The film "Driving for Miss Daisy", released in 1989, won the 62nd Academy Awards for Best Picture, Actress, Screenplay, Makeup 4 Awards, the film tells: an elderly Jewish old woman Daisy, the son is not assured that she is driving, invited the black old Hawke as a driver, 25 years, the two from the master servant to the story of the year-old friends.
The film is adapted from a play and is set in the late Second World War, when the United States was divided into different racial classes of white and non-white due to the outbreak of the Civil War (Civil War), forming a system of apartheid.
Race issues have always been a hit at the Oscars for Best Picture, because peace is always what people expect and aspire to. The 86th "Twelve Years of Slavery" and the 91st "Green Book" Oscar For Best Picture are all films about racial contradictions in the United States, and we can think of "Green Book" as a remake of "Driving for Miss Daisy", but the difference is that the whole film does not erupt in any conflict and contradiction to emphasize the inequality caused by segregation, but instead is more like a "Bucket List" movie, a bland and warm plot, a warm black man slowly touching the self-respecting, stubborn and miserly Jewish old man.
It is worth talking about that Daisy's actor Jessica Tandy has reached the age of 80 and has ascended to the throne of the Oscar queen by creating a rich and full character image with superb acting skills.
<h1>The changes in race relations are reflected through the relationships of the characters in the film</h1>
Daisy was a rich and noble Jewish woman who, because of her old age, mistook the reverse gear for forward gear when driving, and the car slid into the ditch, but he blamed the car for something wrong, so his son hired a black driver, Hawke.
Daisy has an eccentric temper, is cold and serious, and does not smile; Hawke is enthusiastic and likes to joke.
Hawke arrives at Daisy's villa to start working, but is treated coldly, does not assign him any work, does not allow him to chat with his black maid, and does not allow him to touch his garden.
The enthusiastic Hawke took the initiative to find something to do, polish the chandelier, add new paintings to the corridor, etc., but was reprimanded by Daisy, who would rather make a tram to the store after the cleaning supplies at home ran out, rather than let Hawke pick himself up, targeting him every time.
turning point:
Daisy found that there was a can of cans missing on the counter, and she thought that Hawke had stolen it, and told her son that Hawke would not admit that he stole it, Hawke came to the villa, not only took the initiative to admit that he ate the can, and bought a box again, since then Daisy has changed her mind about him, and gradually began to accept Hawke and regarded him as a friend.
Began to teach Hawke to read and read, gave him exercise books, after the death of the black maid, Hawke often came to the villa to visit Daisy, buy her favorite coffee, in Martin Lu Deggin's speech, never cared about the black woman, took the initiative to go to the party, after Daisy could not even eat with a fork, Hawke personally fed her, this picture is somewhat tearful.
From initially disagreeing with each other to finally becoming each other's best friends, the friendship between the two bypassed personality conflicts and racial discrimination.
Before the Civil War began, blacks and other races became slaves to whites, and with the end of the Civil War, the North won, slavery was lifted, apartheid was established, and then apartheid was lifted, and the racial issues between blacks and whites were "nominally" free and equal.
25 years of time, from the master servant to the best friend, the film also reflects the changes in racial relations through this friendship, at the beginning the relationship between the two is like the identity of white and black, one is noble, the other is a slave, white people reject black people; and then slowly accept, and finally become a best friend, symbolizing the step by step change of racial relations, which is also the director's hope to resolve racial issues through the lens Process and method, but also with longing.
<h1>The simple inserted footage reflects the problem of racial segregation</h1>
The film does not use deliberate conflicts and contradictions to promote racial relations, but uses tiny shots to tell the story.
Daisy decided to visit her 90-year-old brother from afar, and while stopping on the side of the road to rest and eat, two white police officers came to patrol, and after Daisy and Hawke left, the two said: It is rare for an old Jewish woman to sit in the same car with a.
When Hawke stopped to solve the internal emergency, Hawke said: At the gas station, black people can't use the toilet.
At the end of the film, Martin Luther King, the leader of the black movement, is integrated to interpret the theme of the film.
There is a similar scene in the movie "Green Book", black people are not allowed to eat in restaurants, can not live in white accommodation areas, and all the active areas of black people are somewhat clearly divided.
In the early years of racial segregation in the United States, the seating and use of public places was distinguished between white and non-white people; men and women of different races were not allowed to love and marry freely; segregated races could only move in fixed places, and so on.
Even after Daisy and Hawke had known each other for many years, the two dined at separate tables.
The director used almost negligible small problems to insert the camera to reflect racial issues, and although with the abolition of slavery, the idea that "white people are noble, black people are inferior" has not changed.
epilogue:
What has to be amazing is that the script and directing technique of the whole film reflect the racial relations in the real society of the United States with the friendship of two elderly people, and elevate tolerance and communication through friendship to the key to resolving racial conflicts.
There is no ripple to tell the film, not even a climax, everything is very plain, but it deeply grasps the audience's heart.