Once again, I was moved by Clint Eastwood. After watching "Mule", my tears flowed not only for the die-hard Earl in the film, but also for the good old man Dongmu who was still in his 90s. .
"Mule"
I still can’t accept Eastwood’s slow and old appearance. Red Dead Redemption is too far away from the most hungry period of my movie watching. His handsome and determined face seems to exist only in my hard drive;
But "Unforgivable" and "Covered Bridge Last Dream" can be regarded as the strongest memories in my filming career, and Eastwood almost equates to handsome and mature in my heart.
"Covered Bridge"
Seeing him walking slowly in "The Mule" with his shoulders buckled, almost immediately, I felt sore. "The Mule" contains almost all the truths and complaints that the twilight old man wants to tell young people, and it is most appropriate for him to speak slowly.
No matter how you look at the role of Earle, he is not a good person. Some behaviors and words even want people to scold him as an "old bastard."
The retired veteran has almost no sense of responsibility for family and marriage. He concentrates on his flower-growing career and gained the respect of his old friends outside, but in fact even missed his daughter's wedding.
Affected by the Internet, the traditional flower-growing industry he insisted on plummeted. He drove a broken car back home with nothing, and wanted to attend the wedding of his granddaughter. Naturally, he was not accepted by his ex-wife and daughter.
Forced to start drug trafficking for drug trafficking, I originally wanted to do it once or twice to earn some money and then stop. As a result, I accidentally became the most reliable drug transporter in the whole gang. This is how the "Mule" came.
Relying on the large sums of money he earned from drug transport, Earle paid for the drinks of his granddaughter’s marriage, changed a new car, repaired the club for his old comrades, and relied on himself to regain the respect of his family and friends, regardless of the way. Is it justice?
But the fascinating thing about Earle's character is that he doesn't care whether the path is justice or not, he only asks whether he is happy in the moment. It can be said that this character has no sense of morality, and everything he does is for himself.
To be able to cruelly say "flowers are worth my time and energy" to her ex-wife, or to say "I love you" before her death, does Earl really love her ex-wife?
In my opinion, the biggest reason he coaxed his ex-wife to be happy was to make him feel at ease.
He helped a black family with a flat tire on the road, calling others a "nigger" while doing good deeds. It can be said that he did not intend to, or he didn't care about other people at all.
Helping this action is just his own behavior, and he doesn't want to exchange gratitude for the person being helped.
Earle has repeatedly expressed his anger at these new things such as the Internet and mobile phones. The reason is simply that he can't keep up with the development of these new things, and people are particularly angry at things they can't control.
Earle has lived quite happily throughout his life, making himself extremely happy, and then in his twilight years did he think of his long-lost family and relatives, but what is jealous is that he can reconcile with his family and relatives without much effort.
The granddaughter likes this infinite grandfather very much. The daughter will surrender as long as she sees her father showing a little warmth. The ex-wife even said that Earl was the love of her life before she died.
Chinese people like to say "the prodigal son will not change his money". In fact, this sentence is universal. Earl is an old bastard, but none of us can deny that he is a likable old bastard.
The meaning of his life, or the value of existence, is to make himself happy. After practicing this way, he was recognized by the entire environment. The public would not criticize him, but would understand him.
Eastwood's classic masterpiece "Red Dead Redemption" series represents the heroic dreams of Americans, and "Mule" is the best portrayal of the hero's twilight.
A hero is a hero when he grows old, but whoever becomes a hero is destined to owe his family something. We can't do this, so we can only envy heroes.
Emphasis on love and righteousness is actually a false proposition in this movie. If there is a chance to live again, will Earl become a good husband and a good father who loves his family?
I don't think he will. He will still invite the people in the bar to have a drink and forget his daughter's wedding. He will still be a tragic figure who has gained fame and owe something to him.
Earle said, "I can buy everything, but I can't buy time." Is he expressing regret to his family and relatives?
I think he is expressing regret with the entire new century and the new order. If he has more time, he will have a better grasp of the operation of the new laws, and he will once again become a famous hero.
In addition to Earl, the character I have most impressed with in the film is the boss of the original drug cartel. He is also a classicist hooligan. Facing Earl’s non-compliance with the rules, he expressed great tolerance. Because of his tolerance, Earl’s Only then can you become the mule that created a record of drug trafficking in the entire drug network.
He and Earle appreciate each other, which is an unexplainable tacit understanding between old-school people.
Unfortunately, they will eventually be replaced by the new order. The original boss was betrayed by his subordinates and shot to death. The new boss asked Earl to strictly abide by the rules, otherwise he was responsible for the consequences.
The biggest rebellion that Earle experienced was probably when he knew he died from a date, but went home with drugs worth 12 million US dollars to meet his ex-wife. He made up for his fault in a twofold sense:
The first level is to return to the family, reconcile with it, and make yourself feel better.
The other layer is silent resistance to the new order. Anyway, I am so old, so what can I do?
At the end of the story, Earle was still as stubborn as ever. He ignored the lawyer's defense words and resolutely admitted that he was guilty in court. No matter how old he is, this man is just as willful and wants to be a hero.
He finally did his favorite thing in prison again. For the flowers to give the last time and energy, I can’t tell if this is Eastwood’s biggest rebellion, because he is nearly 90 years old and he still wants Be a lone traveler.
This story now seems a bit out of date, but the old man’s expression is still worthy of admiration. More importantly, at this age, there is such an expression that does not conform to mainstream values. How can it not make people excited and even cry?
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