Faith is invisible
——The Book of Eli
Serious spoilers!
When I first saw this film, I was almost taken aback by the ending.
On the Internet, I have also seen a lot of lens interpretation and implied analysis about the movie's echoing of the character settings.
But for this film, I feel that the preaching is a bit strong, the way of conveying values is a bit formulaic, and the expression of human nature is a bit superficial.
So I always thought it was just a passable commercial.
Another reason for the lack of charm is that the villain's values are exposed too clearly and urgently.
This film is destined to become a classic.
This is a word order problem.
Take a small chestnut,
if i say
"There is a girl who is studying during the day and escorting drinks and other services in nightclubs at night."
You might think this is a fallen girl.
If I say again,
"There is a girl who accompanies drinks and other services in nightclubs at night, and studies during the day."
You might think this is a motivated girl.
The first failure of this film is that it uses the wrong word order.
The villain "Carnegie" was shown as a dictator as soon as he appeared.
After that, the characters did not change, and the surprise was lost.
But it always ranks first in the heart of a friend of mine. When asked why, the friend's educational level is limited, (hahahaha, funny...) The words are unclear. In the end, it's hard to say why it's a good reason.
I rewatched the film out of curiosity, which raised a question I hadn't noticed before—belief may be as blind as humans.
I have no intention of trying to figure out the creator's intentions, just talking about my own feelings.
Tell me about The Book of Eli.
The story tells that after the nuclear war destroyed the world, human beings survived tenaciously.
It is not difficult to imagine that most people will do anything to survive in order to survive.
No matter what, vile or dirty.
In such an environment, in fact, our protagonist could not be alone at first.
In order to avoid a dangerous conflict, he chose to "turn a blind eye" to a murder, rape and robbery.
(There is a lot of detailed analysis on the Internet about the half-blind male protagonist played by Denzel Washington, so I will no longer talk about it here)
Maybe such a choice can be understood and accepted by others, because most people may think:
I don't need to be a participant in violence, I don't have to be a rescuer.
All the way west, the protagonist came to a human settlement.
Because of ultraviolet rays, people in the last days must wear sunglasses to reduce the damage of ultraviolet rays to the eyes. Even so, many people still suffer from eye diseases.
And there is a trend of cultural disconnection, and the people here are illiterate.
From here, the suspense begins to be peeled off layer by layer.
The leader of the settlement took the lead in breaking the goal.
He was looking for a book, and he said it had magical powers.
Those who get it, get the world.
That's right, this book must be in the hands of the male protagonist, and it is his daily compulsory study.
There was no hiding and tucking away what this book was, and soon we all guessed that it was a "Bible".
The dialogue that follows is the central thesis of the film.
Why do you want this book?
It grew up with me and I know its power.
If you read it, you will have power.
That's why they burned the Bibles after the war.
Just living is an act of faith.
Building bigger cities is an act of greater faith.
But they don't understand. Nobody understands.
I don't have the right words to help them.
But this book has. I admit.
Some things I have to do.
A lot of things I hate, like building this city, I admit.
But if we had that book.
I don't have to. Let's imagine.
Imagine if there were the right words to spread our beliefs,
How different would it be.
How much justice will there be in our little world.
People will really understand why they are here and what they are doing.
They no longer need any bad motives.
It is wrong to hide that book, and it should be shared with everyone.
It should be spread around.
Isn't this what you want?
Exactly what I thought. I have always believed.
I'm going to find where this book belongs.
a place that needs it.
But I haven't found it yet.
If this "Bible" is abstracted, it can be regarded as belief in a broad sense.
We sometimes believe in wishful thinking, and it must be a good thing to have faith.
Well, here comes the interesting part! If this "Bible" is not in the hands of the protagonist.
It was left on the ground and picked up by one of the two. Will the development of the world develop according to the needs of the two of them?
We can infer that if we think about what Carnegie picked up, that era must be an insinuation of the dark middle ages.
Technology is stagnant, people are illiterate, unable to pass on their culture, the church confines their minds, and even twists and interprets this book according to their own will.
That "century of faith" will come again.
With the same belief, the protagonists may be different, or even the opposite.
The same is full of longing for faith, why are the results so different?
Because "faith" in itself sees nothing! Because it is blind and cannot make its own choices, all actions in the name of faith are arrogant and arrogant. Of course, including the protagonist.
There is a sentence in the dialogue between the two, "So people burned the Bible." Here I have an inference that the war started because of faith. People feared this power, blamed it, and burned the Bible.
If you get a good shot, it is obviously your own fault, but you are always reluctant to admit it and throw the blame on others, other factors.
Reagan said, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people."
Faith is the same. Unfortunately, the world is a tower of Babel.
In fact, I prefer that the ending of this film is open, and the protagonist has not met anyone worthy of trust, because he will not trust anyone.
In the end the book is passed on to the heroine Sophia, who continues on her way.
Of course, this is also wishful thinking in my personal understanding.
The French scholar Gustave Le Pen has two passages in his work "The Crowd" that made my heart aches.
"The founders of all religious or political creeds have been able to stand because they have succeeded in arousing the imagination of the masses, and they have made the masses find their own happiness in worship and obedience, ready to go through fire and water for their idols. "
"So-called belief, it can make a person become completely enslaved by his own dreams."
Whether there is a belief or not, right or wrong may only be acknowledged by oneself.
Perhaps the reason why belief can be called belief is not as simple as it is literally. It can be used to cover up ugliness, to cover up all the distortions, laziness, fear and inferiority in people's hearts, and it can also be used to appeal and incite.
Faith makes people think.
Music is calming.
In the film, there is a player that always accompanies the protagonist silently.
If it were me, maybe this would be the greatest consolation for me in the last days.
Maybe it's the same for the protagonist, which is why he takes the risk of charging it all up.
Music saves humanity!
View more about The Book of Eli reviews
