Alexandre Dumas "The Man in the Iron Mask": Where to find such a life (Film and Television Review)

Dianna 2021-11-16 08:01:26

Text / Xiao Guanping

Contents: Chapter 1: Plot Chapter 2: Jin Yong: Alexandre Dumas of China Chapter 3: Moving here Chapter 4: That kind of sentiment Chapter 5: Man’s blood Chapter 6: Conclusion

————

Alexandre Dumas has a writing company, but if he does not have this company, can he write so many excellent works?

And if I own his writing company, can I write so many excellent works?

The first answer is affirmative, and the second answer is a question mark. The genius leader and commander play a key role.

After watching the film "The Man in the Iron Mask" ("The Legend of the Three Musketeers") adapted from his famous book, I couldn't help but regenerate his passion, and I felt even stronger than watching "The Count of Monte Cristo".

————

△Plot

In the era of Louis XIII, the protagonist D'Artagnan and three brave and just young musketeers ( Atos , Portos, and Aramis), in order to realize the justice in their hearts, formed a sincere relationship in a thrilling historical event Friendship, speaking the same slogan, doing the same actions, congenial, daring, willing to give up their lives for their friends, without hesitation, and finally fulfilled their own ideals-what a legendary story!

Dumas's "Three Musketeers" (also known as "The Three Musketeers") depicts historical dramas with a slightly martial arts legend, and the connotation of men's ideals and friendships, which are relatively rare in the world's masterpieces. Perhaps in modern times, this theme has been repeated a lot (especially in Japanese anime). But in the time of Alexandre Dumas, writing such vivid and true works really meant to create a precedent for historical novels.

In the movie "The Man in the Iron Mask", the four swordsmen look old, no longer youthful. I saw a little bit of decadent, cold, absurd or solemn faces, lacking vitality and impulse. This is the feeling at the beginning of the movie.

But with the development of the plot, I found that this is not the case. The four warriors still did not give up their ideals. Perhaps they were gradually eroded by the years, and they are no longer as aggressive and inspiring as they were when they were young, but as the plot progressed and contradicted The Three Musketeers couldn’t help it anymore. They regained their original courage and plotted an earth-shattering coup. The purpose of the coup d’état was not just as simple as Ados’s revenge for his son, but for justice. In order to prevent the people from suffering from hunger, for the future of the whole country.

However, anyone who is familiar with French history knows that the contradiction between the monarch and the people, which was temporarily suppressed in the era of Louis XIV, reached its peak in the era of Louis XVI, which directly led to the fall of the Bastille, the fall of the Bourbon dynasty, and the appearance of Napoleon. . Later generations can only laugh at it, and burn the history of this coexistence.

————

△Jin Yong: Alexandre Dumas of China

The movie version of "The Laughing Man" is obviously different from the original. The original tragic ending is exactly like "Water Margin". The protagonist did not end well. I don't know if Dumas is a pessimistic prediction of the future of France, or he is ruthlessly criticizing Bourbon. The harsh nature of the dynasty.

I think he meant to overthrow himself a bit, just like Jin Yong, after describing Guo Jing, Yang Guo, and Qiao Feng, began to write Wei Xiaobao as soon as he turned his pen.

The ending of the tragedy is actually something we don't want to see, but the coincidence and inevitability of the tragedy make every reader awe. Do you continue to cry or laugh like you see through life?

The second half of the story was slightly modified in the film. Only D'Artagnan died. I saw Xiao Feng’s shadow. In order to prevent embarrassment on both sides of the enemy (both have their own sons), he finally chose to die in order to save him. A son was killed by another son. This kind of grief and Greek tragedy was learned by Jin Yong and pushed forward. The three boys in "Dragon Ba Bu" basically follow this pattern:

Xiao Feng's father has been killing his benefactor secretly to discredit him. Duan Yu's real father is a great demon who has always been an enemy of his adoptive father's family. Xu Zhu's irresponsible father is actually his most respected abbot... Predictions and embarrassing endings are something we men who grow up happily can't understand.

It is strange to say that Alexandre Dumas himself staged the story of the mystery of the real life experience. Alexandre Dumas is his own illegitimate son. The father and son will not recognize each other until Dumas becomes famous. Presumably, Jin Yong felt gratified when he saw this phenomenon.

