The film begins with a desolate Muslim chant, the climax of the melody, the Urdu cadence, simple yet modern, with a sense of destiny that strongly attracts spiritual creatures.
I like this kind of instinctive and simple singing, with human voices echoing in the sky without any embellishment. Another piece of music that has touched me is Japanese folk music. Men express despair and hope in despair with their trembling, sad guttural voices. I like that natural rhythm. It's not the sleepy elegance of the guqin, which I've always thought of as the utterly boring act of the ancients.
In this business society, people are most afraid of being on the wrong side. Being abandoned by associations and groups is what people fear most, which means being isolated and abandoned.
Always choose a position, learn to build a model of life, and then devote time and emotion to realize this model, this is the concept of "dream", the American dream, the Pakistani dream, the Chinese dream,,, dream, is it not that the soul and the body choose differently Disruption caused by position?
When you choose a position, you establish an enemy or an imaginary enemy. Christ said that I am the only God, and Muslims say the same thing. If you choose this God, you have to laugh at and attack the different Gods that others believe in. You have to find thousands of reasons to convince yourself, and then convince the people around you. people. Can religion bring peace of mind and body? Or deeper schizophrenia?
Many people are destined to be a monk from birth, and he obviously still has the right to pursue individual happiness within his own limits - to stick to his identity and to be true to the responsibilities that it imposes, and to enjoy it. But obviously such a fate is not worthy of admiration, let alone complacent. Being able to choose one's own destiny is a courage worthy of respect.
The pain comes from the fact that everyone has to be the same as the protagonist, discovering that the dream instilled is so incompatible with himself, "living in a life defined by others", after reflection and loss, in addition to being insensitive, there is awakening.
The plot is real and touching.
Changgaiz from Lahore, Pakistan, went to study at Princeton University, a famous Ivy League college in the United States at the age of 18. He studied all subjects with all A's in four years, participated in the school football team, and was hired by a large company in Manhattan, New York, on the eve of graduation. With her outstanding talent and diligence, she was reused by her boss, and she met and fell in love with the company CEO's niece, a talented female artist. Gradually entering the mainstream society's way of life, realizing the American dream of well-dressed and self-satisfied.
But there are hidden pains behind the beautiful life. 23 weeks before he met Chang Geez, his girlfriend caused the death of his childhood sweetheart boyfriend due to drunk driving. Guilt and nostalgia tormented him. The relationship with Chang Geez needed to "pretend him to be him" in order to develop. The development of a new relationship breeds a new sense of guilt. His girlfriend's beauty, good family background, good talent, and beautiful apartment make Changgez intoxicated and attached, ignoring his girlfriend's mental disorder, and this love is destined to go in a deformed direction. developing.
Changez followed the company team to the Philippines to evaluate the profit improvement potential of an automobile production plant. His pertinent analysis was based on the unemployment of grassroots workers. When his colleagues raised this question, Changez still insisted on serving the middle class. and capitalists to make more profits and raise moral doubts about their own decisions.
At this time, in the hotel room, Changquez witnessed the live TV broadcast of the 9/11 attack in the United States, and an expression of joy appeared on the corner of his mouth instinctively.
When he returned to the United States, Changquez was subjected to special checks by security officers at the airport because of his Arab appearance. He took off his clothes and underwent criminal-style inhumane physical examinations. Changquez felt humiliated, but his girlfriend who came to pick him up told him, The attack caused panic among people. "Illegal forcible body search is a special treatment in a special period", which should be understood.
Changquez told his girlfriend that he was born in a traditional Muslim family, parents hope to have grandchildren, and discuss the possibility of having children with his girlfriend. When he woke up the next morning, Changquez found his girlfriend crying in the bathroom. His girlfriend could not forget her dead ex-boyfriend subconsciously. "Feel pain and shame.
Changquez used his high income to pay for his sister's wedding and returned to Raschel for his sister's wedding. The poet's father, who is obsessed with poetry and disdain to make money, questioned the morality of the well-paid financial analyst Changez worked in, and expressed disdain and dissatisfaction with his wife's acceptance of his son's payment for the wedding.
