"NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN" IS A MOVIE THAT MAKES PEOPLE "SMILE" AFTER THE FACT, ALTHOUGH THERE IS ACTUALLY NOTHING FUNNY ABOUT IT.
FRIENDS WHO ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE COEN BROTHERS' PREVIOUS WORKS MAY FIND THAT THIS FILM SEEMS TO BE A COMPOSITE ENHANCED VERSION OF "BLOOD LABYRINTH" AND "FARGO". NO MATTER THE THEME OR THE STYLE, "NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN" HAS MAINTAINED THE CONSISTENT BLACK HUMOR SPIRIT OF THE COEN BROTHERS.
SOME PEOPLE MAY WANT TO STAND UP AND OBJECT: HOW CAN SUCH A HORROR AND BLOODY MOVIE BE FUNNY? WHERE IS THE HUMOR? AS FAR AS THE INTUITIVE FEELING IS CONCERNED, IT IS TRUE: WATCHING A GUY WITH A HIGH-PRESSURE GAS CYLINDER AND A LARGE-CALIBER SILENCER RIFLE COLLAPSE ALL OVER THE WORLD, NO ONE CAN LAUGH AT HIM.
HOWEVER, BLACK HUMOR IS HUMOROUS PRECISELY BECAUSE IT IS GOOD AT MAKING A FUSS ABOUT "BLACK". "BLACK" REPRESENTS DEATH, WHICH IS A TERRIBLE AND FUNNY REALITY, AND "HUMOR" IS THE MOCKERY OF THIS REALITY BY INDIVIDUALS WITH WILL.
WITH A SLIGHTLY "MALICIOUS" AND "CRUEL" ATTITUDE, THE COEN BROTHERS RIDICULED THE PLIGHT OF ALL THE CHARACTERS IN THE FILM INDISCRIMINATELY, EMPHASIZING THE ABSURDITY OF THE WORLD WE LIVE IN. IN SHORT, THE FILM DELIBERATELY FACES THE TRAGEDY OF THE CHARACTERS WITH A MOCKING ATTITUDE.
NOW THAT WE UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF BLACK HUMOR, LET'S ANALYZE IN DETAIL WHERE THE HUMOR IS IN THIS FILM AND WHAT THE DIRECTOR WANTS TO EXPRESS THROUGH THIS HUMOROUS MEANS.
(1) "HIS PRINCIPLES FAR OUTWEIGH MONEY AND DRUGS"
THERE IS A JOKE ABOUT THE GOD OF DEATH THAT GOES LIKE THIS: HENRY IS THE FINANCE OF A COMPANY, AND HIS MEXICAN BOSS CALLED HIM TO THE OFFICE TO DISCUSS SOME AFFAIRS THAT DAY. BEFORE HE SAT DOWN AND SAID A FEW WORDS, THE GOD OF DEATH SUDDENLY KICKED IN THE DOOR AND SHOT THE BOSS IN THE THROAT.
JUST AS THE GOD OF DEATH WAS FASCINATED BY WATCHING THE BOSS'S THROAT CREAKING AND BLEEDING, HENRY BEHIND HIM ASKED TREMBLINGLY: "ARE YOU GOING TO KILL ME TOO?" THE GOD OF DEATH WOULD TURN HIS HEAD AND SAY, "IT DEPENDS. I JUST WANT TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE KILLED ME, HAVE YOU SEEN ME?"
EVERYONE MUST HAVE NOTICED THAT THIS COLD HUMOR COMES FROM THE PLOT OF THE COLD-BLOODED KILLER ANTON SEAGER SHOOTING AND KILLING THE BOSS WHO HIRED HIM IN THE FILM. ANTON SEAGER CAN ONLY BE SUMMED UP IN ONE SENTENCE: EVERYONE WHO SAW HIM DIED-HE WAS DEATH HIMSELF.
THE PERSON WHO KNOWS ANTON BEST IN THE WHOLE FILM IS CARSON WELLS, WHO MAKES HIM ALSO A KILLER. CARLSON, WHO WAS HIRED TO TRACK DOWN ANTON AND THE MONEY, WAS A CLEVER AND HILARIOUS CHARACTER WHO BYPASSED ANTON AND WENT STRAIGHT TO LLEWELLYN MOSS, WHO WAS LYING IN THE HOSPITAL.
