Following the "Captain Philip", Tom Hanks and director Paul Greengrass second collaboration. This is a challenging western journey, but Tom Hanks is not a lonely heroic western cowboy. It is a Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd who has experienced the American Civil War for many years-a retired "veteran" who has long been tired of war and death.
For five years after the war, Captain Kidd has been a newspaper reader of "News of the World", wandering between small towns in the west. Every time he reads the newspaper, he will carefully put on a clean and elegant outfit. This dress makes him look like a respected literati, but he reads the newspaper like a performance artist. His humorous and full of wisdom read aloud, not only to bring strange things to the poor workers, but also to send a joy. This low-paid job, ordinary and wandering alive, is just to erase the trauma of the soul-the wife died of cholera during the war in the captain. The soul who lost his home didn't know where his destiny should go. At this time, a girl broke into his life.
Johanna is a girl of German descent. Although she was only 10 years old, she suffered two family destructions. First, he was taken away by the natives when he was very young. After many years of living in a foreign race, he was baptized by white people again. The same young mind does not know where to flow in the cruel world. In this way, the two broken souls met. By mistake, after learning that Johanna had an aunt, Captain Kidd decided to send it personally, and his motive was simple and moving: "Keep her away from these pains and killings." Just like these two people. Started an adventurous journey to the west. In the vast wilderness, they have to face not only external threats, but also the challenges of nature.
Although the narrative structure of the film is simple, it handles many details very "elegantly".
Johanna has already turned herself into a marginalized savage for many years of alien life. She has a brutal attitude towards people and eats directly, but she is full of fear in the face of the white people who have caused damage to her life. Facing Captain Kidd, he was full of vigilance, which is why the Captain has been holding her collar tightly and pushing forward. Two people who can't understand each other have been in awkward communication along the way. More often, the captain seemed to be talking to himself. But I didn't expect that really breaking the ice between two people is indeed a gunfight scene of the aftermath. Captain Kidd, who has experienced the baptism of war, has become calm and cautious, but even so, it does not mean that trouble will not come to the door. Three similarly retired soldiers caught Johanna's attention. Captain Kidd would naturally not agree, so first staged a grassland chase scene, and then a wise mountain forest shootout. Captain Kidd became a hero in Johanna’s singing: "The captain is really amazing. He killed three people. His bravery brought us victory..."
The captain that Hanks has shaped not only has the courage to face the battle, but also the wisdom to overcome danger. When he was making things difficult for the dictator in the small town, he incited the people's protest with a passionate speech. And Johanna's also alien life created her tough and brave personality. After the captain was in danger, raising the gun to save his life. The two became the best partners on this hostile journey. The tacit understanding between them seems to be forgotten, and this journey will eventually lead to separation. So when the captain sent Johanna to the destination, she stayed behind from the resistance at the beginning to ignore the captain. When the captain was about to mount and leave, she looked at Johanna, she indifferently moved her eyes away, until the back left, but her eyes were full of resentment.
When Captain Kidd returned home and paid homage to his dead wife, he took off the ring in his hand and seemed to say goodbye to the past. Looking at this place where his soul was sued, it was already a different thing. At this time, he realized that he was emotionally connected with Johanna. How important is its dependence. The film uses several shots of galloping horses to show the captain's urgency. When he saw Johanna tied to a stake by her uncle like a livestock, his eyes were full of regret. The aunt was afraid that she would run away, but the captain said, "She is just a child." With a simple dialogue, the attitudes of the two people formed a sharp contrast. Only the stubborn Johanna used rejection to express his complaints and dissatisfaction with the captain, until the captain reached out to her. Just like when the two people first met at the beginning of the film, the same actions, different situations, and very different moods.
At the end of the film, Captain Kidd still wanders between the small towns, working as a newspaper reader. Johanna is dressed in clean clothes and has a smile on her face, as if she has become his capable assistant. She politely bows to the curtain call. There is no trace of barbarism.
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