Film Review "Drunken Good Time": Drunkenness

A dull and dry life
The famous psychologist Erikson once said that if people live to middle age, their inner development will focus on the production or stagnation of feelings to sway, in other words, either to feel happy and sense of meaning for life, step by step towards a regret-free old age to move forward, or to feel desperate for life, to get by and move towards the emptying of deprivation, fall and despair.
In the midst of the swaying struggle of middle age, the protagonist Martin is on the road to disintegration, so his best friend and psychologist colleague proposes a bold alcohol plan to make the tasteless life a little burst of fragrance, so that Martin can cheer up, find his lost self, and regain a firm grip on the steering wheel of life. Even more, through the relaxation brought by alcohol, slightly soothing Martin's excessive restraint, leading to more taste of life, so that Martin not only live, but also enjoy living this thing. The group of middle-aged men used wine as a knife, hoping to cut off the boredom of life, sip after sip, in which they swallowed not only the hot throat choking, but also the long-forgotten light of life, to ignite the passion and stirring of the soul to go again. For this reason, the shriveled mind, which should have been dried up by the weather, can be filled with enthusiasm for life again. Of course, for the protagonists, alcohol brings not only emotional exaltation, but also complements the lack of life, such as confidence, impulsiveness, comfort, adventure, openness and fearlessness.
However, alcohol may be used as a fuse, but not as firewood, if the engine of life has long been broken, forcing it to drive, will only accelerate the disintegration of life. The first half of the movie, we will naturally feel heartbroken for Martin, but after the plan began to go off the rails, the real emotion is the gym teacher Tommy. To some extent, Tommy is not only the most familiar with Martin, the story development, the film also intentionally or unintentionally overlap the two, if Martin failed to save the marriage and family, eventually, Martin will be like Tommy, lonely and slowly withering with time, which the sense of emptiness, even as a net can not be broken free, the more struggle, the more trapped.
From this point of view, Tommy's fall is probably because after the alcohol has subsided, he finds that even if he messed up his life, there is no place to apologize or compensate, and even the direction of the future is unclear, there is only an old dog, like himself, who has long been late, waiting for life to get narrower and narrower. In this regard, the four people in contrast, the dream created by alcohol, after waking up, only Tommy was left in place, nowhere to go. The reason why Tommy chose to kill himself is not because he messed up anything, but because he found out that he had nothing. In this part, the film also uses a very poetic approach to present the outline of Tommy's life, a ship that did not return to port, a lonely life that could not make too many ripples even if it fell.
The rusted gears, even if oiled, the structure of which has long deteriorated and can no longer turn. Alcohol and alienation
Alcohol not only makes people feel in a trance, but also strengthens, refreshes and motivates the mind. If we focus on the function of alcohol, since ancient times, whether it is a poet, a singer or pop culture, alcohol is linked to sadness, as if alcohol can not only take away one's sanity, but also wash away one's emotions.
We can also see from Martin's emotional repression, the restaurant scene, even though he kept wiping away tears, reflecting the candlelight in his eyes, still betrayed him, a cry of apology, like a loud slap, slapped his self-esteem, to the point of no return. However, in addition to elaborating the pressure of middle-aged men through Martin, the film also combines the reactions of the surrounding area to strengthen the argument, especially Tommy, who is most similar to Martin, whether it is to stop the crying, or to change the subject and run to the dance, are repeatedly emphasizing the social issue that men can not show their vulnerability.
It is clear that the similarity between Tommy and Martin lies not only in their situation and age, but also in the fact that they share a rigid philosophy of life. Compared to their colleagues in music and psychology, they are less romantic and less gentle to themselves, detached from the sensual side that is despised by society. Unfortunately, this detachment, in the end, not only makes them unable to properly express their emotions, but also makes people all frustrated with the self, the whole to abandon. For this reason, Tommy's death, in fact, there have been signs. After all, the drink will always recede, vision will always be clear, Tommy will eventually have to face their own unbearable side, unbearable, then Tommy's life can not bear the weight, can not throw away, can not be shaken off, you can only throw life away. Martin and Tommy similar, but there are some different, Tommy drink, is hoping to wash away the life of the unwanted, such as loneliness, frustration, unbearable and useless. Martyn, on the other hand, wants to swallow the wants in life, such as confidence, humor and fun. Therefore, as mentioned before, the existence of alcohol has diverse interpretations, if this is the cut, drunkenness, for those who desire, but like a dream come true, let people to dream, to do not dare to do their own.
In this way, alcohol, for Martin, is like a key to open his locked heart, so that his sincere self, no longer limited by the value of the constraints, to come out and play, but also to allow others to move into the heart. In this regard, most of Martin's friends and family were willing to accept his drinking, because it made them closer and less distant. Of course, we all know that alcohol does not serve as a key, but it can make people dependent on it, perhaps bringing us closer to ourselves, or even allowing them to practice unlocking the door, but to be able to truly open the door to the heart, the key cannot be a fake constructed by alcohol.
