Wen | Huang Ying
Edited by | Lin Xiyan
In New Zealand in the early 21st century, a middle-aged man attended a funeral as the son of a friend of the deceased. He did not know that it was his biological father lying in the coffin, and he did not know that at this moment, the biological mother who had never known him was silently staring at him. This is "Crossing the Ocean and Falling in Love with You" (aka "Bridal Flight"), an emotional entanglement that penetrates half a century. The Luxembourg film jury commented on the film as follows: smooth and moving story, excellent dramatic plot, filmed across three continents, to create a successful transnational masterpiece.
The film tells the story of Ada, Esther and Majaline in 1953, three young girls from the Netherlands immigrated to New Zealand to get married, and met the handsome Frank on a long-distance flight. Ada and Esther fall in love with Frank, but Frank has a soft and shy love for Ida. After getting off the plane, Ada chose to return to her fiancé. Frustrated, Frank then had a one-night stand with Ether, who gave birth to Frank's child and gave it to Majaline to raise. The lifelong unmarried Isser never recognized the child, and Frank did not know until his death that the child who had been his own student was his only flesh and blood in the world.
Released in 2008, the film won the Luxembourg Film Award. It is another love epic masterpiece by Dutch film master Bensambergart after being nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film "Twin Tears of The Flame". When the film was released in the Netherlands, it received a huge response, breaking through hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office and running for 15 weeks. Screenwriter Merrica Van der Boulevard transformed the script into a novel of the same name, which became a best-selling novel around the world, and won a literary award, which shows the charm of the story itself.
The film has two story lines, one is the tragedy of Ada and Frank falling in love but cannot stay together, and the other is the parent-child tragedy that Iser cannot recognize Frank's children for life. Judging from the film's promotional poster, Isser, who loves the male protagonist Frank, should be in the position of the female number two, but Isser has a deep intersection with the male protagonist Frank in both story lines, and is actually at the center of the story structure. So whether it is from the perspective of character relationship layout or character image charm, I think Thatser's weight can surpass that of the female number one Ada, and this article will deeply appreciate The charm of Icer's role.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" >01 The trauma caused by the war to Isser made Isser establish an armor-like obsession in his heart to protect himself, but the flood of human nature constantly clashed with this, forming her tragic life. </h1>
I've been thinking about it for ten years, and when I first arrived in New Zealand, when Majaline asked her if she missed her loved ones now, Athel replied. At this time, the camera switches to a family portrait, and the children in the photo are the childish sisters and brothers. This family portrait then appears in the camera several times with Esther.
Many people may be incomprehensible to Isser for giving his biological child, Bobby, to someone else because he refused to continue his Jewish ancestry. This actually needs to be analyzed from a historical and psychological point of view.
According to historical records, there were 148,000 Jews in the Netherlands before World War II, and only 38,000 survived after the war. As a child, Esther and her family were brutally persecuted as Jews in World War II and witnessed the tragic death of her young brother in a concentration camp.
The former Soviet documentary literature "I am a female soldier and a woman" that depicts the trauma of war from a female perspective mentions that after the war, even if they are still alive, they can no longer be normal people. War not only causes physical injuries to people, but what is really difficult to heal is the psychological damage.
It is even more unfortunate that such tragic encounters occurred in her childhood. Psychologist Winnicott's theory of "self-object" mentions that in the environment in which children grow up, once they expose their true feelings, they will lead to rejection and humiliation. As a result, children can only adapt to the environment, are forced to obey, and gradually develop a "false self".
Thus, the "false self" imposed on Isser by the trauma of childhood war manifests itself as an obsession, which is interpreted as a disapproval of one's own identity. In her heart, the Jewish identity had brought disaster to her, full of insecurities, and it must be abandoned! She did not want her descendants to be branded Jewish again, and she wanted her children to acquire a new, secure identity. This is undoubtedly pathological, but this obsession can guard her like hard armor for the years to come.
She stubbornly insisted on this obsession at all costs, but she still couldn't resist the flood of human nature. The two forces of obsession and human nature constantly collide, creating The tragic life of Isser.
The fear and hatred brought by the war to Isser cannot resist the nature of maternal love, and the film shows The subtle portrayal of Isser's implicit and painful maternal love for her child Bobby.
Just after Bobby was born, in the camera, the Majalines are taking good care of him crying, but the voiceover hears Isser's sad cry, and the two cries gradually intertwine, symbolizing the struggle between the two forces. Majaline and her husband looked at each other silently for a moment, and finally continued to take care of Bobby as if she had made up her mind.
