前进天堂2002

After a long journey, finally the Sullivan family enters the United States. The director chooses to start the story at this moment. The moment for the family may be a chance to restart to some degree. And also to us spectators, it can be an easy resource to look into the protagonists’ life.

Johnny and Sarah, with their daughters Christy and Ariel, have settled in a tenement in Manhattan which is occupied by drug addicts and transvestites. However, they are still filled with joy. Sarah finds a job in a restaurant as a waitress to support the family while Johnny can go on taking part in screen test to try to get a role. Nevertheless, Johnny can never find the emotions that the stage director has expected. So he has faced a lot of failures.

With the story promoting, we are told that there is a heavy stone hanging over the family. It’s the accidental death of the young son Frankie. Everybody in the family feels sorrow and guilty. Though they seldom mention it, they haven’t forgotten it for even one minute. That’s the reason why Johnny can’t feel true feelings----he had lost them all at his son’s death. And the movie here brings out an other important protagonist---the Nigerian artist and photographer Mateo. His early actions make us think he is a ferocious guy. But the turning point comes at the Halloween Day. Christy and Ariel knock Mateo’s door for the tradition “thick or treat”. Mateo has treated the girls friendly. This makes the family gradually accept this black friend, even knowing he is dying of AIDS.

Sarah is pregnant again at the risk of losing her life. Mateo falls down stairs and his life is in an emergency situation. Finally, on the one hand a baby is born prematurely and in poor health. On the other hand, Mateo pays off the family’s hospital bill before he passes away. And at last, with the birth of the new baby and the death of Mateo, Johnny finally gets over with the Frankie thing and recovers the ability of feeling things.

Life goes on.

Despite of the various complicated emotions, at my point of view, love is the key word in defining the theme of this movie. Because of loving Frankie, the family has been in deep desperate. Because of loving his wife and daughters, Johnny tried to thrown the ball to the hall over and over again. Because of loving the family, Mateo has learnt how to open his heart and treat others kindly. Love exists everywhere, connecting the Sullivan family, the white and the black, the death and the alive. Love, like warm sunshine, has filled the crevices of people’s hearts.

Just as the <Bible > says:” Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends”.

Among the conspicuous protagonists, I prefer Christy most. Most people may love Ariel more for she is actually a cute and active girl. Compared with her, Christy seems to be inner going, silent and mature. With less unconscious words and less impulsive actions, Christy has adopted the camcorder to hide herself behind the lens. However, she is only a child. She believes she has been granted three wishes by her dead brother. She used to talk to Frankie at night until she realized she was talking to herself. She gave Mateo the CPR at once not considering his AIDS. She is used to keeping her feeling in her heart in order to comfort her parents. People are easily interested in Ariel. On the contrary, Christy’s sensibility demand is often ignored. This is an important factor that has influenced her character. All in all, she is a little girl who is kind-hearted, sensible and lonely. She is like the moon, not dazzling as the sun, still bringing the surrounding light quietly.

As her singing in the movie:
” Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate
It may be raining', but there's a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you, before it's too late”

That’s also what I have found from the movie. Love is a boat, driving our migratory hearts landing home.

看这部片子是在复读那一年 生不如死
导演把发生在自己身上的真实经历浓缩成了这部饱含深情的影片 片中那个小女孩让我不止一次地想到了自己：伤的最深 也藏得最深 最终她教会了我沉浸在这种悲伤中毫无意义 我们必须向前走 让明天的阳光覆盖昨天心中的阴霾
这一年 我考上了北大
希望更多的人能看到这部电影 在影片结尾处 擦干脸上的泪 和自己心中的Frankie说再见

