There are many films set in World War II, and because of the different perspectives and concerns, the themes of World War II films are also diverse.
There is the cruelty and humanity of war, such as Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan.
There are poignant love in the fires of war, such as "Atonement" and "Pearl Harbor".
There are unbreakable family or friendships, such as "A Beautiful Life" and "The Boy in the Stripes of Pajamas".
Without exception, most of these World War II films are depressing and dark, more or less with a sense of cruelty and fear caused by the war.
The movie I'm going to talk about today is very different from them.
In terms of tone, the film is dominated by warm colors. If you remove the war part, it will make people think that this is a road movie that shows the natural beauty of France.
In the storyline, there is no continuous artillery fire and bloodshed, there is no dark concentration camp life, and the usual is full of impermanence.
Is this movie glorifying war?
Of course not, although the film does not have a positive depiction of brutal war, people who have seen it can still feel the cruelty and fear of war everywhere.
But what makes people feel even more deeply is the brilliance of humanity in war and the hope for the future in disaster.
"A Bag of Marbles"
A Bag of Marbles is based on the autobiographical novel "Marble bags" by French writer Joseph Joof, that is, the film is based on real people.
This is not the first time that "Marble bag" has been adapted into a movie, as early as 1975, "Marble Bag" had a film version.
The film tells the story of Joe's escape experience during World War II, and the children's perspective makes the film less sad and more warm.
Joe had three older brothers, and because Henry and Albert were much older than him, he had the best relationship with his younger brother, Maurice. The two go to and from school together every day and play marbles together.
Joe's parents run a barber shop in Paris, and the family lives a warm and loving life. But this ordinary happiness was still shattered by the Nazis who occupied France.
Before the Nazis could begin to arrest Jews, Joe's father could say to the Nazis who were insulting Jews, "There are Jews sitting in this room."
Later, the Nazis demanded that all Jews must sew a yellow six-pointed star on the left chest of their coats, and the Jewish disaster came.
Joe's father decided to let the family flee separately and agreed to meet in Nice. The youngest Joe will flee with his younger brother Maurice.
Before they set out, Dad warned them that they should never admit that they were Jews under any circumstances, for life was more important than anything else.
The brothers boarded the train according to the route map their mother had marked, and when the train arrived at the station, it was inspected by nazis. In a panic, a priest helps them get through the confusion.
In order to cross the river, Joe listened to a "scalper" Raymond and gave him two thousand francs.
The thrifty brother expressed his displeasure with the younger brother's practice of listening to strangers: we spent two thousand francs, was it great?
The optimistic brother said: We still have eighteen thousand francs!
When they crossed the river in the middle of the night, they found that the "scalper" and the others were asking for only 100 francs, including free children. But anyway, they crossed the river safely.
On the way to Nice, the brothers met all kinds of people who drove by, most of whom took the initiative to take them for a ride.
Although these people talked and laughed in the car, Joe saw their fear of war in the eyes of these people.
Along the way, when there is no hitchhiker, they can only walk. When Joe couldn't walk, Maurice would carry him on his back and tell him that as an older brother, he was even willing to carry Joe to the end of the world.
Young Joe did not yet understand the meaning of fleeing, and he regarded it as a journey. There is no school and homework, no parents and teachers to discipline, only free and unrestrained running.
In Nice, the family was reunited safely. The sun, the beach, the smile of the family, such ordinary happiness but so rare.
Joe and his brothers bought a violin for their mother, but the sound attracted the police. After a short reunion, the family was separated again.
Joe and Maurice were sent by their parents to a government training camp for young soldiers. Once out, they were arrested.
Those with them were shot because they were Jewish, and Joe and Maurice were also suspected of being Jewish by Nazi officers. No matter how much the officers interrogated them separately, they insisted that they were not Jewish and that they were Catholic.
During the physical examination, Dr. Rosen, who helped the Nazis, helped them, and the doctor told Joe that he had to survive before going to the camp.
The Nazi officers told Maurice to go to church to find proof of their brothers' baptism or send Joe to a concentration camp.
With the help of the church priest, the two men finally picked up a life and returned to the cadet training camp.
Meanwhile, their dad was arrested and sent to Auschwitz. Because of their father's arrest, the brothers once again embarked on a journey of escape.
While waiting for the end of the war, Joe was taken in by a pro-German bookstore owner as a newsboy, while his brother Maurice secretly helped the civil resistance.
Finally, Joe waited until the end of the war. When Joe saw that the bookstore owner had been arrested, out of kindness, Joe told everyone that the store manager had taken in a Jew during the war, that is, himself.
It was then that Joe could finally proudly say he was Jewish.
In Paris, the family reunited, but Joe's dad never came out of Auschwitz again.
"A bag of marbles" was given to him by Joe's little friend Zerati. Perhaps seeing Joe being bullied by his classmates for the six-pointed star, Zeratti exchanged a bag of marbles for the six-pointed star on Joe's clothes.
A bag of marbles is synonymous with kindness and hope in the movie, although Joe did not bring this bag of marbles with him on the way to escape.
"A Bag of Marbles" is not deliberately sensational, but it still makes people cry. For joe and Maurice's brotherhood, for strangers to help the bravery and kindness.
Without the comfort, encouragement and companionship of his brother Maurice, Joe might have lost the courage to live in pain.
Without the kindness of all kinds of strangers along the way, Joe and Maurice would have been almost impossible to reach their destination safely and reunite with their families.
Although the film does not show the cruelty of war in a positive way, it shows the displacement and turmoil of a family in war.
In peacetime, it is perfectly normal for families to be together, but in times of war, not only is it a luxury, but survival becomes difficult.
The constant flight of Joe's family and the death of Joe's father are the biggest indictments of the war.
Fortunately, war has its cruel side, and there is also the bravery and kindness of human nature that cannot be destroyed by war.
Because he was helped by many strangers in World War II, Joseph Joof remembered the light of humanity in war.
This light, though faint, illuminated Joseph's life.