Through the Majalines' determined care for the baby, the film makes us strongly feel the struggle and pain of Isser's inability to love.
Although the Jewish identity has brought disasters and incurable wounds to Isser, and although she has established an armor-like obsession to protect herself, she still subconsciously cannot give up the kinship of Jewish blood thicker than water. In the film, this unconscious affection is expressed as she talks to Bobby about the traditional Jewish festival despite Majaline's objections to the heirloom candlestick that bobby gave to the Jewish family.
This "obsession" and "human nature" finally rushed to a commanding height after constant confrontation. When Bobby was accidentally injured, Ash stared at his face and said, "You really look like him," then murmured about the time when his brother was shot, and finally hugged Bobby and cried uncontrollably. At this time, the tragic memories and fears of losing loved ones in childhood, the pain of facing the inability of her own children to recognize each other, the insecurity of Jewish identity and the conflict of attachment, several complex emotions intertwined like a huge wave that devoured her, and she finally could not bear the outbreak. From the beginning to the end of the film, there is not a single shot of the bloody war picture, but from another angle, the ruthless cruelty of the war to people is revealed vividly.
There is a saying that every girl is an angel, and Isser, who grew up in the war years, is a wounded angel.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" >02 Even though Isser is a wounded angel, the injury does not extinguish the light of her kindness, peeling off the hard armor, is a soft heart, the wounded angel still has no wings, and the image of the character becomes more and more dazzling in such a conflict. </h1>
Elser's attitude in the face of love and affection reveals to us her noble soul.
1, Isser's graceful letting go in the face of love has won our respect.
Wishing you peace in your life, what does it mean for a man to say this to a woman who loves him after spending a good night with her? The answer is cruel: thank you for letting me sleep with you, but I won't love you, goodbye! Isser was the woman who had met such a man.
Yes, she seduced him, and when she heard "Peace in your life," she understood everything, even though they had been skin-to-skin, he still didn't love her. Frank's serious confession to her, "I'll go with you," was not serious. Seeing that the effort was still in vain, Esther finally chose to let go gracefully and calmly watched him leave.
She did not take the initiative to love, and when she first met Frank, she took the initiative to show him overtures on the grounds of fire. But soon, she saw that Frank was only interested in Ada. How does the frustrated Esther deal with his enemy Ada? She said, you are so beautiful, I have half of you. I believe it is vinegary, but more of a heartfelt kindness.
Wasn't her love for Frank deep enough? Of course profoundly, otherwise they would not have given birth to their children out of wedlock.
The appearance of the unique love male protagonist of The Colorful Isther is easy for us to think of the bold pursuit of scarlett in the movie "Gone with the Wind", but she is far more understanding than Scarlett, not stalking, only complete and respectful.
There is a kind of love called letting go, and The love that Isser faces in front of the beloved man is respectful. As a result, she has also won our respect.
2, Isser faced with the child, and finally chose to continue to hide the truth from the child, bravely keep the pain to herself, peace and happiness to the child, such maternal love has surpassed the general meaning of maternal love, such a decision also means that she has let go of the obsession of carrying a lifetime, completed self-redemption.
I'm such a fool, life is full of wonders. This is said at the end of the film, after Frank's funeral, when Ether learns that his biological son Bobby is married to a Jew. In order to cut off the Jewish blood that brought her pain and give her children a new identity, she carried the pain of not being able to recognize her children all her life. However, the belief that man is not as good as heaven, and at all costs, is easily broken, and the Jewish bloodline that is "full of bad luck" is still continued. How ironic it seemed, thinking that the sturdy armor turned out to be so vulnerable.
However, her greatness lies in the fact that she did not collapse at this moment when the faith collapsed. On the contrary, he is still very determined and brave to continue to hide the truth from Bobby, leaving him with a peaceful life, otherwise he will bear the pain of facing the truth: his birth is a lie, and there are a bunch of Jewish fathers who have unfortunately died tragically, abandoned by their biological mothers, and have not been able to recognize their biological fathers in their lifetime. Such a decision has gone beyond the ordinary sense of exclusive maternal love and is a great fulfillment.
Being open and straightforward is a mistake, I choose to lie, it hurts to confess frankly, I choose to lie — Balzac
The same is the concealment of the truth from children but at different heights, half a century ago because of fear, half a century later because of love. Taking a step back, the sea and the sky are wide, and it is this broad-minded love that makes Isser finally let go of the obsession in his heart.
