Walter came to bring Meitan Mansion, and he came with him in turmoil, warlord separatism, raging diseases, unreasonable xenophobia caused by foreign colonial invasions, and so on. Walter devoted himself to the rescue of the victims of the disaster. After a month of boredom, Kitty finally decided to volunteer with the local nuns. Watt’s selfless behavior moved Kitty. She tried to get back together. After her efforts, in the face of disaster and death, Watt forgave her. At this time, a bigger epidemic broke out in the surrounding disaster areas in order to prevent the spread of the epidemic. , Walt and the local military built a refugee camp together to isolate the epidemic. Unfortunately, shortly after learning that Kitty was pregnant, Walter was finally infected with the virus and died soon after Kitty left China.
This is the summary of the story of the new movie "The Veil" directed by Hollywood director John Karan, adapted from Maugham's novel "The Gorgeous Veil", starring Edward Norton and Naomi Watts, Huang Qiusheng, Xia Yu, Lu Yan supporting role.
As can be seen from the summary of the story, this is almost another disaster film. Hollywood has this hobby and always likes to find the truth, love or forgiveness in disasters. It seems that only through the test of life and death can the beautiful parts of human nature be revealed. I have a movie experience myself. Generally speaking, the ending is mutual forgiveness, the protagonist may die, and after the test of disaster and become more loving than the newlyweds, the protagonist will undoubtedly die. It seems that all the unpleasant and sad memories will also go away, thus earning more sympathy and tears from the audience.
The novel published in 1925, 9 years later, was once put on the screen. The star at the time was Greta Garbo. It is said that it has been adapted once since then, but we all missed it. The Norton version we have seen is basically far away from Maugham’s original spirit. In Maugham’s writings, Dr. Walter is not the Chinese Bethune, and Kitty also has not been converted from the soul. Walter takes Kitty to the severely affected area. , The motive may be to let Kitty die decently, thus achieving the purpose of revenge. Unfortunately, he retaliated against himself. After Walt's death, Charlie continued to be with Kitty. Such an ending is obviously not something that readers can tolerate under traditional values. As far as Maugham himself is always cautious about his private life, he cannot accept a degenerate ending. Therefore, at the end of the original, Kitty has gained a new life as a volunteer. , This has not much to do with love, but responsibility. This is Maugham's consistent style, mean and not depraved. Although this style is popular and catered to, it is obviously more realistic than the ending of the movie we have seen so far.
"The Gorgeous Veil" is not Maugham's best novel. Maugham himself commented on himself very modestly: "I am just one of the second-rate writers at the top." Known as "the best in second-rate novels." Such an honor may make Maugham slightly embarrassed, but it did not affect the creation of his novel. His experience as a midwife made Maugham very familiar with the character of Walt. Some critics even think that Walt is based on Maugham himself. For the prototype. Many of Maugham’s novels can always find a basis for reality. "Blade" alludes to the philosopher Wittgenstein, "The Moon and Sixpence" refers to the painter Gauguin, and his most famous "The Shackles of Life" is a combination of two. One, one part is based on the painter Lautrek, and the other part is an autobiography. "Looking for Fun" is about Hardy... it is the novel "The Veil". After the first publication, some people have found their own prototype. That is the Hong Kong assistant chief envoy Rennes who has the same name as Walt (the story in the original book takes place in Hong Kong, not Shanghai in the movie). He sued Maugham for malicious slander in the novel. In order to avoid trouble, Maugham deserves Change the name and take the book back for reprinting.
Once a woman becomes the protagonist in Maugham's novels, she is likely to become a victim of Maugham's personality. Ten years before the creation of "The Veil", that is, in 1915, Maugham and Siri gave birth to a daughter. At this time, Siri was married. After a successful divorce the following year, Maugham officially married Maugham. But this marriage was a tragedy for Sheri, because two years ago, Maugham met American youth Huxton, who was 18 years younger than him, when he was serving on the Western Front. The two had a 30-year comradeship. Love affair, until the death of Huxton. Therefore, after marrying Siri, Maugham went hand in hand with Huxton and toured China, India, Latin America and other places. Maugham is a stuttering sufferer, and Huxton has just become a bridge between him and the outside world. During the trip, Huxton provided a lot of anecdotes, which just provided convenience for Maugham's creation. Therefore, after suffering a long period of neglect, Sheri divorced Maugham in 1927.
In the original book, Kitty’s role was not popular: “Kitty became a socialite. She was beautiful and funny, and soon made more than a dozen men fall in love. But none of them was suitable, Ji Tie elegantly continued to interact with them in a friendly manner while carefully keeping her distance." "Kitty flirts with everyone, and never forgets to instigate discord among these men and make fun of it."...You can I felt Maugham’s mean personality in reading. After discovering Kitty’s affair, Walter became Maugham himself: "I know you are stupid, frivolous, and empty-headed, but I love you. I know yours. Attempts, your ideals, you are snobbish and vulgar, but I love you. I know you are a second-rate, but I love you. In order to appreciate the things you are passionate about, I do my best to show you that I am not ignorant and vulgar , Gossip, and utter stupidity, I took great pains. I know that wisdom will make you shocked, so be cautious everywhere, and be sure to act like a fool with any man you associate with. I know you just married me for your own benefit. I love you so deeply, and I don’t care about it." The reason why Maugham is called critical realist novelist by later generations, and at the same time the most popular popular novelist, may include the fact that Maugham never The reason for concealing one's own personality and opinions, except for gay love. Maugham’s creation never violates human nature, and the same is true for Walt’s relationship with Kitty. “She admits that Walt has an admirable character, but unfortunately she didn’t like him, but was just bored.” Quality It has never been the only factor that determines love. In Maugham's view, love is by no means a kind of salvation that can cure all diseases, otherwise he can change Kitty's heart, and Walter also loves her, just like the movie said. Obviously, doing that is not Maugham.
What needs to be told is that Edward Norton’s performance is awesome. If this story is both popular and lacklustre, then let me tell you, with Norton, the movie will be great. Do you still remember his "Big Sale" with Robert De Niro's wild acting skills and almost indistinguishable from each other? It is said that Norton, who has been China Master, has been preparing for "The Veil" for six years. He added historical background and political situation at the time that were not mentioned in the original work to make the film more real. And his acting skills, of course, is my assessment as always-I simply didn't say anything.
View more about The Painted Veil reviews
