Text/Shui Sheng
When you mention "Western Cowboys", what is the first impression in your head?
They may gallop on prancing horses in that wild land, or fight with people with guns, or fall in love with pure girls at first sight, in short, they are mysterious figures full of heroes in that wild land.
And this "Hisstes Brothers" can completely subvert your perception of Western cowboys!
Speaking of movies, we have to talk about directors first.
The director of the film is Jacques Odia, yes, you read that right, it's a French director, and The Brothers Hisstes was the first English-language film he directed.
Speaking of this master figure, this time still did not disappoint the audience. The film received unanimous praise after its opening, and after the premiere, the collective applause and applause in the media audience were the best proof.
And this Western film also made him successfully win the best director at the Venice Film Festival.
Director Odia is obsessed with "violence" and is good at portraying the struggles and anger of the low-level characters in society. His works have featured prison juveniles, the disabled, and scenes of refugees and migrants. Compared with his previous works, this Western can be said to be his transformational work. He also said at a previous press conference that the work is an attempt to seek violence and human relationships.
Let's talk about the gorgeous cast list, which can be called the Army of Movie Emperors.
The first, the Boston Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor, has a dazzling funny talent that has always allowed him to occupy a place in the comedy industry.
The second, the "awkward" male star in the power faction, always clamored for a shadow, but inadvertently won various awards.
Third, doesn't it feel a little familiar? The handsome British actor and rapper is the supervillain of last year's fire in "Venom".
Back to the film, the film is set in the "gold rush" period in the United States, the protagonist is a pair of killer brothers, and the story also begins after they receive the task.
The mission is to intercept and kill a chemist and get the secret recipe for gold panning.
The beginning of the film is similar to previous Westerns, it is a cruel scene of guns and bullets, the director continues to use the consistent "violent" method, and the cruelty of the two brothers killing people is also just right, which still highlights the characteristics of traditional Westerns.
But gradually, the film has some "anti-Western" comedic elements, such as the younger brother who likes to play pranks, gets drunk and falls off his horse, and even pretends to cry to his brother. And the brother is not willing to show weakness, and the funny scenes such as role playing are not in question.
Such a "grounded" cowboy brother turned the original serious plot into a relaxed and witty one, which caused the audience to burst into laughter.
As the plot develops, human nature slowly emerges.
Because of the needs of the mission, the Heath brothers gradually traveled west, and after leaving the wild land, they continued to contact the products of the new era civilization.
They learned that it was possible to buy daily necessities in such high-end stores; they understood that it was necessary to communicate with each other and learn to brush their teeth; that being punched in the face at work would feel a humiliation; and that the brothers even felt that their current status was very undignified and wanted to get a proper job.
With all these behavior changes, the character image immediately becomes full. Different from the ferocious sword and light sword shadow and gun battle duel of the cowboys in the previous Westerns, the director no longer blindly portrays the invincible heroic characters, and the cowboy brothers in "The Heath Brothers" have become vivid, began to think rationally about barbarism and civilization, and gradually accepted the baptism of the civilized era.
The change of characters in the film is also a natural manifestation of the old and new changes in American society at that time.
Across slavery to the new capitalism, advanced ideas and the acceptance of new things became indispensable conditions. The protagonist of the film from barbarism to civilization, abandoning blind killing, and even joining the "gold panning company", all these changes reflect this.
This film may not have a profound truth, but the director uses a witty and humorous relaxed pace to portray the demise of cowboys under the change of the times. In the context of the big times, everyone will be affected, and civilization will eventually replace the wilderness.
Therefore, the cowboy brothers have given up the "undignified" barbaric killing, regained humanity, began to desire the warmth of home, and wanted to get the care of maternal love, these cowboys who have been "domesticated" by civilization are also the best witness to the progress of the times.