The status of soldiers and thieves has undergone subtle changes in these three masterpieces of John Woo - "The True Color of
Heroes", on the one hand , is the young and vigorous Song Zijie, a stubborn and stunned police officer, righteous but inhuman; The former symbolizes pure justice, while the latter is true justice.
At the end of the film, Ajie, who was in Baidao, finally stood on the side of the rivers and lakes, made a behavior that was almost illegal, and handcuffed his hand with that of his eldest brother... What influenced him was not so much family affection, but rather It's a broader brotherhood.
——In this contest of justice and loyalty, the police, compared to Brother Jianghu, are more of a foil. Although Brother Hao is wholeheartedly trying to correct his wrongdoings, the audience really admires and is really moved by the loyalty of the rivers and lakes.
In "Blood and Blood", the police and Jianghu Ke have formed a situation of equal strength-Jianghu Ke Xiaozhuang played by Chow Yun-fat, and Li Xiuxian played Officer Li, in the battle between soldiers and thieves.
Under the cold exterior of the professional killer is still a fiery heart: protecting blind girls, rescuing young children, not killing a good person... At the same time, the police's pursuit of killers is no longer so absolute, because of their similarity to each other A part of human nature is to cherish, but to struggle between arrest and release...
This dilemma is finally resolved by a third party - the killer who is tired of the bird and the dutiful policeman have discovered their common enemy - committing all evils the head of the underworld. Next, the sympathetic "soldier" and "thief" joined forces to fight against the enemy. Seeing that the white suit on their body gradually turned into a red suit, a happy smile appeared on their faces...
In these two films, the focus of justice is , Slowly transitioned from the Jianghu underworld to the white road.
So two years later, "Hot Detective" completely changed the "True Color of Heroes" that year, and the Jianghu gang took the place of the police to stand as a foil. Tony Leung, who plays the Jianghu killer, must have been guessed by the audience for his undercover identity a long time ago - it is not that he did not cover up enough, but the situation is already like this. In the past, the protagonist was the underworld, and later it was a black and white duo.
Of course, in order to avoid the monotony and tediousness of the confrontation between black and white, the film also focuses on showing the suffering of the undercover life-on the one hand, the boss who has been in love with each other for a long time, on the other hand, is the belief in justice; On the other hand, he is afraid of being shot dead by the "soldier" as a "thief"...
Although the pain of expressing this dilemma must largely be observed from the standpoint of a "thief", the person who pretends to be a "thief" is always a "thief". Soldiers" - At this point, the police have completely replaced the gangsters and become the embodiment of justice.
In fact, this trend has already begun to be hinted in "The True Color of Heroes" - it has always been only to change the evil and return to the right to withdraw from the rivers and lakes, without abandoning the bright and the dark. There is a moment when the boundaries between black and white are blurred during the transition, but there is no real mixing between black and white.
In the fierce battles again and again, we can see the confrontation between black and white, and in the "white" that finally wins, there may still be a black and white confrontation, which is not shown in the film.
Good and evil can be incompatible and can influence each other, but when all this happens in the same person's heart, it is not so easy to do.
A hero is also a mortal. He may have been driven by vanity when he joined the underworld. There may not be an old father who needs to be supported or a younger brother who needs to be supported; today's righteousness may be just ridiculous and sad. There are so many amazing stories.
Once woken up from a dream, tired birds know how to return, how easy is it to quit the arena? The process of leaving was tragic and majestic.
A series of contradictions and coercions faced by the hero during the "transformation" period, we have seen much in "The True Color of Heroes" and "Blood Two Heroes", but the state of mind of the hero after his successful retirement has been ignored. ——In fact, it’s not just “people can’t help themselves in the rivers and lakes”, things that can’t help themselves can happen anywhere. ——The film only shows the tragic and solemn end of the hero, and the sadness after the hero incarnates as a civilian has never been discussed.
