Smell a Woman is a classic American film about a weekend work-study college student and a blind retired military officer in his care. The film was first released in 1992, but thirty years later, the film is still widely acclaimed, with a Douban rating of 9.2.
On the surface, this film tells the story of a person whose sense of smell becomes particularly sensitive because his eyes cannot see, but in fact, it is about two men who can be father and son of a father and son at a very different age, and when they encounter setbacks in life, they help each other, and finally they all come out of the trough of life.
Charlie, a young college student, witnessed the pranks of several students on campus at night, and the principal asked him to tell him who the students were and to expel him if he did not. Charlie was in distress and didn't know whether to say or not to say.
Charlie's family was poor, his father died, and the family was supported by a convenience store run by his mother and stepfather. In order to ensure the completion of his studies, Charlie needs to work part-time to earn money in his spare time. On the weekend when he was in trouble at school, his classmates from wealthy families went on vacation, while he came to work in a family to earn living expenses.
This time his job was to look after a retired military officer who was blind in both eyes, Sfarland. Lieutenant Colonel Sfaran, who had been An aide-de-camp to General Patton, had a promising future, but his bohemian personality caused him to blow himself up and cause him to lose his sight. Living in darkness every day, Farran became grumpy and languishing.
He was bent on dying, but he felt that it was too much of a loss to die like this, and he should revel in it once before dying and enjoy it. His wish was to spend the night in New York's most exclusive and luxurious hotel, have a big meal, meet his brother, dance a tango, make a chick, and drive a Ferrari sports car. When all this was done, he used the pistol he had brought to blow his head off, and he died.
But these things, a blind person obviously can't do it alone, he has to have a person to be his "guide dog" to guide him. That's why he hired Charlie.
After Charlie and Farran arrive in New York, Farran begins to do what he wants to do one by one, and in the process, Charlie gradually feels the helplessness and personal charm of Farran's irritable personality. When he learned of The Idea of Suicide, Farland could have gone.
But the kind Charlie couldn't bear to do this, and he stayed by his side, making him happy, and doing everything he could to prevent him from committing suicide. When Farland cried out hysterically with tears in his eyes, "I live in darkness, I'm a waste," Charlie patiently comforted him.
Sfaran said that his wish was to have a favorite woman by his side every morning when he opened his eyes, and Sfaran encouraged him to be able to do what he wanted. Because Stefland has a lot of advantages: he's handsome, he's charming when he's tango jumping, he's cool when driving a Ferrari sports car.
The manic Farland gradually calmed down and dispelled the idea of shooting himself. The two leave New York together, with St. Farran returning home determined to live well, while Charlie returns to school to continue his studies while facing a severe test that life has given him.
The school held a general meeting to deal with the pranks of the students, and Charlie, out of righteousness, refused to say the names of the students who participated in the pranks, and the principal decided to expel Charlie. At this time, Lieutenant Colonel Stefland came to the venue, and as a friend of Charlie's parents, he argued for Charlie's reasoning, forcing the school to retract the decision to expel Charlie.
From this story, I saw the brilliance of goodness in human nature and the beauty of helping each other.
More importantly, I learned that when life is at a low point, we must see our own shining points to encourage ourselves to live.
Just like in this film, Colonel Sfaran lost confidence in life because he was blind in both eyes, and it was the young Charlie who told Sfaran that he had many shining points that others did not have, which gave Sfaran the confidence and courage to live again.