Author: Yu Shi
Leaning over, holding up a magnifying glass, word by word, reading out the "News of the World" in the newspaper, the audience charged 10 cents per person. This is the job of Jefferson Kyle Kidd (Captain Kidd, played by Tom Hanks), a former Captain of the Confederate Army.
It was 1870, the fifth year after the end of the Civil War. He came to Wichita Falls, a small town in northern Texas. In the vast expanse of Texas, each small town is far away, the road is bumpy, full of unknown dangers, and newspaper readers like Captain Kidd move from town to town to bring the latest news. However, he seems to prefer to broadcast happy events – even if there is bad news, he will use a piece of good news to "neutralize".
He tells stories of people from afar – Chicago, Philadelphia, London... These places, which he himself had never set foot in, were all kinds of anecdotes that were happening, and they often made the whole house laugh.
At that time, he did not expect that he would also usher in a strange journey.
After setting off again, he first found a man hanging from a tree on the side of the road, and then saw Johanna (Joanna, Helena Zengel), a blonde little white girl in a damaged carriage. However, the little girl did not know English, was dressed in Indian deerskin, and spoke a language that Captain Kidd did not understand.
It turned out that this was the child of a German family, whose parents and sister had been killed by the Indian Kiowa tribe, and she herself had been adopted by a couple in the tribe, so she had always thought that the tribe was her home. Captain Kidd, after turning to the government for help, decided to escort the girl back to her aunt himself. That means they'll travel 400 miles to reach their destination, the southern Texas town of Castroville.
It's certainly been a tough one. Although the Civil War was over and the Confederacy had to accept abolitionism, conservative Texas, the whole environment, could not be changed by a single declaration. Tensions between whites, blacks, and Indians don't seem to have improved much.
When Captain Kidd saw the black man hanging from a tree, it was obvious that he was the victim of the "lynching" that was commonplace at the time. He saw the words on a leaflet: This is a white man's country. (This is a white man's country) Many people in his audience were resentful that the "lower" races could now sit on an equal footing with themselves, and were angry with the Union army in the north. There was also a town, almost equal to the private domain of those in power, and the guy had made it clear that "Mexicans, blacks, and Indians are not welcome." ”
In people's eyes, in addition to being white on the outside, Joanna is more like a "monster" in her words and deeds. And Captain Kidd, the old man who never talks about his past or even intends not to go home, at first, only regarded Joanna as a "small trouble", the language barrier, the most basic habits and etiquette of the civilized world, she also knew nothing. We see that Captain Kidd, initially, did not want to add "trouble" to himself, but this old man, whether out of his religious beliefs or his innate good heart, is undoubtedly a good man, a man you can trust. His kindness and sense of responsibility are vividly displayed in the days he spends with Joanna day and night. With extreme patience, he taught her and did his best to protect her.
After going through all the hardships, we finally reached our destination, however, things are not human, and this pair of friends who have not even realized that they have been affectionate, in fact, have long been homeless.
What awaited Captain Kidd was the news of his wife's death. As a believer, he felt guilty about the bloody battles he had fought in, so he had been on the road after the war to escape home to face his wife, who also had a firm faith, but now he blamed himself even more for not being with her at her last moment.
Joanna's aunt and uncle, apparently not taking the captain's advice to heart, were in a hurry, and in order to prevent her from escaping, they even chained her like a leash.
At the end of the film, though, there's still a happy ending—Joanna and Captain Kidd, after suffering and grief, heal each other in their own unique way and continue in their footsteps to bring people the world news. Unlike the captain's single "anchors" of the past, they also tell people their own stories – that tortuous journey. When the captain introduced the little girl, he called her "Joanna Kidd", which showed that she was already his family! The mischievous Joanna weaves through the crowd, quoting in non-standard English and adding special "sound effects" to the captain's story from time to time.
The whole movie, although there are some violent and bloody scenes, I still feel that it is warm. It showed me how the relationship between Captain and Joanna had gradually changed from stranger to family behind those familiar place names.
