At this point in the movie, the protagonist's image is already very full, and the second character, his old classmate and boss, Mr. Director, also appears at this time.
"Thanks to your help, my grades are pretty good... I came to you to go to a theater. The Minister of Culture asked us to go there. There may be some arrangements which will be of great benefit to our career..." In a few simple sentences to exchange pleasantries, the personalities of the two have been compared: the director is more tactful and keen on officialdom.
The audience laughed as soon as such an image appeared: such a person is a villain at first glance. Moreover, when combined, such a person and the secret service will mess up everything, and absolutely nothing good will happen.
"That's the Minister of Culture. He used to be a member of us. Because of his hard work, he is now the Minister of Culture..."
In the theater, the director showed his attitude of being extremely concerned about his official career. His words also let whispered discussions begin to appear among the audience: People always have to say a few more words about such a villain.
While the chief and Wiesler were still talking, the curtain of the stage had already opened. The play on the stage began, and the camera zoomed from far to near the stage at once, and Theron's appearance clearly appeared in front of people's eyes.
In the movie theater, someone who didn't know who made a small exclamation: Even though she was wearing a simple worker's uniform and wrapped in a headscarf, Theron's beauty was still hard to hide. Seeing such a gorgeous beauty appear in the camera, it is difficult for the audience to keep silent.
"This is Christa-Maria Sieland, an actor with the national treasure level of East Germany." The director said. Such an actor is more than a national treasure of East Germany?
Not just the audience, it could be seen that the minister's face as the camera shot across the minister's face was also full of greed and fanaticism. Even Wiesler, who had been keeping his composure, took away his binoculars at this time and looked at Theron from afar.
The appearance of a beauty can change many things.
While Theron was still performing on the stage, the telescope's lens flashed to the edge of the stage, where another character appeared: the playwright Dryman played by Hugh Jackman, watched his own work, his girlfriend, behind the scenes with a focused face and a slight smile.
"That's Dreyman, Christa-Maria's boyfriend. He has a clean family background and is very popular with the Prime Minister." At
this time, the director is also introducing Dreyman. In his tone, there was some jealousy that couldn't be concealed: it's just that this jealousy, one can tell at a glance, stems from covetousness that Dreyman is valued by the prime minister, not from envy that beauties favor him.
Apparently, Hugh Jackman gave an excellent performance. With no beard, glasses, long hair, open suit, and white shirt, the image of an artist has been clearly revealed.
A beautiful actress and a dashing artist, these two people have won people's favor as soon as they appeared. There were even voices of admiration from the audience: Even in Hollywood, there are not many actors who are so beautiful and dashing.
Dryman looked at Christa-Maria in the background with a slight smile. Standing in a high place, Wiesler held a telescope and had a panoramic view of the two of them. At this time, the director was also summoned by the minister, and the dialogue with the minister had already begun.
"What do you think of that person?"
The minister's question was a little contemptuous, and the director immediately read out the minister's dissatisfaction. He seemed to have forgotten that it was he who said just now that Dryman was young and innocent. Once, as soon as he changed his words, he forgot what he had said.
"Maybe others will say that he is innocent, but I think there is a high possibility that he has problems." The director replied.
"What you said is very good. We should have this kind of vigilance. We can't take these people lightly." The minister patted him, very relieved, and when he turned around, the minister saw two people kissing behind the scenes, with obvious expressions on their faces. Changed, "Let your people check him. If they find out any problems, tell me as soon as possible." The director agreed, and at the same time, he raised his head and cast his gaze upwards. There, Wiesler stared at the stage; his eyes were as hawk-like as he refused to relax.
There will be a very interesting connection between them-the cold watcher, the cunning boss, and the artist; how will the relationship between these people be entangled?
And just after that, the stage changed to the ballroom.
Theron, who walked through the hall, got a full-body shot this time, and her red dress amazed people again. And just after the minister's brief speech, the conversation between the minister, Dreyman, and Christa-Maria also started.
"I still hope to cooperate with Jessica."
"There are many directors in our country; you can find others."
"Only he can understand me best..."
The conversation between Dreyman and the minister has already begun to show, Dreyman was dissatisfied at first, and the minister stretched out his hand to Christa-Maria while speaking at this time, but Christa-Maria just covered it up quietly, which made people more or less aware of something.
At this time, the audience also sighed a little: How can the woman who glides on the stage be so tactful?
At this time, Jack's role has also arrived.
"You quoted Stalin's famous quotes in your speech." Standing in front of the minister, Jack, who played the role of a reporter, mercilessly picked on the minister's mistakes. The minister's expression became gloomy, and his hands stopped.
Jack plays a reporter who has a fairly close connection with West Germany. This person was also one of the biggest triggers for Dreyman's transformation. With this identity, Jack performed quite well: the character has outstanding talent, but at the same time, he is bitter and mean. He handled this identity very well.
"We should start dancing." Seeing the minister's changing expression, Christa-Maria interrupted their chat. These words made the audience's impression better. Obviously, she still has her own pure and kind side.
