救世

干净利落的西部片，情节毫不复杂，所有出现的人物的作用和走向你都可以猜的到，麦斯老兄饰演这样的受虐倒霉蛋也是绝对得心应手无出其右，甚至结尾American Laws也一如既往的姗姗来迟，帮忙让大家来感悟到底何为正义，而这些我们姑且认为都是经典西部元素，不这么用都不好意思标榜西部片。好了，现在透过现象看本质，不知导演意欲何为，片子却让我想起了前些日子在飞赴非洲大陆途中一段闲聊，某位在非洲大陆跌打滚爬了许久的江湖老人家（新殖民主义老炮）告诉我，非洲的储油似乎还是超乎我们的想象，但是某些很多咱们中国哥们几乎闻所未闻的非洲国家，不知当地的总统是高瞻远瞩还是出于自私保位心理，就是和当地老百姓一起穷死也不开采，而据说他们的逻辑原因很简单：那黑色的黏黏的着起来火焰极其明媚的珍贵的油，如果开采出来，哪里出来哪里就会引来战争，哪里就会民不聊生.... 这是强加的给影片的概念还只是为了推动一下情节的发展呢？我不得而知了。

The US has been using its strengths in industries to further its national strategic objectives ever since it first embarked on the path of Empire two and a half centuries ago. The US movie industry is no exception to be exploited by this American imperial tradition. Nurtured in and nutritioned with the prolific home-market, and having grown prodigally in the first half the of 20th century to become a major cashcow of the US economy by the end of WWII, the US film industry has been employed since as a prominent tool to serve the US propaganda goals and further the US imperial narrative.

With the best staging money can buy (and it must be noted that the more money you have, the better staging you can buy; and the better staging you have in a movie, the more money you make. One should look no further than the intelligence-devoiding Hollywood visual extravaganzas, mostly sequels, which always haul in the most profit while breaking "box-office records", to appreciate this rule), and the unmatched shamelessness (the only truly exceptional trait of the Exceptional People) in appealing to the audience's baser instincts, the US film productions, unsurprisingly, have seduced and enthralled the gullible masses, around the globe, ostensibly for the Messianic goals of civilization, but in fact using the Satanic means of seduction, and achieved the Money-Changers' ends of self-aggrandization and destruction.

Using English, the Empire's language, the American narrative of the light and shadow is made into a narrow, crude, and monotonous one-way street dominated by crass stringent chauvinistic insensitivy: either you are with me, or you are against me; either you think and speak in the Empire's way, or you are a pagan barbarian, and your thinking and speaking do not matter and are wrong, categorically, and not even worth being looked at or listened to.

Nonethelss, amid and despite this crude and disgusting prevalency of the American narrative, other cultures are striking back.

This time, it is Denmark taking the lead, using no less than English itself, scalding bare the skins of American racism and American sanctimony-ism, revealing them for what they are: hypocrisies and double-standards that are parodying themselves.

The Dannish middle finger to the Americans is this: you think you are white? Well, sorry; we are Whiter. Since you think having fairer skin means having more superiority, we are, by God's will, which is the excuse you never stop resorting to in lecturing others, superior to you, so what about you people taking some raceo-culture put-downs from us?

Yes, you discriminate against the Jews; we could understand that, sort of. But you did not hesitate to rape the wife in front the child and kill the child in front of the wife of someone who is much Whiter than you. And you somehow invented the KKK? What is the problem with your American brains?

Well, the problem is actually no problem; it is just that the Exceptional People in the United States of America are hypocrites, and the kind invoking God's name all the time.

The sanctimonious sheriff no less appeals for "compassion" from the husband who had toiled in the desert for years to be able to get his wife and child from Denmark across the ocean and the country but had to finally see them raped and killed in front of him by licentious American outlaws for no other good reason than needing a fuck.

But this same "compassionate" and Lord-invoking "brave" sheriff did not hesitate to give an old woman and a disabled man to a murderous thug to be killed, so that the Sheriff could appease and satisfy the Outlaw.