I am such a fool, this sentence is her summary and understanding of the positive of her whole life. Choosing to continue this white lie not only fulfilled the child, but also completed Isser herself, and she let go of the obsession that had been entangled for a lifetime, and the inner haze was finally released and redeemed. The personality charm of the character of Isser also shines at this moment!
The war left a scar on Isser that was difficult to heal, but what was remarkable was that she could still maintain her noble character in the face of love and affection, and the wounded angel still did not fold her wings. In turn, the brilliance of humanity in her blessed her with great enlightenment and spiritual fulfillment after going through hardships.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >03 gives us a practical lesson</h1>
As us living in times of peace, I get the following three realistic inspirations from this film.
1. Bravely walk out of the shadow of childhood with love
In the film, Isser's wrong obsession in her heart because of the war trauma she suffered in her childhood delayed her own happiness for a lifetime, and in her later years, in the face of the "surprise" of the cycle of life, she instead realized that she chose to put it down at the funeral of the man she loved, leaving happiness and peace to the child.
In peacetime, although there are few people who will encounter the same misfortune as Isser, there will still be people who experience the shadow of childhood. How to get out of the pain of childhood is worth pondering. "We Have All Been Hurt, But We Have a Better Life" mentions that as long as we have positive expectations for the future and work hard for it, we will eventually be able to climb out of the quagmire of childhood.
Love is the prerogative of the brave – Gandhi
In the end, Isser chose to continue to hide from the child because of love, she is brave, and it is this bravery that allows her to get out of the dilemma of narrow maternal love and regain a new life in her old age.
2, women must always have the pursuit of self-enterprising
Of the three women, Isser was the only one with a successful career. When they first meet Frank on the plane, the other two girls introduce themselves as dependent on the family, Ada says she comes from the farm, Majaline is excited that her parents will see her in a magazine, and Only Elsee confidently declares herself a costume designer.
What enabled Esther to overcome the pain and endure the long nights of missing children and lovers? It stems from her unremitting pursuit of career and self.
Only self-love, self-knowledge and self-control, and guiding life can derive divine power. - Tennyson
The self-love and dignity that her career helped her build supported her to endure the hardships of life and overcome her wounds in a foreign country. It is also the energy that is nurtured by this at the moment when she faces the destruction of her obsession, so that she can continue to maintain an open mind and face it calmly.
For modern women, there may always be a stage where they need to temporarily give up work for the family and children, but this does not mean that they give up the pursuit of self. No matter how old you are, how your appearance changes, and how your children are, as a woman, you still have to maintain the concept of lifelong growth, lifelong learning, and continuous progress. The sense of security and self-esteem that comes with pursuing ourselves will guard our happiness throughout our lives.
3, love should be bravely expressed
The biggest regret after watching the movie is not that Frank and Ada are in love but can't stay together, but that Iser is not with Frank.
After Frank had gone through the long years after Ada did not say goodbye, Esther had every opportunity to confess to him. One of them broke off the marriage contract and the other is still single, without moral bondage.
Even if Frank initially loved Ada, it did not mean that he and Elsea had no emotional basis. Both were open-minded, and Frank would be more in tune with Ada than the sensitive and indecisive Ada if he could be with Ether. Both came from Jewish families, both had the trauma of war, and had many common languages. Even if you can't recognize your biological child, you can live happily together.
If the two could grow old together, Frank would not have died alone in an accident in his later years.
Perhaps it all stemmed from Isser's self-esteem for fear of rejection, which made her career success but also her failed love.
Life is not satisfactory nine times out of ten, perhaps love can not always be the most beautiful, this unrequited love that has been tempered by half a century of wind and rain will touch our hearts so much.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > summarize:</h1>
Set against the historical background of the Dutch immigration after World War II, this film spans half a century and shows the struggle and exploration of the four protagonists in the context of the big era, swinging the intestines and pulling the heartstrings. Why is the second female Isaac so deeply rooted in people's hearts? This stems from the confrontation between her false obsession and the light of human nature, which makes the whole character present a special charm.
The damage inflicted on her by the war is worthy of sympathy, but she did not sink there, but walked out of a new sky with kindness and determination. She is a wounded angel, but she does not fold her wings, and at the end of her life she finally completes her self-healing and is completed.
After watching the film, a faint sadness always haunted me, for The Love of Ether, for Bobby to attend his father's funeral but did not know, but also for Ada and Frank have a lover to become a family. However, people have sorrows and joys, and the moon has clouds and sunshine, which is difficult to complete, and it is precisely this regret that constitutes the artistic value of the film and our deep thinking about human nature.