This is a movie starring De Niro in 1989. It's a light comedy. It is about two escaped prisoners, Ned and Jim, who came to a small town on the border between the United States and Canada during their escape. The yin and yang are regarded as the new priest by everyone. The police chased after them, and they kept trying to escape. In the end, Jim was moved by the religious spirit and entered the monastery, while Ned returned with the beauty.
After watching the movie, what do you say? It is neither as humorous and realistic as De Niro's previous film, "Midnight Rush," nor as satirical about social reality as the earlier Italian film "The Cops and Thieves." It's not as close to life as "Escape from the Tiger's Mouth", and it's not as random as "The Richest Man in Xihong City". From the whole plot, it is basically out of reality, but in individual scenes, there is a certain degree of authenticity. From the performance point of view, every move of the hand, every move of the foot, the change of expression, and the proportion of words are all too exaggerated. And this kind of exaggeration is not the same as Zhou Xingchi's nonsensical, which can be called "reasonable". It is full of unprovoked coincidences and misunderstandings. For example, the old lady they met after escaping mistook them for the new pastor in the church. The audience could see this as the old lady being confused or the director. 's raw fabrication. Then Ned broke his shackles in the confessional, just in time to meet a devout policeman who came to confess. This scenario, while impossible, is also hilarious and ironic. I think it's still a farce in the comedy genre. Of course, different audiences have different viewing habits and like different types. I personally prefer the humorous and realistic comedy of "Midnight Run". But in today's world, everyone is very busy, and they don't have time to think with their heads. It's good to have the most direct jokes.
In the film, two fugitives are mistaken for new priests, so much of the next episode is religious. At the prayer dinner at the church, Jim was forced to speak, and after holding it for a long time, he said: "Be kind to strangers, because sometimes you are a stranger yourself." Some of the following listeners clearly felt that his" This eulogy is very inappropriate. Appropriate", but more of a compliment of Jim's meaningful words: "I think it's a bit unusual, but it hits the nail on the head." Ned and Jim pray to the Virgin barefoot: "Please, ma'am (very strange to the Virgin). name), give us two pairs of new shoes." Sure enough, a monk came in with a basket of new shoes. The tears in the eyes of the Virgin were actually a leak in the church. In the religious procession that followed, there was actually a lottery draw on the pulpit. After a scuffle, the statue of the Virgin was also thrown into the river. In the cascading waterfall, the Virgin went down the river, still solemn and solemn, making the believers look at it with mixed flavors. There are many similar scenes in the film.
Here we have to examine the American religious complex. A group of Puritans from England took the Mayflower to America. They inherit the tradition of the Magna Carta. Compared with the medieval people who were imprisoned by religion on the European continent, their religious complex was not strong. More rational thinking, easy to accept new ideas, and more adventurous and innovative. Facing the wilderness, their first priority is to survive, busy building houses, busy reclaiming wasteland, busy killing Indians. For thought and religion, one can only roughly remove the rough and extract the essence, at least what they think is "essence". The manners, manners, and ceremonies of the English gentleman are gone. Continuing, the religious feelings of later generations naturally become more and more indifferent. More is an eclectic attitude to life. In today's America, religion has become a dispensable thing in the hearts of young people. Statistics say that in recent years, the number of people attending church on time for mass has become increasingly rare. Those obscure words in the Bible have also stumped the younger generation of Americans in fast food culture. But on the other hand, religion is an indispensable thing in social life. With religion, people have faith and spiritual sustenance. It can comfort people who have lost faith in life. Look at the United States now, there is always a priest present in the birth, old age, sickness and death, and the military also has a military chaplain as standard. The moment American players step onto the court, they must first cross their chests. In the proclamation of the US president when he goes to war with foreign countries, the last sentence is always: God bless us! This inconsistency is what Americans really think about religion today.
This state of affairs is aptly represented in the film. After Ned and Jim pretended to be priests, they kept their Bibles in their hands, reciting them as they walked. In fact, the Bibles contained popular novels. Even when Jim preached, he read the words from the novel. Then play it freely, and play it to the end, and even I am moved, and finally convert to God. Funny but also true. And the widow in the film, from hating the poor pastor to praying devoutly to God, is all because of her daughter's deafness. Suspected of cramming. No matter how people do it, sincere or perfunctory, it fits the title of the film: We are not angels. Fortunately, God is originally an open-minded God, and he does not care about the hypocrisy of the believers in the world, who use people to face the front and not the back.
I guess De Niro is in the film just to practice his hands. Especially practicing how to be a comedian. Exaggerated cunning, mockery, helplessness, anger, pretentious calm, etc. The performance is consistent with the style of the film.
My rating: 5.5.
Digression: I still want to take the trouble to say that these are not movie reviews, but after watching. i.e. my own feelings. Why always emphasize this? Because people always comment to me: "Even if you fool people with technical terms". Unfortunately, I am neither a filmmaker nor a film critic. Disappointed everyone. Make do with it.
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