When Changgez returned to the United States, he felt very disappointed that he could not see his girlfriend who was busy arranging art exhibitions. At this time, it was still in the tense period after 9/11. People remembered the compatriots who were killed in 9/11, and they hated and resented the Arabs. At this time, Changquez grew a beard that is a Muslim symbol, and was once again detained by the police as a dangerous person in the police station on the street. Changez realized at this time that no matter how successful and good he is, no matter how much he loves a free and democratic America, but because of his Muslim ancestry, he has been repeatedly unjustly suspected, and in fact he can't really fit into this rhetorical "towards". Looking forward to the country "in action" and "looking back", he felt lonely, full of doubts, and his calm and gentle mentality was replaced by the sprouting of the seeds of violence.
In this depressing stage, Changquez went to his girlfriend's art exhibition and was surprised to find that his girlfriend would photograph his own works, as well as some fragments of the two's life as the theme of the exhibition. Gates, on the other hand, believes that his girlfriend made the private relationship between the two public without her consent, in order to show publicity and tell everyone what a fashionable and eye-catching thing to have made a Pakistani boyfriend after 9/11. After a big quarrel, the two decided to walk away.
Confused Changez followed his Xiaokai to Istanbul, Turkey, to evaluate whether a 42-year-old publishing company was worth buying. The boss of the publishing company expressed contempt for the two appraisers who were full of copper smells, and in order to soothe the atmosphere, Changguez told him that his father was a poet.
The owner of the publishing company found a book of poems by Changez's father translated into Turkish. Changhez was very surprised. He didn't know that there was also a Turkish translation of his father's poems. The boss invited him to dinner and asked him what age he went to the United States. He told Changez that the Turkish Praetorian Guards were Christian children brought back by the Ottoman Empire. They were trained to be good warriors from childhood, and when they were a certain age, they were sent back to the place where they were born to kill their relatives and destroy their homes. Changquez was shocked. He argued that he was not a killer raised by another country, but that he was a Muslim. At this time, Changez's self-selection was completed. Between the different positions of the United States and the motherland, he chose the motherland.
Changez quit his job and returned to Lahore, where he taught at a university and spread the ideas of democracy, and was deeply embraced and loved by his students. The militant group tried to win over Changhez, but the message from the militant group that the Koran in Islam was the only truth stopped him at the last minute. Although Changgez has left the US imperialism that has caused harm to the Arab countries and people, he is not willing to fall into narrow democracy. He is unwilling to fall into "it's either a worker or a laid-off", "it's not an American, it's a Pakistani" , "Either dead or alive", such a world view based on the veto of the opposition.
This story of pursuing true freedom of human nature originated from the kidnapping of a white professor in Raschel. After the white professor was kidnapped by radicals as a spy, The United States conducted a strong search in Raschel. Freelance writer Bobby was originally a sympathetic person in the Arab world. After 9/11, he realized his role instinct as a US citizen and turned to serve the CIA. The white professor is Bobby's
friend and his mentor who persuaded him to return to the American camp. Bobby was eager to save his friend, and single-handedly found Changgez, who was listed as a key suspect, trying to find out his whereabouts and avoid further deterioration of the situation.
In the purest teahouse in Lahore, the two drank tea and ate, and Changgaiz told his story. The modern Manhattan neighborhoods and the quaint Raschel streetscapes are a true representation of two worlds living under the same starry sky but in unequal positions.
The American SWAT drove a luxurious and rugged off-road vehicle on a rampage in Raschel. In order to save one of their own people, they did not hesitate to launch violent actions against a large number of unarmed Pakistani patriotic civilians. The bloodshed was avoided. But due to Bobby's misjudgment, he shot and killed Samir, one of Changgate's favorite students. And the Americans obviously won't take any responsibility for it.
The film ends with Changez's speech at the funeral:
Samir's family asked me to tell you that they understand our strong feelings, it's the emotion that gives us courage, and a message from his family, if we're innocent Yes, Samir who is always smiling can hear, he must agree, they asked us not to cry for their son, too many tears have flowed into this river, they asked us not to take revenge in the name of Samir, Too much blood has flowed into this river, they beg us not to curse fate, our son is already in Allah's arms, wiping away tears, praying for a future, a future without dictatorships and tyrants, without invaders, Come, take your beloved, tell the majestic sun, hold on to its precious light, and we will tell our hearts to follow its light and shine.
A shocking world visual film, in addition to the thought-provoking theme, Lahore, Istanbul, Manhattan, and the Philippines have many locations with different styles. Trying to rise again.
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