The person next to him saw half of it and asked what the hell was this talking about.
A few key words appeared in my mind, war, death, ptsd and humanity.
Confucius said, people are not ignorant without being embarrassed, are they not gentlemen?
If I assume the role of Billy, I would like to know the answers to these questions.
1. Are we harming innocent people? (Some people say that there is no righteous war since ancient times.)
There are many details in the film discussing views on this war, such as what Catherine said at the dinner table, such as what the owner of a shale exploration company said when the soldiers were having a cake together, The outside world thinks war is unjust (and it is).
At a time like this, doubting whether you have really brought peace and democracy to Iraq, or whether you are just an instrument of war harming innocent people, becomes an unanswered question.
If you believe that you are doing the right thing and insist on it, what if you have begun to doubt it? Who can not but doubt it?
2. What is death all about? When you lose the person you love, you may be headshot in the back, or kill someone like Billy, the fear and curiosity about death can't stop surging.
Hemingway was a soldier and saw the true face of death behind war. From then on, when it comes to life and death, it is only described in simple sentences.
The truth is that death changes a person. (definitely of course)
a few constant questions, where did we come from, what do we do, and where are we going.
There are several scenes in the movie that revolve around death that are hard to forget. At the beginning of the film, when the surgeant was buried, the scene where the soldiers reported their names seemed to be officially opened. Afterwards, there was a very profound one, sergeant and billy discussed karma and effects. There are causes and effects in the world, and there are choices to come and go. Later, in the climax of the film at halftime, in Billy's halftime walk, he saw the opponent he killed with his own hands, the dull eyes when that person died and the sergeant's eyes when he found that sergeant gone.
die. Before that, billy never got that close to death.
Death is like a switch that can turn on thinking, and all the choices made later depend on the truths that were not understood when facing life and death that day. Those truths came flooding at certain moments in later life, and they were so powerful that they made people sober in an instant.
3. Our Inadequacy and the Pain of Outsiders
In Hemingway's novels, there are many stories about soldiers returning home after the war. Among them, "Big Shuangxinhe" is the most healing and painless.
Almost everyone in the movie is asking "how it feels like", but they only listen to what they want to hear for the answer.
They want to hear the story of how you bravely passed through the strafe to rescue your comrades in arms, how you sing the national anthem and embark on the journey of beheading the enemy, want to hear the jingle of your military uniform, and want to hear you stomping on Walk to the midfield at a precise pace.
But it doesn't take a minute to get to know the real you. They won't listen to you, I was really scared that day, and it took me almost half an hour to convince myself to put on my military uniform and go. They won't listen to you, until now, the way the enemy looked at me before he died still lingers in my mind, and if I did it again, maybe I wouldn't want to kill him. They won't listen to you, I don't feel safe for a second even when I get back to my motherland, my nightmares are endless killings every night.
fear? They do not accept this answer. Life and death are just a pastime for others, don't be so serious, don't be greedy for respect.
All they wanted was a story in the pocket of a soldier who met by chance.
ptsd, the soldiers returned from the battlefield, each with unknown and difficult to talk about post-traumatic sequelae. This is why when the soldiers walked to the backstage, the instant sparks and loud noises made them react quickly, ptsd. They need to be healed.
In fact, this is also a big problem that veterans in American society have to deal with after they are discharged. Like after a big party, hosts have a big mess to cleanup, guests back home with their lonely wasted soul.
4. What do we want?
At the end of the movie, does Billy really know what he wants? He cried during the national anthem, and the flash scene was him and the cheerleader.
While he knew what he wanted, he also knew clearly that he would never get it.
It seems that Billy made a choice for himself, but in fact, from another angle, he has no choice.
He needs to understand. The comrades in arms understand him, and this understanding has surpassed everything. He needs to be with someone who understands.
He needs respect. Excessive attention and too bright spotlight also gave him no way out. Just keep moving forward.
He needs direction. Departing is just one choice, but staying means thousands of choices.
It's not just billy, we're the same. Many times we think we have a choice, but in fact we don't.
None of us are brave enough to jump out and actually make choices for ourselves.
Ang Lee's films always make people think, and when we think about it, Ang Lee will laugh.
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