In a scene in the ballroom, Dryman, Christa-Maria, Minister, and reporters all made their appearances. Different from the first Wiesler solo scene, this part has a large number of people, but it is also different.
While Dreyman and Christa-Maria were dancing, the camera turned, and it was Wesler who led the troops into Dreyman's house and began to set up monitors.
The extremely contrasting shots caused even a little commotion among the audience.
After laying out all the monitoring lines, Wiesler also raised his head and looked at the opposite room when he walked out of the room. Noticing neighbors snooping on their activities, he just strode over.
"Mrs. Feynman," Wiesler, who was standing outside the door, strode to the door, knocked on the door twice, and said directly, "If you say a word, your daughter, who is in school, will pay the price for this."
After saying a word, Wiesler turned and left. This simple shot also made Levi admire: In the original works he has seen, the actors have portrayed Wiesler very well, but when it is necessary to show the coldness and cunning of an agent, it is not fierce enough. And Spacey is obviously better than him in this aspect. He has played several perverted killers. A change in his eyes is enough for people to realize that none of the threats he said is false.
There is a process of changing the character of Wiesler from harsh to gentle. Levi noticed it and revised the script for this. He also noticed that Spacey used different acting skills to express it.
What followed was Wiesler's surveillance of the two of them. Dreyman's friend came to tell him the sorrow of being banned from creating, and then Christa-Maria gave Dreyman a gift, and the two talked about their emotions-these things were seen by the audience, and Wiesler is listening through the monitor.
The relationship between Dreyman and Christa-Maria is quite happy through a few simple gifts and a few warm conversations.
But immediately, Christa-Maria got into the minister's car. He heard a slight sigh during the show as they watched incomparably warm family scenes next to extremely dirty things.
The movie is full of contrasts - and Jack feels this too. When filming, he didn't have such an idea. Even he thought so, let alone the audience?
It wasn't just them who sighed, but also Wiesler. He recorded this, but immediately, the director came to find him.
"We can't record the boss's problems. These things have to be reported orally." The director was obviously dissatisfied with his approach, "It was my mistake to ask you to go to Dreyman, not to let you do these things. Keep an eye on Dreyman. Just keep an eye on him and record all his problems, which will be of great benefit to you and my official career."
"Official career?" Weissler asked back, "What about the oath? When we swore to be the sword of the motherland, What about the oath with the shield?"
"Is there any difference? To protect the boss is to protect the country."
The director didn't care and lowered his head to eat, but the brilliance in Wiesler's eyes dimmed at this moment.
For an idealist who considers himself serving the people, Wiesler has been able to carry out his orders because he is confident that what he is doing is beneficial to the country. But now, there is nothing wrong with the object of his surveillance, but the minister of culture is using his power to ruin the life of a happy actress. At the same time, his old friend, his old classmate, all he cares about is his career rather than the facts. He himself arranged to do this work not to serve the country but because of the minister's political success, asking him to frame others. This made him also start to doubt whether it was the right thing to do.
Confusion is the beginning of the transformation.
***
Watching the movie, Levi's focus is quite different from Jack's. What Jack looked at was the acting skills of the actors, while what Levi looked at was his movie, which was different from the original version.
In the original movie, the transformation of Wiesler was not clear enough. Using music and poems to complete the transformation of Wiesler is too divorced from reality. Some artists are self-righteous. This approach also makes many people not understand, and even there is the illusion that the protagonist betrays for the woman. When Levi was filming, he removed the part of the original poetry collection, which made Wiesler doubt his mission. In this way, Wiesler was transformed.
What makes idealists change is naturally the disillusionment of ideals.
Then, when the music played in Dreyman's hands, Wiesler gradually became excited when he was listening. At this moment, Christa-Maria said that she was going out to meet an old classmate, and Wisler's mood had sunk to the bottom.
This is not because of concern for others but because of self-doubt.
The change in this character is because he began to have doubts about his work and his ideals before he changed.
The key point of this movie is the transformation of the three people. How to make the three people change is an important task.
With the death of director Jessica, Dreyman also began his transformation. At the same time, when they were tempted, Wiesler also lets them go-this is the biggest turning point in the entire movie: Since then, both have changed.
In the original version, only the actors of Wiesler really stand out, but in this version, the three actors also show the changes in their lives.
Suffering the oppression silently, Dreyman broke out because of the death of the director he cooperated with; his personal changes have been highlighted. Levi cut out the poetry, and stopped letting the kids scold Wiesler.
The authenticity of a movie is often one of the essential criteria to measure the quality of a film. The art written by the screenwriters affects life. If even the children scolded the secret agents, although it is very romantic, it is too divorced from reality after all.
Levi's approach was still very successful, followed by Christa-Maria's transformation.
At this moment, Levi's hand was pinched, and Levi turned his head, and he saw Theron smiling at him triumphantly: This is her biggest gain from acting in this play, and now she also feels that the effect was reached: when Christa-Maria turned her head to go home, the immense laughter erupted in the theater.
Happiness is not easy to come by.
