I wish my friends are healthy

Jonas 2022-02-04 08:22:54

First published on WeChat public account: movie432, there is a QR code at the end of the article~

Friends who haven't seen each other for more than half a year finally got together in this place in Beijing.

After a few drinks, seeing the late summer night, I decided to walk through the alleys and alleys and drink another round in another place. On the way, someone said, why don't we take a photo together. The rest of them, while acting in amazement and inconceivable, leaned up and quickly cooperated and stood on the spot.

Looking at the photos later, I clearly remember that three years ago, I took a scene at the entrance of that alley. At that time, how could I have thought that three years later, I would stand under the wall and take a group photo again. The strong winds in Beijing are still bale after bout, reminding me that the ocean of time is rolling.

These friends met because they liked movies, and now they are still doing things related to movies, running promotions or writing reviews. Some people don't watch so many movies anymore, but we still talk about movies all the time. Just like before, like today.

In "Life Is Like a Play", Roger Ebert says that he goes to a small park in Chicago every year. There was a friend who read to him the last page of The Great Gatsby , just from memory.

"The trees that have vanished, the trees that were cut down to make way for Gatsby's villa, once fluttered in the wind, whispering in response to man's last and greatest dream... This year is fading away before our eyes. The blissful future that escaped us before, but that's okay. Tomorrow we'll run faster and stretch our arms farther..."

To anyone writing film reviews, Roger Ebert is an insurmountable, unrepeatable character.

If a person who loves movies wants to write a good movie review, he should first love movies more than others.

Some people start writing movie reviews because they like movies. Others, they write movie reviews because they don't want to be movie critics.

Roger Ebert says he has written millions of comments, but most of them have been forgotten. This is the life perception of a film critic, because in the end, only the film itself will remain, and it must also be a great film that has been passed down in the world.

Even if you haven't read any of Roger Ebert's film reviews, "Life Is Like a Play" is filmed by a famous American film critic, and it won't affect your opinion of the documentary. Because it's talking about a person's life and the movies in his life.

"Life Is Like a Play" is touching, but also poignant. As soon as the movie came out, Ebert had an operation to remove his jaw because of a cancer attack, and he was unable to speak since then. Although Ebert himself faced it calmly, the optimism remained. But in the eyes of others, from the change in his appearance to the chi chi sound from the pipeline, all people feel direct pain.

"let me go",

Finally, when he finally felt tired, he said this to his wife.

The whole movie is more like a story about the life and death of an ordinary American, except that he just happens to have an amazing career as a film critic. Ebert talks about his work, and he can go on and on about a movie with the audience.

There is also the rival Siskel, who wrote film reviews in the same city, and later his friend who made fun of him on TV. Ebert is sometimes aggressive, like a little boy, he must win the other side with his mouth. Because Siskel and Ebert concealed his physical condition, he passed away at the age of 53. Later, Ebert decided to disclose his physical illness to the outside world.

Ebert used to be an alcoholic and emotionally adrift. Later, he met the love of his life, Chaz, and began his belated marriage at the age of almost fifty.

Ebert said to his wife, I have waited almost my whole life to find you. So glad I found it.

"Life is Like a Play" also talked about some trivial life events of Ebert. He wrote a script called "Flying Over the Valley of Beauty". A friend said that because he was Ebert's friend, he gave the movie three stars - full marks Ten stars. Ebert has a strict moral code, so he did not praise David Lynch's "infamous" "Blue Velvet" well.

The movies he loves: "The Sweet Life ", " Desire to Live", " Beauty by Daylight ", " 2001 A Space Odyssey "...

The film conveys a positive attitude towards life. As long as you love the film, the film will not treat you badly. As a friend said, Ebert loves "The Great Gatsby" because his personal success is the perfect embodiment of the American Dream. However, at the end of The Great Gatsby, it also haunts death, like the end and end of a movie. Ebert lost his father early, and death took away his best friend, then quickly oppressed him. He faced death calmly.

Because of the movie, I was able to meet many good friends. Some people have unfortunately passed away: those who fell from balconies, those who stopped beating in their sleep. Others are afflicted by illness and are trying to live, watching movies as usual. After watching "Life Is Like a Play", what I thought of was not the movie, but what Zhu Tianwen wrote at the end of "Ammonite Pattern": I want to say that after 20 years, I hope my friends are healthy. Yang Dechang in that article also passed away prematurely.

Of all the art forms, film is undoubtedly the most powerful and resonant, Ebert said. Good movies make us better people.

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Extended Reading
  • Kelvin 2022-02-04 08:22:54

    Loved all the passages about Ebert and his on-screen partner and professional nemesis Gene Sisko, very lucky to have such a colleague in my life. Perhaps due to space limitations, I would like to see more about Ebert himself and his influence on the entire film critic industry. I wonder if I can find the answer in my autobiography. At the end, I also saw crying blind, 555

  • Ayla 2022-04-24 07:01:26

    The Daily Illini will never have a character and brilliance like this again. Don't look at College of Media. Our showroom has books by the most famous film critic in America. Many of our scholarships come from him, because many of us have met people on and behind the screen for the first time in our lives. The atmosphere of our film comes from his tireless efforts. I am so proud of having him as my alumnus!

Life Itself quotes

  • Roger Ebert: We're both consious of the passage of time, of it's flow, slipping through our fingers, like a long silk scarf.

  • Rick Kogan: I don't know Pauline Kael. I never knew Pauline Kael, but fuck Pauline Kael. Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel were the most powerful critics of all-time in any realm.