Yan Gou sighed first, Brother Ah Tang is so handsome! ! Then start a serious evaluation. It’s hard not to think of the story of Oedipus the King in this film—the prophet, the prophecy, the seemingly unchangeable fate. Fortunately, however, at the end of the film, fate was finally changed, and the protagonist lived a happy and peaceful life. This 2002 work is also a kind of prophecy in itself. Twenty years later, we have seen the boom in big data and its almost terrifying power, and we are almost not far from having a prophet. However, this raises a huge ethical question: if the crime of the person predicted to be a criminal is stopped, is this person still a sinner? I think whether it is the prophet in the film or the current big data, the future is always just a probability before it becomes a reality, it is just a matter of probability. The probability cloud of the future keeps collapsing, but it only really becomes a fact [now] when everything actually happens, crime becomes crime, criminal becomes criminal. And we should never convict for a possibility.
The thing that impresses me most in the film is the trigger that John didn't pull when the predicted time went to zero. I also thought about why the director had to make everything happen according to the prophecy, so that it could be changed at this moment. Comedy aside, I think it would be the best thing to do if I did face this moment one day. Because every minute and every second our choices affect the future, this is a continuous process. Oedipus' father knew the future and took action, Oedipus knew the future and fought, and their actions themselves became an important link leading to a tragic future. Butterflies fluttered their wings, but they could not change future. For John, everything happened according to the prophecy, but at the last moment, the end was in his mind, so he avoided tragedy.
I think maybe one day all of this can happen, and we can really see into the future, what can we do to make the butterfly flap a fortune instead of a storm? I think we may not need to think so much. Following our heart and focusing on the present is the best choice.
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