A long day still exists: the fruitless, restrained and passionate emotional dilemma of "two-way unrequited love"

From 65438 to 0989, kazuo ishiguro, a British Japanese novelist, won the British Booker Prize for "Today's Legacy". 1993, this novel was adapted into a movie of the same name, starring emma thompson and Anthony Hopkins.

Although the Chinese version of this film is Farewell to Sentimental Days, Sentimentality fixes the impression of the whole film in the category of ancient romantic movies, however, the love line between the famous Lord housekeeper Mr. Stephens and the housekeeper Keaton is very obscure, which may cause the imagination of the translation of Farewell to Sentimental Days-the vigorous love story spanning decades is completely different, and the feelings between the two are silent, and this is the contradiction between restraint and passion.

In addition to a feeling of regret, Traces of the Long Sun contains more elements, for example, the whole film is shrouded in the political atmosphere between the two world wars. Lord Darlington is a typical representative of traditional English gentlemen and nobles. He is a simple-minded politician. After the war, he frequently showed kindness to Germany, the defeated country, and the balance of power on the European continent was his vision. Therefore, he pursued the policy of appeasement and pushed Europe to war, which led to tragedy.

In Stephens, who is closer to real life, we can see his emotional dilemma, which is also the struggle of Keeton, the housekeeper. When faced with a feeling that is eager to grasp, should we bravely break through the rules of self and let the passion arise, or should we wait with restraint and lose it with regret in consideration of higher moral pursuit?

Slavery behind the "robot" housekeeper

Ironically, the film begins with the change of ownership of Darlington Manor. Lord Darlington, the "traitor" who got Britain involved in the war because of his kindness to Germany, became notorious overnight. At the meeting, he proposed to restrict Germany. Louis, an American who was laughed at by everyone, became the new owner of the mansion, while Lord Darlington's loyal housekeeper Stevens stayed and continued to work for Louis. With the memory of Stevens' later years, time goes back several decades.

Stevens is a very good housekeeper. He arranged everything in perfect order, from ensuring that the international summit held in the Lord's residence was foolproof, to interviewing new maids, and then to ensuring that everything was in place. All these, no matter small or big, reflect Stevens' well-trained work.

However, the price of being a housekeeper praised by the Lord is to be a "robot" with selfless feelings. It's not surprising that Stevens really showed excessive lack of desire. He consciously restrained his feelings, just to safeguard the dignity of the Lord. This is the premise for him to become a qualified housekeeper, and it is also his ideal of being willing to lose his freedom.

As Keaton said, Stevens never hired very beautiful maids, and he would never look at them again. Because Stevens knows that it will distract him from his work that never allows mistakes, and even ruin the ideal he pursues. Stevens didn't put personal affairs first in life. No matter 30 years ago or now, he still maintains a slave-like housekeeping system.

At the beginning of the film, Stevens needs to recruit a new housekeeper and assistant housekeeper, because the previous housekeeper eloped with the butler. Miss Keaton came to the mansion and was interviewed as a housekeeper. Stevens found that his father was a deputy housekeeper. And his interaction with his father portrayed cold blood to the extreme.

In his housekeeper creed, the desire for love is self-evident, and even the expression of family affection is not allowed by himself. When 75-year-old Stevens was obviously unable to undertake such a job and was ill in bed due to a stroke, Stevens negotiated with his father in a business-like manner and changed his work to the background. As a son, he didn't care during the conversation, which only showed that Lord Darlington's meeting was not allowed to make any mistakes. Old Stevens, as a housekeeper, understands his son very well and only urges him to return to his post quickly.

Old Stevens is getting weaker and weaker, and time is running out. Because Stevens was going to attend a meeting, kind Keaton offered to take care of his father. Stevens just said thank you in a formulaic way. He has little communication with his dying father. His father wanted to leave some messages for him, and he also prevaricated with "I'm busy now, I'll talk about it tomorrow morning". Is this indifference or his inner fear?

During the dinner, old Stevens died. Stevens did not leave his post immediately after hearing the news, and entrusted Keaton to help his father close his eyes. When he poured wine for the guests, he responded to their requests appropriately and took time to go back to his father's room. On the way, he also asked another footman to make hot water and send it to the billiards room. A politician wants to soak his feet.

Facing the comfort of the doctor and Keaton, he just said "thank you, I'm fine" flatly, as if it was not his father's body lying in bed, but just an unrelated person. Stephens didn't show sadness, but threw himself into his work quickly. He said that his father wanted him to be a qualified housekeeper and could not let him down.

