It's hard to imagine that an R-rated film won the Oscar in 1970. Perhaps this reflects that the world was not alone in the madness. Of course, this is also the only R-rated film that has won an Oscar. Because the U.S. government quickly corrected this trend of thought. So in 1971, the Oscar was won by the US military recruitment advertisement "General Patton". It is difficult to find any connection between the two films. But it is this more European form of expression that enhances his artistic value. Although the discrimination still exists, it criticizes some problems after all. Among the many best Oscar films, this film is obviously an anomaly. The movie is adapted from the novel of the same name. The screenwriter has made a considerable adaptation based on the original work. In order to incorporate personal ideas, I will introduce it to you below.
Joey, one of the male protagonists, used to wash dishes in a restaurant. Although his income of $5 a day was not high, it was enough for him in a small town. But he was already tired of the constant life in the small town, and he heard more and more stories of making a fortune in New York, so he was ready to go to the east to develop with his tendons. This situation is similar to the young people in China who go to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to dig for gold. They have dreams and look forward to a new life. Of course, many of them are forced to leave their hometowns for some reasons. Joe, a self-proclaimed cowboy, did not follow the advice of the black waiter and resolutely set foot on the long-distance bus to New York. If I remember correctly, this black waiter is the only black person in the whole film. Through this character, the director vehemently portrays black people as representatives of insidiousness.
On the long-distance bus to New York, people of all kinds come and go. Joey always tried to reach some kind of consensus with the people around him, but it didn't seem to get the expected result. Compared to the desolation of Texas, the cowboys who first arrived in the East felt like they were in a new country. After settling in his place, he began to prepare his own business - Niulang. (COWBOY in the title should actually mean cowboy, and the translator here understands it and translates it as a cowboy. Sure enough, there are still many people with stream of consciousness in our country.) Joey, who has just arrived, fucks his strong Texan accent, wearing a bit outdated denim. In the rushing crowd, looking for the target, this kind of maverick dress makes the people around are full of grudges. Compared with that small town in Texas where people sit on the side of the road, drink Coke, watch pedestrians, and breathe car exhaust during the day in Texas. People here are more concerned about money and interests. But luckily, the cowboy found someone who knew what to do. After a while, Joey didn't get what he wanted, and even paid $20 for it. He thought he had found a rich woman, but unexpectedly fell into the trap of an old prostitute. Routine.
Joey, who has never opened, decided to go to the bar to relax. Here I met the second male protagonist of the whole film, Rizzo (played by Justin Hoffman). Looking at Rizzo's dress and sly eyes, he knew that he was not a kind person. The two chatted every sentence, and Joey was worried that he had no business. The "kind" Rizzo revealed inadvertently that he was enjoying himself in New York. On the verge of bankruptcy, Joey feels he has a lifeline in his hands. After charging a $20 brokerage fee, Rizzo introduced Joe to a business and then quietly left. But when the customer opens the door, Joey finds out he's been tricked. It turned out that Rizzo introduced him to a gay, a wretched middle-aged man. He rushed out the door and started frantically searching for Rizzo, after several days of searching to no avail. The penniless Joe, in desperation, can only commit himself to another gay. The gay Joe met this time was also a liar. Through the lens, the director unreservedly expressed his discrimination against homosexuality, and the homosexuality depicted in it is either a liar or a lunatic. Joe, who had not received any income for several days, was kicked out of his room by his landlord and his carry-on luggage was seized. It seems that the legendary American dream is not for everyone.
