As the old saying goes, "A general will make a thousand bones dry", war is cruel, but the cruel war is often remembered for the meritorious people, who have a far better reputation after the war than the bloody soldiers. When people judge historical events, meritorious figures often occupy a large space, and soldiers on the front line are often reduced to a few numbers. If they don't deserve names, they don't deserve to be remembered by history? Decades ago, 29-year-old Kubrick didn't think so.
The film recommended to you today is called "The Road to Glory", which is a film made by Kubrick when he was 29 years old, this film shows us a small episode in the French camp during World War I, of course, in the eyes of later onlookers, this is indeed a small episode, but for those who participated in this "vignette" at that time, this event is simply the only thing in life, because of this incident, three soldiers were executed, just to maintain the dignity of their superiors.
The front-line battlefield was in full swing, the German artillery was in full swing, the French army wanted to break through the position easily, and the soldiers failed to charge several times, resulting in heavy losses. And Shangfeng had to find someone to take responsibility for this matter, and this sad task fell on the three unlucky eggs. They originally thought that the matter was just a formality, but in the end, in the court-martial, they could not defend themselves, and in order to maintain the dignity of Shangfeng, they were sentenced to escape from the battlefield and eventually executed.
It is a simple story, but also a complex story, and the simplicity of the story is that this phenomenon is everywhere, and in the summary of almost any war, there will always be one or two people who bear the main responsibility for the mistake, but the complexity of the matter is that this situation has not changed in the Western army for thousands of years. This is a tragic thing.
As mentioned earlier, a will become a thousand bones, this saying. From ancient times to the present, people's attention to soldiers who died on the battlefield is very low, but the officers who command the war can leave their names in history, which is a stubborn disease of mankind, of course, it is unrealistic to completely change this stubborn disease itself. We do not advocate a heroic view of history, but without the authority of the army, it will naturally not form a cohesive force. This is a dilemma, but even if it is a dilemma, when a persistent disease occurs, it is often necessary to eradicate the disease, rather than let it develop. Otherwise, the seeds of the army's defeat will be sown.
This film shows a small episode on the battlefield, and the core content of this vignette is Kubrick's reflection on the heroic historical view of war. Of course, in his twenties, To make such a film with profound connotations, Kubrick deserves our respect. The questions raised by Kubrick now do not seem to be black and white. There has never been an accurate answer to the dilemma, and this has been true over time.
The three scapegoat soldiers in this film are in an unfavorable environment for themselves, and the officers in the French camp advocate morale, but they are afraid of powerful artillery fire and delay in attacking, which is contrary to the morale of the soldiers. However, no one believes that the key to the problem is not the amount of morale, but the solution of artillery support. The issue explored throughout the film is the escapee, but the main contradiction in the escape is whether the strong artillery support can be sustained.
If the artillery support available to the French camp was continuous, then the soldiers would not face the reality of flesh and blood blocking the rumbling of enemy fire. Even in World War II, the armies of The European countries did not have much spiritual strength to push themselves firmly, let alone the First World War. This is the key point of this film.
The title of this film is also very interesting, "The Road of Glory" The glorious road of whose glorious road is the glorious road of the generals, for ordinary soldiers, this glory no longer exists, this glory is difficult to look back on, except for being in the list of victims, relying on the power of the cluster to seek proof of their participation in an event, most of the soldiers who died in obscurity, most of the soldiers who died in obscurity, most of them did not even cross the barbed wire and fell, they did not deserve their lives. Their casualties are only a series of numbers, if the war is won, they will be praised by posterity, and the defeated soldiers will only have cold numbers to replace their lives, and even remembrance has become a luxury.
The so-called "road of glory" is paved by heroes on the bodies of thousands of sacrificed soldiers, and when they step on this road to glory, not many officers like colonels will remember that these sacrificed soldiers are also alive. Empathy for their sacrifices is often shared by seemingly hostile people. The last scene in the bar looks a little magical, but it is real, and empathy comes from the same tragic fate, and this fateful grief is the most soothing.
Who will remember these soldiers? Who will give them a name, who will treat them as human beings, who will help them heal their wounds. The soldiers who died were not cold numbers, but they were more often never remembered.
……
Hello and goodbye