When talking about Hollywood legendary filmmakers, “Old Cowboy” Clint Eastwood is definitely a topic that cannot be avoided.
Although Clint Eastwood is over ninety years old, he is still struggling for the film industry at an advanced age and has occupied his own place in film history.
From “The Mule” in 2018 to “Richard Jewell” in 2019, to this year’s “Cry Macho”, 3 new works in four years.
Clint Eastwood has dominated the film industry for 60 years and has too many titles and praises to describe his achievements in the film industry.
He went from being an actor to a Western film superstar, and then from being a popular niche to an award director.
The works starring or directed by him have always been regulars on the major movie charts.
The Western classic “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, and the “Million Dollar Baby” that won 4 Oscars…
It can be said that Eastwood is one of the few people who has achieved great success in both the fields of actor and director, and has a very long artistic life.
In addition to Eastwood’s amazing talent in directing and acting, his talents in other fields are equally enviable.
He loves music, so he makes a big splash in his movies.
Not only did he organize the music creation of films such as “Mystic River” and “Million Dollar Baby”, he even showed his voice in the film “Bronco Billy”.
The episode “Bar Room Buddies” directly rushed to number one on the country music charts that year.
He loves sports, especially golf.
Although not comparable to real professional athletes, in the film industry, there are definitely very few people who can beat Eastwood.
At the same time, he also owns his own golf course-Tehama Golf Club in California.
He advocates freedom. In addition to telling the thinking about the current society in the movie, he also served as the mayor of Carmel, a coastal town in California between 1986 and 1988.
Eastwood tried to use practical actions to change the political landscape of the United States.
He has a steady personality, a wide range of hobbies, a passion for career, and a sense of responsibility for life.
All the excellent qualities that a person can have, as if Eastwood has them all.
It is no exaggeration to say that Eastwood may be the most perfect symbol of the American spirit.
As an actor, Clint Eastwood starred in a series of the most glamorous masculine roles: western cowboy, police detective, boxing coach, astronaut and so on.
His extremely broad shoulders and exquisite face not only reveal a touch of heroism, which makes the audience fascinated, but also interprets the American spirit of freedom and bravery.
Especially the dashing knight with a hat, a cigar and a revolver in his hand, has achieved the most classic cowboy image in history.
As a director, Eastwood always likes to use small people as the protagonists of movies.
In the classic movie “The Bridge of Madison County”, the heroine is just an ordinary housewife. In the daily depressive life, an “unusual” love has developed.
In “Million Dollar Baby”, 30-year-old Maggie works as a waiter in a restaurant, eating leftover burgers from customers, and is eager to succeed in the boxing ring.
Eastwood’s little-person movies mostly weaken the sense of technology and form, and pay more attention to the story and sociality of the film.
When Eastwood broke the inherent ideas of genre films and cruelly presented his characters to the audience.
We will find that this country on the other side of the ocean is not so unattainable, and there are many unspeakable conceals hidden under the bright appearance.
If Woody Allen’s film is a ruthless deconstruction of American intellectuals.
Then, Clint Eastwood’s film is a self-reflection on the national character and national spirit with the screen image of small people.
People say that Eastwood has a young heart and never seems to accept the old.
But looking at most of the films he directed, we will find that he has been transforming in recent years.
His self-directed and self-acted “Unforgiven” ended his own western era.
“The Mule” focuses more on the inner world of the protagonist Earl.
“Richard Jewell” reflects on the current era through the downfall of “heroes”.
Perhaps even he himself realizes that he is no longer the passionate young man who has never moved forward, and he has to learn to accept who he is now.
And this kind of “old and old” state is especially obvious in his new film “Cry Macho”, which he directed and acted in this year.
“Cry Macho”, which was released simultaneously on the North American Academy Network last week, tells the story of an old tough guy who travels to another country to pursue his true self in a new adventure.
But the audience can clearly see the director’s “excessive heart but insufficient energy”.
First of all, there are only a handful of fighting scenes in the whole work, and the protagonist Michael’s “heroic twilight” can be seen in almost all conflict scenes.
Related Post: Clint Eastwood’s new film “Cry Macho” revealed the official trailer.
Especially the trembling section of Eastwood catching chickens is especially distressing.
Secondly, the film has played down the dramatic conflicts of previous road films to a large extent, mainly showing the process of continuous reconciliation between the old and the young during the journey.
However, the too straightforward villain and the slightly plain story make the new work too idealistic.
Although the charming Mexican landscape in the second half of the film gives the film a layer of “fairy tale” color, it also lacks a layer of practical significance compared to the director’s previous works.
It can be said that in “Cry Macho”, that kind of heroic twilight and unfettered interaction, people not only feel that Eastwood also has a day of “serving the old”.
But what is worth thinking about is that when we watch this new work, we can still intuitively feel the continuation of Eastwood’s movie style.
Because the little characters in the film are always unwilling to be bullied by the society, they always present a romantic heroism at some point.
This is the cowboy legacy of Eastwood in early western movies.
We can still feel the strength and courage of youth in his works.
Today, 91-year-old Clint Eastwood is still using his favorite movies to experience life.
Although he also knows that he is very old, he still wants to continue making movies, because making movies is his entire life.