While wandering aimlessly, he actually found Rizzo. Joey asks about Rizzo's $20, which Rizzo, who is not rich, has already squandered. After some conflict, the two destitute foreigners actually sympathized with each other. Rizzo took Joey back to his residence, a place that had long been abandoned, but Joey finally had a place to stay. Rizzo, who never leaves his mouth, is a Florida native, and he always wants to take Joe to a place full of beaches, beauties and waves, and let him get a few rich women, so that the two of them can be turned over. When two people with very different personalities are under the same roof, conflicts are always inevitable. One mocks the other and dresses like a gay man and doesn't know how to do business. One who mocks the other party has never touched a woman, and is even a virgin. In New York at that time, love always seemed so extravagant among a group of poor people. This phenomenon is also very common in China now. There are always a group of people on the Internet complaining about love and bread. Everyone wants to live a good life, but in this world of scarce resources, it is not possible for everyone to live. quality life. This phenomenon seems particularly ironic to me. Although everyone's life is getting better, there will always be people who will be dissatisfied with the distribution model of this society, but the development of human society tells us that absolute fairness cannot exist. More people, in fact, have not worked hard yet, and need to rely on talent to determine their own height.
Rizzo can basically do anything, such as haircuts, cooking, and cheating. He can't understand why such a person is so poor. Joe also wants to break through the current predicament, and he asks Rizzo to help him pack and plan. Although it seemed that the plan was very successful, it still failed in the end. Two people who didn't want to work hard, but always dreamed of getting rich overnight, felt extremely difficult. In desperation, Joe pawned his beloved radio with $5 in exchange for a dinner. At such a time, the director used the lens to record the bizarre streets of New York, coupled with the pop music of that era, giving people a decadent feeling. At some diner, Joe is invited to an avant-garde party. Rizzo didn't want to participate at first, but at Joe's insistence, he had to go together. On the party, a group of people passed marijuana to each other in ambiguous lights, with endless food and wine. Having never participated in such a scene, the two poor country boys were stunned. But Rizzo didn't forget that by helping Joe thread the needle, the young man finally made a business and earned his $20. The director boldly showed the love scene in the middle, and actor Jon Walter grasped the process of Joe never lifting to restoring the wildness of the cowboy more vividly. Joe returns to the house, only to find that Rizzo's illness is getting worse. Rizzo felt that his time was short and he felt a little scared, but in fact, the poor days made him very calm about his own death. Because of poverty, Rizzo did not even dare to go to the hospital. Joe decides to help Rizzo to fulfill his dream of returning to his birthplace, so he starts frantically raising money for the journey. Soon Joe meets another lewd, middle-aged gay man. The two negotiated a good price, and when they were about to do something, the wretched middle-aged man backed out. At this time, Joe was crazy for money, and he ransacked this wretched middle-aged man. Finally, Joe, who had raised the toll, took Rizzo on the road.
Rizzo, who was running out of fuel, was still optimistic and taunted with Joe. In the end, Rizzo died, on the coach that was about to arrive in Miami. After getting off the bus, Joe lost his identity as a Texas cowherd and his dream of becoming a dancer. The two idle young men eventually left New York. This should be some of the themes that the director wants to express - the American dream is not something everyone can do. Instead of dreaming about making money, it is better to find a decent job.
It's amazing that in the 1960s and 1970s, not only China was in ideological chaos, but the United States, far across the ocean, was also in some kind of chaos. In the film, director John Schlesinger focuses on the young people who have left their homes and come to the big cities to work hard. They carry the dream of getting rich overnight, but they have experienced all kinds of hardships and discrimination. This kind of social phenomenon is not difficult to find in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in China. Every country, every city, has its own bright and ugly side. Many young people do not enjoy the lavishness of the first-tier cities. After get off work, I can only live in a room with no windows, watching some YY online novels and dog blood TV series. This group of people can't say that they don't have dreams, and they watch chicken soup every day. But they lack the tools to drink chicken soup. Just like Joe, they think they are very capable and capable, but they always lack ways and channels. Many people understand the irony, but how many people dare to face the cruel truth and try to change something? Isn't the American dream also a bowl of chicken soup? Although some people did succeed, many more lived without much dignity. There is no doubt that this is a landmark work in the history of the best picture Oscar, because he broke through a certain political correctness and did not convey too much positive energy. It just tells us some very desperate realities, life is always cruel, and many people are destined to become ordinary people. But don't give up too early. When a person persists on the right path, there will always be someone who will take over his mantle and bring his spirit to the end of victory.
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