As mentioned earlier, the face that alcohol draws out is not a purely fictitious existence, but an amplification of the repressed side of Ben, so that Martin would have had the key to open himself. The counterfeit constructed by alcohol, whether it is the key or the self, is more like a reminder to find his true self buried by the flood of time, meaning the complete self buried deep in the cellar but getting more and more fragrant with age. Therefore, alcohol is not only the basis for the forgery, but also an oil lamp that allows Martin to have some light, even in the darkness, to slowly walk into the depths of his mind, to pull out the dusty rebellion, and to resist the framework of values and repression that have frozen him. For this reason, the last dance, in addition to a tribute to Tommy, or mourning, but also a celebration and proof, so that Tommy understands that the current self, do not need to worry about him. Even more, jumping into the sea this scene, but also in the hint, back from the dead Martin, is ready to abandon the limitations of the past, to meet a more complete true self, as well as a more abundant life adventure. The difference also allows Martin to flip from the narrow alley of life to another wide sky, rather than a bottomless void.
To find oneself, one must first set one's mind, be a maverick, not follow the worldly stream, and have one's own choice. --The philosopher Kierkegaard
The mutual reflection of life and death
This philosopher appears not only because he is Danish, but also because his philosophical thoughts appear frequently in the film. To be more precise, "A Good Time to Drink" is like an extract of the essence of Kierkegaard's thinking.
As discussed in the previous paragraphs, the film's constant imagery of life and death means that the director really wants to elaborate not only on alcohol addiction and mid-life crisis, but also to lead the audience to think about the existence of life.
In terms of existence, Kierkegaard focuses on despair and places it alongside the ego, which he sees as a painful inability to be oneself, and this inability to be oneself includes, in short, "living in accordance with external values" and "unwillingness to accept the sincere self.
Back to the movie, Tommy's suicide, as discussed above, is due to a sense of despair in life, and he realizes that he is walking according to the worldly norms, but has nothing. He then rejects this despair and commits himself to another wave of despair, death, because he can no longer bear his own unbearable situation and cannot accept this self full of frustrations and failures, which fits perfectly with Chikgo's insight that despair is the "deadly disease" of life.
However, for Kierkegaard, the real death is not the pendulum of the body, but the immobility of "wanting to die but not being able to die", in other words, the real pain of not being able to ignite one's life, but not being able to burn oneself. The reaction. In this regard, Tommy's death, not necessarily only sad, but also some small hope, even if not enough to help him go on, but also may be his life, the only remaining can have mastery.
In the end, Tommy longed for the same as Cobalt, a person who could hold on to, or a person who could let him hold on to himself. In this way, he can pull himself forward again, rather than being trapped in a dilemma of despair, one for drinking to continue to screw up life, but live because of paralysis, and the other for not drinking, sober to face their own screw-ups, and then die because of the unbearable torture. The ultimate dilemma Tommy faces is to live a painful life and die a clean one. Although Tommy's story makes people feel emotional, but the film does not stop at despair, but also wants to tell the audience that the true meaning of crossing despair is to accept the irrationality of the self. Martin, on the other hand, is an example of success, from the initial cowering, slowly striding forward, no longer hiding, embracing the various possibilities of life, the various dances of life, and this is also in line with what Chikgo calls "the leap of faith", which means accepting the self that is difficult to accept, even if it is transferred to psychology, this idea is also valid! It seems to be full of Zen, but it is also full of truth. The complete acceptance of the unchangeable is the starting point of change.
Change is possible only when the attempt to change is abandoned. --The Paradoxical Theory of Change in Completion Psychotherapy
Once again, the jumping into the sea in the last scene has another layer of explanation, and we can even say that we finally understand why Martin's jumping is not a symbol of stepping into death, but a metaphor of rebirth. After all, he has understood the importance of self-acceptance through Tommy's death, and thus was able to jump out from the despair of the dilemma.
On the whole, "Drunken Good Time" is like an extension of this allegorical story, using the existentialist viewing experience to remind us that even if facing the responsibility of self is anxiety-provoking, or even like an adventure after adventure, it is worth jumping in, no longer going with the flow, and our hearts can finally stop drifting and return to the port of meaning and freedom. People are like dice, throwing themselves into life. --Philosopher Schart
Conclusion
Drunken Good Time" seems to be about absurdity and loss of control, but in fact it is about how to retrieve the world stolen from the outside from the rigid norms. Being before thinking is not only the core value of existentialism, but also the journey that this film brings, the pleasure of getting involved and falling asleep. The film is like slowing down our world, and after viewing it, a sharper sense of touch is erected in response to the story, even allowing one to savor life anew, rather than bogging down in the vision of others.