CARLSON COMMENTED ON ANTON IN THE HOSPITAL: "HE WILL NOT MAKE A DEAL WITH YOU. EVEN IF YOU GIVE HIM THE MONEY, HE WILL STILL KILL YOU BECAUSE YOU MAKE HIM SPEND A LOT OF TIME. HE IS AN ALTERNATIVE, AND YOU CAN EVEN SAY THAT HE VERY PRINCIPLED, HIS PRINCIPLES ARE WAY ABOVE MONEY OR DRUGS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, UNLIKE YOU. NOT EVEN ME."
IT IS NECESSARY TO SAY IN FAIRNESS THAT THE TITLE "REAPER" WAS NOT COINED BY ME, BUT BY ANTON SEAGER HIMSELF. ANTON REGARDS HIMSELF AS THE MASTER OF OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES. HE KILLS PEOPLE, BUT HE ALSO FREES THEM - AS LONG AS YOU GUESS THE HEADS AND TAILS OF THE COIN CORRECTLY, YOU CAN STILL SAVE YOUR LIFE.
THE LOGIC BEHIND ANTON'S COIN TRICK IS OBVIOUS: DON'T ASK HIM IF YOU WANT TO LIVE, IT'S NOT THAT HE WANTS TO KILL YOU, BUT GOD WANTS TO KILL YOU. ANTON BELIEVES THAT HE IS THE EXECUTOR OF NATURAL WILL, AND IF THE PREY IS UNLUCKY AND GUESSES WRONG, HE CAN'T BLAME HIM FOR DOING IT.
FACING SUCH A KILLER, ANYONE WOULD BE HYSTERICAL, BECAUSE NO ONE CAN ACCEPT THE FACT THAT THEY ARE BOUND TO DIE. CARLSON AND LLEW AILIN REFUSED TO GIVE UP THE IDEA THAT THEY STILL HAD A CHANCE TO SURVIVE WHEN THEY WERE DYING. ONE SAID THAT THEY WOULD GIVE MONEY TO ANTON, AND THE OTHER SAID THAT THEY WOULD KILL ANTON IN TURN.
BUT ANTON LAUGHED AT THEIR ABSURDITY: "PEOPLE ALWAYS SAY THE SAME THING, THEY SAY: 'YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS'". ANTON'S TASK IS TO DISPEL THEIR "UNREALISTIC" THOUGHTS AND TELL THEM: ONCE YOU HAVE A PREMONITION THAT YOU MAY DIE, THEN YOU WILL DEFINITELY DIE.
THIS FEELING IS A BIT LIKE WHEN YOUR GIRLFRIEND TELLS YOU "BREAK UP! GIVE UP!" YOU JUST DENY IT IN EVERY POSSIBLE WAY, UNWILLING TO ACCEPT IT, AND ALWAYS THINK THAT SHE WILL COME BACK. THIS EXAMPLE IS NOT GOOD, BUT THE POINT IS THAT WHEN PEOPLE DENY THE FACT THAT THEY ARE MORTAL, IT IS SUCH A HYSTERICAL STATE.
THEREFORE, ANTON ALWAYS "KINDLY" COMFORTED HIS PREY. HE SAID TO CARLSON: "YOU SHOULD ACCEPT YOUR CURRENT SITUATION, THEN YOU WILL HAVE SOME DIGNITY." CAN WIN EVERYTHING."
THIS KIND OF ARROGANT SELF-CONFIDENCE MADE HIM FINALLY FOLDED ON LLEWELLYN'S WIFE CARLA KING, WHICH WE WILL ELABORATE ON LATER.
