"Wading in the Sea of Wrath" is a thought-provoking film that shows a special and poignant fatherly love through Lao Jin, played by Huang Bo. This kind of paternal love is not warmth in the traditional sense, but more like an attachment to cognition and experience. A sentence I'm all for your good, how many Chinese children's childhood nightmares?
Through the sentence "How dare he touch my old Jin's daughter", the film profoundly reveals that the story is not just a simple revenge plot. The hero's character flaws originate from his original family, and his father's self-motivation makes him chase the murderer for thousands of miles just to maintain his dignity. The daughter's endurance and pleasing in the family gradually sank and dedicated, and the revelation of the seventeen knives was even more palpitating.
Love?No", as soon as the line came out, it was like an electric shock, which was shocking. The superb performances of Huang Bo and Zhou Xun are in stark contrast, and the overall rhythm is very tightly grasped, creating a strong sense of oppression. The chess opponents of the two actors make the plot of the film even more gripping, and the audience is unable to extricate themselves.
Lao Jin is not the worst father, not the kind of irresponsible man, but his love for his daughter Nana is very special. His concern is more based on his inner understanding, such as fishermen's children should be able to swim, cover with cool towels to reduce fever, and children should study abroad. This paternal love is not concrete and personal, but is based on social experience and traditional ideas.
Nana didn't really feel her father's personal love when she was growing up, but was molded into a template that conformed to Lao Jin's cognition. Her problems such as vomiting when drinking soy milk and being afraid of the sea did not arouse Lao Jin's real concern, because he was more concerned about a vague father's love that was in line with his cognition.
The most uncomfortable thing is that when Nana encounters difficulties overseas, Lao Jin's anger is not for the daughter herself, but for external factors. He didn't blame his daughter for her bad studies or trouble, but vented his anger at outsiders who caused trouble for her. The direction of this anger does not really touch the father's concern for his daughter's individual life.
What's even more heart-wrenching is that after learning that his daughter is in trouble, Lao Jin's determination to let go. He is willing to sacrifice his life at all costs, even to avenge his daughter. While this determination is staggering, the absurdity and extremity of it are deeply poignant.
This special fatherly love revealed in the film causes the audience to think about the more cruel parent-child relationship in reality. In contrast, although Lao Jin is flawed, at least he does not ask for compensation and money like some rotten fathers, but directs his resentment at those who have caused harm to his daughter.
However, this is also deeply frustrating. In real life, there are many girls' fathers who are not even as good as Lao Jin, but the girls have finally completed self-redemption by virtue of their strong growth. This is undoubtedly a pain point of a social phenomenon, and people can't help but feel sad for these girls who can't get real love.
Wading Through the Sea of Wrath, through the character of Lao Kim, it profoundly shows a unique and heartbreaking fatherly love. In the movie, the audience felt a deep reflection on family, traditional concepts and individual emotions, and at the same time, they silently shed distressed tears for those girls who faced the lack of father's love in reality.
Lao Jin's obsessed paternal love with social cognition is actually a kind of enslavement of traditional values. Instead of really caring about his daughter's individual needs and emotions, he portrayed her as an image that matched his perception, ignoring her existence as an independent individual. This limitation of paternal love is vividly presented in the film, which makes people deeply reflect on the traditional concept of patriarchy.
The audience's feelings for Lao Jin are both sympathetic and dissatisfied with his narrow vision. The "love" he pursues is more like a conformity to social norms than true fatherly love. Through this image, the film raises a profound and painful question to the audience: should society's definition of fatherhood be more individualized and pay attention to the real needs of children?
Lao Jin's determination and violence in the movie, although it shows a desire to protect his daughter, also reveals an extreme tendency towards domestic violence. He is willing to sacrifice everything for his daughter, but he ignores the importance of authentic communication with his daughter. This depiction reminds the audience to a certain extent that excessive parental protection can also lead to children's upbringing difficulties as much as relying too much on traditional ideas.
"Wading through the Sea of Wrath" profoundly understands the family relationship through the image of Lao Jin, and we need to re-examine and define what true fatherly love is, so as to better meet the growth needs of children and achieve the harmonious development of the real parent-child relationship.