On the eve of the final exam, I still watched a movie.
It just so happens that this week is another old crime-themed movie after watching "The King of Thieves" last week.
With the old man as the soul of the story, I think this will become more frequent in the long river of modern narratives. Nowadays, the average age of human beings has been raised for various reasons, which is bound to be a good thing. But old age has gradually become another life issue. In the era of chasing the new and the different, many elderly people in the workplace, society, and many fields fail to achieve their ideals of constant renewal.
Only after retiring and being refreshed, did they break away from the stable laws of decades and re-consciously reconsider things beyond the laws of life. However, at the same time, the environment has lost patience with them. Just like the "Mule" in this article, the actor Earl, who is unwilling to accept the new methods of the new generation, is squeezed out of the flower shop. So he has to rediscover himself in this familiar but confused world, in a way that the group will recognize. In "The King of Thieves", a group of elderly people used various skillful criminal skills and intrigues to tell everyone: Jiang is always old and hot, not fighting does not mean not being able to fight; "Mule" is constantly emphasizing what should be Cherish the theme of family more.
In this way, there is a very interesting passage in "The Mule." When the actor Earl was attending a pool party, he said to Julio, a young man who has been supervising him: "I'll give you a suggestion. You should leave." Earl was intoxicated while doing drug delivery. The proficient expression made people feel that the wealth brought by this crime seemed to intoxicate him. However, this segment of admonishing the posterity immediately reminded the audience that he was still sensible. Since wealth is not everything, what is it? The young man responded that it was the boss who gave him a home and gave him the opportunity to practice value. When I heard that the young man’s reason was "home," Earl stopped persuading him. Just because that's why he stepped into this muddy water.
Julio rebutted Earl’s point, in fact, he also revealed the problem of racial discrimination in foreign society, precisely because of the so-called righteous way, he could not have the skin color and nationality that he possessed in this criminal circle, no matter how hardworking he was. . In the movie, a police officer stopped two Mexican men who supervised Earl’s transportation, and treated them like criminals without any reason. These plots have strengthened the paradox that the society is not friendly to them, making them even more unhappy and unable to comply with the kindness.
It was Earle who came forward to mediate. He opened the trunk full of drugs and took out two cans of popcorn to the police officer who found the fault. The police officer did not have the right to search the bags, but he still took two buckets of popcorn and left. The attitudes of the two sides are obviously different.
"The King of Thieves" and "Mule" are the same, it is an old crime. And almost all of these old people's crimes are because of the past that young people can win. The gang of old men in "The King of Thieves" are proof that they are both professional and old, especially the scenes are interspersed with a lot of scenes of their past cases (and I especially want to find these scenes); "Mule" emphasizes time And the dedication to the cherished people. Earle, as a man who has gone through wars, is welcomed by the opposite sex and has a successful career, at home is an irresponsible husband, father and grandfather. He is a successful man in social communication, but he is a loser in the family. These are revealed through the enthusiasm and praise of others, such as his wife Mary and others' praise to him, and small things such as the license plate with honors written on it. Unlike "The King of Thieves", the protagonist's young past is interspersed, the image highlights the contrast between time and events.
Earle's remarks to the young Agent Collin at the bar echo the theme of the whole movie—family is something we should cherish. An old man's nagging words, "Family should be the first. If the career is good, let it be the second." Not many young people can agree with it. But in the end Colin told Earl that he agreed with his advice. Regardless of whether the audience can fully understand the key connotation expressed by the film, I think this is Clint Eastwood's recollection of the realization of life through the film and the role of Earl.
"The King of Thieves" talks about being old and strong, a content that evokes a sense of existence in a group; "The Mule" talks about a reflection on the individual's life orientation.
Earle loves flowers very much, even surpassing the contribution to his family. Before he was defeated by modern management, he seemed to care less about the condition of his family. The concern for the family is only reflected in the many postcards sent to the granddaughter. In fact, it can also be understood from this that Earl is an individual who pays more attention to any realization of himself. He is not fully involved in planting flowers. He still has time to socialize in the veterans club, travel around forty-one states, and attend various gatherings, but he does not give his family time — daughter’s baptism, graduation ceremony, wedding, even granddaughter’s The engagement was only due to the close.
Earle's daughter and Earle themselves asked themselves a rhetorical question: As a man who loves planting and lived for nearly a hundred years, what is his love for Daylily? It is worth noting his family to bet on everything. His answer made me think that there is another image in this movie that I find very touching-living in the present. He said, because they only lived for that day. It is worth any effort.
In front of Mary’s bed, he said, “It’s the wish of a ninety-nine-year-old to live to be a hundred years old.” People don’t want to ask for many things that cannot be forced. As an old man who seems to be ninety years old, he actually wants to pursue it. What's more. Roommate Jiahui once said: "People are selfish because he has people and things that he cherishes." Similarly, Yu Earl's greed for money is to win the recognition of his family again. This is not to rationalize people's selfishness and greed, but to speak out for the possible suffering and other good reasons that deepen behind greed. On the crime side, Earle also refused to defend and pleaded guilty to bear the punishment, achieved a balance between emotion and law, and perfectly explained the weaknesses and complements of human nature.
How life is to be realized is often defined as how to be a young and promising person when he can best prove himself when he is young. But people will get old, and there will be times when they start to re-examine their own life position like Earle. At that time, what we will have, what we can have, and what we hope to have, may really be regrettable. Maybe people are like this. There are always losses and shortcomings. Even if you think of "living in the present" whenever you think about it, there will still be those imperfect parts.
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