(2) "COINS DON'T MAKE DECISIONS, YOU MAKE DECISIONS"
WHEN THE OLD SHERIFF INSPECTED THE SCENE OF THE DRUG DEALER'S FIRE, HE SAID: "THIS KIND OF PLACE WILL HAPPEN SOONER OR LATER." WHAT KIND OF PLACE IS THIS KIND OF PLACE? WHAT IS THIS KIND OF THING? TO FIGURE OUT THESE TWO POINTS IS TO STUDY THE COLD-BLOODED KILLER ANTON SEAGER THOROUGHLY.
THE CALM COMMENT OF THE OLD SHERIFF AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FILM, IT IS HARD NOT TO REMIND PEOPLE OF THE VERY SIMILAR OPENING OF "BLOOD MAZE". THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT THE SYMBOLIC MEANING OF THE DESOLATE SCENE IN TEXAS SHOWN IN THE OPENING SCREEN IS AMBIGUOUS IN "BLOOD LABYRINTH".
"BLOOD LABYRINTH" IS THE COEN BROTHERS' VIRGO, AND IT IS INEVITABLE THAT THERE WILL BE MORE OR LESS FLAWS AND REGRETS WHEN DIRECTING FOR THE FIRST TIME. SO IN "NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN", THEY SAID EVERYTHING THAT WAS NOT CLEAR IN "BLOOD LABYRINTH".
IN THIS FILM, THE GEOGRAPHICAL ENVIRONMENT IS A VERY IMPORTANT BACKGROUND ELEMENT. IN LITERATURE AND FILM, GEOGRAPHY CANNOT SIMPLY BE UNDERSTOOD AS MOUNTAINS AND RIVERS, IT ACTUALLY ENCOMPASSES EVERYTHING THAT SHAPES THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE-MATERIAL, CULTURAL, ECONOMIC, PSYCHOLOGICAL.
NOW LOOK BACK AND THINK ABOUT THE DESOLATE SCENE OF TEXAS IN THE FILM: THE YELLOW AND VAST PLAINS AND HILLS ARE LIFELESS, THIS IS THE TERRITORY OF HUNTERS, AND IT IS A WORLD OF BEASTS WHERE THE WEAK AND THE STRONG PREY. THE PEOPLE WHO GREW UP FROM THIS LAND ARE NATURALLY STURDY AND CRAZY IN THEIR BONES.
REMEMBER WHAT LLEWELLYN MOSS WAS DOING WHEN HE FIRST CAME OUT? HE IS HUNTING. IF LU AILIN IS THE "WILD HUNTER", ANTON IS THE "CITY HUNTER". THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO IS THAT LLEWELLYN'S PREY ARE ANIMALS AND ANTON'S PREY ARE HUMANS.
SO FAR, WE CAN DRAW A CONCLUSION: WHAT THIS FILM DESCRIBES IS A CRUEL "NATURAL SYSTEM". IN THIS SYSTEM, LAW AND ORDER HAVE DISAPPEARED, AND HUMAN CIVILIZATION HAS RETREATED TO THE ERA OF THE WEAK AND THE STRONG, AND ONLY VIOLENCE RULES EVERYTHING.
THE BIGGEST BLACK HUMOR IN THE FILM IS: WHILE YOU ARE HUNTING PREY, YOU ARE ALSO THE PREY OF OTHERS. THE ANTELOPE WAS LLEWELLYN'S PREY, AND LLEWELLYN WAS ANTON'S PREY. THIS IS AN INTERLOCKING FOOD CHAIN WHERE BIG FISH EAT SMALL FISH AND SMALL FISH EAT SHRIMP.
SO IT'S NOT DIFFICULT FOR US TO UNDERSTAND THE OLD SHERIFF'S JOKES ABOUT THE MEXICANS KILLED BY ANTON: "IT SOUNDS LIKE THESE GUYS DIED OF 'NATURAL CAUSES'... WHICH IS VERY NATURAL FOR THEIR BUSINESS GONE."
THE LAW OF THE JUNGLE IS THE ONLY PRINCIPLE THAT ANTON SEAGER ABIDES BY, BUT IT IS A PITY THAT HE THINKS HE IS THE GOD OF DEATH, HE FORGOT SUCH A THING, HE IS NOT AT THE TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN. SO DURING THE RESISTANCE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FILM, ANTON WAS WOUNDED BY HIS "PREY", LU AILIN WHO WAS ALSO A HUNTER.