Stevens didn't realize that he and his father were two generations of slaves. They are infiltrated and poisoned in the housekeeper culture, and their personal perception can never be awakened. They may still have feelings. They are eager for warm affection and passionate love, but they are afraid of this strong emotion from the bottom of their hearts, because it will change them and force their beliefs to collapse.

The contrast brought by miss keaton

As a housekeeper, Keaton and Stevens are in sharp contrast in expressing their feelings, and it is her arrival that shakes the rules that Stevens has been defending.

Stevens also showed the audience the internal system in the domestic culture. For example, in an interview, Keaton called the old Stevens who came to work with her by his first name instead of his last name, which caused Stevens' dissatisfaction. He told her coldly that it was an inappropriate performance. Because only the first name will produce intimacy, which is the shackles Stevens used to restrain himself and unconsciously suppress others.

Keaton is a man of flesh and blood. When Stevens ignores his father's deteriorating health, she will point out the mistakes made by old Stevens and tell him that Stevens should not force him to do such high-intensity work. Although Stevens used the lukewarm attitude of "I'm busy now, I'll talk about it later" to cool down Keaton's enthusiastic preaching, when old Stevens fell on the grass and broke his silverware, he had to face up to Keaton's advice.

And her influence on him is probably invisible to the audience. Restraint seems to have been engraved in Stephens' bones, and Keaton's emotional shock is not enough to melt the superficial indifference.

In the face of Lord Stephens' decision to fire two Jewish refugee maids, Keaton said angrily that if they were fired, she would leave this sense of moral justice. Stephens only said that she was very important to this mansion and left. When Keaton joked with Stephens and insisted on what book he was reading, they were so close that he dared not move; After Keaton promised to propose to Mr. Bain, Stephens was indifferent. She lay on the carpet and cried. Stephens only came in and said that there was a corner where the dust had not been cleaned, so she could go and see it tomorrow. Without comfort and care.

Although Keaton is a lively and human person, her feelings for Stephens also confuse the audience. Maybe the reason why she likes Stephens like a stone is just because his personality is completely different from hers. People always say that two people who love each other have complementary personalities, but this complementarity is a fusion of mutual "erosion". If Keaton takes the initiative 65,438+000 times, and Stephens is still a pair of unrelated things, they are not complementary in character, and they are simply incompatible.

I think Keaton is also trying to confirm Stephens' feelings for her. When she goes out to pick flowers, she will bring Stephens a bunch. Just like a normal partner, his room also has her breath, but Stephens still doesn't want to open up. She thought they were already close friends, but he clung to the romantic novel and didn't want to show any clues at all.

Originally Keaton wanted to stimulate Stephens by agreeing to propose, but he expressed his blessing in a little panic and turned away. Her crying when she returned to her room was also the highlight of the film Passion. She is probably extremely disappointed with Stephens, and she is also ridiculous about her stupid wishful thinking.

If he had been brave that day,

Stephens' memory ended with Miss Keaton's marriage and returned to reality. Thirty years later, he now wants to drive to Miss Keaton, who is already a woman, and ask her to come back to the mansion for help. However, their life trajectories will no longer coincide.

Keaton's marriage is unhappy. He is now separated from her husband. However, her daughter Catherine is pregnant, and her husband wants to take this opportunity to take her home to live. When he saw that his husband would even scratch his face when he was not at home, Keaton said that he still had to think about it, but his eyes could not conceal his concern for him. He needs her.

This also paved the way for her to meet Stevens again and refuse his request. In the end, this cross-time relationship ended in vain, which may not be called love, but the truth and inner feelings can only be understood by Stevens and Keaton who killed their lives because of restraint.

Stevens said more than once that "this mansion needs you", which can't be said to be an implicit confession. His voice-over is actually "I need you". It was his excessive suppression of his lust that made Keaton choose a husband who bluntly showed that "he needs her" thirty years ago.

Finally, the scene of leaving the station on a rainy night is also a very classic scene. Keaton stood in the car, and Stevens stood under the car to hold an umbrella for her. Knowing that they will never see each other again, the two have tried their best to hold hands. Keaton's crying and Stevens' melancholy are their last intersection, and they will never get out of their emotional predicament.

I wonder if Stephens ever blamed himself after Keaton got married and left 30 years later. If he had bravely thrown away the useless bondage at the critical moment of life for the sake of love impulse, would they all be happier? It was his cowardice that led Keaton to spend the rest of his life in an unhappy marriage, and his absurd superstition also ruined his love. For a long time, Stephens has forgotten what feeling is, and his habitual restraint has overwhelmed him. Whether 30 years ago or now, Keaton's appearance has restored his perception a little. It's a pity that he still can't overcome the indifference trained by culture and system.

It's been a long time, but it's all over.