By chance, I saw the recommendation of "The Barbarian" on a movie download site. I didn't read the introduction of the story. Just the poster of the movie was impressive. After watching the movie, I not only had a new experience for Oliver Stone. understanding, and more distressed about our human nature.
The storyline of "The Barbarian" has a strong Hollywood bloody characteristics, but the handling of details still allows the film to show Oliver Stone's unique personality - lust and violence. Through the story of one woman and two men selling drugs in chaos, getting rich, and confronting the big Mexican drug lord, it shows people that human nature has become dark under the shroud of culture, and people have become helpless and incompetent when it comes to life.
Cultural violence is more dangerous than nuclear weapons
In "Barbarians", whether it is the two American drug dealers Chon and Ben, or the Mexican drug lord Irina (transliteration), or Irina's cruel subordinate Dura (transliteration) As well as the Central Federal Investigator, under their strong exterior, they all have a fragile and loving heart, and they all have a weakness that exists because of love.
However, these beautiful and weak human natures are buried by different beliefs in different cultures, and everyone seeks a chance to survive by showing their toughness to the outside world. Especially the mysterious and brutal Mexican drug dealer culture, whether it is revenge or warning the enemy, is to torture the enemy to death by brutal means, and finally beheaded - let the red blood flow, let the living enemy terrified, this culture The representative is not Irina, but her lackey Dura.
Of course, the cultural violence shown in "The Barbarian" is not one-sided by the drug dealer culture, a slap in the face, but the peaceful, violent, promiscuous typical Western postmodern culture represented by Chon, Ben and their common lover, Ophelia, with drug dealers Cultural contradictions.
What is impressive is that Ben, who has always believed in Buddhism and peace, faced the attack of Mexican drug dealers, and the counter-offensive strategy and cruelty he came up with made Chon, who has experienced Afghanistan and Iraq and has been killing all the time, admired, although they did not directly The opponent dies, but the high intellectual culture of finance and business management has caused infighting in the drug dealer culture that takes pleasure in killing and torturing people. The cannibalism scene makes people shudder at the violence presented by the culture.
So here, we seem to be able to see Oliver Stone's worries that have been hidden behind violence and eroticism - once human culture breaks out into conflict, it is far more destructive than nuclear weapons.
Queen, Azul - the metaphorical
queen of the most powerful person, is the honorific name given to Irina by drug dealers, and Azul and Irina are another big drug lord competing for the North American market. Irina is the main character from the beginning to the end of the movie, and Azul has only two scenes in the entire movie, but everyone who mentions his name will feel terrifying and terrifying.
The bloodiest violence in the movie "Barbarian" does not appear in the conflict between the high-intellectual culture and the drug dealer culture, but in the process of power struggle between the mysterious Azul and Irina. Azul, especially the entire movie Azul, has only two shots, and even the front-faced audience can't even see it clearly, but isn't it a true portrayal of our modern human beings who can manipulate the fate of countless people and formulate the rules of life for all classes?
Everyone's life is carried out under one manifested power - the Queen - and another invisible power is more dangerous than manifested power. Each tries his best to show obedience to manifested power, not out of fear of manifested power, but out of fear of unknown hostile power.
Oliver Stone is also trying to talk about friendship and love, justice and sin through The Savage, but with peace and violence, desire and power, and survival, these elements are enough to make The Savage a complete film the fable.
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