A Romeo and Juliet-like love story that takes place on the West Side of New York. Revenge, love, and competition for territory, these most primitive human desires, always touch the hearts of the audience the most. Director Robert Wise did a good job of introducing the conflict between Americans of color and white people into the story, giving the film adaptation of the Broadway opera of the same name a deeper meaning. The film won 10 awards at the 34th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Color Cinematography.
The Jess Gang and the Shark Gang are both gangs that hang out in the West Side of New York. The two factions attacked each other, competed for territory, and each other won and lost. The Jess Gang is made up of white Irish-born men. The leader is Reeve. They are full of ambition and want to take over the entire block. The Sharks are composed of Puerto Ricans. Although there are few people, they are united. The leader is a man named Bernard. Today, the two factions meet again. The two sides are coming and going on the basketball court, and a street fight is about to break out. But the police who heard the news resolved the conflict. Sheriff Snake, apparently leaning more towards white groups. He drives away the Sharks and reprimands the Jays not to mess around. In fact, this kind of substantive bias behavior is the long-term style of the US government. This also makes people of color feel oppressed and unable to integrate into American society, so they are more superstitious and violent to solve some problems.
In order to snatch more territory, the Jeci Gang decided to invite Tony, who had already washed his hands. Tony used to be the best man in the entire West Side of New York, full of confidence and endless energy. The leader of the Jiezi Gang, Ruifu, personally went out to persuade the veteran. I hope to rely on Tony to break the balance between the two gangs and drive those ignorant Puerto Ricans out of their territory in one fell swoop. But Tony rejected him because Tony was in love. Although he didn't know who he fell in love with, the charm of love was to make women lose their minds and men lose their way. Maybe Tony is such a person who loves beauty more than Jiangshan. But after all, Tony is a man of loyalty and loyalty, and he finally agreed to Reeve to go to a dance - at the dance, the Jets Gang was going to give Shark a little taste. Of course, this decision also changed everyone's fate in the end, the terrible butterfly effect. Just a simple yes, the final price may be a lifetime.
The ball was held as scheduled, and in that era of lack of entertainment tools, every ball was an opportunity for men and women to prove themselves. The two factions, although they really want to do it right away, solve their opponents once and for all, but after all, there are women and police present. Although there was no immediate physical conflict between the two sides, a unique dance was also launched, and a fierce conflict broke out between the two cultures. Puerto Ricans have inherited the essence of Spanish flamenco dance, and combined with their very exotic skin color, they express their hotness, unrestrainedness and cheerfulness incisively and vividly. On the other hand, the Jiezi Gang under Ruifu did not give in the slightest in their dance moves. Just when the two factions refused to let each other go. Tony meets the lover of his dreams - Maria. Although this is the most common female name in Spain, she is a goddess version of existence. The two looked at each other affectionately, got carried away, and entered the realm of only two people. Although love comes a little abruptly, it seems unreasonable. But isn't this Hollywood? Isn't this the love that young people who are in the beginning of love yearn for? Although it is a bit confusing, it is still performed over and over again on the screen now. The dance of the two, although bringing the ball to a climax, was stopped by Maria's brother Bernard, who had to stop it. He was also going to teach this little boy a lesson to his only sister. Reeve led the little brothers to join the battle group in time. The two factions talked harshly to each other, and after the appointment was over, they left the stage one after another.
The love between Tony and Maria was destined to be a tragedy from the beginning, because Puerto Ricans were not proud of their American citizenship, but felt out of place everywhere. For some, the American Dream is a dream, but for some it is a constant nightmare. They are discriminated against and cannot find decent jobs. A group of idle young people, if they do not have a job, will quickly become a destabilizing factor in society. After every economic crisis, the wave of layoffs that broke out will eventually lead to riots and even wars. From World War II to the Color Revolution after the Great Recession in 2009, the destructive power of unemployed young adults has been highlighted. The Shark Gang arrived as promised, and the two factions finally negotiated and resolved the dispute by duel. The sheriff, who got the tip from nowhere, came to the scene. The two factions could only temporarily pretend to be in harmony, and the police drove the Sharks away again, although the high-level government hoped to ease the racial conflict. However, due to the fact that the actual executors have insufficient interpretation of the policy, they are always inclined to high-pressure sanctions. This also makes people of color less willing to cooperate with the government.
A woman in love is beautiful, and Maria, who is born beautiful and hard to give up, knows how to dress herself more beautifully. Looking at the lovely Maria, Tony began to fantasize about the future life. Young people always like to set their lives privately. Although it is sloppy, it is very straightforward, pure and sacred. But people always have to live in reality, Tony told Maria about the duel between the two factions. The kind Maria, who didn't want anyone to be hurt, asked Tony to stop this stupid duel. The setting sun was like blood, and the duel started as scheduled. Men fight each other for the land, and women are addicted to love. This is a battle destined to go in the direction of tragedy. But the emotions of the two factions have been ignited. Until Reeve of the Jess Gang was stabbed to death by Bernard, Tony, who wanted to stop the conflict, lost his mind after witnessing the tragic death of his good brother. Accidentally kills Maria's brother, Bernard.
