In fact, "Sea of Spy" has nothing to do with the spy war. At best, it is just a historical background of wars inserted in a story that reflects human emotions. And if a love story wants to be majestic, it is not just adding a background of war to achieve the goal, it needs to go through a series of precipitation and fermentation, so that love and history have enough conditions to blend with each other. What's more, the director's original intention is not love.
Anna Lanting---a lady who loves her husband deeply.
Anna, played by Gong Li, is a woman in troubled times who can make men bow down to court. The cheongsam with high slits and the low-cut shape give people the elegance of the East and the nobility of the West at the same time. The graceful and graceful she seems to be dealing with Chow Yun-fat and John Cusack at the same time. In my opinion, Anna is still a traditional Chinese woman after all. She is just taking advantage of the turbulent times for Cusack, but she is genuine and grateful to her husband. The pain that war inflicts on women is no less than that of men. The pain of men may come from the fear of death, while the pain of women comes from the endless sense of helplessness for spiritual sustenance and confusion about the future.
Paul Soames - The fraternal love of the friendly playboy
Paul for Conor runs through the entire story and serves as a clue to the development of the entire plot. Paul, played by John Cusack, is suave, handsome and brave. He is definitely a Hollywood-style male protagonist who makes women fall in love with him at a glance. However, whether it was the one-night warmth with the German consular wife Leni, or the fascination and love for Anna Lanting, aside from the effect of hormones, the original intention was to obtain intelligence information that would help to find out the cause of Connor's death. Rather than extolling a Casablanca-esque love, the director extols the life-and-death friendship between two men, which is undoubtedly one of the famous American Spirits that Hollywood movies pass on to us.
Anthony Lanting---The man who hides his true love in his heart
Anthony Lanting, a fictional gang boss, a national scum who seems to have defected to the enemy and betrayed the country, but in the director's way of deliberately fading the national complex and emphasizing the expression of human emotions, he expresses a man's tolerance for love and silent protection for his wife. So vividly reflected. At the end of the film, Anthony's defection against Tanaka expresses this machismo's view of love so eloquently and so vividly. Who says that men don't know how to be warm, truly romantic men often have a very gentle heart under their strong appearance.
Da Zuo Tanaka---Tanaka Da Zuo, played by Ken Watanabe, who is tortured by the war
, as the head of the spy of the Japanese army stationed in China, should have become the number one villain in the film and was spurned by thousands of people. However, the cold-blooded and ruthless killing machine on the surface is struggling and wandering in agony between animal nature and human nature. Although he is the planner of the war, he is also a victim of the war. A failed marriage made this iron man extremely vulnerable in the pursuit of true love, and became mad for the beloved woman and lost his judgment. The death of Junko at the end of the film marked a cessation of helplessness and sadness for this twisted emotion, and also allowed Tanaka to make his own decision in the painful struggle in his heart. Tanaka turned a blind eye to Paul and Anna on the departing cruise ship, which was already expected by the audience.
People are affectionate, and cruel wars seem to wipe out human emotions in endless killings. In fact, the cruelty of wars brings out the greatness of human nature. I think without this war, these protagonists would be best friends because they are people, not walking dead.
By Cang Yue 2010.7.1
View more about Shanghai reviews
