We read books, read history, and write film reviews. In the final analysis, we are reading people. It is to feel what kind of choices people with this character will make under such circumstances, and what consequences such choices will have in the social situation at that time. We can empathize with the characters in the book and film, but that doesn't mean we agree with them. We can express our emotions, but we must also learn to withdraw from the quagmire of emotions. After all, the characters in the book have their own destiny, and in reality, we also have things big and small to solve.
Jung said that when a person is not aware of his subconscious, that is his destiny. This sentence is very good, and it is also very suitable to describe Mike.
Many UP owners and critics felt that Mike was too far away from the handsome guy who said "That is my family, not me". The tragedy between him and Kai was doomed from the beginning of the family upheaval, and even felt that Apollonia was more suitable than Kai. As the wife of Godfather Mike.
I don't agree with this, I think Mike himself pushed Kay away.
Maybe I'm old, and I've dated girls with lustful faces and bodies. This episode of Apollonia, neither in the book nor in the movie, I see any thoughts of her own. If Mike wanted to get her, he respected the Sicilian tradition and proposed to her father to legally possess her body. The plot of the assassination and death in the back is also very short, and the characters are too late to unfold. Is it just because she and Mike are Sicilian that Apollonia is more suitable to be the wife of Godfather Mike? You must know that although Mike is a Sicilian, he grew up in the United States and received an American education. Even if Mike later became the godfather, he would use American laws and regulations to whitewash the family industry and fight with the traditional Sicilian. Protection fees are quite different. It can be said that apart from race, the two grew up in very different environments.
As for Kai, there are a lot of descriptions in the book about her exchanges and feelings with Mike. Mike also consciously let Kay know about his family situation, and the family photo must also bring Kay, who was still his girlfriend at the time. He loves Kai, and he is in the same direction as Kai's soul. Mike is an honor student at Hanover University in New Hampshire, and received the Distinguished Service Cross and Purple Heart during World War II. Kay is an American girl with a high education. Their values and souls are very compatible at the beginning. After the assassination of the Sheriff and Sollozzo, Mike became a murderer and was forced to flee. Although he felt that he and Kai could no longer continue, their original spiritual concept that best suited them had been broken, and it was possible that even their friendship could not be maintained, but he would still think of Kai from time to time. Three years later, Kai came to Long Beach to visit his female classmates, and met Mike again by accident. Kai, who was originally going to greet him coldly in response to his ignorance for three years, still hugged Mike and cried uncontrollably after seeing Mike's disfigured half of his face. She still loves Mike. Knowing about Mike's family affairs, Kay still chooses to marry Mike, a brave girl whose only request is the legalization of the Kryon family property within five years, and she wants to live a normal American citizen life with Mike.
However, in the second part, Kay became Mike's captive canary. At the family dance, Kay and Mike said while dancing, "When you got married, you promised to legalize the family business within five years. Now it's the seventh year." Mike just answered lightly: "Honey, I'm trying." Pushing Kay away from the family business can be understood as Mike's protection of Kay, but Kay is not Mrs. Yi in Lust, Caution, she is not the kind of woman who doesn't care about tea and mahjong. Her education and her self-esteem do not allow her to be someone else's vassal. I'm not saying that Mike is wrong, I also understand that many things can only be done according to destiny, but since they are husband and wife, since they are spiritually resonant partners, they should be able to share and face them together. One of my favorite episodes is of young Vito talking to friends in a run-down rented house while his wife is cooking in the kitchen and listening to them. Vito never said to his wife: "Honey, you go out first, our men want to talk about something, you come back in half an hour."
Kai could have been Mike's support. He wanted to protect her so much that he pushed her away. Compared to the first movie where the eldest brother Sonny spit at the FBI at the door at the wedding scene, and the second movie where the baptism day waiter brought tea and water to the police who came to stand guard, Mike has worked very hard to legalize the family business. But the world is pouring, people are not old, the situation is complicated, and the greed of politicians is far beyond Mike's imagination. He was afraid that she would stay away from knowing the truth, and she did not believe in Mike's efforts because of the family's previous dark history. As a result, the cracks are developing in an irreversible direction.
Tutor Tom is a talent left by the old godfather Vito to Mike. On the night of leaving for Miami to find out the traitor in the family, Mike told Tom: "You're the only person in the family I trust, Fred is so stupid and weak, I can only trust you, I put mine Wife, leave the child to you." In fact, Tom did dutifully handle the internal affairs of Mike's guard base camp, and he was Mike's Xiao He's ovary. However, when Mike came back from Cuba, he wondered if his second brother Fred's betrayal hit him too hard. Mike began to suspect Tom and forced Tom to prove his innocence at the meeting. I don't know what Tom would have thought at the time. If it were me, I would be better off in the future. Since I'm not part of the family, it's better to worry less about snacks.
Kay, Tom, they could have been Mike's family force, their non-Sicilian identities were denied their worth by the old-fashioned tradition.
And what about the real Sicilians in the family? The younger sister Connie has always hated that Mike killed her sloppy husband, so she hurt Mike by degrading herself, until finally she realized that Mike had suffered too much for them like her father; The slutty wife couldn't control it, but she was dissatisfied with the distribution of family status. In order to prove herself, she betrayed Mike, and was finally deprived of power, just like a defeated cock. The betrayal is not allowed in the world, and the murder of his brother has become Mike's lifelong demon; the old retainer Frank is impulsive in his actions, because he is the father's three-dynasty veteran who does not respect Mike very much. troubles.
They are children with incomplete minds, poking one basket after another and waiting for the godfather to help them deal with it. If he sticks to the principle of trusting the Sicilian, Mike will be unavailable and doomed to be alone.
Vito's position for Mike back then was to go into politics and law to cleanse the family in the future, and let the eldest son Wisang learn all the ways of life in the underworld. However, Wisang has a bad temper and believes that fist is the truth. During the meeting teaching in The Godfather 1, Wisang was absent-minded, constantly staring out the window and thinking about whose little daughter-in-law was sleeping. Knowing his son's thoughts, Vito also takes his adopted son Tom to study at every meeting, and plans to let him assist him in the future. However, things are fickle, Wissan died tragically, Vito was seriously injured, and Mike took the position in a hurry.
Mike is different from Vito. Because of his childhood experience, Vito attached great importance to the family. He was smart and caught up with the Italian immigration wave. With the blessing of opportunity and his own ability, Vito established and grew the family. And Mike is a godfather who has gone through countless betrayals and upheaval. As a young businessman, Mike must be more ruthless and direct, and the drastic changes in the situation also prevent him from being as gentle and powerful as his father.
People often say, put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot. One's own beliefs or an externally imposed sense of mission can make a person grit his teeth for a long time. I don't want to talk about these obsessions today, but when we go far, I hope we can look back from time to time and see this handsome boy. How far has the beautiful girl come? Is this world dark? The world is neither dark nor beautiful, just like Tai Chi has black and white. A huge family is both a huge wealth and a powerful shackle. If you choose Kai, you must accept her simplicity and innocence, and you must also believe that she can stay together until old age; trusting Tom is to give him the power he deserves, and he can vaguely handle the invitation by himself; Fred is stupid and weak, and it is also when you join the army. The only encouraging brother at the time; Connie fell into self-mutilation, and is essentially just a child of love for her father.
Expect less of people and accept them as they are.
This year's us are different from last year's us,
So do those we love,
If we, who are changing all the time, can continue to love another person who has changed,
This is a lucky thing.
View more about The Godfather: Part II reviews
