<h1>The film's human perspective and emotional depiction beyond expectations</h1>
At the beginning of the article, billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk may not be widely accepted, but I personally and personally like it very much, not only for Ang Lee's love and support, because I often focus on the comparison between novels and movies, this adaptation of Ben Fountain's "Halftime No War", the film is more than the original human perspective and emotional depiction beyond expectations, It can be said that it is the one that focuses on inner emotions in the director's works so far.
Promotional poster for the movie Billy Lynn's Halftime Battle
Because as early as the original book was first published, the author could not wait to get a glimpse of the story content of Ang Lee's new work, but I was also surprised that this was not a novel that emphasized the plot, but through the 19-year-old protagonist's loss of youth that ordinary people should enjoy, dragging the devastated body and mind on the battlefield, returning to a football field like a miniature of the United States, all the hypocrisy and falsehood of human nature experienced, compared with the truth of the gunfire on the battlefield, let him once be confused and lose himself.
The famous Chinese director Ang Lee is directing the details of the film
This is an anti-war work with no obvious anti-war intentions, the contrast between the real and the false, the contrast between the real battlefield warrior and the pseudo-warrior on the field, the imbalance between the symbolic meaning and the actual process, everyone only wants to simplify one thing, and simply look at what they want to see, selectively ignoring the problem and the fact itself.
The background of this story needs to be briefly introduced, about the "war on terror" that the United States has been waging in recent years, in fact, society generally believes that it is not necessary and does not want to face things, and even no movies and novels are willing to take this as the theme, the introduction in the book mentions that Hollywood has made a few films about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the box office and the response can be said to be unbearable.
This cold phenomenon, known as the so-called "Iraqi fatigue", is simply aimed at the universal cultural and consumption phenomenon caused by the war for the general population of American society, and sadly no one cares about these sad soldiers who have gambled their lives, but these wars on terror have been a very important part of the recent history of the United States in the past decade or so.
Actors Joe Alvin and Van Diesel
As for the so-called "halftime battle", it is the most popular sport in the United States, American football, and the halftime battle of the Thanksgiving Day competition set in movies and novels is second only to the annual sports event "Super Cup", and the tv ratings are among the highest. Leaving aside the reasons why American football has always been invincible in the United States, such a contradictory and violent movement actually reveals the clash of national cultures. But why the Super Cup is so highly valued, because during this time everyone's love of sports competition is enough to break down races and all barriers, so for the general audience, whether it is the Super Cup or Thanksgiving, the midfield performance in the middle of the first and second halves is also one of the projects that are very much expected in addition to the game itself, so that the diva performances such as Beyoncé can be invited.
Thus, the Texas Stadium, where the film and the book are set, symbolize the epitome of the ironic ugliness and hypocrisy of American society as a whole.
This time, Ang Lee's breakthrough challenge to 3D4K and ultra-high specification technology of 120 frames per second broke the record of film history so far, and successfully opened a new title page of the film industry. Although these groundbreaking technical challenges are quite admirable and admirable, but I want to talk about the film itself, even if the extremely realistic picture quality and full of color fade, the more delicate inner emotions and character portrayal of "Billy Lynn's Halftime Battle" still deeply shake the author, which is the magic of Ang Lee.
The famous Chinese director Ang Lee
Many people say that this film is completely around the protagonist Billy Lynn, but this point is actually someone who has read the original novel, in order to really be more convinced of Ang Lee's storytelling angle.
In fact, the novel itself is narrated in the first person of Billy Lynn, and I think Ang Lee also hopes that the film can peek into this real world that is different from the battlefield from his inner world, abandoning many icing on the cake dialogue and scenes, interspersing the battlefield and the perfect way of real scenes with Billy Lynn scanning his vision, pondering his contradictions, experiencing his emotions, infecting his wandering, bearing his heaviness, and tasting his torture.
Everyone is born and died on the battlefield in Iraq with different reasons, seeing the mourning of the smoke and dust, and seeing the killing scenes of you and me, the truest human nature is always displayed in the place where the flames are burning. There is no need for clever words, and there is no room for deception, and the integrity and fearlessness of fighting for the country are shuttled through the rain of bullets and bullets.