This church-going sheriff, after having blamed the husband for not showing enough compassion in killing the outlaw who raped the wife and killed the son, somehow suddenly found the divine inspiration to reverse himself and claim the husband a hero, after seeing that the husband had killed all the outlaws so that the sheriff would not need worrying about retaliation by thugs if any other law-abiding citizen per chance did not show enough compassion to killers and rapists.

But only seconds later, God again showed his mysterious ways by making the American sheriff again reverse himself by declaring the soul of the just-made hero fosaken, sanctimoniously denoucing the husband, who had been deprived of his wife and son because the American sheriff himself and his gang were too chicken-shit to enforce laws, was somehow audacious enough to keep a White woman raised by Indians company since it was she who saved his life in his one-man fight against the outlaws when the American sheriff and his gang were too chicken-shit to go anywhere near the battlefield. Or maybe it was just because they had too much "compassion"? But why did not they show that in Ferguson, I wonder? God's will, I guess.

Of course, the Dannish production is as an austere and serious piece of film-making as I can think of. They would not be as untactful as their American counterparts, since they probably know that as crass in language and conducts as the Americans are to others, the Exceptional People always value "decency, civility, and politeness" in others when being spoken to; they do not, cannot, and will not see right from wrong in their own ways, but they will say that you are wrong if you point out that they are wrong, in clear and unambiguous language.

It is just like, if you say "fuck you", the Americans will object even if you did not fuck them. But if you fucked them, and did not say "fuck you", the Americans will take it in strides and probably will even express their pleasure and gratitude. The Dannish obviously took the latter course toward the Americans.

Last, but not least, to fend off nit-pickers, invoking a phrase that would make any American speech "decent", and thus "fit for the general audience", no matter its content or intent, as always done by America's Presidents, I say, God bless, and thank you for the "Salvation".

用知乎体去评价这部电影，估计会是这样，一部丹麦导演拍的丹麦男演员主演的南非取景的美国西部的反基督片。这里的关键词有丹麦导演，丹麦男演员，美国西部片，反基督。

美式英雄主义电影最早来源的就是西部片 — 快枪手，决斗，一个汉子，杀杀杀，要是手里拿个绳子能套住牛和羊之类那就更炫技了。
三四段埋伏的矛盾冲突，几场为呼唤观众高潮的决斗，再来个若干回合的抢妹子游戏，一个故事就这样欢快而愉悦的讲完了。这么看起来，这不就是近些年漫威出品的那些个电影的套路么？

当然，就像不能指望拉斯·冯·提尔能给你带来一部反映人性善的电影，你同样没法指望欧洲重艺术情怀的导演给你拍几部中规中矩，且三观都居中的电影。吕克贝松的情怀是都掉到好莱坞的“浅海”里。

然后让我们聊聊这部电影为何反基督吧。

1870年的美国，南北战争结束已经五年，退伍的丹麦裔士兵Jon在美国的中部地区一个小镇子谋生。他去镇里接从远方来的妻子和儿子，回乡下的夜路马车却碰到刚出狱的乡霸的弟弟。电影仅仅在开头十分钟是用明亮的色调，而后，这段回家路就随着夜幕地来临，逐渐演变成一条通往地狱的路。

半夜的赶车路上，Jon被踢下车，妻子被强暴，儿子被杀。愤怒的他，尾随着马路狂奔，筋疲力竭时，看到被扔在路边的儿子。他悲痛欲绝抱着儿子的尸体，追上了停在半路的马车，愤怒下，杀死两个恶人。天亮了，他带着妻子和儿子的尸体回家。他和他的兄弟一起埋葬了妻子和儿子。准备收拾行李，离开这个伤心地，去西部“淘金”。
丧妻丧子之痛才只是故事的开始。

