Hello everyone, I'm Ma Xiangyu.
Literature and works of art with war as the subject have always been unable to escape the word "cruelty".
The recent hit "Eight Hundred" faces the most dangerous battlefield.
In the rain of bullets and bullets, life and death are in danger.
"Those Who Were", which was nominated for the Oscar for Best International Film, focuses on post-war survivors.
Under the shadow of the Holocaust, individuals still suffer pain that cannot be relieved.
Whether it is a direct display of the fierceness of the battlefield, or a calm account of the haze after the war.
The film always carries a heart-wrenching heaviness.
The film that Xiangyu wants to introduce today also shows the era of war.
But it shows a warmth that heals people's hearts more than pain.
Summer Country
Summerland
This new film ranks on the Douban weekly word-of-mouth list.
The starring cast is surprising.
The heroine Gemma Artden, the sexy Bang girl "Strawberry Farm" that many people never forget.
This time, contrary to the sexy image of the past, even the plain face, brings a different style.
Gugu Mbata-Lao, who starred in the partnership, is also a common face in Hollywood in recent years.
In "Black Mirror", "Beauty Belle" and other works have a brilliant performance.
In February this year, he joined Marvel's new drama "Rocky".
This time, the two co-starred in a same-sex love line that was more sensitive at the time in the film, which is even more expected.
Gemma Artden and Gugu have both performed same-sex friendship in different works.
This time the two are on the same stage, what kind of love will collide?
Alice (Gemma Artden) lives alone in a small village in England.
She put all her energy into academic research.
It tries to use science to explain the plot of folklore and mythology, and to overthrow the existence of magic.
So her home is full of fantastic photos and materials.
Alice lives in simplicity every day and does not like to deal with people.
The women of the village all felt contempt for the woman who was not married and lived alone.
Naughty children also came to harass her from time to time.
He even listened to the gossip of her parents and regarded her as a "witch".
Alice was overwhelmed.
For bear children, she will never condone, and will even tease them in turn.
Once, when buying cigarettes, the little girl next to her cried and asked her mother to buy her chocolates.
But her mother didn't have enough shopping vouchers.
At this time, Alice bought the bag of chocolates.
When everyone in the room thought that Alice would give the girl the chocolate out of kindness.
But with a mischievous smile, she took it and turned her head and left.
Yes, that's how much she hates bear children.
However, the lonely Alice suddenly received a heavy responsibility -
Adopted a young boy from London, Frank.
At that time, in the frenzied bombardment of the Nazis, London fell.
A large number of children were sent to rural areas where the fighting had not spread and were forcibly adopted by local villagers.
Frank is one of them.
At first, Alice firmly refused the matter.
The arrival of the bear child will definitely bring trouble to her life, and it will make it impossible for her to concentrate on her research and writing.
But it's not easy to help Frank find a new adoptive family.
After some persuasion, she promised to take care of Frank only for a week, after which he had to leave.
When the two first started together, Alice was still alone and didn't care about Frank.
Even tossed raw meat, eggs and bread and let him cook for himself.
Frank, on the other hand, is curious about her work and takes the initiative to get to know her without prejudice.
It turns out that Alice is not the witch in the mouth of her classmates, and she is not a mysterious Nazi undercover.
She studies its coastline through the peculiar landscapes that appear at sea everywhere in the news.
Discover the interesting mirage phenomenon and explain the magic of legend with science.
On this day, Alice just deduced a nearby place to see a mirage.
Right on the coast not far from the village.
The two traveled together and took the opportunity to find common ground.
As a result, I got closer and closer, and I became familiar with each other.
Frank began to ask Alice about her feelings.
Each time alice was sloppily coped with the past.
Until one night, Frank took a vinyl record, which made Alice furious.
She said it was a gift from a lady who was very important to her.
"Is she your lover?"
Frank's inquiry uncovers a secret that Alice has been hiding in her heart for years.
In fact, Alice is a lesbian.
As a young man, he met the very attractive female writer Vera (Gugu Mbata-Lau).
The two were in agreement, and thought they could be accompanied by this until they were old.
Unexpectedly, Vera at that time was not able to withstand the pressure of society and tradition.
She just wanted a normal family and children, so she left Alice.
Faced with Frank's question, Alice carefully asked the sentence:
"Do you think it's strange for a woman to fall in love with another woman?"
Frank's answer surprised her:
"No, it's better than marrying someone you don't like."
In those days, women who delayed their marriage would be subjected to different kinds of eyes from those around them.
Homosexuality is considered taboo.
People felt that this was a sin and that homosexuals should be burned to death in hell.
No one has ever given Alice such understanding and recognition as Frank did.
He respects Alice's work and respects Alice's sexuality.
This simple and kind boy heals Alice and makes her feel the only little kindness from the outside world.
This also allowed Alice to open her heart to Frank completely.
She decided to continue adopting the boy, wanting to protect him silently.
The day before Frank's birthday, bad news of his father's death in the war came.
Alice didn't know how to be good, and could only choose to hide it first.
She just wanted Frank to have a happy birthday, and several times she couldn't bear to open her mouth.
But the paper could not contain the fire after all, and the secret was still punctured.
Frank couldn't believe it and got on the train to London alone, trying to get his mother to verify.
Alice, who received the news, was already anxious and desperate.
Drive straight to London, thousands of miles away.
At this time, Frank arrives at the place where his mother lives, only to find that the building has long been blown to rubble.
The father died in battle, and the mother's life and death are uncertain.
With him was Alice, who had hurried to his side.
After the two returned, Alice prepared a room for him that belonged to him.
She wanted to give this little boy a home.
Alice, who is at odds with social ideas, frank who lost her loved ones in the war.
Two people who have suffered in the times stay together and heal each other.
Perhaps this is the warmest situation that can be enjoyed in times of war.
At the end of the film, the director writes a fairytale-like happy ending.
When Alice looks through Frank's photo album, she realizes that Frank's mother is her former lover Vera.
Even more fortunately, Vera survived the war.
The three meet again in this small village.
Alice and Vera finally have to stay together and live with Frank.
Many viewers feel that the story of Alice and Frank knowing each other is really real and moving.
But her love line with Vera seems too dreamy.
But in Xiangyu's view, this is precisely the gentleness and romance of the director as a woman.
Love in wartime is often difficult to find a happy ending.
In The Diary of Anne Frank, Anne and Peter did not escape the Nazi death penalty.
In Battlefield Bells, Maria is insulted and Rob is killed in battle.
And the love between the same sex was even more difficult in that era.
In The Imitation Game, Turing cracks the German code and makes a huge contribution to the war.
However, he was imprisoned for his sexual orientation, and eventually chose to commit suicide because he could not stand chemical castration.
In "My Military Lover", Yossi finally plucked up the courage to kiss Jegger in front of other comrades-
Compared with these real and cruel endings, the beauty in "Summer Country" is as illusory as a dream in reality.
But perhaps, just as Alice in the film believes in the existence of the "Summer Kingdom".
The legendary "Summer Kingdom" is the kingdom of the soul that the pagans believe in.
Alice's obsessive vision of a "mirage" became a figurative representation of this illusory concept.
The appearance of a mirage, although it is a virtual illusion in reality, is enough to heal people's hearts.
Just like this happy ending, although illusory, it is equally warm and warm.
At least in the harsh reality, let people have a glimmer of hope and continue to live.