"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), directed and played by Ben Stiller, is adapted from the original novel of the same name, but has undergone significant changes. These accusations live up to the film, about the spirit of American adventure that has always been emphasized, and from the story of growth (Bildungsroman) in perspective, the positive significance that adventure pursuing can be revealed.
The protagonists of growth stories often experience setbacks in real life. At the beginning of the story "The Great Adventure of the Dreaming King", the life of the hero Walter Mitty is usually stiff and lacks confidence and courage. He loves his girlfriend Cheryl Melhoff (played by Kristen Wiig), but he doesn't have the balls to go after her, and only makes friends through dating sites. In this close-up shot, Walter's hesitation with his fingers when he presses a button on the Internet reflects his shy personality. The boredom in Walter's life is also reflected when he walks through the cold and boring design corridors. A person who has never made waves in his life can only satisfy his desires by daydreaming. This daydream also allows the director to hang around in front of the camera, creating all kinds of fantasy, thrilling and funny scenes. From heaven to earth, space and time are constantly shifting, sometimes the fire field saves puppies, sometimes "fantasy hardships", sometimes bonds of ice and snow, sometimes Spiderman's upper body, not only meets the needs of moviegoers who pursue sensory stimulation, but also shows commercial calculations that Hollywood movies can't avoid. It is worth mentioning that the director connected the lenses of reality and fantasy in a seamless way, making it difficult for viewers to distinguish between right and wrong, and they plunged into their predetermined fantasy world.
The protagonist of the growth story sets out on an adventure unsatisfied with the actual environment. In the process, he often meets several guides to help him complete the journey in various ways. In "The Adventure of the King of Dreams," Sean Penn's photographer, Sean O'Connell, is such a guide. Due to negative No. 25 missing, Walter needs to track down Sean, which becomes a chance for him to start an adventure. Among them are scenes of highly symbolic illusions. Under Walter's gaze, Sean's fingers suddenly swing through the photo, making gestures, as if to move the protagonist to embark on his life journey. After finding Sean, his attitude towards life - not considering utility in everything,
As for Cheryl, who also plays the guide, the phrase "Life is about courage and going into the unknown" (Life is about courage and going into the unknown) is the most straightforward, but it is also the theme of the entire film. Cheryl is the actor's favorite object in reality. Under the reverie of love, she played the role of encouraging the actor to embark on a journey with courage. He sang David Bowie's "Space Oddity", which moved the actor. Regardless of the danger, keep jumping on the helicopter prime mover. Cheryl's face that turned into the sky when the actor was riding a bicycle can also be said to be the impetus for him to keep going.
In addition, Shirley MacLaine plays Walter's mother, although not many roles, but in terms of the structure of the growth novel, she also acts as a positive counselor. Her affirmation of the actor's abilities, her encouragement of him, the recovery of a discarded wallet and her negative recovery No. 25, all of whom played a key role. After Walter chats with her, she decides to go out again to find where Sean is.
The growth story emphasizes that the master's mind will change after the experience, and the individual will become more mature. After the trip, Walter changes his usual attitude, no longer daydreaming, but facing life. In the past, he had only fought company executives who were hostile to fantasy, but now he bravely expressed his views; in the past, he could only embrace beautiful women through fantasy, but now he is taking the initiative to date. The way the image contrasts can also be seen in the scene where Walter walks near the giant "Life" magazine poster next to him. On the poster, you can see a photo of Walter in an astronaut costume, and the text: "The Brave" "Making of a Brave Man" (Making of a Brave Man). Space exploration generally symbolizes human passion and courage. This illusory design not only shows that Walter will embark on an adventure like an astronaut, but also echoes the reality of Walter's appearance on the cover of "Life" magazine in reality. What is no less interesting is that in colloquial expressions, English has the term "exit space", which refers to a state of soul loss in people's minds, and both are related to space. In this way, the film's narrative content relating to space can be compared to Walter's daydreaming state of distraction, creating an additional layer of interpretive enjoyment. The hostile supervisor laughs as Walter is daydreaming: "Ground Control to Major Tom" comes from the lyrics "
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The film ends like this: In fact, Walter and Cheryl are walking down the street together, and they find the latest issue of "Life" magazine with Walter on the cover. The end of a growth story generally is that the owner returns after the experience, gets what he was after, or is better able to integrate into society, but there are also many growth stories with bad endings. However, from the point of view of market considerations, in order to meet the expectations of inertia for a happy ending for the public, it is understandable that this film chose the general reunion model in Hollywood. In the same way, for a pleasant visual effect, the lens does not focus on the adventures and hardships that are common in growth stories, but rather shows beautiful views of rivers and mountains. From Greenland, Iceland to the Himalayas, melodious music in the background, viewers follow the steps of the actor, under the lens of the eye receive scene after scene of beautiful scenery. Is the heroine's pretty skateboarding style along the beautiful landscape, really fantasy? Does it also entrust teenage romantic dreams to the reality hypothesis? Does it express an adult's memory of the past - a collective memory? It is important to sit with the words and act, but dreams also have a subtle role in catalyzing behavior. really fantasy? Does it also entrust teenage romantic dreams to the reality hypothesis? Does it express an adult's memory of the past - a collective memory? It is important to sit with the words and act, but dreams also have a subtle role in catalyzing behavior. really fantasy? Does it also entrust teenage romantic dreams to the reality hypothesis? Does it express an adult's memory of the past - a collective memory? It is important to sit with the words and act, but dreams also have a subtle role in catalyzing behavior.