensions, but he could only accept the ending of going to the execution ground the next morning.
And Lawrence can only say reluctantly, if I decide, I will let you go... But he can't this Christmas, like four years ago, like Ohara and Shiye resisting in secret, let him go, and recreate the battlefield Merry Christmas on .
Lawrence said bitterly, no one is right... The burden of victory is heavy... He has choked up, and the camera can't bear to face him. He must have thought of that Christmas, that false alarm. Now... he can't say anything anymore, and turns to leave. Ohara stopped him and said the most memorable line in the whole film with a cheerful and hearty expression.
The last time I said this, it was him four years ago. At that time, he was in control of himself and the life and death of Lawrence and others. He could easily capture them and release them, like a game of jokes. At most, it is not difficult to use some small tricks. Now, he can no longer be a Santa Claus, and there is no Santa Claus to save him, so he can only keep saying: Merry Christmas! Mr. Lawrence! Merry Christmas! Separation is farewell.
Oshima Nagisa reflected on the diagnosis of the illness in the Yamato national spirit, and he was extremely ruthless. But behind this knife, there is still concern and worry. Because the collective madness is all directed at them like the back of a knife, Yonoi, Sergeant Ohara, and more.
In their eyes, Jack is certainly charming. Jack is the embodiment of the beauty of human nature. He has firm eyes, stands upright, walks upright, and exudes dazzling self-esteem, freedom and fearlessness. Not only could he eat the fiery red flowers, but he also threw the flower handles away after chewing. Incomparably mad. Even before he set foot on the execution ground, he pretended to perform daily shaving, brushing his teeth, drinking tea, smoking... His existence was an irresistible temptation for the extremely depressed Yonoi, and he fell deeply into it. The infatuation with Jack is also more and more painful in the conflict between personal emotions and Bushido spiritual beliefs.
Lawrence said, "If the friendships of men in war were gay, then we are all gay". Shiye restrained his emotions to Jack, more because of his status as a prisoner of war than the gender of the man.
If Merry Christmas is the most unforgettable line in the whole film, a kiss is the most moving gesture in the whole film. The veneer, which for Westerners is about saying hello, has become so shocking on the battlefield. The name of the soundtrack explains the purpose of the film, the soundtrack for this scene is called Seed. Jack's kiss became a seed, which redeemed Jack's guilt for his younger brother, and finally made Shiye completely collapse, bluffing to prove his correctness and firmness by executing Jack. He just took Jack's collection of locks of hair and said goodbye with a military salute. After all, he could not break the burden of collective belief and mission.
The spirit of militarism and bushido requires them to be invincible fighters, believing that they are absolutely right, and proving their absolute rightness. To put it bluntly, don't be a man, be a god.
Lawrence said, it's your gods, your goddamn gods, that's what made you like this, and may they rot in hell!
But isn't it the person who makes the choice? While the Japanese army wanted to be gods, the prisoners of war just sang to gods, praying for comfort and blessings.
Once again, he sighed with Oshima's discerning eyes. He said that he saw a natural killer on the big screen in Takeshi Kitano. If it weren't for him, he might not have the opportunity to see the role played by Takeshi Kitano and the many works of the director after that.
Takeshi Kitano said in an interview that Nagisa Oshima would often get angry and angry on the set, yelling at the uncooperative lizards in the film. Sakamoto Ryuichi also discussed with Kitano Takeshi that he wanted to steal the film and burn it, but he was afraid that the film might be hacked to death by Oshima Nagisa, so he gave up the plan.
When participating in Nagisa Oshima's posthumous work "The Imperial Law", Takeshi Kitano even made a pact with Nagisa Oshima, and if he cursed again, he would leave the studio. The subtle and secret same-sex emotional entanglements and the complex conflicts between the collective and the individual in "The Imperial Law" are also inherited from this film. I always feel that Oshima Nagisa has a preference for Kitano Takeshi, and always assigns him a special role. In "The Imperial Law", the gossip radar played by Takeshi Kitano, who is sensitive and keen to complain silently, has a comic effect and is also the most sober bystander.
Takeshi Kitano also said in the interview that he still has many questions to ask Nagisa Oshima, "He is not only a great filmmaker, but also a visionary dreamer."
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