If I experience the war, what will I become?

Alexanne 2021-10-22 14:34:51

The traditional themes of domestic war films are nothing more than the following: exposing the ugly faces of the enemy ("Nanjing Massacre"), showing the fighting wisdom of the common people including women and children ("Tunnel Warfare"), and shaping personal heroes with a spirit of sacrifice ("Nanjing Massacre") "Dong Cunrui"), proving the invincibility of our army under the wise leadership of our party ("The Great Battle" series). There is almost no room to express the cruelty of war under these themes. Even if there is, the cruelty shown is not so much of a war nature as it is of a combat nature. Because those cruel scenes are often meant to remind people of the brutality of the enemy, so that people understand the need to resist. Rather than reveal the cruelty of the war itself-the cannibalism between people.

On the contrary, foreign war films always touch this point, and "The Thin Red Line" is no exception. What shocked me the most in the film was this picture: the face of a Japanese soldier was faintly revealed in the dust. The director used this to ask the American soldier:

"Do you represent justice and kindness? Do you have the confidence to be loved by everyone? Me and you The same. Do you think you have a better conscience...or kindness?"

After all, cruel people are a minority. Most people, like you and me, have parents and children who fear pain and death. And war, no matter how lofty the reasons are behind it, such as resistance to aggression, national independence, etc., the most direct is always the fight between people who have the same parents and children, and fear pain and death. The most direct thing is always to pay dozens or hundreds of lives for a land an inch away, a mountain top. Is it possible that a person's life is sometimes only equal to an inch of land or tens of one percent of a mountain? Is such cruelty what the lofty reason can bear? Maybe you can find a closer reason to fight to protect your wife at home and fight to reunite with your wife one day. However, the following things are not impossible to happen: the wife at home is too lonely because of your journey to the battlefield, and parting with each other. Perhaps you can find a more selfish reason to fight for a shining medal, fight for the peak of power, as the old colonel in the film said, I have waited for this war for fifteen years. For the generals hiding behind giving orders, the war may really be just an opportunity to gain honor and power. Thousands of subordinates are just tools for gaining honor and power.

The instrumentalization of life can be said to be the essence of war. Therefore, I really don't understand. To this day, China is still filming "Little Soldier Zhang Ga" and what other young pioneers are there. Didn’t you realize that the predecessor of the Juvenile Vanguard, the various revolutionary organizations for children and children in the Northern Expedition, the Revolution, the War of Resistance Against Japan, and the War of Liberation, were in essence the Boy Scouts? Isn't it just a revolutionary vest? At that time, it can be said that the power of our party, which represents the masses of the people, was too weak, and the power of various enemies that oppressed the masses of the people was too strong. But nowadays, still showing off this history, don't you feel ashamed?

War is so sinful, why is there a war in the world? I think this question should be asked the other way around. It is not about why there is war in the world, but why mankind realizes that war is sinful. In fact, to expand the point of view, war is everywhere. The splendid nature is not always staged at wars for the continuation of their respective lives and races. As for human society, it is not that wars for their own interests are being staged all the time, and the intensity of their wars is unmatched by nature. So it is strange that it is not that there is war, but that human beings have a sense of good and evil, thus realizing that war is sinful. It is strange that it is not that the world exists according to the principle of the weak eating the strong, but facing a world where the weak eating the strong, human beings will have love, and thus yearn for a world without war.

If war is inevitable, then more important than victory is how to still believe in the value of life itself after experiencing the war, instead of using life as a tool to achieve a certain purpose. However, in the face of the reality that life is instrumentalized everywhere in war, how much faith does a person have to uphold his conscience? Maybe it's easier to believe in God to do this?

"The ugliness and bloody violence of war can make people lose their conscience. I want to be innocent. I want to return to you as the original me. How can we achieve peace? Back to the green mountains and green waters. Where does true love come from? Who ignites the seed of love in our hearts. War cannot extinguish it or conquer it."

View more about The Thin Red Line reviews

Extended Reading
  • Rosalia 2021-10-26 03:30:48

    Hollywood male stars join the army collectively, and finding familiar faces is one of the fun. Twenty years after the day in heaven, Terrence Malick's shots are even more beautiful. All kinds of subjective shots, empty shots, flashbacks, and perspective editing are very good to see. But the whole story is completely chained by narration, the proposition I want to carry is too serious (regardless of the director's position) and the method used is too preaching to the point...

  • Nicole 2021-10-26 03:30:48

    How powerful the cast is, how good the photography is, how noble the subject is, how boring the movie is. . .

The Thin Red Line quotes

  • Private Witt: I Iove Charlie Company. They're my people.

  • Private Edward P. Train: The only things that are permanent is, is dyin' and the Lord. That's it. That's aII you gotta worry about. This war ain't - this war ain't gonna be the end of me and it ain't gonna be the end of you neither.