HLX1992

Today I watched the film for the second time along with my friends. After so many years, most details of the film have faded away from my memory, leaving only blurring sihouelletes. The altruism of the Stasi agent is one of the only impressions that remained unwashed before the revisit. However, this time what attracted my attention was not only the heroic act of Wiesler, but more keenly on the living state of those who suffered from a Orwellian society that they had no power nor courage to change.

The main factor that may have reshaped my impression towards the film is my visit to North Korean last year, a regime whose first name is also "Democratic". As a consequence, I have had this surreal experience while those characters are walking around those bleak stone buildings in the dead of night, since I have also tried, albeit the discouragement of my guide, to take a walk on the street in Pyongyang after dinner. The tram, the quiet pedestrians who walked around, the deadly atmosphere were somewhat ignited in me, though most of them do not really bear any resemblance to the scenes in the film. My guide panicked after my disappearance from the hotel for about 15 minutes and summoned a few other guides to search for me. I was duly admonished on being found, and reminded that secret police might also be wandering the streets at the same evening, expecting an unexpected encounter with some hapless tourists who dare to step outside the prescribed realm. I was only to learn the story of Otto Warmbier after my brief adventure into the heart of DPRK, which gave me quite a shock when I look back at some of my casual behaviors that could have been perceived as disrespectful.

I have gone on a tangent line here. I don't think it's a movie review anymore.

Morale of the story:

If you can't fight them, join them.

Exploring the dark side of human beings is never a pleasant task. A group of scientists, however, decided to take on the challenge. They offered every participant a daily wage of 1000 dollars, and divided them into 2 groups, who would be playing roles of inmates and wardens respectively. The seemingly innocuous beginning was soon followed by chaotic incidents, in which the personalities, mostly on the negative sides, of all participants gave themselves free vent. Naturally, we were witnessing some ugly behaviors from those who conducted themselves in their daily lives. The film serves as an admonition against our dangerous inclination to fall for the evil forces and lose our true aspirations in life.