When I watched the movie version of "The Man in the Iron Mask", I always look forward to seeing some martial arts scenes. Although the story is far less thrilling than "The Three Musketeers", some of the delicate action details are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people:

The first is that D'Artagnan’s flying sword knocked out the dagger that was about to stab Louis XIV. The sword passed through the waterfall and hit the chest of the Christian assassin accurately and swiftly. It was very fierce and felt like a Jin Yong martial arts;

The second is D'Artagnan's fight to prevent Ados from breaking into the palace for his son's revenge, which is also a splendid sword play;

The last is the ending. When the four protagonists took Philip and were trapped in the dungeon, Louis XIV blocked the dungeon and prevented everyone from going out, preparing to catch them all at once. This situation is very similar to the ending of "The Deer Tripod", and the Kangxi Xiaoxuanzi's The image is obviously a good version of Louis XIV.

Fortunately, the movie chose a happy reunion. Although there were shortcomings, D'Artagnan died, but the Three Musketeers abolished the original Louis, allowing Philip, a kind and pure monarch to inherit the throne and become the greatest king in French history. It can be considered to be able to justify itself and finish this historical story.

And all this is like in "The Eight Parts of Heavenly Dragons", Xu Zhu and Duan Yu inherited the wishes of the late eldest brother Qiao Feng to let the great ideals of the peaceful coexistence of Liao, Song, Xia and Dali countries.

Jin Yong did not only learn about Dumas, but he grasped the humanistic connotation and ideological level of Dumas, so that the Chinese can also appreciate the essence of Dumas's novels.

After all, there are some cultural differences when we read French martial arts novels, but the Chinese martial arts that incorporate Confucianism, Taoism and Mohism, we can easily understand the philosophy of life.

In addition, when I watched the movie "The Earl of Monte Cristo", the scene in the dungeon, I really illusioned it as the dungeon where Linghu Chong was trapped in Meizhuang, learning to attract stars and repeating the world, but Tang Tai When Si was out of jail, he was not as beautiful as Linghu Chong playing lonely nine swords in the sky.

[The following is a picture of the four protagonists in the world masterpiece theater.

From left to right, the three swordsmen are Addos, Bordeaux, and Aramis. The foremost is D'Artagnan. 】

————

△ Touching here

At the end of the film, the new batch of swordsmen in the palace originally served as the identity of the four swordsmen and others, but like the audience in front of the TV, they were moved by the bravery and dedication of the four swordsmen and faced them. The Four Musketeers who rushed over picked up their muskets and fired at the dust on the ground. No one shot the bullets into the Four Musketeers. This period was more touching than D'Artagnan's death.

D'Artagnan once said to the Three Swordsmen: "They are all swordsmen I trained, and they will all be loyal to death. Now we can't escape."

But what he didn't expect was that those people would be touched by their spirit and forget who the enemy was, and eventually betray Louis together. This shock may only be understood by men, just like watching "The Godfather" and "The Salvation of Shawshank" , This is a play that does not require women to participate, this is the bond between men and men!

I only heard young swordsmen say: "I grew up listening to the story of D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers. Now I am asked to kill them. How can we...?" I was really afraid of seeing them commit suicide. But at the same time, as the highest conflict in drama, I expect them to commit suicide, because I have reached the point where I want to cry.

But the screenwriter is much smarter than me. He lets the soldiers shoot at the ground instead of making fearless sacrifices. Seeing this, all my emotions have been satisfied.

————

△That kind of love

When he was a soldier, there was a very cute recruit who was nicknamed "Alai". He is from Yunnan. Although he looks like a primitive tribe, his strong body and simple heart have won everyone's love. He respects me very much and is willing to be close to me. I also think he is the most trustworthy person around him.

I was full of ideals and romanticism at the time. I asked half-jokingly: "I am going to fight the world and save the children of Palestine and Israel. Would you like to go with me?" Alai was very sincere and determined. Said: "Wherever Squad Leader Hu goes, I will go wherever he goes."

He didn't have a hippie smile. He didn't ask me why I went to Palestine. I don't even know if he knew about the war between Palestine and Israel. But his firm eyes and tone, the heroic spirit of trusting his confidant, still moved to think about it.

