---"If you don't say it, how much is your personality worth?"
I don't ask you to do anything, your conscience decides.
---Conscience, that thing can drive you crazy.
This is the dialogue between the priest and Terry, the male protagonist Terry wants to tell the truth for the female protagonist Eddie.
It was only when I saw this that I understood what answers they were looking for, what they wanted to keep secret, and what they wanted to reveal.
This is a gangster movie. The gangsters at the dock are doing bad things. Joe was killed by them because they wanted to reveal their secrets. No business. But he met Joe's sister and fell in love with her, she was so insistent on finding out the real murderer to avenge his brother Joe, he wanted to do something for her, but there was nothing he could do. The gang stared at them, worried that Eddie would influence Terry, fearing that Terry would make unfavorable actions, and was constantly warned. On the one hand, out of his own conscience, on the other hand, he wanted to tell the truth out of his guilt and distress for Yidi. And brother Charlie was ordered to persuade his younger brother not to do so, and even threatened with a gun.
The mentality of Terry and Eddie has completely changed. When Yi Di first learned that his brother Qiao was killed, he was sad and resentful, and tried his best to find evidence to find the truth and catch the real culprit. Although Terry couldn't bear it, he also obeyed the rules of the rivers and lakes and ignored his brother Charlie. With the development of the relationship between the two, Terry followed the decision of his conscience, and at the same time, stimulated by the murder of his brother, he decided to tell the truth and fight against the evil forces. And Eddie was afraid of losing Terry again, and advised him not to be impulsive and not to take risks.
This change reflects the emotional differences between men and women. In the small, it is a change of personal emotions, and in the large, it is the awakening of conscience and the choice of righteousness.
The only lighthearted scene in the entire film is when Terry sends Eddie out, chatting while walking down the road. Her glove fell off. He picked it up and patted the glove while asking her a question. He also sat down and put the glove on his left hand. This scene made people smile. They chatted about the past, they all knew each other and paid attention to each other.
She believes that he is not as bad as everyone thinks. She sees a different expression under his unruly appearance. She believes that "people become bad when they don't get care." Hearing this sentence, Terry felt in his heart. It's touching, and I always believe that Eddie is his salvation for Terry.
Terry took Eddie to see the pigeons. He adopted Joe's pigeons and took good care of them. He told her that the pigeons were not peaceful, but they were loyal and had their own dreams. I think the dove is a symbol of himself, loyal and kind even if he doesn't seem so friendly.
This reminds me of the same gangster movie "Once Upon a Time in America," where the noodle kids seem to be "bad if they don't get cared for", and they're still kind and loyal, even if not so friendly. And the worst one can't escape the inner condemnation even if he has the last laugh.
The ending of the movie was handled hastily, as if to make Terry save his life, gain everyone's support and support, and become a man with appeal and authority. It's very baffling here, some people say it's so-called individual American heroism, and those dockworkers are a typical rabble. Indeed, the ending makes one feel this way, achievement for achievement's sake, and those dockers are actually unassertive people who want to resist but are afraid, watching from the sidelines, and when Terry stands up and doesn't die, resists again, They started following again. I still don't understand, in the end they still worked for the gangster dock, didn't they?
The gangster culture in the United States, the understanding of this background is also the key to understanding the film.
View more about On the Waterfront reviews
