The good movies in my mind are "Schindler's List" and the ethics of war films and war films
After Auschwitz, it was barbaric to write poetry. But the story of Auschwitz, the story of the war, needs film to give warmth and reflection, and "Schindler's List" is one of the representative works. While gunfire is always taking lives and destroying wealth, German entrepreneur Oskar Schindler was undoubtedly a lucky speculator. His goal in Krakow was to seek money and profit from the war, so he tried his best to curry favor with the Nazi soldiers. For him, the misery of the Jews was far less important than business. In the traditional concept, the hero must have a strong body, a good character, a strong will, go through various tribulations to save others, and eventually be worshiped by thousands of people. Schindler undoubtedly could not match the standards of a hero, he was lustful, extravagant, sleek and sophisticated, and indifferent to suffering. And it was such a businessman who was in cahoots with Nazi soldiers who later became a redeemer and a hero.
Schindler initially ignored the misery of the Jews and hired Jews only for the sake of more profit. Perhaps shocked by the atrocities of Nazi soldiers, or broken in the mountains of bones, or disappointed in the ruthlessness of the times, Schindler's originally kind heart began to awaken, and he would have compassion for and help for one-armed old people, cute children, old workers who latched, parents of helpers, etc. Later, Schindler embarked on more challenging operations.
He converted the general fire factory into "Noah's Ark" for the Jews to live in safety. According to the original plan, Schindler could make a huge profit from the factory, but he deliberately modified the production machines, resulting in the factory never producing a single shell that could be used in war. From the moment the cannonball machine was deflected, Schindler completely abandoned the interests he had been intoxicated with, and instead aspired to save every living life, even if these people had nothing to do with him. To achieve this goal, Schindler went through prison and lost his family. "To save a man is to save a world," one Jew said as he fled. It is true that Schindler was not a perfect hero, but he was a great redeemer. But the rescue he carried out overcame human nature and difficulties to gradually shine through the world that had been dimly lit up by the war.
The war has reduced the world to rubble, and everything is bleak. "Schindler's List" is also based on black and white, telling the horror, darkness and ruthlessness of war. The occasional bright warm color does not conflict with the main base color. Before the massacre, the little girl in the red dress was a bright color in the devastation, and her ignorance of the world was in stark contrast to the brutality of war. The little girl was lucky to escape, and "red" became a symbol of hope. However, among the piles of corpse bones, this red color is also particularly conspicuous. The agility and beauty of the little girl eventually dissipated under the merciless bullets. The vitality and hope of the world are still being swallowed up by darkness. The film ends with a blue hue, and the picture that has been suppressed for more than 3 hours is finally bright. It not only enhances the audiovisual perception of the film, but also metaphorically refers to the eventual end of the war. People walking in the wilderness, coming out of the darkness. The black and white figures gradually turned colored, and the sky changed from a dull blue to a bright blue, and hope finally came!
In the Second World War, the lives of countless innocent people were trampled on, they were the tools of the Nazi Party's entertainment and devastation, and finally disappeared silently. "Schindler's List" not only lays out the plot, but also presents this nightmarish history to the audience in a documentary-style audiovisual language, and those shocking pictures are thought-provoking. When the film premiered in Frankfurt, Germany, the German president was present in person. U.S. President Bill Clinton also strongly supported: "I urgently ask you to come and see this work as well." "The film's profound theme has made it win 7 awards at the 66th Academy Awards, and also swept the 51st Golden Globe Awards, and it is still a monument in the image of war, constantly inspiring the world to cherish life and defend peace!"
2. Warm Interpretation and Ethical Dilemma: Alternative War Images
In the face of war, the world is shattered; under the iron hooves, life is worthless. The end of the war is the beginning of reflection on the war. Cinema, this particular art form, is an important vehicle for documenting, presenting and reflecting on war. As early as 1933, the American director Cornelius Vanderbilt filmed Hitler's Reign of Terror. The 1935 film Triumph of the Will, although carried out in the form of a documentary, fell into praise for Hitler and his government from perspective and position. Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" mocks the dictator in the form of comedy. After the end of the war, with the improvement of the film industry, many war images of the history of the film emerged.
In 1982, the Anglo-American co-production Sufi's Choice revealed the moral choices of Jews; Schindler's List portrayed Schindler, an anti-Nazi hero who rescued Jews at all costs; Beautiful Life and The Pianist both focused on the victims of Nazi concentration camps and reflected their tragic plight; and "The Reader" focused for the first time on the perpetrators and focused on the female guards who only carried out orders. The above films have a high artistic attainment and great influence. But there are many more effects of war, and what position should be taken on a brutal war? From what perspective? It's not just about the plot structure of the film, it's also about ethical issues.
