We all have a glorious or bitter history

After watching this film, it is called "The Great Adventure" in Chinese. The Chinese translation is very straightforward, losing the concise beauty of the original THE GUARDIAN. Let's call it the protector. The story begins with a sea rescue by a legendary hero of the US Coast Guard. That's our hero (Kevin Costner) Benny. He is a middle-aged man over 40 years old, and there are countless men, women and children who have been rescued by him. But due to an accident, all his companions were killed, and he began to have some hallucinations. In order to let him rest, the organization arranged for him to become an instructor at an elite school, which is to train a new USCG. So he started a different life. The group of young people he trained were all kinds of people. Among them was a boy with great swimming talent, Fisher. In the eyes of others, he was a genius with high self-confidence and excellent achievements. But Benny treated each of them selflessly, and in less than two weeks, half of the candidates were eliminated. Through daily contact, Fisher and Benny developed a relationship of mentor and friend. Benny also learns about Fisher's past. He was a promising swimmer in college, but an accident killed everyone in the car except him, including 3 extremely talented swimmers and his best friend. Since then, his life has been turned upside down, and he begins to feel that everyone in the town does not greet him, as if he is a murderer. For the next two years of college, he did not play any more games. And, as soon as I graduated, I signed up for the USCG application.



Seeing this, I suddenly discovered that in fact, everyone has a glorious or bitter history. Sometimes we do something amazing that maybe hard to understand at the time. In fact, they all have their own reasons. Fisher was expected to become a swimming champion, or even a world champion. But because of the special experience of the car accident, he could no longer face his past at that time. So he chose to completely abandon his past life. Such a change is a good thing for him, at least it shows that he is not completely stuck in the shadow of the past, and he is still actively seeking a way to realize his life. However, we also saw that when Fisher first came to the elite school, he was arrogant, working alone, without team spirit. He just likes to set records and show off, but he doesn’t really like being USCG to rescue Others will not truly understand the true meaning of saving others.



In the battle between Benny and Fisher, Fisher gradually understood: when USCG is not trying to turn itself into a hero, USCG can't achieve everyone's miracles. Because of objective conditions, we can never guarantee that everyone will eventually survive. And when we have to face giving up, can we convince ourselves to give up rationally? This is obviously a very serious and confusing question. In the film, Fisher asks Benny: How many people did you save? Is it 200, 300, or more? Benny has never answered his question directly. Until Benny was affected by the last failure and could not carry out the rescue, he resolutely proposed to resign and go home, and met Fisher for the last time. Fisher asked: How many people did you save? Benny said: 22. Fisher was surprised, and I was surprised when I saw it. Is he a legendary hero? Shouldn't it be saving hundreds of thousands of people? For rescuers, every time they save a few people, do they remember the person's name, appearance or other things related to the rescued person? Or will it gradually fade away after a long time and save more people? "22 is the number of people who gave up." I then realized that for USCG, the important thing was not to save a few people, but to give up a few people when the situation did not allow it. You know, when you are wearing a USCG uniform, you land in the suffering area with a standardized posture, and say to the survivors trapped there, "I am USCG, and I am here to save you. Please don't give up, believe me I can save you!", you were like their life-saving straw, the only silver lining. In the end, icy waters and rigid corpses may await them, but even then, you have to work until the very last moment, even sacrificing yourself so that they can be rescued.



As I watched the movie more and more, I realized more and more that participating in USCG requires courage and perseverance that ordinary people cannot do, as well as super selfless dedication and willingness to sacrifice oneself. Just like their motto: So others may live. Maybe, everyone has the wish to save others, but when it comes to icy waters, a ship that is about to sink, and your own survival instinct, can you really be willing to sacrifice Save a stranger at all costs?



At the end of the film, when Benny heard the news from the command center that Fisher was trapped and needed a lifeguard to rescue him, he decided to rescue him. After much trouble, the two were suspended in mid-air by the lifeline. When they were about to reach the helicopter door, the rope began to loosen because of the previous wear and tear. The brave and fearless old Benny made the decision I expected at this time! He left the hope of life to Fisher, and he jumped down resolutely, and was immediately swallowed by the sea.



Each of us has a glorious or bitter history. For us, this history is a testimony to the past and an incentive for us to choose our future life. Don't be surprised when you find someone mysterious that you can't understand. You just don't know his past.

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