Initially, the girl's inability to communicate and understand the captain is no different from that of a foreign race, and in the girl's eyes, the captain may also be like those who killed her biological parents and adoptive parents, which makes her instinctively afraid. But during the long and arduous journey, the captain gradually empathized for Joanna's suffering, and when faced with difficulties, the two fought side by side, and day after day, the captain won Joanna's trust. Along the dusty path, she began to observe his world quietly.
They learned each other's languages, from knife to knife, grass and wood from each side; Captain Kidd even risked losing his life, and did not want to sell Joanna, who had been picked up by chance and was not close, to others for profit. And this little girl who has lost her family twice, the trauma of her heart, if she can't get timely treatment, I can't imagine how she will face the long road of life.
Although Joanna and the captain could not communicate because of the language barrier, because of her intelligence, she saved the captain and saved herself, and let the captain, who had been running on the road, feel the warmth of the family again. The relationship between these two people, who had no connection at all, became more and more harmonious. The two sides trust each other more and more, and unconsciously, they love each other more and more.
Captain Kidd's journey home to send Joanna home is also a journey of hope—at the beginning of the story, Captain hopes that the little girl can escape a tragic, violent fate and live freely when she returns home. At the end of the story, although unlike the captain's imagination, Joanna returned home and was imprisoned in another way, but in the end, both of them got new opportunities, and the captain himself opened the knot that had been hidden for a long time- in front of his wife's grave, he took off the ring, although he did not give up, but resolutely, bid farewell to everything in the past.
Since then, this life of the old and the young has opened a new page. They began a life very different from before, a life full of laughter and hope.
The film is based on the novel of the same name, published in 2016 and shortlisted for the National Book Award.
The original author, Paulette Jiles, lives with us.
Last year, when she was pitching another work in a family-run restaurant in town, I specifically talked to her about World News. I told her how I felt— that although the work was about 150 years ago, it didn't seem far away, on the contrary, many details made me "feel connected" and felt that they also reflected the reality of the moment.
For example, the role of Captain Kidd, like today's Internet, allows people to "control everything" without leaving their homes;
Another example is when captain reads a piece of news about President Ulysses S. Grant when contemptuous boos erupt from the crowd. Although the Civil War had been going on for five years, the people of the land still had a crush on confederate. Who cares about national events? It's just fake news — I think everyone in the audience will laugh at it.
Another example is an impressive plot in the work. Captain Kidd was forced to read aloud the news in a local newspaper for the head of a buffalo tanning industry. And that newspaper, with pictures throughout, depicting bloody slaughters of buffaloes, with the caption saying he brought wealth to people. To put it bluntly, this kind of news is completely a means of touting his "propaganda". There is nothing new under the sun, such a propaganda, I believe everyone is not unfamiliar.
How to dissolve the clash of different cultures and build trust between people is undoubtedly a challenge for us in today's torn society. The world of datong, perhaps, can only be the good wishes of people. Accepting the differences of others, and the diversity of cultures, rather than black and white, is not easy for anyone. But only then will it be possible to further seek the way to bridge, even if it is only a very small force. More importantly, no matter when, if we all believe that everyone deserves to be listened to and may be reshaped, this is where the hope of the world lies.
Captain Kidd gave us a very good example of this. The more tolerant and patient you are, the more you can truly feel the other person's heart. Even if the language is not clear, even if the conversation is not smooth, as long as you are willing to listen, the other party will be willing to talk. Whether happy or sad, people release not only their stories, but also their trust.
As Captain Kidd said, "Stories have power." In all kinds of stories, there are tears, there is blood, there is desolation, there is pity, but there is also laughter, there is love, there is kindness, there is hope.
I believe this is exactly what Captain Kidd started his career as a newspaper reader, although, at first, he probably did not expect to be able to write a love story. And this, in my opinion, is the best way for a wounded soul to find solace.
(Image from the Internet, copyright belongs to the original author)