In the face of time, people are often contradictory. For example, parents, on the one hand, hope that their children will grow up quickly, but on the other hand, they hope that they will not grow old so quickly. And if one day, someone tells you that you can grow in reverse, can you imagine what kind of life you will have?
The movie "Rejuvenation" tells such a story. When the protagonist Benjamin was born, he looked like an 80-year-old man, with all his organs close to failure. However, he miraculously grew up, but he grew up backwards. , the body becomes younger and younger, and when he is really 80 years old, he degenerates into a baby! Such strange physical changes destined Benjamin to have a different life.
The movie condenses Benjamin's life into this 2 hours and 46 minutes, and you can even hear the wind of time whistling in your ears. And it is this concentration that removes trivial matters and dust for us, allowing us to see the eternal things in life.
01? Benjamin’s mother
Benjamin was born on the night when the end of World War I was announced. There were celebrations in the streets of the United States, but Benjamin’s biological mother died of postpartum hemorrhage. Benjamin's father looked at Benjamin who was crying like a monster. He suddenly picked up the baby and rushed to the street or the river like crazy. He originally wanted to throw him into the river, but he couldn't bear it and finally put Benjamin in an elderly home. The door of the courtyard.
Benjamin was adopted by Queenie, a kind-hearted black waitress, who became Benjamin's favorite mother in his life. Queenie's life motto is "You never know what's coming for you (you can never know the future)". It was this motto that made Queenie insist on keeping Benjamin by her side to take care of him when the doctor concluded that he was "doomed not to live long."
Queenie loved Benjamin like all mothers. She kept him by her side at night and in front of her eyes while working during the day. She was surprised by his first steps when he was seven years old and was so playful with him. He was frightened when he came home late, and he was both happy and sad that he left home when he became an adult at the age of seventeen. Because of Queenie's mother's presence, the nursing home became Benjamin's forever home.
Queenie devoted her whole life to the nursing home. She believed in God and the future. She lived an extremely ordinary life, but she warmed the people around her. A woman may never be able to do anything to change the world, but she can make the world a better place because of her warmth.
02 The old people who grew up with Benjamin
Benjamin spent his "childhood" in a nursing home. From the appearance, he is indeed a short, octogenarian. Like other old people, he sat in a wheelchair watching the sunset, and listened to these old people talking about the weather and the temperature of the bath water day after day.
The routine of life in the nursing home is terrible. Every morning at 5:30, regardless of whether it is sunny or windy, the retired general will run to the yard to raise the national flag, and the former opera singer will sing loudly, Queenie They would all help Benjamin take a bath, and no matter what the season, dinner would start on time at half past five.
The most frequent guest in the nursing home is the God of Death. When an old man is taken away, a new old man will move in. What left a deep impression on Benjamin was a well-dressed old man who never went out, but still dressed up carefully every day. She taught Benjamin how to play the piano step by step, telling him, "The key is not how well you play, but how well you play." "How you feel when you play it", and told him "Benjamin, we are destined to lose the people we love, otherwise how can we know how important they are to us".
There is also an old man who asks Benjamin every time he sees him, "I have been struck by lightning seven times. Did I tell you?" The story of this old man being struck by lightning seven times is interspersed with Throughout the film, this old man who was struck by lightning turned out to be the oldest person in the nursing home.
Benjamin lived in the world of a group of dying old people at the beginning of his life. Here he learned how to view life and death, how to deal with loneliness, and how to learn to cherish. Here is not only the impermanence of life and death, but also the strength and strength of life. Miracle.
03? Benjamin’s lifelong partner
When Benjamin was seven years old, he met the most important woman in his life, Daisy, in a nursing home. Children can always see the essence through phenomena. Daisy saw Benjamin's innocent heart under his old appearance, and the two quickly became good friends.
The day when Daisy came to visit his grandma was Benjamin’s happiest day. Together they listened to their grandma telling the story of "Mr. Kangaroo", and secretly hid under the dinner table in the middle of the night to tell each other's secrets.
At the age of seventeen, Benjamin left his hometown and began to work hard for life independently. He became a crew member and traveled around the world with the captain, following him to brothels and bars, and in the cold and snowy areas. In a hotel in Russia, he had a brief love affair with a married woman.
At the age of twenty-six, Benjamin, who had experienced World War II and the death of his captain, returned to his hometown, returned to Queenie, returned to the nursing home, and met an adult who was already an excellent dancer. Daisy after.
The two did not get together immediately, perhaps because they were both still too young. After many twists and turns, the two finally came together at the age of 40 and had the fruit of love.
The arrival of his daughter made Benjamin anxious. Daisy was getting older, but he was getting younger and younger. Benjamin felt that his daughter should have a normal father and did not want Daisy to take care of the two children in the future, so he left all his property and chose to leave alone.
Benjamin began his journey around the world again. He went to India, experienced menial work, experienced poverty, saw different scenery, met people with different views, and had unprecedented experiences. Feel.
When he returned again, Benjamin had really become a teenager, while Daisy was already a woman in her fifties, and her daughter had grown into a young girl. Benjamin spent his "twilight years" in a nursing home. He gradually degenerated into a naughty boy who was silent about the world, a toddler, a swaddled baby, and finally fell asleep forever in Daisy's arms.
Benjamin and Daisy are walking in opposite directions in life. One is getting younger and the other is getting older. They are like two irreversible arrows that merge at the midpoint and then separate quickly. , running towards their respective directions. But the love between them became eternal and transcended time.
04 Those things that time left us
The characters in the movie are not heroes, but they all have dreams. The captain who has the dream of being an artist uses tattoos to express his dreams. The way was engraved on his skin until the shells of war destroyed his works and took away his life.
Not everyone can realize their dreams, but as the movie says, “When things go wrong, you can vent your dissatisfaction like a mad dog, you can swear to God, or you can curse fate. , but when you leave, you must feel relieved.”