Similarly, a police hero also has a confrontation between good and evil in his own body. He may avenge his personal revenge, if the one who died is his comrade-in-arms; he may be humble and selfish, and he will not hesitate to marry someone in order to protect himself; he may also have to kill a person because of— —Even if it’s a prisoner — with a heavy shadow on his back…
No matter it’s a hero of the underworld or the hero of the white world, no one can kill someone calmly.
Like a martial arts master, he drew his sword and walked away without raising his eyebrows, or the bullet and the pigeon flew together simply and neatly. No one has come since John Woo.
It's not impossible, it's just a simple confrontation between justice and evil that no longer meets the aesthetic tastes of modern audiences.
The hero is dead, and doubt is coming.
The world of heroes, black and white judgments, abundant power, touching emotion, tragic beauty... both power and emotion and beauty, but only lacks a point of doubt.
In the country of the common people, black and white are mixed together to form a more complex gray. They no longer advocate power, their feelings are riddled with doubts, and the tragic and sadness are intertwined, becoming an intriguing desolation.
The hero has a fresh life, is always straightforward, and never grieves in advance.
The physique of civilians may not be as good as that of heroes, but they often have many doubts.
In fact, guns, like swords, are used to kill people. Like an ancient ranger, or like an art that challenges the limits of target shooting, it's not really impossible to kill people with determination.
However, realism was subverted by modernism.
So the reason for killing is no longer sufficient -
Rick's pleasure is not enough to convince himself.
Miao Sir is so despicable even when he does evil.
How to be satisfied? or guilt?
Anti-hero mood, full of gloomy unpleasant, murky sadness. In addition, the suspicion has diluted the feelings, and the love and hate are not so strong.
In the heroic atmosphere, love and hate are clear, no matter how chaotic the world is and the more unbearable the situation is, but always have an idealistic belief in feelings, so that the most true and good human nature has no chance to be doubted.
The theme of antiheroes, discussing the wider possibilities of human nature, digs deep into the psyche - it expresses the mind of a philosopher.
The theme of heroes is not rich in psychological level, but because of its directness, it is more atmospheric in style. Compared with some works that win with euphemism and ingenuity, it is more concise and clear - it expresses the heart of the poet.
The same is to draw a gun -
in "The True Color of Heroes", the little brother calmly touches the flower pot.
In "Black Night in Mong Kok", Wu Yanzu angrily turned over the trash can.
Then the era of "The True Color of Heroes" is really over.
Not entirely a bad thing.
If people today can't see works like "The True Color of Heroes" again, it's just a matter of time.
Go back and look at the English translations of these three films - "True Color of a Hero"
- "A Better Tomorrow"
(and also translated into "The Color of a Hero", which is really terrible, "True Color of a Hero" , although it is not very creative, it is still relevant in the end. Other translations include - "The Essence of Heroes", "Gangland Boss". What is the last one? "Hong Kong local boss"?!)
"Blood Two Heroes" - " The Killer
(other translations include - "Bloodshed of Two Heroes" (a more pertinent literal translation, but not as refreshing as "The Killer"; "Just Heroes"
? Hot Detective" - "Ruthless Super-Cop"
(a bit of a super partner... Other literal translations, such as - "Hard-Boiled", "Hot-Handed God of Cops". There is also a translation - "God" of Guns", which is like a literal translation of "Gun King" :P)
——The translation name is generally concise and direct, following the overall style of the film.
And my favorite is the English translation of "The True Color of Heroes" - "A Better Tomorrow".
There is a kind of sadness in just a few words - life is full of variables and helplessness, life and death are at the mercy of heaven and man, but when a person faces his love, he still has some unrealistic ideas. Stubbornly insist: we will always be together, we will never be apart. As if he could really be the master!
It is difficult to translate this translated name back in Chinese without losing its flavor.
A better tomorrow——The attitude towards life is so certain, no matter how difficult the situation is, I firmly believe that there will be a better tomorrow——Even when these words are blurted out, they often mean to the parties: "If there is no tomorrow".
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