n't know when it will start. Prison break movies have become bitter and enmity. While the protagonist is fighting against the four walls, he has to beware of the plots and even betrayal of the people around him. However, the early prison escape films such as "The Great Phantom" return to the film history, in which the shimmer of human nature is unexpectedly cured, no less than the pot of soul chicken soup piled up with tears or tears.
At the end of the film, two soldiers climbed the border between Germany and Switzerland, looking at the vastness of whiteness, and said: "The border is only on the map, you can't see it in reality." Then they crossed the past like a normal mountain range, just as they were prisoners of war. The camp crossed that class "boundary". The French and German armies should have been "opposing classes" from a national perspective, but for the soldiers, the so-called "enemy army" is just another unlucky ghost who has been drawn into the battlefield. He is also a soldier. He may have the same hobbies as you. He needs your harmonica and appreciates your potted plants... That political "boundary" will always only exist in newspapers and other documents, which is invisible in reality. Therefore, the German officer was willing to invite a French officer for a personal meeting. It is worth mentioning that after the latter passed away, the German officer still held the military's majesty and did not yell, but silently cut the geranium planted in the room. There is a legacy of "breaking the piano's strings, and never going back to the drums for life". The geranium that was praised by the enemy, even though it didn't even have a close-up, became the most "seen" thing in 118 minutes.
After escaping from the prisoner-of-war camp, the "border" was completely abandoned. As the camera movement tends to ease, the two temporarily settled down. The identity, standpoint, and language barriers could not prevent a deserter from falling in love with a woman they met by chance. The two met again after the war. why not? Anyway, both of them were taken away by the war, and this love can be regarded as the sympathy of the lonely.
In fact, the so-called "boundary" has never existed since the beginning of the film. Here is a scene that looks very weird from a modern perspective: after shooting down an enemy plane, the Germans also invited the pilots above to have lunch. He saw that the opponent's hand was injured. Offered to help him cut food (just missed to feed it), halfway through the meal, it was heard that officers sacrificed, and both sides silently mourned - judging from the posture, I imagined that they were still fighting each other less than a few hours ago. The subsequent large-scale display of the prisoner-of-war camp was even more "unreasonable", there was no abuse or discrimination, and there were occasional literary evenings (it is more comfortable than military training). It is impossible to imagine that the same group of people created the concentration camp more than 20 years later. During the First World War, many European countries (including Germany) still retained the traditional chivalry spirit, recognized military obligations, but also respected their opponents, treating him as another country of loyalty, at least as equals, rather than scumbags. It is a pity that the war broke out again a few years later, and this vision has been exhausted in the brainwashing of the rulers. No wonder Zweig sighed that the last glimmer of civilization in Europe finally disappeared in World War II.
I don't know if it is intentional, there are always people who choose to leave before the light fades. The officer who voluntarily led the guard gang to escape from prison looked like a deliberate death. But his dedication is not abrupt. The previous conversation under the geraniums had signs-"After the war, we all became useless people", and he said in the same room before dying, "For ordinary people to die." The war is tragic, but it is probably the best destination for us.” Needless to say, it has been explained why he has been not very interested in the escape plan. Perhaps like him, only in the battlefield can he feel the existence of glory and civilization, and when he goes home, noble soldiers are worth nothing.
Return to Zweig's words: "The Great Phantom" records the last glimmer of European civilization. Driven by the civilization left over by mankind for thousands of years, the boundaries of all classes or systems, like this long war, are just a big phantom.
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