<h1>But in moments of imminent death, with eyes mixed with fear and broken and wailing families, the real price of war is bloody presented in front of 19-year-old Billy Lynn, how cruel, how shocking, and how flesh and blood. </h1>
Stills from the movie Billy Lynn's Halftime Battle
After returning to the United States, when he arrived in Texas, he once again had the privilege of embracing the warmth of his family, which made him feel the preciousness of peace and stability, but the false hypocrisy and inexplicable glory that followed also made him begin to question what was true and what was false. That is like the treatment of national heroes, but no one really cares about Billy Lynn's inner feelings and real process, the media, the powerful only choose what they want to hear, only focus on the meaning of military symbols, and self-neglect and simplify the negative impact that everyone is not willing to face, so that the burden on Billy's shoulders is more and more unbearable, lost in the gray area of reality and truth.
Actor Joe Alvin plays Billy Lynn
In the play, Joe Alwyn's a lot of inner emotions are interpreted very well and extremely painfully, such an underage child's inner wandering and struggle that no one can pour out, carrying the name of such a country on the front line and fighting an unknown war, what is the end of the end. Under the realistic lens, Qiao Aiwen bloomed out of the protagonist's conflict and contradiction and wandering helplessness without reservation, and even Ang Lee himself was deeply moved to tears.
In the end, what is false and what is real, what is true and what is false, after removing the aura of the hero, there may only be a brother in the army who was born and died together, and the brother and sister who made him fight for himself and the blood is thicker than water.
"You think the family is the most certain thing in life, what you deserve?" What are the natural benefits? The connection between you and these people is too deep and too solid, there are too many interlocking history, genes, the same purpose, struggles, so this should be your most basic source of motivation, and you will try to protect your family and cherish each other. However, this should be the most instinctive tie, but it is actually the most difficult subject."
Kristen Steward played the key role of her sister Catherine too well, and in her eyes, her brother, who is a national hero, makes her proud even if he is just an ordinary soldier, but a family who truly loves him and cares about him, safety and health are always the most important first considerations. She knew in her heart that this brother, who was as stubborn as herself, would not be able to prevent him from returning to the battlefield even if he was forced to die, but she still tried her best to persuade him to try to get rid of the role of an active soldier.
The warmth of family affection is particularly shining under the contrast between the two, there will always be emotions in this world that are worth cherishing, even in the hypocritical and ugly society, in the dark night when you can't see your five fingers, there are always people who are sincerely loving us without hiding.
Sister played by Kristen Stewart
The praises and dazzling honors were based on the worst day of his life, when the cheerleaders girl Feissen was a page of truth in the falsehood, but in the end it was reduced to the sad product of the response to clinging to his heroic aura, and the sparks and expectations were real, but they were not entities that could actually be grasped, because these strange people only saw what they wanted to see, and only received symbols that were meaningful to them.
Why the film originally wanted to be made in the play will be so cheap, because the current American culture and consumers' cold feelings about the war on terror such as Iraq have led to the fact that the publishing industry and the film industry dare not invest too much in related topics, although their heroic pictures are accidentally captured by the news media, but at best they can only cause a temporary effect, and in a few weeks or days people will return to the previous attitude of ignoring it.
The so-called situation creates heroes, but how much resonance can this battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan resonate with the people of the big cities who are indifferent today?
Ang Lee has increased the proportion of her sister Catherine and the deceased chief Schlom, which is a part that I like very much, because the flat and direct passage in the original book is given a strong emotion by the director and the actors, and the fearlessness and majesty of the soldiers are not revealed in the novel of "No War in Half", but Ang Lee chooses to focus on the emotional portrayal that he is best at, and at the same time aggravates the irresistible reasons between staying and leaving.
But the shocking education that war brought to Billy Lynn was not something that today's hypocritical society could adapt to. In the real battlefield, everyone fights only for a breath of survival, and the emotions paid exist in every ruin and corner, while in the false United States, everyone lives by hiding themselves, seeing a trace of sincerity like a moth to a fire, where is the "going back", which is the "family", and where is the real belonging.
The intertwined techniques of virtual and real, the overlapping scenes of the past and the present, the hilarious and lonely shock, the contrast between sincerity and hypocrisy, the struggle and simple eyes, all made the author deeply moved, just like Ang Lee's previous works, even if they did not have much real special effects, even if they could not see Joe Alvin's goosebumps and Van Diesel's mouth acne, the author still respected and really loved this movie.
Poster for the movie Billy Lynn's Halftime Battle