This is a 4-hour biopic (even with breaks in the middle), divided into several large paragraphs, in a linear time manner narrating a teenage hero, Lawrence, during the First World War, as a special envoy of the British army, Deeds posted to Arabia.
He's a complicated person, and it's a complicated story. But the ending of the story is a reappearance of the wheel of history, a mockery of reality and hopeless humanity. Lawrence's theme music appears repeatedly in the film, only from the juvenile spirit at the beginning of the adventure to the helpless loss at the end.
In the long story, Lawrence experienced several collapses and several cheers. With the pride of the civilized world, the innocence of intellectuals, and the weakness of city dwellers, he came to the barren Arabian desert.
From intellectual idealism, determined to bring the Arabs self-government, a civilized society, and their self-righteous freedom;
When he was forced to kill, he was shocked by the savage ignorance, and felt his insignificance in the face of nature. At this time, he was both afraid and unable to control his ambitions. He wanted to do something big to rewrite himself. The identity of the illegitimate child, let the world recognize itself;
To return to the Arab tribes, help plan guerrilla (terrorist) activities, and be reported as a world-famous hero and Arab liberator;
When a mission failed and was caught, the idealistic romance began to collapse under the whip and the pain of the flesh, and he fled;
Under the persuasion of the general, he once again resolutely intends to return to Arabia, and is determined to bring Arab autonomy to the Bedouins at the opposite of British interests.
So far in the story, he has been moving step by step towards the ambition of "becoming an Arab hero", and the motive for this action is also tenable. As an illegitimate son of an aristocrat, he has no name and no status. He did not join the army in a foreign country, but he was recognized by the Arabs by accident, so he was determined to integrate into Arabia, and he was determined to use his life to help unite the scattered Arabs.
It's a pity, as the head of Howeitat said at the end of the story, "Being an Arab is harder than you think". Lawrence has always been a naive and passionate intellectual. Even if he went through hardships, abandoned his dignity from the civilized world, and stained his hands with blood, that did not change this. Naive delusion.
When this group of savage and primitive rabble was still unable to unite, when he found that he was only empty-blooded and ignorant of politics, when he sacrificed the lives of many refugees because of his single-minded pursuit of ambitions
——His world view has completely collapsed, his ideals and aspirations have completely collapsed, and he has never truly become an Arab, and has never really understood an Arab.
In the end, even if he becomes a hero praised by everyone, he is just a pawn in history. He is neither a soldier, unable to obey the orders of his superiors wholeheartedly without any psychological burden; nor is he a politician, who only sees the interests from the beginning and looks on rationally from the sidelines;
——He is an idealist, and this film is a sad song for being an idealist.
Impressive lines:
When the general and the politician's staff discussed sending Lawrence to assist the Bedouins in their guerrilla attacks:
Great things have small beginnings, sir. Big things have small beginnings, sir.
(Uncharted 4 Terriers)
The conversation between Ali and the leader of Howeitat after Lawrence's attempt to establish Arab self-government failed for a while:
Is he your friend? - Take your hand away- He is your friend? - Take your hand away.
You love him- I fear him- You love him. - I fear him.
Then why are you crying? Then why do you weep?
If I fear him, I love him so much... If I fear him, who love him...
Do you know how much he is afraid of himself and how much he hates himself? ...how must he fear himself, who hates himself?
Get your hands off, Harvey Tat! Take your hand away, Howeitat!
So you are not yet entirely politician.
Not yet.
Well, these are new tricks, and I am an old dog.
Thank you Allah And Allah be thanked.
I'll tell you... I'll tell thee what...
Being an Arab is harder than you think, Harith... being an Arab will be thornier than you suppose, Harith.
In all my years, I've never seen anything like it.
The Arab prince said to Lawrence after the occupation of Damascus:
There's nothing further here for a warrior.
We're bargaining. That's old men's work. We drive bargains. Old men's work.
Young men make wars, and the virtues of war... Young men make wars, and the virtues of war...
It is the essence of youth...are the virtues of young men.
Courage and hope for the future.
Then old men make the peace.
And the vices of peace are the vices of old men.
Mistrust and caution.
It must be so.
What I owe you is beyond evaluation.
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