I cried for 79 minutes in an 89-minute movie. It took two days to watch it off and on. At one point, I felt that the collapse needed to be calmed down before I could continue watching.
-I once thought that as the country that initiated the war, if it is a democracy, then the people need to take part of the responsibility for the war. But now I feel that even if the politicians are elected by them (of course, in the case of this movie, the emperor should not be), the answer does not seem to be that simple, and this is even an unsolved question. But this [no solution] is actually because we are too used to the narrative of [collectivism], and it is easy to fall into a dead end. The starting point of all questions should be [individual]. And individuals, as ordinary people, really suffer from "prospering the common people and destroying the common people".
- If it starts from individuals, as ordinary people, like the older brother in the film, the information they obtained since childhood comes from the propaganda of the country. Under the influence of the entire social environment, if they are assimilated, if they beautify the war, is it also a crime?
- Is war really just a tool for politicians, a tool for them to do anything just for their own benefit? Without their spoilers, would the world be at peace forever? I remember studying Animal Farm as an undergraduate. At that time, I naively thought that the animals could overthrow the 'tyranny' of human beings, so that they could build their ideal and peaceful new world. However, the reality is like what Chai Jing said in seeing, it is a cube, push it down, the other side is up, and it exists as it is. Even more than that. I feel that war has always been an inescapable subject in this world. War and peace go hand in hand, and there is no way to stop it. War is never a simple black and white right or wrong, just like I didn't understand why a genius like Schwarzschild would go to the muddy waters of a war, the instructor just said lightly that sometimes war is unavoidable. Although it may not seem politically correct to say this from his German population, is the history written by the victors necessarily politically correct?
- If war is inevitable, if suffering is random, what can we do as ordinary people? I think there are still things that can be done: compare hearts, try to avoid getting into disputes, and be kind and compassionate. While watching the movie, I kept thinking, as someone who boasts a high tear point and is immune to tear jerks, why am I so vulnerable in front of this movie. Yes, it was the war that directly ruined the lives of the brothers and sisters, taking away their parents' protection, but what is more chilling, and what makes me feel bad for the brothers and sisters in the movie, is the war, the people who are slowly becoming numb , a society that does not give sympathy and help to poor brothers and sisters. The real horror of war is not only the direct physical destruction, but also the destruction of such beautiful things as kindness and sympathy for humanity.
- If speaking from the level of war turmoil and social indifference, it is not enough to make this movie so moving. As for the suffering caused by the turmoil of the war, we on the other side of the war have suffered a lot, but no matter whether it is reading alive or Bailuyuan, there is no urge to cry. Looking at the smeared bird, it is more distressed and heartache, and I don't want to cry. While watching this movie, I kept thinking, why do I want to cry so much, why I can't control the tears. I think the first thing is that this movie is not just about [coldness], but there is a last reserved warmth in the harshness of the ice and snow: the family relationship between the brother and the sister. I guess it was the disappearance of this warmth that completely defeated my brother, which made him finally 'let him die' in the train station. If it only describes the cruelty of war society without this soft warmth, then it will be like a smeared bird, and there will be no tear-inducing effect (of course, tear-jerking is a neutral word, and I will judge whether it is good or bad with the film. I don't think it matters much).
-Many people on Zhihu say that it was the brother who killed the younger sister. Some people criticized my brother for being lazy, not thinking about making progress, being arrogant, and finally ending up in the end. Someone asked: Why didn't my brother work hard to find a job. In times of peace, once there is a financial crisis or something, a large number of educated and well-trained employees may lose their jobs instantly; in a war, I ask a child who has lost both parents and is still a minor who needs to take care of a young sister: why not go Find a job. I feel a bit of a 'why not eat minced meat' feeling. I don't know if the same thing happens in our society, whether most people can do better than the brother in the film, at least I don't think I can.
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