In my opinion, "The Three Musketeers" describes this kind of sentiment.

————

△Man's blood

The blood of men is always restless, so there are so many wars in this world , because men cannot live in the family as steadily as women. They are ambitions in all directions and brave to fight . This is a physical-biological phenomenon. so they must choose a life of crisis and urgency, turmoil, at least at a young age, they need to applause and flowers, and certainly not in a gentle musical tribute, they want fire and gunfire, or sword gongs The splendor.

Duelings, challenges, seizures of power, coups, revolutions, wars, conquests, and creations. Almost every war in history is provoked by men. There are many excuses for war, and perhaps many are for women, such as Troy’s beauty battles, such as the smiles of the daughters of the Western Zhou Dynasty, such as Wu Sangui’s anger, women do act as catalysts, but those who express themselves or cannot control themselves for these vanities are men.

In modern society, it is a genius to restore the Olympic Games. Various large-scale sports events are held to vent the restless emotions in the bodies of these seven-foot men. They have the strength to choose sports instead of using force and violence. They can also be solved through competition instead of fighting mode for the sake of honor, reputation and women's praise.

So there are so many successful athletes who have won glory for the country, won fame and the embrace of women, but they don't need large-scale bloodshed. This is a modern way of decompression and release of energy. Although it started in ancient Greece, it can only be regarded as the best alternative to war nourishment in today's world.

The physical release of men I seek is not about armed warfare, nor is it just about sports competitions. I love to study and explore this nature, to study all kinds of unpredictable mysterious events, to set foot on those bizarre and wonderful adventure destinations, and under the impetus of curiosity and the spirit of adventure, to embark on an era of peace that should be conquered. road. There are also football games and rock music, which are also a good way to release energy "indoor". For me, the journey of adventure and the road of maintaining justice are truly "outdoors".

If human life as we know it is troubled, we have no time to do these things, and even art no longer becomes so important, because we will become fighters or rangers, to resolve disputes, to maintain peace, and to fight for all mankind. happiness.

In fact, the world is ridiculous now. Local wars continue all the year round. World wars are on the verge of breaking out. We are hung on the edge of a cliff, but we are deeply chained by an angelic unicorn to prevent us from falling to the bottom. We can take a breath and continue to enjoy the beauty of the mountains, but maybe the beasts are disturbed, and we will plummet. The string of life is tightly stretched, and we can't help being distracted.

In such an era, we cannot say peace or turmoil. How should we choose our own adventure? We should learn from the three musketeers, or the characters of the Three Kingdoms era. We must not give up our hobbies, but on the one hand, we must also remember to maintain justice and truth, to foresee changes that will happen, we must have the courage to turn things around, and we must not fall into the trap. Material and pleasure.

————

△Conclusion

If I become D'Artagnan, I will spend my whole life searching for my three Musketeers, even if I am as old as the four protagonists of "The Man with the Iron Mask" when I appear. I hope my friends are willing to play an important role in my adventurous life and pursue my ideals together. This is probably the happiest thing in life.

(According to 2018: family affection, love and friendship, I have always put family affection and love in a more important position. No matter how pure and beautiful friendship is, it still cannot be compared with the former. Speaking from my conscience, what I said when writing this article The happiest thing for you may have to be discounted.)

First draft on December 11, 2010 revised on June 28, 2018

View more about The Man in the Iron Mask reviews

Extended Reading
  • Bernita 2022-04-24 07:01:05

    The most luxurious Four Musketeers cast ever

  • Carmelo 2022-04-23 07:01:44

    Such a tender Louis 14 ~ such a romantic French queen!

The Man in the Iron Mask quotes

  • [a rioting crowd throws rotten food at D'Artagnan; he draws his sword and slashes the fruit in mid-air, then skewers a tomato. The crowd is awed into silence. He bites the tomato, then grimaces and spits it out]

    D'Artagnan: You are right. It is rotten. I will speak to the King myself. You have my word.

  • [Porthos brings three wenches to Aramis' apartment, but they find him at prayer]

    Porthos: Sorry, my dears. You would have enjoyed it too. He's hung like a donkey.

    Wench: So are you.

    Porthos: Really? He's been asleep for so long, I've forgotten about him.