Have you ever been slapped? Own parents?
I have been fanned, not by my parents, but by myself.
Before the college entrance examination, my mood fell into a rage, but a math problem was like a mountain in front of my eyes, I collapsed, and I didn't know how many times I had hit my head and face in a mania, and the next day my face was still numb.
Being slapped by others, no matter in which country, is an extreme punishment and insult.
In World War II-era France, Jo, a Jewish boy, was slapped by his father and asked, "Are you Jewish?" ”
Joe froze in pain and consternation, he wept and hesitated, and said, "I'm not Jewish! ”
The "snap" was another slap, and the father continued to ask, "Are you Jewish?" ”
Joe replied, "I'm not Jewish!" ”
The father shot harder and looked even more frightening: "Are you Jewish?" ”
Joe's eyes were filled with tears, stubbornness, and persistence, and he replied firmly, "I am not Jewish!" ”
This is a clip from the 2017 feature film "A Bag of Marbles" by the French company Gaumont.
Maurice and Joe, Jewish brothers living in Paris, are arranged by their parents to go to the free zone of Nice to seek hope for survival in order to escape the increasingly bad living environment. In order to avoid Nazi inspection and not arouse their suspicions, the two brothers, who were only teenagers, joined hands with each other, carried cash, memorized the road map and the agreed time and place in their minds, and fled alone.
Thus there is the scene described above, in which the father slaps them and tells them that even in the face of the most terrible and brutal threat, they must grit their teeth and die without acknowledging that they are Jews, which is the most basic guarantee of survival.
It was this slap that made the brothers face Nazi questioning during their three escapes from Paris to Nice, from Nice to a small town in southeastern France, with the courage to mingle with a Nazi staff member, not to admit that they were Jews, to question him when confronted with a doctor who checked whether they had been circumcised to verify their Jewish identity, to ask him "do you know what to say" when he checked whether they had been circumcised to verify their Jewish identity, to seek the help of a priest, to issue himself a false certificate of baptism in exchange for his life, It was the father's slap that gave them the strength.
Joe said, "My dad told me not to look back when I walk, or you'll fall on a dog and chew mud!" ”
The father was well educated and successfully taught the children the concept of "going forward, don't look back" in the most simple language.
War is sinful, and children in war are the most vulnerable and innocent. Without war, Morris and Joe would have found simple and boundless happiness in a bag of marbles, but in the shadow of the Nazis, they could only exchange a bag of marbles for a yellow five-pointed star symbolizing the Jewish logo. Before leaving the house, Joe reached for the bag of marbles he loved, hesitated, and shrank back.
On the road to escape, marbles are not a necessity.
However, Joe still hid a marble on his body, and his father's instructions and this marble became his lucky star and internal motivation in the fight against fate, and he won by trying to survive.
Faith and love have always been the themes of "A Bag of Marbles".
On the way to escape, he meets countless kind people who save their brothers, the kind priest on the train, the cyclist who takes them across the blockade late at night, the doctor who clears their identities, the archbishop who gives false certificates... These seeds of kindness took root in Joe's heart, so when paris was liberated and the treacherous bookstore owner who took him in was faced with the reckoning of the people, he bravely jumped on the table and repeatedly shouted: "They have taken in the Jews!" I'm Jewish! ”
It is unforgettable that Joe's eager childish gaze at that moment, and it is also unforgettable that moment when the bookstore owner and his wife looked shocked, frightened, and ashamed. At that moment, I was really in tears because of the touch.
Although they embarked on the road of escape at the age when they were supposed to be in school, they did not feel resentful because of suffering at the urging of that slap, and lost the light of humanity, and their father's teachings and human kindness taught them to redeem and forgive.
There are many films depicting the Nazi persecution of Jews during World War II, compared to the waiting for redemption of the Jews in "Schindler's List" and the helpless escape of "A Beautiful Life", the Jews in "A Bag of Marbles" take the initiative to redeem themselves, there are struggles and resistances, showing the tenacity and strength of this suffering nation:
No matter how difficult it is, you must live!
(I'm Zhu Shiluo, a movie consumer, like to knit sweaters to watch movies, I hope you recommend good movies to me!!! ）