After she changed, it was Wiesler who got the evidence immediately, but when the director triumphantly promoted his practice of destroying artists, he flinched.
Once handed out, it will completely destroy a person and even ruin his happy life. And the reason for ruining a person's life is just because of his official career or the minister's desire? Wiesler couldn't compromise.
Therefore, he changed.
This institution, which was born for the sake of national security and to protect the people, is now being used in the wrong place. The idea of Wiesler becoming the sword and shield of the country no longer exists, and he is no longer interested in his work.
Wiesler's approach caused whispers and slight sighs to resound in the theater. People have seen Wiesler's changes from the movie's beginning to the present. Some people understand his approach, and some don't understand it, but people absolutely support his approach. The happiness of Dreyman and Christa-Maria is hard-won. Christa-Maria's struggle and introspection, and Dryman's forbearance and outburst, let people understand the hard-won love.
Immediately, the police came—Dreyman's article was detected, Christa-Maria was arrested, and the director asked Wiesler to interrogate Christa-Maria, which also made people's hearts hang again—Christa-Maria knew Wiesler.
Then, during the interrogation, after Wiesler kept hinting, Christa-Maria confessed.
"I still don't know whether Christa-Maria recognizes Wiesler?" Theron asked in a low voice beside Levi.
"Understand it yourself." Levi smiled: This place was originally a place for people to understand differently: people can have various ideas; it all depends on people. "Then, I believe she recognized it." Theron thought for a moment before saying.
The movie entered the police station, and the second search went straight to the place where Dreyman buried the typewriter. Dryman's disbelief, Christa-Maria's unbearable shame, and the director's ecstasy all changed with the moment the floor opened—there was nothing under the floor, nothing.
This huge surprise made the audience in the theater unable to restrain their emotions anymore. Some people even cried out in surprise, and their shock immediately became bigger—Christa-Maria, who rushed out of the door, was hit by a car.
The men who made major changes survived, but the innocent woman died. Such a result is somewhat darkly humorous.
The whispers of the rushing Wiesler did not change people's grief: people had thought of this possibility long ago, but it was only confirmed. Even the anger of the director and what happened to Wiesler did not make the audience change their emotions-the dead will always make people sad.
As soon as the camera turned, it was already five years later. The reunification of Germany and the disbandment of the Stasi resulted in a twist of fate, and Wiesler changed from an inspector who opened letters to a postman who delivered letters. And Dreyman had a new girlfriend and met the minister while watching a play. After a few words, he knew that he had been monitored, and then he began to explore how he was monitored in the past.
Looking through the documents one by one, Dreyman was surprised to find that his file had been completely changed. And when he turned to the last page and saw the red handprint on it, he understood something.
It was this watchman who took his typewriter, this man, who saved his life.
"I want to know who HGW-XX7 is." Dryman strode over to inquire, and immediately, he got the answer he wanted. As soon as the camera turned, when Wiesler was delivering newspapers through the streets, Dreyman followed him in a car. He looked at Wiesler's back from a distance and didn't walk over.
Two years later, Wiesler walked past the bookstore. Above the bookstore's advertisement is an advertisement for Dreyman's new book. Wiesler walked into the bookstore and picked up a new book. After opening it, it read, 'Dedicated to HGW-XX7 with the highest respect. Seeing this, Wisler's eyes warmed up, and he picked up the book and went to the counter. When the salesperson asked him if he wanted to wrap it up, Wiesler proudly raised his head, "No, this is for me." In
Dreyman's works, he once again saw the justice he pursued in his life.
The movie is over here.
The final subtitles are still being displayed on the screen, but the lights in the cinema have already been turned on. Jack stood up first: The movie is over; at this moment, it's time to exit.
But after he stood up, he realized that only a few people in the cinema stood up and walked out, while more people stayed in the cinema, waiting for the end of the subtitles without saying a word.
"What's the matter with them?" Jack asked back, a little puzzled.
"I think they want to see information about this movie," Michael said in a tone of disbelief behind him.
What better tribute to a film with profound content than silence?
There were no initial titles in this film. In order to ensure that the movie is more touching, Levi put all the credits at the end of the movie. Now that the movie has finished playing, every name is also appearing on the screen.
Director: Nicholas Levi
Starring Kevin Spacey, Charlize Theron, Hugh Jackman...
Photography: Wally Pfister...
Names appeared on the screen one by one. Be it the actors or directors of this film, most of them are newcomers. They have not had much work and experience before. This is their first work.
But this work has completely moved the audience. The audience stayed here to watch these because this movie has conquered them, and they are all eager to know which director made this work.
What makes an art film different from a popcorn movie lies in how the movie is evaluated. Everyone may love a big commercial production, but it is difficult to get unanimous praise from people. And an art film may not get the attention of many people, but after watching it, the audience has praise and respect for the film, which is the most important thing.
This movie has obviously done it-the audience's respect for this movie is already apparent.
"Nick, this time, your movie is a success." Behind Levi, Bob patted Levi, "Everyone loves it. This movie is definitely an unparalleled classic!"
*****
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