"If civilization wants us to bow down, then I will show you barbaric pride!"
This passage comes from the movie "Sidekbale", which is not only the protagonist's fierce rebuke of the leader of the Sidek tribe, Mona Rudao, to the descendants of his own clan who are Japanese policemen, but also the resentment and anger of the primitive tribes of Taiwan against the Japanese invaders.
The film is adapted from the historical fact "The Wushe Incident", which tells the story of 1930 Taiwan's Saidek leader Mona Rudao who led three hundred ethnic groups against thousands of Japanese troops. After the signing of the Treaty of Maguan in 1895, Taiwan was ceded to Japan, and although the people of Taiwan resisted several times, they were violently suppressed by the Japanese. They set up factories in Taiwan, set up schools, hospitals, and other "civilized" facilities, and imported their so-called "advanced civilization" into Taiwan itself, regardless of whether the locals could adapt to and accept it. They stand proudly before the people of Taiwan, regard them as backward barbarians, and think that they are gods, saviors, and the embodiment of "civilization.", but they do not know that they are the real barbarians. The law of the weak and the bully is the law they really believe in, and the so-called redemption is nothing but disguised slavery.
As the saying goes, where there is oppression, there is resistance, and this has been the case since ancient times, not to mention the Saidek people who have longed for freedom. Born on high mountains, growing up in deep forests, accompanied by streams and fed on wild beasts, this people is one with nature and is born free. In the face of a sudden, incompatible civilization, a hypocritical, ruthless, cold-blooded and murderous heretic, how can they be willing to be fish on the chopping board? After decades of stoic dormancy, the Leader of the Saidek tribe, Mona Rudao, decided to launch an uprising, defending their freedom and dignity with blood and swords.
The location of the uprising was chosen at the "Kirisha Society", which was the day when the Japanese held a public school sports meeting, and the personnel were relatively concentrated, which gave the Opportunity for the Sidek uprising. Perhaps heaven took care of the Sideks and created a thick fog for them. So in the thick fog, a blood sacrifice to the ancestral spirit began!
A series of healthy figures were active in the venue with a roar of excitement, they aimed at the heads of each Japanese, the knives fell from their hands, and the blood splashed like a red silk symbolizing victory, which further aroused the long-standing resentment and unwillingness in their hearts, and released the most primitive animal nature. After giving the meaning of freedom and resistance, the cruel and bloody scenes have become somewhat beautiful, making people feel dark in their hearts, which may be the enjoyment brought by the aesthetics of violence!
The director did not deliberately exaggerate, render or hide anything, but just truthfully showed what was happening at that time. It also included Japanese women and children who were innocently killed. One episode I remember vividly is that when the Children of the Sidek tribe killed the Japanese teacher who bullied them with short knives and spears, they found a dozen Japanese women and children hiding behind a screen, the youngest of whom was nothing more than a baby waiting to be fed. I thought they would spare these innocent people, but unexpectedly, the boy in the lead, after a helpless lament, resolutely led the people to rush in and slaughter them all. This scene was the first place that touched me. What made them throw away their pity when a group of unlit children slaughtered another group of unarmed women and children, or that there was something overriding and indelible that stirred them—hatred for the invaders, a yearning for freedom, a desire for dignity.
But if the death of Japanese women and children is a tragedy of the innocent, then what about the Hanged Ofek women and children hanging themselves in order to reassure the men of the clan to kill their enemies and save them rations? If the former is innocent, isn't the latter more innocent? If there had been no Japanese invasion, they would all still be living a free and family-friendly life, so why should they die?
The old man's quaint and desolate elegy echoed in the forest, and the women embarked on the way home one by one, how poignant and magnificent the scene was! What kind of courage and responsibility is hidden behind this Enron? The boldness and boldness of the Sedek women, which is not inferior to that of men, coupled with their own feminine temperament, blends into a unique charm that is irresistible and even convincing.
Worry-free, what ahead!
Under the leadership of Mona Rudao, the three hundred Sidek men exerted unprecedented combat power, relying on favorable terrain to deal with the enemy ten times their own, and the enemy fell into their ambush again and again, and they beat them bitterly. Kamada, the commander of the Japanese army who had threatened to win the battle in one day, also had to sigh that he saw the Japanese samurai spirit that had been lost for a hundred years from his opponent, but this did not eliminate his anger in any way. Enraged, he decided to use a cruel means, a poison gas bomb, to completely suppress the rebellion. In fact, as he expected, as soon as the shell was fired, the poison gas quickly spread between the mountains and forests, and the Sideks hidden in the mountains were attacked by poison gas and soon suffocated to death. After that, the Japanese carried out several indiscriminate bombardments with aircraft cannons, and the tribesmen were killed and wounded. At the time of life and death, Mona Rudao let go of a fight, led the remnants of the people to fight to the death, and finally all died heroically...
From them, I saw another interpretation of death. That is, death does not mean the disappearance of the soul, but symbolizes the going to a better place to live. In Saidek legend, only SaidekBale (the true hero) can step on the Rainbow Bridge to the ancestral paradise after death, through which people can get eternal happiness and satisfaction. I have always been a materialist, but because of this, I know the greatness of faith even more. Primitive tribes tended to attach more importance to religious beliefs than modern people, on the one hand, because of the limitations of productivity, which led them to rely more on nature and worship the gods, hoping to get something in return; on the other hand, they naturally had a sense of closeness to nature and a sense of gratitude for the blessings of God, thanking God for giving them life and freedom. It is precisely because they cherish this hard-won gift that they know how to defend and guard it with greater strength. And faith is the source of this strength, the source of their motivation to dare to shake the tree and eventually die brazenly. The greatness of faith lies in this, it never exists, but it always exists!
The film is more than 4 hours long, and the mainland version has been cut by more than 130 minutes, including some bloody scenes and so on. But I think the original version can bring me more touch and shock, because it is more directly facing cruelty, facing reality, and facing human nature. Although the film is very long, when watching the film, I do not feel the length of the content at all, but feel that each frame has its own value, and the combination has a sense of naturalness. An excellent film should not only make the audience moved, but more importantly, it should make the audience feel touched, have some feelings, and have some memories. This film not only talks about freedom, faith and vitality, but also discusses what civilization is and how to choose when civilization collides through several characters in different situations, and I will continue to comment and analyze in subsequent articles.