There is forgiveness and there is a future - the movie "Better World"

Zechariah 2022-03-23 09:02:45

Africa - here is endless and dusty; here is lack of food and clothing, all kinds of diseases are endangering people's lives, people line up to collect water with big buckets; children here play stick fighting games all day, perhaps the happiest of their day Moment is chasing the car where the doctor is, and the image comes up repeatedly. Anton, a doctor from Denmark, works here. In addition to illness, he has to face a kind of violence that is incomprehensible to a civilized society-a man named "big man" often bets with people on the gender of the child in the womb of pregnant women, verifying The method is to cut open the pregnant woman's belly alive. One of Anton's day jobs is to sew up these open stomachs. Most of the pregnant women died on the spot; others died on Anton's operating table.
Northern Europe - It is a picturesque place, with shiny cars, elegant idyllic houses, large lakes and modern campuses. People have no worries about food and clothing, and they are only faced with the confusion of advanced civilization-marriage, work, family, children... Christina, who just lost her mother, transferred back to Denmark from the UK and encountered Elias, who was bullied by school gangs everywhere. Christina helped Elias, and the two teenagers became friends.
The two unrelated worlds are connected by the doctor Anton, Elias' father. He must simultaneously confront the brutality of Africa and the hatred that slowly grows in the hearts of his son Elias and his partner Christina.
Two unrelated worlds are plagued by violence and hatred at the same time, so they are related. Perhaps violence and hatred are common problems in human society.
In Africa, it is a primitive violent passion without a reason. The "big man" does not have the slightest sense of pity, the concept of good and evil, and what he wants is only a momentary pleasure. "Whoever gets in the way of Lao Tzu, Lao Tzu will kill!" His tyranny infected the local residents. Although he was powerless in action, the fire of hatred in his heart was burning fiercely. So they don't understand why Anton wants to treat "big man"'s maggot legs. Twice I saw their blood red eyes, once when a resident's wife had just had a caesarean section, and they asked the doctor to save her; the other time they asked the doctor why they wanted to save the "big man"!
In Northern Europe, Christina believes his father is responsible for the death of her cancer-stricken mother. He was determined and told Elias with actions and words that dealing with other people's violence was a stronger response.
A direct confrontation occurred after Anton was beaten for trying to persuade two young children to be innocent. The kids thought he was weak and scared and questioned why he didn't fight back. So Anton asked them: "When you hit me today, you hit me tomorrow, when will it end? This is how wars start." He has seen too much violence and hatred in Africa. Chrisitina replied: "As long as you hit hard enough, they won't dare to fight back!" This is another philosophy, and I also believed that the most important momentum in a fight makes people feel like an impulsive beast. It's not all about physical condition. As for "play hard enough," the time and again in TV shows and movies that the pity of the good guys creates the bad guys reminds me of this from time to time.
With three children, he found Lars, the auto mechanic who beat him, and told the children that he was not afraid of lars. For this he received a few more slaps. He wanted to tell the kids about Lars' weakness and that he hit people only because he could hit people and had the ability to hit people. Extremely weak people will go to great lengths to use violence to create a layer of armor for themselves. But Christina didn't agree and decided to blow up Lars' car anyway. An interesting scene also happened here, Anton's young son listened to his father's words and kept calling Lars a fool. Anton stopped him in time. Obviously, he didn't want violence and hatred to grow in the child's young mind, even if it was verbal violence. He just wants to tell the children that violence can't solve the problem, and not fighting back in the face of violence is not a sign of cowardice, but reveals the stupidity and weakness of the opponent.
However, it is clear that there is a tendency to be violent in human nature. Even Anton was struggling to get over it.
When he came home from the first slap in the face, he took off his shirt and walked to the wooden bridge, anger permeating his body. After jumping into the water, he kneaded his face over and over again, trying to calm the turmoil in his heart.
Back in Africa, an occasional inhuman remark from "big man" finally angered Anton. He angrily dragged "big man" outside the camp. However, his move was a signal to the local residents, who finally vented their hatred in the group beating "big man". At this point, Anton's face was in pain. He violated his duty as a doctor by detonating and condoning atrocities against one of his bad patients. And back in northern Europe, in the face of children, he has to reiterate his philosophy: "non-violence and forgiveness." Even if the "big man" deserves to die, he should not die from the violence of the crowd. Fighting violence with violence will leave the seeds of hatred in everyone's heart. In deciding to cure "big man", he tried to use his actions to introduce his philosophy to the local residents and his translator, but a momentary anger caused him to go against his own philosophy.
After all, he is just an outsider to Africa. If, as a doctor, he condoned violence, participated in violence, and encouraged hatred in this land, then when he left, he left this continent with nothing but a few rescued lives. From the local residents, new "big man" will inevitably be born. Those children who wield sticks will also inherit blood-red eyes when they grow up. Violence will never end, and hatred will be rooted in the hearts of generations. Anton tries to go beyond, he tries to use his personal philosophy of non-violence and forgiveness to leave the local residents and those children a better future. After all, for the tribal vendetta that pervades Africa, forgiveness is the only way to a better future.
Northern Europe, the story continues. The two children finally detonated the bomb under the car one early morning, but Elias was injured. His unbearable heart made him ignore the lit fuse and rushed towards the running mother and daughter, stopping them from walking. Christina, who killed her partner herself, attempted suicide and was saved by Anton.
Mercy and intolerance saved Elias and Christina from manslaughter, only to be convicted of destroying another's property. And after this event, forgiveness saved everyone. Anton's wife forgave Anton, and the two regained their passion; Christina forgave her father, but also gave herself and her father a future; Anton's wife forgave Chrisitina, and the friendship between the two friends will continue.
So the story ends. I just can't help but think of violence and hatred in life, "killing for life" and "tit-for-tat", while daily TV dramas broadcast violence, conspiracy, hatred and revenge heroes over and over again, and the Internet is filled with all kinds of verbal violence. There are still a bunch of people shouting for liquidation, liquidation of the Cultural Revolution, liquidation of the Great Leap Forward, liquidation of the past. What does this liquidation mean? Is it for revenge, or the truth? If it is revenge, waiting is the next reckoning; if it is the truth, a better world is not far away. In the long river of time, we are only a moment, when we die, what is left to the future, what is left to the children? Forgive the past for the future.

(PS: Off topic: Regarding Christina and Elias,
I don't think Christina and Elias have a simple friendship relationship.
If it is Chrisitina's philosophy to use violence to overcome violence, then for Elias, it is just that he is hurt by violence. The world's powerful counterattack.
Chrisitina is the savior, he helped Elias and warmed his autistic heart. Therefore, Elias is full of gratitude for Christina. Facing the police and parents' inquiries, although they spoke the same words, but the reasons behind But it is different. Christina is from his philosophy and is loyal to his philosophy. And Elias is out of gratitude and loyalty to Christina.
In fact, Elias is a bit like Tim in "The Wave", both of them are a bit autistic, both Isolated and hurt. Tim felt that he was saved by an organization, and Elias felt that he was saved by a single person. They are all people with weak will and weak character, so it is easy to push halfway through and finally follow a strong person or organization.
Rescue To win gratitude and then to dominate the fate of the rescued, this is the customary step for a person, a group or some abstract thing to override the rescued. The rescuer is the most likely to become the master.)

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Extended Reading

In a Better World quotes

  • [last lines]

    Christian: Can't wait until you back at school.

    Elias: Me too.

  • Elias: I've been sleeping for days but I'm still tired.