Lawrence of Arabia was first known to me not as a film, but because of a bottle of ink.
Catfish Ink is a very interesting brand and they give ink some very romantic names. Such as Nava Turquoise, Apache Sunset, Berkeley, English Rose and many more. One of the bottles of ink is called Lawrence of Arabia, the color of the desert.
motorcycle
In the film's first scene, Lawrence is grotesque and grotesque on a motorcycle, wearing ridiculously out of place goggles, speeding down a country road.
We could clearly hear the motorcycle engine getting louder and louder, almost taking off. Not surprisingly, our main character dies in the first scene, maybe he just thinks life is too boring.
In a flashback, in the military camp in Cairo, Lawrence also seemed so out of place. He disrupted the billiards that had just been set and overturned other people's tables, just like a grandstanding and eye-catching clown.
He also performed the stunt of firewood with his bare hands to his companions. "The trick is to ignore the pain," says Lawrence.
Lawrence has been chasing excitement all his life, he ignores danger, he cannot live an ordinary life, he is destined to be extraordinary.
desert
In Arabian lands, deserts are the only theme. For most people, the sight is spectacular and exotic, and not everyone has the opportunity to see such a majestic desert scene with their own eyes.
When Lawrence was asked why he liked the desert, he replied: it's clean. Indeed, the sand is pure, without a trace of impurities at all. The desert tones are so uniform and give a pure visual beauty.
At the same time, the desert is very dangerous. Every grain of sand has been soaked with blood, but these bright red bloodstains have miraculously disappeared. The Arabs who live in this desert know this all too well.
conflict
The two sides in this war are the Arabs and the Turks. The Turks are stronger and have more advanced weapons. The Arabs had to rely on British help to be able to fight the Turkish Empire. That's why Lawrence helped the Arabs.
Lawrence's Brilliant Achievements
Lawrence was sent to the Arabian prince on a mission: to find the prince, to find out what kind of person he was, and the prince's true intentions.
But Lawrence never took this task to heart. He assigned himself another task: to help the Arabs win independence and build their own country. Instead of allegiance to Britain, he chose to be an Arab.
After finding the prince, Lawrence led his men across the desert and then joined Auda to capture Aqaba. Then travel through Sinai to find the general and bring back military resources to start helping the Arabs destroy the Turks' railways. After the defeat, he returned to Cairo, and then helped the Arabs to capture Damascus.
At this moment, Lawrence finally achieved the final victory of the war. He hoped to establish the Arabs' own parliament, but to Lawrence's disappointment, the Arab tribes could not be united, the rift between them was too deep, and they needed the British s help. At this point, Lawrence's hopes were completely lost.
You're just a general and I'm the king
The Arab prince was a great statesman, a great king, and his purpose was to restore the Arab Empire to its former glory. To achieve this, the prince needs the British military assistance, but the prince is very afraid of the British ambitions for this desert.
Pride of the British Empire
And the British are indeed ambitious. How could the British Empire allow the fruits of its victory to gain independence? Lawrence selectively ignored this. His goals were entirely in line with the will of the British Empire.
British and French politicians have their own conspiracies: after the war, Britain and France will carve up the Turkish Empire, including the Arabs.
victim of politics
Both the Prince and the British needed a valiant leader of extraordinary military talent like Lawrence to win the war, but once the war was over, they didn't hesitate to leave Lawrence aside and start dirty negotiations.
Although Lawrence was able to help the Arabs win the war, he was not a politician, he was always alone, everyone took advantage of him, and everyone eventually betrayed him. He is a victim of politics.
He is extraordinary
In this film, Lawrence is the absolute protagonist. It is he who makes the whole story wonderful and fascinating.
Lawrence was essentially a poet, and he was well versed in literature and music. The way he speaks is very special, his words are elegant and refined, like the characters in Shakespeare's plays, very literary, soft and firm.
He would quote from Greek philosophers, and he also knew Arab scriptures, showing an elite education. In comparison, his superior, the British officer, seemed so ordinary that he couldn't even understand what Lawrence was saying.
Lawrence has a charming personality, charismatic, romantic, with extraordinary courage and conviction.
When Lawrence put on the white robe of Arabia, he was like the narcissistic beautiful teenager in Greek mythology, admiring his own reflection in the water.
He would ponder military tactics in desert nights, pick up flowers that fell in the Red Sea, shave with precious water in the desert, he was noble and elegant, he was a poet on the battlefield.
At the same time, Lawrence was a formidable warrior, and the war brought him glory. He led the Arabs against the Turks in the Middle East desert and played a decisive role in the final victory.
He was respected and admired by the Arabs, he received their flowers and applause, he was a miracle worker. When an Arabian prince needs a miracle, Lawrence does it.
But none of this makes the character of Lawrence so rich and three-dimensional. What really made us fall in love with this character was the pained, unbearable look on Lawrence's face when he was executed. He enjoyed the glory that war brought him, but he hated the cruelty of war.
Lawrence hated killing, he hated killing each other between people, and more importantly, he hated the pleasure of killing. His civilization was fighting against his savage instinct. When he executed the execution, he ruthlessly The gun fell to the ground, as if it had lost its soul.
When his friend was swallowed by quicksand, Lawrence understood that he was not omnipotent. He could lead soldiers through the desert like Moses, but he could not stop the desert from taking his friend's life.
identity confusion
Since Lawrence came to the desert, he has seen himself as an Arab. When he led the Arabs to victory in the war, they seemed to really regard Lawrence as the leader of their own nation, and he gained the support of the soldiers and the trust of the prince.
But there were still moments when he felt the foundation on which his identity was built was so fragile. He's a blond-haired, blue-eyed, white-skinned Englishman who reminds him at all times that he's not like an Arab.
In the British barracks, Lawrence's companions also regarded him as an outlier in the Arab robes, and he was always plagued by the rumor among the Arabs that "he was for the interests of Britain". Lawrence is so lonely at the moment, no one can understand what he is thinking. He doesn't belong to any one group. He was out of tune with the British officers, and could not really integrate into the Arab world.
When Lawrence saw all this, he thought: I just want a normal job, a job anyone can do.
amazing scene
The scenes of the film are magnificent and unforgettable. The sunset scene in the desert is reminiscent of Wang Wei's poem: The desert is solitary, the smoke is straight, and the long river sets the sun.
One of the most astonishing scenes in the film is when Lawrence leads an army composed of various Arab tribes to attack Aqaba. Lawrence came to the place where the Turks had encamped, knowing that there was destined to be a massacre, that the land would be splattered with blood, and he shuddered at the horrific scene that was about to become a reality. Although he hated this bloody struggle, he understood that it was inevitable, and in order to build the Arab Empire, he had to issue an order: No prisoners!
The war at the moment is against human nature, and human beings on this planet do not always help each other. Instead, humans cannibalize each other, and humans believe that there is something more sublime than life. War takes away lives, war brings glory to empires, war shapes heroes, and war distorts people's souls.
After the war, Lawrence sat in the car preparing to return to his hometown, and the journey was so peaceful at the moment, as if nothing had happened. From now on, people will go back to Lawrence in newspapers, in books, in movies, and people will remember an Englishman who tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to help the Arabs build their own country.
David Lean made the best films, great scenes, great characters, great stories, and Lawrence of Arabia is one of my favorites.
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