Chương 106: Premonition
Intense and explosive war scenes could truly send one's adrenaline soaring. It was the subconscious feedback of the human brain after receiving visual stimuli.
The fierce counterattack by "Coon-Ass" and "Gordo" immediately suppressed the German positions.
Norman and "Wardaddy" were filled with anger, continuously picking up their weapons and firing at the enemy. In the crossfire, this place seemed to have turned into a hell on earth...
The shaky and realistic camera shots, the turbulent and uneasy atmosphere, even the melodious symphony seemed unfamiliar, as if the entire battlefield was shrouded in an impenetrable haze of smoke.
The warm colors that pervaded under the setting sun quickly turned into cold tones with a blue hue. Despite it being daytime, there was no trace of hope.
Everything became stern and sharp, and each character's freeze-frame close-up conveyed a sense of determination.
Bella's body shook with the movements on the screen, forcing her to adjust her sitting position once again. Her hands tightly grasped the armrests of the seat to calm herself.
Her brain stopped thinking as all her energy, attention, and thoughts converged on the big screen. A sense of tragic destiny gripped her heart, but the emotions deep inside her could not be released; she could only passively follow the director's shots and the characters' perspectives, step by step, witnessing the unfolding tragedy.
As more and more German soldiers sacrificed themselves under the tank's barrel, they gradually regained their composure.
With greater numbers and decent equipment, though lacking tanks like Fury, they didn't have to cower here as targets.
As the scattered German soldiers attacked from the residential area towards them, the "Wardaddy"'s defensive pressure increased significantly.
However, the first to bear the brunt were "Coon-Ass" and "Gordo", who were operating the tank. Several German soldiers bypassed the front barrel and raised their iron fists.
With a loud roar, the tank's track broke, rendering it immobile.
"Coon-Ass" kept cursing but didn't stop his actions. He continued to adjust the tank's turret and fired with firepower.
The Germans naturally wouldn't miss such an opportunity. After the tank became immobile, there was a very effective tactic to deal with this iron behemoth.
Thus, several German soldiers climbed up the tank from behind and threw hand grenades into the tank's cockpit.
Norman watched helplessly as the tank Fury was destroyed, feeling somewhat dazed.
He seemed to have returned to his first time on the battlefield, with comrades constantly firing, and enemies attacking and killing his comrades.
"Wardaddy" also lost control; he held a machine gun, propped on hastily built sandbags, and vented his fury with a fierce hail of bullets.
With the largest "enemy" tank that blocked the German advance now destroyed, they had no more worries.
A large number of German soldiers rushed up, and in a moment, several German fists found their mark on "Wardaddy" at close range.
Fortunately, some sandbags blocked part of the attack. Although he was riddled with shrapnel, "Wardaddy" did not die immediately.
Weakly, "Wardaddy" took out a pistol from his waist, still insisting on loading it with bullets despite the continuous flow of blood from his body.
Seemingly unconscious, he raised the pistol to retaliate and shot at the emerging enemies.
His actions finally brought Norman back to his senses. Braving the enemy's hail of bullets, he ran to "Wardaddy"'s side, pulled him up, and took cover behind the nearby fortification.
"Wardaddy" looked at him weakly and told him to run, to go back and find reinforcements.
But Norman refused to do so; he didn't want to leave his comrade, even if...
Even if it meant dying and never seeing his mother again.
He seemed to have come to a realization. No matter what "Wardaddy" said, he was unwilling to leave.
Instead, he fetched a first aid kit from the team's supplies.
Administering morphine, Norman injected a needle into "Wardaddy"'s arm.
As the day grew late, the sun was almost setting.
The battle outside was still ongoing. After briefly tending to "Wardaddy"'s wounds, Norman returned to their defensive line.
Now, they only had one final defensive position left. Norman looked at his remaining two comrades.
Without speaking, they stubbornly continued to retaliate.
The outcome was naturally unfavorable. The German forces easily broke through the last line of defense.
As the three retreated, the buried second landmine defense line suddenly exploded.
The German offensive was momentarily halted as they hesitated, wondering if there were more mines ahead.
Unfortunately, this hesitation didn't last long, and they cautiously moved forward.
Back and forth, the two sides engaged in another firefight. By this time, night had fallen, and visibility was low.
But the Germans showed no intention of stopping; they continued to advance.
Soon, the two comrades huddled in a corner were hit by stray bullets in succession. Not wanting to suffer, one of them knowingly facing certain death, used the last bullet in his weapon on himself.
Norman also got injured; in the darkness, he couldn't see which stray bullet hit his right arm.