The first is the question of the rationality of war. International norms recognize that just wars are moral and ethical; unjust wars are immoral and subject to condemnation and even punishment. Just war must have a legitimate reason for having the right to go to war. In Pearl Harbor, about the war of self-defense against aggression and self-defense, the president angrily got up from his wheelchair and shouted: "Don't tell what is impossible! U.S. forces therefore launched Operation Doolittle and successfully bombed Tokyo. Secondly, there is the question of the identity of the "victim". For a long time after the end of the war, some ordinary Germans believed that they did not take the initiative to do harm, but were also forced by external forces to involuntarily join the evil behavior, which also needed to be understood.
German films such as "Maria Braun's Marriage", "Germany, My Pale Mother", "Tin Drum" and so on are trying to reflect the desire for sympathy, and in the main theme of criticizing the Nazi war, such a trend of thought is only an episode. Finally, there is the absolute question of evil deeds and good deeds. In Schindler's List, Schindler rescued many Jews, but initially he was a supporter of Nazi atrocities. In The Reader, Hannah is only an enforcer of orders. When the warehouse caught fire, she only referred to the order, killing hundreds of Jewish lives, and whether the "evil of mediocrity" could be forgiven was an ongoing question. With the end of the Cold War, humanity re-examined war and broke through the shackles of ideology. "Apocalypse of the Troubled World", "Prodigy", and "White Winter" all describe the complex relationship between the enemy and ourselves in wartime, pointing directly to human nature.
The moving thing about war images often lies not in the grand war scenes, but in revealing the goodness, beauty, and truth of human nature in extreme environments. At the same time, the image of war is also transcending war, showing a strong humanitarian spirit and calling for peace. Moreover, writing the story of human life is another kind of history that will never be completed.
3. The fascination and appeal of heroism
The times create heroes, especially in times of war, and heroes are needed to save people from water and fire and to inspire people. In war-themed films, most of them are mainly individual heroes and national heroes. Individual heroes are characterised by legendary character, with superhuman skills that can never be conquered. The film "First Blood" reflects the Vietnam War, and Rambo in the film is invincible, whether he is imprisoned or tortured by the Vietnamese army, he is uncompromising. Later, in the confrontation with the domestic police, he showed extraordinary military skills, always able to escape. The actions of individual heroes are mainly based on personal likes and dislikes, and the reason why they become "heroes" is to choose the good and moral side of human nature. And once they do not care about justice, they will become accomplices of evil.
Schindler in Schindler's List initially co-opted Nazi officials for profit, choosing to rescue Jews after witnessing the inhuman Holocaust. Although Rambo was invincible, and even the president praised him, he was eventually reduced to a tool of war. As for the national heroes, their actions follow the needs of the country exactly. The Admiral in Saving Private Ryan, the General in General Patton, the soldiers Leif and Danny in Pearl Harbor, and The Intelligence Officer Wilder in The Book of Modern Apocalypse are all embodiments of justice, selfless saviors, and moral models. It should also not be overlooked that the brutal war makes it impossible to remember the names of all heroes. As members of a group, they are brave and willing to sacrifice for the sake of the will of the state and the collective needs. The action to save Private Ryan, because of the cooperation of the team, can finally be completed. The success of Operation Doolittle also depended on the cooperation of commanders and bomber pilots.
On the other hand, Chinese war-themed films focus on nationalism and patriotism, highlighting the collective wisdom of the masses of the people. Unlike other films that focus on the war situation, "The Gathering" tells the story of the post-war period, but it reflects the efforts of the heroes of the group. During the blockade battle, Guzidi of the 9th Company agreed with the regimental commander to use the rallying number as a command to retreat, but the trumpet never sounded, and the comrades were killed one after another. After years of wandering in the valley, he found the remains of his comrades and named them. In addition, the heroes in Chinese films are often fused with the fate of the country. Zhang Yimou's "Thirteen Pieces of Jinling" is set in the Nanjing Massacre, telling the story of mutual help and self-redemption among students, prostitutes, and wounded soldiers hiding in churches. When there was only one chance to happen, 12 prostitutes who had been hiding in the cellar drinking and entertaining themselves stepped forward and helped the schoolgirls escape.
Mankind is obsessed with heroes because he carries the hope of people's lives. At present, war movies already have heroes with different personalities, but they also need to enrich the expression of human nature and the speculation on ethical issues, and cannot blindly worship heroes and ignore immorality.
Rao Shuguang: Currently the president of the China Film Critics Association, researcher, doctoral supervisor. Former Deputy Director of the China Film Archive (Deputy Director of the China Film Art Research Center), Former Secretary-General of the China Filmmakers Association, Former Director of the Film Art Center of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles.
Gao Shangjun (Chairman of the Performing Arts Working Committee of the Taiwan and Hong Kong Film Research Association of China) - Edited and distributed
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