Watched "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey". The story is very simple. It tells that Elbor, the last dwarf kingdom in Middle-earth, was occupied by an evil dragon. The dwarves lost their city-state and wandered around. Many years later, Prince Thorin decided to take back his homeland from the evil dragon, formed an army of dwarves (actually only 14 people), and crossed the border to kill Elbor.

The "Hobbit" trilogy is adapted from Tolkien's novel of the same name. Compared with the previous "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, its reputation is somewhat worse. Douban scores are around 8.5. The three "Lord of the Rings" films all scored above 9 points.

Movie fans are willing to support, mostly because of "The Lord of the Rings". The word that appears most often in Douban movie-related comments is "feelings."

The "Unexpected Journey" in the title refers to the protagonist, Bilbo the Hobbit. This man lived an easy life, but one day he had a chance encounter with the God of Destiny, and unexpectedly met Gandalf (the gray-robed wizard in the dwarf army). He was selected to become the 14th soldier of the dwarf army, and reluctantly followed him on the journey. The path to adventure.

The movie unfolds the story with Bilbo's mental journey as the bright line. At first, he did not agree to Gandalf's invitation to adventure and refused to accept guests behind closed doors. Gandalf took it upon himself to set the meeting place of the dwarf army at his home - a grand and messy gathering. Bilbo was angry and helpless. At the end of the party, while listening to the conversation between Prince Thorin and other members, Bilbo was moved by the halo of heroism surrounding everyone and moved a little, but when everyone asked him to sign the contract, he still refused—— Even if Gandalf put pressure on him with the help of his illustrious ancestors, he didn't agree - but he was moved.

The evening ended with a ballad - let me add, the music was so good that it made the old ballad so thrilling - Bilbo sat in a nearby room, listening carefully. , looked solemn and worried.

The next day, when Bilbo woke up, everyone was gone. He said "great". Then his smile suddenly faded, loneliness crawled onto his cheeks, and his eyes moved to the contract, staring at the place where his signature was supposed to be.

In the next scene, Bilbo is carrying a bag on his back and holding a flying contract in his hand, running all the way to catch up with the dwarf army. At this time, another episode happened. Because he was allergic to horse hair, Bilbo sneezed and realized that he had forgotten to bring a handkerchief. He hoped that everyone would go back and get the handkerchief with him.

At this time Gandalf said this to him: You have to get used to the days without a handkerchief. Now your home has been left behind, and the world is in front of you.

At this point, the film has passed more than 40 minutes before it really enters the adventure. The rest of the story is exciting, but I like the first 40-odd minutes the most, because he uses a fantasy cloak to tell a contemporary story of a young drifter from Beijing who goes out to make a living.

Lin Pin, a Ph.D. from Peking University, opened an audio column on Douban Time to talk about fantasy literature. Speaking of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, he spoke of "a fusion of visions."

That's true of literature. The same goes for influencing works. The first 40 minutes of "An Unexpected Journey" attracted me because it made me see many people around me at once. A comfortable life, no worries about food and clothing, a happy family, stable, regular and unchanging, just like Bilbo. Although they are sometimes restless deep inside, they enjoy this kind of comfort. They want to but cannot make up their mind to take the first step of adventure.

Gandalf came, bringing with him the dwarf army that was about to embark on an adventurous journey. Huge wealth, illustrious glory, and rich experiences beckoned to Bilbo. After repeated inner struggles, he finally stepped out. That step. He had taken the leap, but he still couldn't let it go. Remember when I said he was going back to get the "handkerchief"? The old life and habits represented by the "handkerchief" were still binding him. Gandalf understood his heart. What Gandalf really meant when he said those words to him was: leave your home behind and concentrate on exploring. new world.

However, this is easier said than done? During the adventure, Bilbo experienced self-doubt and doubt from his teammates. He wanted to look back several times and return to his old life and habits.

And for many young people around me (including my former self), they have never encountered Gandalf and the dwarf army, and have never taken that step.

Joseph Campbell said that the growth of heroes follows the same pattern and needs to go through three stages: departure, enlightenment, and return. He calls this model the Hero’s Journey. The "departure" part includes the call to adventure, the call to refuse, supernatural assistance, etc.

In fact, each of us will always experience "calls to adventure" many times in our lives. Of course, we will also "refuse the call" many times. Bilbo also refuses at first, but eventually embarks on his "hero's journey".

Writing this, I suddenly understood the phrase "there are many heroes in troubled times"; at the same time, I also understood that in peaceful times, when there is a general lack of "supernatural assistance", if you want to get out of your own way, A "hero's journey" requires great determination and courage.