——Winston Churchill
I have seen very few Hitchcock movies, only a handful of them, and this "Breaking the Iron Curtain" is one of the few Hitchcock movies I have seen ideology The most prominent and the most clear-cut political stance. This is a characteristic of that era. In fact, even disaster films like "Cassandra Bridge" or comedies like "The Italian Adventure in Russia" will mention this aspect to some extent.
The content of this film is very similar to the classic spy film "Red Square Love" that I have watched, except that the film has become more exciting and suspenseful in the hands of Hitchcock. In fact, ignoring the thrilling plot of the film, from the portrayal of some details, we can still see some of Hitchcock's positions and views on the Cold War. In Hitchcock's view, socialist countries are all on the road to slavery. In East Berlin in the film, there are secret police everywhere, and as ordinary citizens, reporting to the country is obviously a noble mission to defend national interests. The main reason why the heroes and heroines have difficulty in East Berlin is that there are discerning eyes everywhere. This is collectivism, patriotism has wiped out human nature. Every citizen in a socialist country has become a tool of the country. It is fear and lies that govern this country. In Hitchcock’s eyes, this "is an absurdity." The world. It is nameless, faceless, without a personalized person, without "me". "People" represents everything, and at most words such as "motherland" and "class" are added. "
In order to highlight the obliteration of human nature in this world, Hitchcock designed a Polish nobleman, a woman eager to escape from here to the America she dreamed of. During the time when the working class was the master of the house, the "Black Five" like her with the old-style aristocratic title obviously became the bottom of the society and the target of dictatorship. This woman showed a kind of frightening madness, and the lack of material made her unbearable. The so-called Soviet cigarettes she smoked here were in stark contrast with the Havana cigars of the agent chief. She almost madly helped the protagonist. I just hope to guarantee her to leave East Berlin and go to the United States. This has become her all hope. When she feels powerless, the look of despair on the tearful face is moving. In fact, what about success? ? People like her, in East Berlin, in Warsaw, in Prague, in Budapest, in Belgrade, in Bucharest, in these famous cities. Of course, this does not include Stockholm. The film highlights the name of Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, which is basically a wedge inserted into the iron curtain. As Winston Churchill said, “Only Sweden still radiates its immortal brilliance. Under the supervision of the three countries of Britain, the United States and France, it freely determines its future.”
Hitchcock also retained hope in the film. An underground organization called "л" was designed. This organization specializes in saving people from East Berlin. From the beginning to the end of the film, the protagonist acts with the help of this organization. What is especially thrilling is that this organization flees east to cover the protagonist. Berlin actually disguised as a bus to achieve the purpose of escort. When the East German police realized that they had been fooled, they used submachine guns to shoot at the scattered crowd. This scene was particularly striking and shocking in a film with almost no shooting scenes. In fact, such organizations existed at any time in history, such as organizations that rescued slaves in the South during the American Civil War, and organizations that rescued Jews during World War II. This is the glory of humanity. I read articles about North Korea a few days ago, and I said that there are many underground organizations engaged in secretly smuggling North Koreans to China and South Korea. Of course, it is not ruled out that there are human-snake organizations that specialize in human smuggling, but most of them are organized by The church or some humanitarians formed an idealistic organization similar to the one in the film. During World War II, some people called such people "Angels against the Wind." I think they can afford such a title.
For me, the biggest highlight of the film is the starring of Julie Andrews. There is no need for her to show any acting skills. Just put her there. At any stage of life, her elegance and dignity are It is unmatched. At the same time, I also appreciate the demeanor of Paul Newman in his youth, which is different from the sloppy and decadent images in "Little Dragon and Tiger" and "Cheat in Deception". In this film, Newman shows a kind of refined demeanor. In Ou Keke's movies, men are always elegant and women are beautiful.
Whether it is the thought of the story, the plot of the story, or the two actors, this film has given me great enjoyment. It can be ranked in the top three among the few Hitchcock films I have watched. , And keep pace with "Butterfly Dream" and "North by Northwest". There is also the beautiful "Vienna Waltz" in the film, which is intoxicating.
ps Hitchcock himself also performed naturally, and the fat old man gave a glimpse of a baby in his arms.
View more about Torn Curtain reviews