这完全是一部欧洲人装比又蓄意贬低美国的电影。现在欧洲经济不好，每年以旅游为名混入美国的欧洲穷鬼千千万。但这些人到了美国以后又怀念欧洲的长假期，高福利等等，有意无意的不愿融入美国社会，把自己折腾的墙头草两边倒，不知如何是好的状态。从那个大女儿进入破烂公寓第一步时对小女儿说的：“你已经是美国人了？真恶心！”就能看出导演的用心。爱尔兰导演似乎很想显示爱尔兰人在美国人穷志不穷的理念，戏就开始越来越二了：已经没钱了，还全家去看电影避暑，就算没钱也要家庭欢乐的狗屁概念。这完全不现实，纽约一场电影一个人至少15刀，再加上吃冰激凌什么的，4个人100刀就没了。不过这只是装比的刚刚开始。。接着去游乐场转悠，把所有的钱都赌在一个破娃娃上，就为了所谓的欧洲爸爸的尊严。第一个奇迹发生了：跟死了的弟弟祈祷，把钱都赚回来了，女儿的娃娃也赢到了，似乎很有尊严的样子。但是想想如果都输了呢？全家住大街上，就有尊严了？接着又蹦出来一个要死的黑鬼艺术家，似乎还会点巫术，就更二了去了！！已经捉襟见肘了，又造出来一个小孩儿，还搞一破煽情：说什么孩子有问题也要生！这儿有明显是表达欧洲人尊重生命，没钱没命也要生的概念，简直纯扯淡！连自己都快养不活了，还弄出第三个孩子来，拿尊严喂呀？而且明明知道付不起医药费，还扯什么好运气。然后那个小女孩献血的时候说什么那些美国护士在笑但眼睛没笑什么的，完全是有意说美国人虚伪。你觉得爱尔兰真实，那可以回爱尔兰呀？美国没请你来呀？最后的扯淡高潮：那个黑鬼临死为死婴祈祷，满嘴巫语，然后死婴就活了，靠！然后医药费3万多刀，黑鬼也给付了。鬼信呀？难不成说多生孩子多好运气？再生一个谁给付钱呀？还靠奇迹付呀？
总之整个电影是纯扯淡，再加上中间穿插的刻薄的店主、学校里糊弄的颁奖，忘恩负义的流浪汉、冷漠的医院收银员，都是对美国人的一种鄙视和偏见。再加上宣传什么奇迹、巫术思想，完全二比！导演似乎很不情愿的挤出一个冰激凌店的黑阿姨是个好人。。。
在纽约呀，北京呀这种国际大都市里有很多这种人：想赚当地钱，又在心里不尊重当地人，满肚子都是抱怨，想靠什么奇迹、运气发迹，真是蠢到猪脑子里去了。导演还为这种人打气，更是把猪都蠢死了！二比导演，二比电影

好久没看电影了，也好久没有给出5星了，没想到，今天一给就是两个。
很感动的片子，不是简单的励志片而已，很感动的大女儿劝爸爸的话：不是只有你有压力，我也是，都一年多了！但是得要放下！（大概的意思吧）
面对压力，除了直面之外，还要选择必要的放下！
对Franki说再见！

买来很久的碟片
在家里的DVD机器坏了之后，一直都没有看
重新买来新机器
无聊中看了这部电影
懒得思考其中一些桥段的象征意义
只是简单地跟随着影片看下来
除了苦中作乐四个字
也就剩下顺应天命了

很多人都在讲
不用去做什么，有时候等待就是最好的选择
可是能够安心等待
并在等待中完成自己需要完成的事情的人
并不多
因为这是对心的挑战

对于人生
我们都是外来者
要在生活中存活下来
需要考虑的事情很多
需要适应的事情更多

我很喜欢影片中美国纽约曼哈顿的风景
很适合这个秋季
是的
1980年代
对我来说
就是一种秋季的味道

Time froze when Dad was throwing those balls. I put my heart and soul just want him to make it. I really thought he might got nothing and the family would lose everything. It was so depressed when I heard the 'Bang', which means that he didn't make it. We can't see the result but only listen to the sound. Great chapter. I gotta say.

Keep a hope. One can always work it out.