HOWEVER, IT WAS KARA KING WHO REALLY MADE ANTON REALIZE THIS. ANTON ASKED A MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTION FOR LU AILIN: EITHER YOU DIE; OR YOUR WIFE DIES PLUS YOU DIE. LLEW AILIN CHOSE THE LATTER, SO ANTON MUST FULFILL HIS PROMISE - KILL KARA KING.
KARA KING REJECTED ANTON'S COIN-GUESSING TRICK BEFORE SHE DIED. SHE SAID: "I KNOW VERY WELL WHAT IS IN YOUR HEAD. I WILL NOT GUESS. COINS DON'T MAKE DECISIONS. DECISIONS ARE MADE." YOU."
THIS SENTENCE IMMEDIATELY CLARIFIED ANTON, AND ANTON REALIZED THAT HE WAS NOT THE GOD OF DEATH, BUT HE WAS JUST "PLAYING" THE GOD OF DEATH. IN ESSENCE, HE IS NO DIFFERENT FROM THOSE HE KILLED. HE IS ALSO THE PREY OF OTHERS, BUT THIS "OTHER" IS MORE ABSTRACT.
AS THE SAYING GOES, "GOOD AND EVIL WILL BE REWARDED IN THE END, AND THE WAY OF HEAVEN IS REINCARNATION. IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME, LOOK UP AND SEE WHO WILL BE SPARED BY HEAVEN." THIS TIME, ANTON FELL INTO THE HANDS OF "HEAVEN". AFTER COMING OUT OF KARAKIN'S HOUSE, ANTON DROVE ACROSS THE INTERSECTION AND WAS UNEXPECTEDLY KNOCKED OVER BY A CAR RUNNING A RED LIGHT.
ANTON, WHO WAS BLOODY AND BLOODY, CLIMBED OUT OF THE CAR, BOUGHT A SHIRT FROM TWO CHILDREN RIDING A BICYCLE, TIED IT UP, AND FLED THE SCENE IN A HURRY. AT THIS POINT, THE STORY WOULD BE MORE INTERESTING IF SOMEONE COULD RECALL THE BLOODY LLEWELLYN BUYING A COAT FROM SOME OF THE YOUNG MEN.
(3) "YOU CAN'T STOP WHAT'S COMING, AND THEY'RE NOT WAITING FOR YOU"
THE THEME OF "NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN" IS THE DECLINE OF CIVILIZATION, WHICH IS ALREADY SO CLEARLY POINTED OUT IN THE OLD SHERIFF'S OPENING TITLE AND MANY LINES IN THE FILM THAT I DON'T EVEN NEED TO EXPLAIN IT. SO HERE ARE SOME OF HIS ORIGINAL WORDS FOR REFERENCE:
I ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR THE STORIES OF THE OLDER GENERATION, AND I NEVER MISS THE OPPORTUNITY. YOU CAN'T HELP BUT COMPARE YOURSELF TO THE OLDER GENERATION AND WONDER HOW THEY KEPT ORDER IN THE PAST.
NOT LONG AGO I PUT A BOY IN THE ELECTRIC CHAIR WHOM I ARRESTED AND TESTIFIED AGAINST. HE KILLED A FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD GIRL, AND THE PAPERS SAID IT WAS JUST A MOMENT OF LOSS OF CONTROL, BUT HE TOLD ME IT WASN'T A LOSS OF CONTROL. HE TOLD ME HE'D BEEN PLANNING TO KILL FOR AS LONG AS HE COULD REMEMBER, AND THAT IF THEY LET HIM OUT, HE'D KILL AGAIN. HE SAID HE KNEW HE WAS GOING TO HELL AND STAYED THERE FOR ABOUT FIFTEEN MINUTES. I REALLY DON'T UNDERST DON'T UNDERSTAND.
THE WHOLE WORLD IS MESSED UP, AND I'M SPEECHLESS ABOUT THESE THINGS. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? LAST WEEK THEY FOUND A COUPLE IN CALIFORNIA WHO.
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