Romain Roland said, "There is only one kind of heroism in the world, which is to love it after recognizing the truth of life."
It is really difficult to evaluate the film "The Irishman" rationally. The whole film continues the epic style of "The Godfather" without the wanton and madness of the year.
The use of age-reduction technology allowed Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci to "rejuvenate" and try to bring the audience back to the golden age. This feeling of going back in time is like a warm yellow dream.
The whole movie lasts for three and a half hours, and there is no compact narrative, but an old story that spans several decades is told through the stream of consciousness. In this old story, the decay of an era is condensed, the life of the old guys is condensed, and Martin Scorsese's weak resistance to the absence of time is condensed.
This is a well-made art film and a song of compromise written by Martin Scorsese.
All people in the movie will compromise with time, history, and death. Their brilliant life was gradually dispelled by the era when they were on the right track. Love, hatred, and hatred are all hidden in the faded old photos. It is the trembling of Lao Luo who has a stroke, Frank's wheelchair, and Jimmy's sudden disappearance.
What is left?
They are unresolved secrets. They don't need to be deciphered. After time has passed, all secrets are a kind of story. For stories, people can always find suitable words to tell.
Although Martin Scorsese’s heroism has begun to compromise, however, "The Irishman" can still feast the eyes of fans, because it is the work of Martin Scorsese.
Gangster movies have a special charm. They exist on the margins of mainstream society, with a legendary color, and satisfy people's desire for desire.
The pleasure of revenge, the temptation of female sex, the seduction of fame and fortune... the darkest things in all human beings have been realized in gangster movies. It constructs an illusion where all dreams can be realized, attracting the audience to walk into this short dream and feel the false happiness of dreams come true.
Each country has its own "gangster" story, but due to differences in history and culture, these legendary gangster stories are also different.
I first came into contact with gangster movies through Hong Kong movies, the early "Lei Nuo Biography" and "Lie Hao", etc., told decades of Hong Kong history through biographical methods. Although the time span is large, the characters are too single to form an epic basis. Therefore, Hong Kong's gangster movies lack a large format.
Later, the Young and Dangerous movie series came out. It emphasized loyalty. All the stories took place in the "gang". The justice of the gang defeated evil. It emphasized loyalty, which is an ideal choice. This kind of "gangster" story is just a story, lacking a basis for reality. Looking at it now, it can only be labeled as "feelings".
Wu Yusen’s underworld series of films provides an aesthetic window. He injects violent aesthetic elements into gangster movies, giving the scenes of bloody flesh and blood have an artistic flavor. You can see cruelty and coldness in Wu Yusen’s underworld series of movies, but at the same time, his movies have a strong modernity, because there is a moral satire in his movies, and this satire breaks the idealized world of "righteousness". , Pierced the charming veil of the "gangster".
After the millennium, Johnnie To’s gangster movies have gradually become mainstream. They still tell the stories of the underworld. At this time, the underworld needs to confront the police representing justice. They battled their wits and courage. The movie is still wonderful, but it lacks a lot of legendary flavor, and has more sense of ritual and business. What the audience sees is just a confrontation between two different forces. The result is naturally conceivable.
The Hollywood gangster movies are different. They focus on realism, such as "Good Guy", "The Godfather", "Once Upon a Time in America," etc., using characters to connect the decline of a big family in a grand historical environment.
Gangs, in the special historical period of the United States, are part of the mainstream culture, and their influence is even far greater than that of the mainstream regime.
Although there is a big family as the core of the gang story, it still conveys the helplessness of ordinary people and the cruelty of life duels. Hollywood gangster movies are supported by their core culture. If we take this as a perspective, we can enter the deeper historical changes in the United States.
Regrettably, the demise of the family is a necessity. Gangster stories have nourished the Hollywood film culture, but it only exists in history. After the 1970s, the "gangs" began to decline.
In the 1970s, two events caused the "gangsters" to gradually withdraw from the stage of history. One was the death of Edgar Hoover, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) , who had been in power for 48 years. During his years in power, he has always acted as an umbrella for the Mafia. Coupled with loopholes in the law at that time, the previous Mafia always got away with it.
The other is the promulgation of the RICO Act . In 1970, the US federal government passed the Organized Crime Control Act. Before the law is promulgated, criminals who want to catch gangsters must "catch the current". After the law is promulgated, as long as there is evidence to prove it, a public prosecution can be initiated.
The gradual improvement of the law has forced the "gangs" to face the reality. Without the umbrella, the "gangs" face only evasion and dissolution.
The stability of the society requires the forces of justice to strike against the evil forces, but the evil forces that once existed satisfy the imagination of the audience. In those uneasy and illegal existences, there is no clear boundary between history and reality, and the ambiguity between the two adds to the legendary gang story.
"The Irishman" still tells the story of the gang, but without the rebelliousness before. Some people say that Martin Scorsese has passed the peak period, so this movie will be so mournful.
Of course, from the perspective of age, Martin Scorsese has indeed passed the golden age of directors, but I believe that in Martin Scorsese’s heart, there has always been a golden age, and this era is not only legendary. The gangster story, the brilliance of these old guys and the brilliance of Hollywood movies.
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