Fear comes from the unknown, from changes, from the prejudice in people's hearts, or even more precisely, a movement, a word, a look can become the source of fear. When it takes root in the human heart, it begins to grow infinitely until it engulfs the soul.
The film tells the story of two brave people, a man and a woman, an old man and a young man, who met and fell in love with each other, and got married. The story of regaining courage and redeeming souls.
From the outline, the idea of this film is not so clever, but Fassbender has created this rare masterpiece with his delicate conception, delicate brushwork and profound insight into the heart.
At the beginning of the film, Amy, an aging German, entered an Arab bar. Fassbender used a three-second "still picture" to express the gaze of the "foreigners" in the bar to Amy. This calm and restrained camera language instead makes the confrontation between the two races more profound, and it can better show how brave Amy who entered this "exotic" was at the beginning. Likewise, Ali, who dances with Amy under the watchful eyes of his companions, also appears strong and fearless, unafraid of the world.
In this way, Amy and Ali, two people from different fields who should not have any intersection, quickly met, and soon fell in love and got married. It can be said that from the acquaintance of the bar to the marriage and the short "honeymoon" time after the marriage, the most distinctive character of Amy and Ali is bravery.
If other directors were to tell this story, they would definitely be more entangled in the story of how two people with different identities abandoned ideology, overcame many difficulties, influenced the people around them, and finally achieved happiness. But Fassbender is different. What he wants to focus on is how to deal with the prejudice of the people around them after they get married; he wants to delve into the mental process Amy has experienced when facing the change in the attitude of the people he used to know; Feared, stressed souls try to break through the dark radiance of humanity.
So we can see Amy's crying, roaring, and her escape. She was timid when she faced the change in the attitude of people around her. After she was overwhelmed, she chose to leave for a period of time, allowing time to help eliminate people's anxiety. Discrimination and Prejudice. After returning, the attitude of everyone on the surface has softened. Yes, she has changed, and she has changed too. She is no longer the brave and determined woman she used to be!
Of course, Ali can also see Amy's transformation. He still loves Amy deeply, but he can no longer face Amy's soul. At this moment, what he felt from Amy was not love, not the mutual comfort between two hearts, but fear, torture, and a broken soul. So he also chose to escape, choosing to paralyze his mind with alcohol, poker, and physical pleasure. Fear declares its victory. At this moment, two people who used to be extremely brave have completely lost their courage and lost their fear. Fear eats the soul!
Fassbender spends a lot of space telling how the two people lost their courage and compromised, and the most profound part is also in this part. Fassbender just wants to tell us that no matter how brave people are in the face of fear, they will be at a loss. In the face of this fear, it is no longer important to stick to one's original intention, and even whether to follow one's heart is no longer important. The important thing is to no longer be afraid. But when you are no longer afraid, you have become a prisoner of fear!
There is always one person who realizes it first, and this person is still Amy who bravely entered the bar. She went to Ali's place to find him after he stayed up all night. Here, Amy was ridiculed by Ali workers. She suddenly realized, she understood, it turned out that Ali had always seen this world with herself (when Ali moved to live with Amy, he not only had to endure the mental torture of his compatriots, but also as a Outsiders, inferiors endure contempt from another race). Amy put herself in Ali's position, only to realize how much the words and actions that the people around her had said to Ali in the past had caused Ali a lot of damage. In those years, due to her cowardice, her relationship with Ali deteriorated. Not only did Ali find no emotional belonging, but his dignity was repeatedly trampled on. Amy finally realized it at that moment. She didn't say anything and left silently to find the courage she had lost.
In the penultimate scene of the movie, Amy and Ali regained their courage again and said the timeless lines when they danced:
"I slept with another woman.
It doesn't matter, not at all.
I don't want to find another woman, I just feel very disturbed.
You are a free man. You can do whatever you like. But when we are together, we should treat each other better, otherwise there will be nothing to linger on in life.
I love you very much.
I love you too, when we are together, we have nothing to fear! "
In the end, Amy held Ali's hand tightly beside the hospital bed and burst into tears. I don't think Amy will ever let a man leave her or give herself to fear again!
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