The film "Desire to Live" raises several questions that have been debated in philosophy: why do people live? What is the meaning of living? If you only had the second half of your life, what would you do? This film is like a blow to the people who have been mediocre or even inactive in government departments.
At the beginning of the film, an X-ray of the stomach is used. The voice-over points out that the protagonist is the civic section chief. The screen changes to section chief Watanabe sitting in the position of the civic section chief, his brows furrowed, and his hands are constantly repeating mechanical movements. : Flip through documents, stamp seals, look at your watch. Not far away, a group of women are complaining about the black pool in their community, hoping that the Citizens Section will fill the ditch to build a children's park. Watanabe kicked this rotten ball to the Civil Engineering Division, the Civil Engineering Division to the Parks Division, the Parks Division to the District Health Department, and finally to the Deputy Mayor, who kicked back to the Citizens Division. This phenomenon of playing football not only happened in Japan in 1952, but also in China in 2017. As long as government officials have a position, they only need to sit in the office every day to read newspapers, smoke, drink tea. Time has passed.
Miss Odada Kiri is the most distinctive character in this film. With a hearty laugh, it broke the lifeless atmosphere of the office. The joke came from somewhere, satirizing that Watanabe had never asked for leave in the past 30 years, just so that the city government would not know that it was okay without him. After Watanabe asked for leave to see a doctor, two people from the Citizens Department complained that without the seal of the section chief, nothing could be done, which reflected that the section chief was doing repetitive and meaningless work every day. After Watanabe learned that he was suffering from stomach cancer and could only survive for half a year, Watanabe, who lost hope, followed the innocent, lively and energetic Miss Odada Kiri, greedily eager to draw life from her body, like a life-saving straw. vitality. In the end, the simple Odada Kiri also felt twisted. She asked Watanabe to do something meaningful before he left. This is the reason why Little Park was born.
Watanabe has spent his entire life maintaining and cherishing a family of affection. After his son grew up and married, he has become farther and farther away from him. When he was about to die, the family did not bring him a trace of warmth. The son and daughter-in-law did not understand, and even Blame yourself for spending the 50,000 yuan deposit that you have worked so hard to save. Eager for comfort from friends, but received a cold loan to avoid talking. What's the point of living like this?
On his deathbed, Watanabe did two things that he had never done in his life. He spent the 50,000 yuan that he had accumulated over the years in one go, went to and from the romantic land, opened up to gamble, and put on the most popular hat this year. I remember reading a text before, called "The Man in a Case", and I can't remember the exact meaning of the irony, but what's the difference between Watanabe and the man in a case? Movies that talk about too many great truths of life are generally difficult to watch, because they teach you to recognize reality and require you to get rid of all the bad habits of the past and become a meaningful person. Change is difficult. I want to have a successful career and a lot of money, but I also crave the lazy feeling of sleeping in the bed in winter and don’t want to get up; I want to be knowledgeable, but I can’t help but swipe my mobile phone and watch the circle of friends; I want to be graceful, but I can’t bear it Put down the greasy golden arches in your hands. You deserve to be fat, ugly, lazy, and poor all your life.
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