Zhao Qi
Stills from the Beijing Renyi drama "Mutiny"
The film "Rebel Kane" tells the story of a military "mutiny case" that was tried by a military court, set at the end of World War II. The USS Kane was a small warship in the U.S. Navy, and Captain Quake was an old-fashioned, stern man who was constantly critical of his officers and greedy for life. During a typhoon, in a critical moment, Captain Quaker was forcibly removed from his duties by his subordinates. Afterwards, Lieutenant Marek, the officer who organized the mutiny, was indicted by a court-martial. The key to the trial was whether Captain Quake had mental problems, which presumed whether Lieutenant Marek was guilty. The film and the Broadway play of the same name were later adapted by the Beijing People's Art Theater into the drama "Mutiny", condensing the plot in the courtroom - also in the dialogue of words on the stage, artistically showing the whole process of the military court trial, making the story more classic and moving.
The USS Kane was a U.S. Navy minesweeper, a dirty and dilapidated ship that had never been cleared of mines, and the captain was blind to the messiness of the ship and the rambling of the soldiers serving on board. This scene didn't last long, and soon the new captain, Quake, was an old-fashioned, stern man. His arrival made the atmosphere on the ship suddenly tense, his tough performance was to criticize everything, and the crew's hairstyle and dress did not meet the standards of clothing. During a film screening, he banned all screenings on the ship without informing him, several sailors forgot to wear military hats during military training, and the right of all crew members to move freely was revoked. When he is in an irritable mood, he will constantly turn the two steel balls in his hand and make a harsh crashing sound. He even made a big mistake during a landing military exercise, forcibly ordering the landing ship to return without regard to the safety of the landing ship, and for a while became the object of secret ridicule by the officers.
The captain's almost insane behavior discouraged the crew and demoralized them. The non-commissioned officers vaguely felt that there was something wrong with the captain's spirit, and finally after a strawberry theft in the officers' canteen, Quake lost the trust of all the officers. An officer had witnessed the canteen cook stealing strawberries and had already informed Quake of the incident, but Quake insisted that someone had secretly made a wax mold of the key to the canteen door lock, and ordered all the crew to strip off their clothes and give him all the keys they could find on the ship. Quake, who knows the truth, still insists on creating such a farce based on the experience of a cheese theft case he had cracked a few years ago. Several officers had intended to report the matter to the commander of the fleet, but because of the flinching of one of the officers, the matter was not resolved.
In a typhoon, the contradictions finally intensified. The ship that was fluttering in the storm was always in a situation of being overturned by huge waves, and Captain Quake lost the composure he deserved in the face of danger, and despite the advice of his subordinates, the ship was in danger of being subverted. In a critical moment, First Mate Marek announced the dismissal of Captain Quaker in accordance with Navy Regulation 184, and when the opportunity came to take over the warship, the officers on the Kane mutinied.
Naval Regulation 184 provides that, in the event of a very unusual circumstance, a subordinate may step down from his command, by arresting him or placing him on a list of patients, in such a form as the naval service requires the consent of the naval services, unless the circumstances do not permit any delay;
At the time of the trial, the initial trial was very much against Marek, with a psychiatrist in the prosecution testifying that Quake's mental condition made him competent for the position of captain, and Marek's lawyer, Greenwald, invited the experts to list Quake's various quirks with him, and at the end, the psychiatrist had to admit that these words describing the captain could only be summarized by the term paranoid psychosis.
Attorney Greenwald applied for Quake to testify, and Quake was initially calm and self-assured, cleverly covering up his character flaws, but when Greenwald claimed to be summoning the officer who informed him of the strawberry theft to testify, Captain Quaker suddenly collapsed. He spoke incoherently about the "key", slamming the steel ball in his hand and cursing loudly at every member of the Kane. When he finally shut up, when he realized that something was wrong, there was an embarrassing silence in the courtroom, and Marek and his colleagues were acquitted.
Through the fierce, clever, encouraging, or sonorous and powerful language of the characters, "Mutiny" has fully demonstrated the character and psychology of the characters in the step-by-step deepening of the court trial: Captain Quake is self-absorbed and arbitrary, but when he encounters a strong typhoon, he shows abnormal panic and confusion, which shows that he has typical "quasi-fanatical" personality characteristics.
As a temporary cameo lawyer, Greenwald was undoubtedly successful, and the clarity of his defense ideas and the subtlety of his dialogue allowed him to successfully complete his defense. However, the requirements of the profession often clash with the bottom line of conscience at this time, and the profundity of the dramatic connotation surfaces. So, as the officers of the Cayne celebrated the victory, Greenwald told Marek that he felt deep sorrow for Quake. In fact, officer Guise is behind all the events, and because of his dissatisfaction with Quake, he carefully planned the mutiny, instigating Marric to seize power, and he intends to write a best-selling novel about the incident. After exposing Gies, Greenwald poured the wine on him and said coldly, "This is a stain that you can't erase in your life." ”
(Author Affilications:China Dramatists Association)