The first time I watched "Out of Africa" was in Australia in 1989. After watching it, the wonderful feeling is vivid, as if I am on the beach at night, there are countless meteors in the sky, and fireworks are coming to you, mixed with romance. Elegance, helplessness mixed with affection, sadness mixed with magnificence. I saw Woman at her toughest, man in his best and colonial society at its worst. I watched "Out of Africa" again last night, it’s already my home in Shanghai nearly 20 years after I watched the film for the first time. The beautiful soundtrack, the magnificent African scenery, the perseverance of Meryl Streep (Karen), the unruly of Robert Redford (Denys), the wisdom and artistic talent of Sydney Pollack made me feel the magical charm of "Out of Africa" again. I understand why the title is Out of Africa, and I also understand my 20-year experience, to a certain extent, I am constantly struggling between In or Out. In the beginning of the movie, there is a self-report of the heroine Karen: …he gave me an incredible gift. A glimpse of the world through God's eye… and I thought: “Yes, I see. This is the way it was intended.” (… He gave me another incredible gift. Saw the world from God’s eyes... and then I thought: "Yes, I see. This is what God wants. ") These words not only brought out the extraordinary shadow of the hero of the movie from Karen's mouth, but at the same time, they are undoubtedly the in-depth theme of the movie, and they are also the director let the audience discover what Karen understands? God wants it again. What? The heroine Karen lived in an era before the First World War. At that time, 25 or 6-year-old single women were unacceptable by the upper class in Europe. Under the negligence of her noble lover, she couldn't stand her aristocratic lover. Resolutely, in a rebellious way, she proposed to marry her lover's brother and go to Africa to create another world. What kind of woman is Karen? Sydney Pollack had a dispute with her earl husband on the night Karen first arrived in Africa to get married. There is a delicate description of Karen’s personality. In addition to being beautiful and rich, Karen is more importantly, she is a strong personality, extremely rebellious, and at the same time, a very possessive "modern Western woman". Karen is not only To get married, you must also get the coveted title of nobleman and her ideal family life. The contradiction between Possession and Obligation is full of struggling footprints in Karen's life track. Understanding this is extremely important for the further progress of the film. Meaning, when she came to Africa, she brought crystals and porcelain. She put on white gloves of European servants for her African servants. She hoped that the river in the manor could be redirected. She wanted to educate the children of African tribes in English. She kept trying to make primitive Africa the European-style Africa she wanted to see through her efforts. Therefore, when the male protagonist appeared with a completely opposite concept, the charm and interest of the movie spontaneously emerged, and it was also for her. At the end of the movie, the loss of all the things she had (Possessed) planted a thought-provoking foreshadowing. In the eyes of many people, the protagonist Denys is an unruly, personable romantic character, I think he is not only In this way, the reason why he attracted Karen and affected her life is that he has extraordinary values. He is a truly free person. He does not impose his will on anyone, nor does he cater to anyone's will and lose. Your own freedom, even if the price you pay is loneliness and poverty. There is a dialogue in the topic of Karen’s English education to African children at the Christmas dinner party: Denys: You are good at messing up. How do they express when they say they want to study? Do they know that they are going to read Dickens? Karen: Don't you think they should learn to read? Denys: I think it's best if you ask their wishes first. Karen: Have you been asked when you were a kid? Is reading stories harmful to them? Denys: They have their own stories, but they never write them down. Karen: Why do you prefer them to be ignorant? Denys: They are by no means ignorant. What I don't want to see is to turn them into little British! Westerners always think that their civilization is superior to others. Even a kind-hearted woman like Karen still thinks that imposing her culture and morals on a completely different race is out of kindness. Because in her mind, Africans are ignorant. When British warships took over the territory of the Qing Dynasty, when the beacon of the Eight-Power Allied Forces burned down the Old Summer Palace, when the iron hoof of Japan trampled on the country of China, when the war in the United States spread across the Yarlung Zangbo River... Until a few months ago, the Olympic flame was still there. Being humiliated by Europe and the United States, there is only one logic behind all of this, that is, non-Western values and concepts are manifestations of ignorance. Even the use of force to change these values and concepts is a kind act in the hearts of many Westerners. . Denys's extraordinary thing is that nearly a hundred years ago, he saw that it is still the source of contradictions in the world today. His deep love for Africa made him understand what the arrogant Western civilization for hundreds of years does not understand today. The shining point of his outlook on life and values goes far beyond his demeanor, elegance and romance. For the first time Karen was struck by the opposition to the moral concepts formed by her value system, and the opposite value was vague in her eyes, so she asked Denys doubtfully: Is life really so damn simple for you ? (Is life really that simple for you?) We are not owners here, we are just passing through , Isn't he a life passerby. He doesn’t need Out of Africa, he doesn’t have In to Africa, In fact, when you have no In or Out trouble in your heart, where does the In or Out problem come from? Life should be simple: there is no mirror, where can the dust be caused? Looking back at myself, from leaving home to returning to the place, from arrogant to disappointed, all the ups and downs experienced, gains and losses, which is not caused by too much In and Out in my heart. , Sinking down? In the scene where they went to Safari together, at night on the empty African grasslands, in the burning of bonfires and the calls of wild beasts, in a silence that was louder than silent, there was an inevitable shock in Karen's heart. This shock was echoed in Denys' heart. Denys used that phonograph to play a song called "Let the rest of the world go by...," Isn't it also the story of the ancient Israelites, leaving Egypt where they were enslaved, and freeing themselves to gain freedom and homeland again? "Out of Africa" has incredible practical significance in my eyes. What kind of China are we going to turn China into today? Today when Western civilization is doing its best, have we ever thought about what kind of civilization we need to get out of?
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