The moment he was hit, a piercing pain surged, causing sweat to form on his forehead involuntarily.
He took a few breaths, trying to ease the pain.
Then he ran to "Wardaddy"'s side and found him alive, albeit weak.
"Wardaddy" sensed movement, opened his eyes, saw Norman, and didn't struggle. He let Norman support him and ran to a corner of another building.
The two of them leaned against each other, calmly embracing... death.
"The rhythm of the film's shots began to slow down," Bella whispered.
In the final closing scenes, the camera's pacing clearly eased, and the color palette became even more desolate. It perfectly depicted the composed scene of the two embracing death. Coupled with the German soldiers frantically searching outside, it accentuated the contrast between the moments of action and stillness.
This director had indeed made great progress. With just this one scene, he could evoke an inexplicably complex emotional response in the audience.
Bella couldn't explain clearly how this strange feeling arose, but the series of shots filmed by Lyman, combined with the heavy and slow-paced soundtrack, complemented each other perfectly.
Especially when "Wardaddy" ignited the hand grenade at the end, the soaring explosion represented the end of everything.
Regarding the characters portrayed in the film, Bella felt a slight sense of regret. The entire Fury squad paid the price of their lives, yet it was somewhat tragic that half a month later, Germany would surrender. Was their steadfastness worth it in the end?
Perhaps a direct retreat at that time would have been a better choice, but there were no "ifs".
After pondering for a moment, Bella set aside these melancholic thoughts.
Although the film subtly hinted at this, it had a rather amusing dramatic effect.
However, there was no denying that they didn't compromise; they resolutely fulfilled their duty as soldiers until the end.
Their actions might have been foolish, but surprisingly touching.
As the film ended, Bella had little interest in attending the premiere's press conference.
She was most concerned about the director of this film, Lyman, but she could also tell that he wasn't fond of dealing with the media and rarely accepted interviews.
She estimated that during the upcoming press conference, he would probably just say some perfunctory words.
Being a director was a behind-the-scenes profession, and he seemed to prefer it that way.
Putting away her pen and notebook, Bella sat in her seat, prepared to leave with the audience after the event, while reminiscing about the movie she had just watched, "Fury", and contemplating how to write her review.
The excellence of this work was beyond doubt, and Lyman's directing technique had become even more mature and adept. Not to mention the actors, who delivered a brilliant performance.
Bella distinctly remembered that it had been a long time since Nicolas Cage had taken on such a challenging role that required mastery of expressions and emotions.
When he first entered the industry and mainly took on literary works, it was fine since the roles were diverse, with deep characterizations, be it unconventional, eccentric, or wild... There was always plenty of room for performance. However, after starting to accept commercial films, although his acting skills remained intact, they were somewhat limited. Yet, in the role of "Wardaddy" in "Fury", one could see how perfectly he handled this veteran character. Several scenes involving just his expressions fully showcased his "contained, yet potent" acting skills.
It had been so long since he had delivered such an impressive performance because commercial film roles were inherently restrictive. No matter how talented you were, it was difficult to fully demonstrate your abilities. As for the recent criticism of his performance in "Windtalkers" leading to the film's failure, that was purely the media's nonsensical talk.
The failure of a film was certainly multifaceted, but who told him to be so topical? If they didn't hype him, who would they hype?
Another pleasant surprise was the character Norman.
To be able to portray such a huge contrast from a rookie to a veteran was quite an accomplishment.
Especially in scenes where he used his eyes to express emotions, it was almost on par with Nicolas. He had an inexplicable screen presence and managed to carve out a place in the mature actor's aura of Nicolas. He was truly a hidden gem of an actor. Bella wondered where director Lyman had unearthed him from.
Before, she had never heard of him.
Oh, right, what was his name?
Bella recalled the opening credits of the movie and a faint memory began to surface.
Yes, Heath Ledger.
Ah, was he the one who played Paul in "Buried"?
Bella, as a film critic who greatly admired director Lyman, had delved into his previous works after their brief encounter at the Sundance Film Festival.
Though "Buried" had long been off the screen, the offline VHS tapes were still available. While there were limited supplies in the United States, Bella managed to get her hands on a copy she had been eagerly anticipating.
She gradually compared the two characters in her mind.
Indeed, how did she not notice it when she watched it just now?
Bella was increasingly amazed by the versatility of an actor's temperament, being able to handle two completely different character images.
As for the other actors in the play, although their performances were still commendable, it depended on who they were compared to.
They were just decent and not worth paying special attention to...
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