而后大反派Delarue登场，这个人物的设定几乎是和古罗马时期的暴君相仿，手下养着一群打手(类似暴力机器)，镇长和警长在他的控制下，如同傀儡。当街乱杀无辜，老弱病残杀了一轮，镇上的人们是敢怒不敢言。

这种封闭的城镇设定，和电影里场景里黄沙漫天的布置，颇有种暗喻末世之感。

Jon来到镇里找镇长变卖房契，被镇长变相压低价格，从镇长口里得知他怒杀的人是乡霸的弟弟。麦斯·米科尔森在这场对话里的细腻演绎十分精彩，不动声色，几个眼神的变换就诠释了人物内心的暗涌。果然一出门，杀机四伏，主角跳离不得，一个回合就被警长带队的牛仔们所俘虏了。几个镜头转换，主角的主观视觉和远景的切换，四面埋伏的场景，颇有些黑泽明的味道。

剩下的故事是很适合观赏的西部牛仔动作片的风格，无非是主角先被反派虐，好兄弟来救场，成功救出，但也引来反派追杀。结果兄弟为了救自己，被仇敌所杀。主角恨与愤并集，再能力值恢复后，先杀帮凶，后备好弹药，单枪匹马杀回贼窝，全歼仇敌，报仇雪恨。有些西部片恶俗点，编剧也会顺手人情，让主角抱得美人归。（怎么感觉这故事发展下来不就是昆丁的强哥么。）

而本片出彩和不走寻常路的地方出现在女主角的设定，以及Jon和警长的两处对话上。
鉴于Eva Green都登上主海报，外加男主的妻子在全片10分钟即作古，戏份不多的她也理应被划归为女主角。
Delarue称呼他的弟媳为Princess，而她的真名叫Madeleine。 Madeleine这个名字，最早来源是Marie Madeleine，中文翻译是抹大拉的玛丽，她是新约里追随耶稣的第一个门徒。据说Madeleine被恶魔附身，耶稣从她身上除去了7个恶魔，而后开始追随耶稣。也有传说，她被恶魔控制，操着皮肉生意以满足恶魔。

再回到故事，Delarue的弟弟把Madeleine毁容，割了她的舌头，奸污了她。在趁Delarue出去追逃跑的Jon时，Madeleine趁乱逃走，但不幸被Delarue追回，被安排给他的打手们轮奸完，再处死。本片高潮部分，Jon血洗贼窝，并在机缘下，救了危难中的Madeleine, 在Jon与Delarue对决的时处于下风，是她及时出现，帮助Jon扭转局面。且之后主动放下手里的枪，甘愿追随Jon。

Jon和警长的两次对话，也十分具有暗示意义。第一次是Jon被警长捉住，在牢房里的对话。维护小镇安全的警长深谙，Delarue是个恶霸，只是要等一个时机去铲除这个毒瘤，但在那个时机未到时，只能让一些人牺牲。而这个人就是Jon。第二次是在毒瘤除去后，警长带着一队人马来到Delarue的地盘，感叹，等了这么多年，一直等着有一天，能有一个势力来把Delarue这个恶霸除掉，没想到Jon一个人就把这些人全杀了。还质疑Jon为什么不把Madeleine也杀了,并准备举枪杀了这个余孽。Jon和Madeleine用枪抵着警长，告诉警长她跟随自己，并让这群人滚出这个地盘。之后，他们两人就策马去西部。

电影的最后，镜头拉远，Delarue的那片废墟地上，变成一座座磕头机在踩石油。

The Salvation，宗教里指，从罪恶中拯救灵魂。

黄沙卷天的中部小城，只有以暴制暴才能换来一刻的救赎。那个所谓的暴力机器，即便看起来多么坚不可摧，让众人畏惧不已，有时候，一根针即能够让一面铁幕落下。

看了些本片的采访，电影在南非取景，经费有限的情况下，很大一部分依靠电脑特技来烘托场景，这个原因也导致大部分电影画面为了和这些场景色调相符，观看时会有种调色过度的感觉。