With anticipation, once again experienced the inevitable rise-inheritance-turn-union of inspirational movies, and then reap a happy ending. "The Great Debater" has no gorgeous scenes, no high-tech, no ups and downs plot, and no suspenseful "sequel hint" ending, but it tells the story of an African-American college Wiley College in a plain way. fact.
In fact, I don’t think the film itself has much to say. The good guys and the bad guys are obvious, and their standpoints are also obvious. Even their debates in each debate seem to be tailored for the protagonists of the film. Just like those revolutionary literary works in the war years, the literary products under a certain background always have more depth and strength. The results of the debate about race and skin color encountered by the black debaters in the film are basically without suspense. Moreover, the article did not describe the process of the debate in detail, but used the theme of "debate" to try to express the indignation, dissatisfaction and helplessness of the black people at the time from the "moral level" because of the debate portrayed in the film. The game looks more like an impassioned presentation.
I admit that I cannot imagine the life of the black Americans who lived in that era. It is definitely not "horror" to describe. The kind of life-long label that has been marked from birth, whites can "call and beat everyone" against blacks. "There is no law in the South. When black people have no place to live, when they are thrown out from schools and hospitals, and when they are executed by Ling Chi (lynching), there is no law. And do we use violence? Or civil disobedience? You should Pray for me to choose the latter.” The 14-year-old black debater's speech at Harvard spoke very calmly, but it was a small universe that brought together all black compatriots. The opponent’s face turned green at the time. A very vivid portrayal, I personally feel that the cusp of the film is right here.
I just said that the film didn't have much to say, and I wrote 2 paragraphs eloquently... Let's go back and talk about the subtitles. The film was released very early, but because there are no Chinese subtitles, I haven't watched it all the time. Although I also found English subtitles and tried to translate it myself, I was really unable to do so. There was no other choice but to wait for the superior. A movie that uses "language" as a "weapon" with the plot included in the dialogue, a good translation is indispensable-otherwise, how to read it -_-. By the way, I think of the "Old Nowhere" I watched a few days ago. Due to the dual reasons of the Chinese subtitles and my comprehension ability, I admit that I was very confused after reading it.... However, I was a little puzzled about the translation of "lynch" in one part of "The Great Debate" because it was translated as "Ling Chi". In fact, it should mean "lynching".
Of course, I also like to watch those films whose mystery is not revealed until the last minute, but films with a predictable ending can be good films, and in a sense, these films seem relatively easy. For example, in "Great Debate", a total of 4 debaters were selected in the film, 2 starters and 2 benches (there are only 2 players for each team on the front and back of the debate in the film), I guess the ending is mostly 2 benches instead of 2 starters. The development of the plot should also be popular all the way. After being frustrated at the peak period, he won again and was "reborn".
Probably because it was made into a movie—especially those focused on praise, inspiration, and beauty. Therefore, the black debate team led by Melvin Tolson gave me a feeling of “very smooth”. So after reading it, I felt that they had won Harvard in this way. If it weren't for a real historical event, it would have been a big blow.
I still joked after watching the film: Actually, I don’t think we should win in this way in the end. It should be that the square (black) was unable to play for various reasons at the beginning of the game. According to the rules, it should be considered that Harvard won directly, but the square won. The substitute (14-year-old Little Hammer) offered to give up a debate on victory and defeat, and overcome the tension to argue with one another, and then use "Truth" to make the other party's argument uncomfortable. Naturally, the champion is still awarded to the "winning party" "according to the rules". . I think the ending with a little regret is more flavorful. (Purely a personal point of view)
But what can be performed in just two hours and what needs to be performed should be this. After all, it is not a 5X episode of Korean super long inspirational drama...
"The Great Debater" also reminds me of having watched another black movie "Blood Diamond" recently, and I feel that these movies are not good enough to be judged. Although they all have "turning around" endings, the history revealed behind these movies-wars, racial discrimination, and some concepts that have even continued to this day-black people always need to put in more effort and bitterness to achieve certain achievements. Revealing certain truths and achieving certain victories has become the most real "evidence" in this type of film, because history may be far more cruel than we think, and these films are only about a few of those years. Yes, the moment when the keyword is "rewriting history", or "miracle" is not too much. Because of these thoughts in my heart, although I "foreseeed" the ending of the film, I was still very moved.
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