Soon Maria learned the news that her brother was stabbed to death by Tony, and poor Maria felt that she had lost everything. He prayed before God, hoping that these were all vain. Prayer soon worked, and Tony came and admitted the terrible truth. Although facing the enemy who killed her brother, Maria couldn't hate it. She still loves Tony more than herself. Like two people struggling in the wind and waves, they are tightly bound together. Although it is already a flood of beasts outside, but because of the power of love, they have entered their own realm again. Bernard's girlfriend, Anita, is also very sad and angry, feeling that Jesse's gang ruined everything for her. She came to Maria's residence, hoping that the two injured women could support each other. But she found that when she killed her husband and enemy Tony, she felt cheated. Anita reprimanded, Maria's excessive behavior. But she was also moved by the love between Tony and Maria, and she decided to help Maria, who couldn't escape, to find Tony who had escaped.
The Shark Gang and the Jiezi Gang, although the gang leaders both died, but the backbone is still there. Therefore, retaliation is brewing, and the conflict is about to escalate further. Anita threw herself into a trap and broke into the main altar of the Jess Gang, and the gang members who were already angry took out their anger on this poor widow. Fortunately, the shop owner arrived in time to stop all this. The humiliated Anita was furious and tricked them into saying that Maria had been killed because the Sharks learned about Maria and Tony. Tony felt that the world was collapsing. He was disheartened and walked aimlessly on the street. It was a dramatic discovery of Maria! Yes, the living Maria! Dressed in red, Tony rushed towards Maria desperately. He didn't see at all, Chino, who was already in ambush beside him, was Maria's titular fiancé. The gun rang, and Tony fell into Maria's arms in pain. Although I don't know where the bullet was shot, it is obviously impossible to escape the fate of death. There is a saying that when a peony flower dies, it is also romantic to be a ghost. Tony deserves to die. The film adaptation of the classic Broadway opera has finally come to an end.
I don't know much about musicals, especially modern dance, which is too abstract and stream-of-consciousness. In the context of popular aesthetics and consumption, it tends to be fashionable. This form of artistic expression is always somewhat out of tune with people who are accustomed to popular culture. But after all, it is a movie in the 1960s, and the expression of body language may be more understandable to audiences with a low cultural level than a large inner monologue. The film combines the story of Romeo and Juliet with the conflict between the United States and Puerto Ricans in the 1940s. Puerto Rico is an enclave of the United States. Although he has US citizenship, he cannot participate in the US presidential election. Although Puerto Rico is nominally a dominion, it is indistinguishable from a colony. U.S. imperialism in various forms, which also led to the indomitable struggle of Puerto Ricans. Although it was not able to become independent in the end, it also allowed the United States to gradually change its policy towards it. And director Robert • Wise, it is to seize this hot topic, so that the film won the championship in one fell swoop.
In addition to Puerto Ricans, the director criticized the immaturity of teenagers, which sounded the alarm for Americans who were gradually lost in the 60 years. In addition to musicals, it can be understood as a juvenile crime movie. The director tried to use the tragic love story of Maria and Johnny to tell the audience how absurd this love at first sight is for young people. This is also to prove the far-sightedness of the so-called apartheid policy of the US government at that time. After all, in white supremacy America, discrimination against people of color still exists today. The other is to point out the power of idle young people to destroy the social order. Whether it's the Jets gang or the Shark gang, the people in it don't have serious jobs. Johnny has a serious job, so he washes his hands. But in the end, he sacrificed his life because of his brother's loyalty. This kind of setting should be the director's hope that the people who have been good will not go back to participate in the disputes between the rivers and lakes.
Connect these scattered settings and connect thousands of miles in series. For this, I have to admire the director and screenwriter, who used a clever technique to hack a large group of people. For example, people of color who believe in Catholicism and do not have serious jobs are the main driving force for destabilizing society. White people and unidentified colored girls are not going to get good results. Young people who don’t work hard and always think about fighting hard will not get good results. We know that both Irish and Puerto Ricans are Catholics. As the Holy Land of the Puritans, the United States had a deep grudge against the Catholic Church, which had ruthlessly persecuted them. Generally in American movies, Catholicism is set as an existence of ignorance, backwardness, superstition, and poverty. In the end, the director did not forget to hack a person of color with a gun. Such a "black" movie that is very in line with American ideology is simply unreasonable not to win the Oscar.
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