During the Spring Festival, according to folk custom, Chinese people choose an auspicious day to go to temples to burn incense and worship Buddha. Even if it is rare to enter this kind of clean sanctuary with clear rules and regulations, whether it is crowding Guiyuan Temple to grab the first incense on the first day of the first day, or worshipping the God of Wealth on the fifth day of the new year, or going to the Taoist temple to ask for autographs, the Chinese people can be said to spare no effort to join in the fun - although for the absolute Most ordinary people who grew up under the education of the guiding and correct three views still have religious beliefs, but it does not prevent them from using the formal sense of belief to the fullest in their secular life. It's hard to say whether it's because of beliefs that lead to actions, or because of liveliness to set off beliefs.
Western Europeans all have a deep Christian complex. Even if they are not believers or are just nominal believers (baptized at birth, not chosen independently), the impact of related religions on their history is profound and indelible. Movies about religious themes have always been popular. Of course, in the context of secularization, religion is also affected by the human nature of the world, and even religious beliefs with infallible orientation are faced with the invasion and crisis of this world. Filmed in 2008, "Suspicion of Child Abuse" can be regarded as a film that reflects its dark side. This film is adapted from a famous Broadway play. The story is simple but the plot development is complicated and confusing: the head nun of a church school manages the school with strict and rigid rules. Compared. However, the old nun gradually discovered that the priest has an abnormal attention to the only black student in the school. The whole film gradually develops and escalates in the constant speculation and struggle between the nun and the priest. The plot is compact and has considerable tension. Although "Doubt of Child Abuse" seems to be more of a headline party, the original name of Doubt is actually more inclined to the process of "doubt" - all kinds of doubts and guesses build the development trajectory of things, the details of these clues and the psychological warfare of doubts All added a lot to this film.
Personally, I think the most brilliant thing about "Doubts about Child Abuse" is the uncertainty of the ending. It doesn't allow the characters on the show to tell the truth about whether Father Flynn was a child molester. Many viewers have put forward the exact opposite point of view, and they have supported it by inference - but many of the hints are unnecessary, and Father Flynn's "there are things I can't say" has clearly tacitly acquiesced in what he did. . But it is not important whether the person involved has committed a crime or not. What is important is actually the status quo of the crisis of belief reflected behind it. The peddling scandal of Catholic clergy that broke out in the past two years should be one of the realistic backgrounds of this film, and the ending in the film is a helpless and cruel portrayal of this reality - the abbot used every possible means by means of driving away the priest she thought was a pedophile, even violating the eighth commandment against false testimony—but what was the result? The priest was transferred from the upper parish to another school, strictly speaking, a promotion. In the end, the old nun's cry was the finishing touch, both the repentance for what she had done, and the helplessness to the reality. Because she found that the world was "too deep". It is simply impossible to shake the characters of small characters like Er. Here, I want to briefly explain that the Catholic Church implements the system of divine quality, and each level is strictly divided. For priests with priesthood, nuns are subordinates, and one of the vows of the nuns is "obedience". ", Strictly speaking, the interrogation and questioning of "the following crimes" like in the movie is illegal and not allowed. But the old nun sacrificed a huge price in order to maintain and confirm her views and to protect the black student, but only achieved such an effect. The complicated reasons behind it are even more indescribable in the film. It's enough to sigh deeply about the flaws and dark sides of a powerful system that she is powerless to do.
In 2010, "Man and God" made people see the side of faith that should be presented to people from another angle. Unlike "Child Abuse Suspect", "Man and God" is based on real events that happened in Algeria in 1996. Eight French Cistercian monks living in seclusion in North Africa were kidnapped and killed by terrorists on the grounds of religious conflict. This form of martyrdom is a sign of suffering and glory in the long history of Christian development. In view of the religious sacrifice and devotion expressed in the film and the recognized values, the film not only won the Cannes Jury Prize that year and this year's Caesar Award nomination, but also received a rare recognition from the Church; the Holy See even in its official media. "L'Osservatore Romano" newspaper wrote an article praising the spirit of faith conveyed by the film. The film is very literary and belongs to the popular film among the minority. The most poetic scene is the last words made by the monastery in the form of narration at the end, which is matched with the empty and silent snow-covered small monastery after the looting. It is beautiful and contains philosophy. The language describes the conflict between beliefs, the imperfections of this world and the fearlessness in the face of sacrifice. For all the living beings who live their own lives in this world, it is difficult to understand why these monks insist on making seemingly meaningless sacrifices for a belief. However, this is also the powerful driving force behind the belief that has lasted for thousands of years.
Religion is not perfect because people are not perfect. Various weaknesses in human nature can lead to deviations in religious beliefs in specific historical contexts. But for human beings, it is necessary to stick to an absolute thing; it is precisely because of the flaws of human nature that the metaphysical need for absolute truth becomes more urgent.
The essence is that human beings living alone on the earth will definitely show fear and awe of unknown forces where they are beyond their power. Even today, with the coexistence of multiple ideological trends and the highly developed productive forces, human beings will automatically find sustenance and reference that can replace the position of belief even if they have no belief. British literary critic Chesterton famously said: "When people no longer believe in God, it does not mean that they believe in nothing, but it means that they believe in everything." Unlike the religious beliefs that were enforced in the medieval environment, modern people The lack of faith must be supplemented in other ways. Some people are obsessed with constellations, some people play tarot, and some people get satisfaction by being obsessed with a certain way of life. Traditional religions have also been brought in by many secular elements. Whether it is burning incense to worship Buddha or meditating and praying, the trend of seeking worldly interests is inevitably infecting ancient beliefs. Believe it or not, it is human nature to fear and worship the unknown and expect profit.
Nowadays, all kinds of news, big and small, flooded on the Internet and modern media fill the comfort that everyone needs in their hearts. People choose what they need from them, and fill them into the role of "belief" that their nature needs, just like It's normal to take an item you need from a supermarket shelf. The media impatiently promotes a variety of consumer opinions and promises that conform to mainstream values to a broad audience (or potential consumer customers, which is the most important), and the creed and method of preaching are also the same as the teaching: once you comply, You can get what you want - knock on the door, and the door will be opened for you! The discourse status of the media has replaced the church of the past to some extent, and it has acquired a condescending teaching position in front of the audience. However, few sane audiences - just as there were few who favored more serious believers at that time - considered its reasonableness sex. "Do the following ten things, you can become more beautiful" or "Buy XX products, you can stand out and become the focus of attention" - which of the above promotion words similar to mission, which sentient beings are willing to believe? Of course, the fact that the eyes can see is that the enthusiasm of consumers who are like believers is no less than that of true believers.
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ps: I just posted a film review the day before, and today I learned that the Caesar Awards announced the winners, "Man and God" won the best film, and "Shadow Writer" won the best director, adapted script and soundtrack, rolling~ congratulate!
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