The original text was first published on the WeChat public account Taotao Tao Films.
In fact, every year, there are several excellent films with a very western theme, such as "Escape from Tehran", "The Hurt Locker" or "Assassination of Bin Laden" and so on. Compared with Hollywood's large-scale production of this type of award-winning film, this British-produced "Eye in the Sky" is much smaller in format, and the production cost is only 13 million US dollars, which can be regarded as a small film. made movies.
"Eyes in the Sky" is adapted from the novel of the same name. The original English name Eye In the Sky refers to the drones that provide support in the air during military operations. Nowadays, the role of drones in military operations is becoming more and more important, and it has also caused great controversy and discussion. This film can be said to be an entry point from one of these perspectives, exploring the various impacts brought about by the existence of drones, and at the same time interrogating the role of drones in military operations.
Although the film was made at a low cost, the actors in the film were excellent, and they completed a wonderful group play together. As written on the poster, the commander is in the UK, the drone pilot is in the US, and the terrorists are in Kenya. The disparity of participants in a mission is one of the conflicting points of the film. Helen Mirren has maintained her excellent acting skills in this film. Aunt Helen really acts like what she is. In this film, she incarnates a commander who has been tracking terrorists for several years and is a very tough woman. British actor Alan Rickman, who died at the beginning of this year, also played a high-level military officer in the film. Although the film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year, it was officially released this year, so it can also be regarded as his posthumous work. one. Little fan Aaron Paul plays the drone pilot in this film, a little fat, but still very cute. Buckde Abati, who became popular in "Captain Philip", plays a member of the intelligence service in Kenya in this film. In this film, he is a Somali, just in line with his image of the Somali pirate in Captain Philip. , a hidden joke.
When the film was released in the United States, it did not go to the theaters to watch it because he did not like director Gavin Hood. Later, I found out that the film has won an excellent reputation, so I went to watch it before buying tickets for this Shanghai Film Festival. "Eye in the Sky" is one of those films where even if you know the ending, you're still sweating over the ups and downs of the plot, much like "Escape from Tehran" a few years ago. Even though everyone knew that the gang had finally managed to escape from Tehran, they were still caught in a tense plot.
In order not to spoil everyone, this article minimizes the description of the plot content as much as possible. In fact, the plot of Eyes in the Sky is very simple, and you can sum up the whole movie with the famous ethical thought experiment of the trolley problem. Everyone must have heard of the tram problem. It is about you as a tram driver. There are five people on the track in front of the tram you are driving, and there is only one person on the left track. Are you willing to turn left to save the five people? Sacrificing a person?
Different from the intervention of ground troops in "Assassination of Bin Laden", the existence of drones greatly reduces the possibility of casualties of one's own soldiers, but at the same time, it has strong collateral damage. At the beginning, the target was just the terrorists that the commander had been monitoring for many years. Later, in order to increase the conflict of the plot, more and more characters and targets appeared in the film, which made the audience think along with it: if I were the commander, I would Will you choose to act? In the face of possible terrorist attacks and the immediate moral dilemma, the film does not reveal its own position, but analyzes different positions through different characters in the film, allowing the audience to choose their own position. The author thinks this is the more shrewd part of this film. Rather than blindly instilling mainstream ideas in the audience, the moral dilemma faced by "Eye in the Sky" is more thought-provoking, and it secretly brings Western politics to the audience. Right and Our Lady of Hearts, and at the same time justify their various military operations in reality.
Due to the limitation of small cost, this film will spend more time on the game between different characters. Operations command rooms in the UK, teams from the UK Home Office, drone control rooms at US Air Force bases, and the government military in Kenya. The conflict between the four scenes constitutes the main line of the film, and multiple third-party characters are also inserted in the middle. In a way, Eyes in the Sky is like a debate, with different parties holding different views, each defending itself and trying to convince the other. At the same time, in Kenya, the terrorists are not idle. New terrorist attacks are being planned, and the time is at stake. In this way, the director made the audience as nervous as the characters in the play, and constantly interspersed with variables in the middle. When watching in the studio, the audience's collective exclamation could be heard from time to time.
However, as a very thematic film, while questioning the drone, does the film convey its own point of view? The author thinks that there are still some, but the writers and directors are extremely restrained in this regard. Although there is no direct preaching in the film, the sentence at the end actually sums up the contemporary West's position on counter-terrorism.
This sentence echoes the preface at the beginning of the film, no matter what the outcome of the war, whether it is the righteous side or the evil side, must pay a cruel price. For the safety of more people, thus sacrificing a small number of people, the issue of trams is also widely discussed in today's society. On the one hand, we cannot face sacrifice of any kind, and on the other, we long for security and peace. Drones have replaced ground troops, but every participant in the mission, no matter how far away, will face its own consequences.
"Never tell a soldier that he doesn't understand the price of war."
This sentence, combined with a civilian family in Kenya shot at the beginning and end of the film, reveals one of the biggest points of the film, which is the desire for peace, and abhorrence of war.
Because no matter what level of war, there will be an indelible price.
View more about Eye in the Sky reviews
