The second volume is full of glory and splendor in the capital, and the spirit is full of energy in the foggy city. Chapter 347 Premiere (End)
Subtitle of this chapter: Finally this paragraph is finished!
The movie continues...
A tall, thin, middle-aged man with an exaggerated hooked nose and a sharp mouth emerged from among the fat, big-eared council members. He was impressively dressed in a pitch-black coat.
Standing under the Union Jack, he looked like the crow before.
No need to ask, this is another metaphor, which is meant to make the audience have such an association.
Subtitles read: Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet, British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Whig.
"As a world-class screenwriter, Mr. Yuan Yanshu not only endowed Famine Orphan with artistry and thought, but also put a lot of effort into textual research.
It is well known that during his time at New York University, he spent years voraciously reading various historical documents in the New York Public Library, thus acquiring a wealth of knowledge. The inspiration for this film came from his daily accumulation.
Sir George Grey, the British Secretary of State for the Colonies who appears in "Orphans of Famine," was a real person and it was he who came up with the plan. Even more surprising is that his appearance in person bears a resemblance to his screen persona.
Therefore, some people jokingly call Mr. Yuan one of the 'Three Sages of the Library'. The other two are..."
——Excerpt from "Ten Movies You Can't Miss: An Appreciation of "Orphan of Famine""
"The Crow" walked onto the podium in the House of Commons and began to preach the "Famine Orphans" plan: to send Irish girls to Australia.
Gentlemen, this plan is truly the best of both worlds. Those young girls will be able to escape starvation and live in the new fertile land. And Australia, after decades as a penal colony, is in dire need of women, young women to work, take care of the house, and reproduce...
"Hahaha……"
There was vulgar laughter from the British MPs present.
One of the MPs stood up and asked, " Sir Grey, what if the Australians do not welcome those Catholics?"
The British Secretary of State for the Colonies shrugged and said, "Australians welcome neither criminals nor Catholics. Now they have to choose one!"
Briefly explain the historical context of this statement.
Because by the mid-nineteenth century, as the number of free immigrants to Australia increased, the locals refused to allow the mother country to continue using Australia as a place of exile for criminals.
By 1840, the transport of convicts to Australia, with the exception of Tasmania, had finally ceased. When Sir Grey came to power and tried to restart it, the locals naturally reacted strongly.
Well, not only were Australians very unhappy with Sir Grey in 1848, but the Irish in 1921 also immediately started cursing when they saw him equating Catholics with criminals.
"The British are the world's number one criminals!"
"You bastard who betrayed the Church just for a divorce!"
"All heretics of the Anglican Church must die!"
Amidst the audience's curses, the "Famine Orphans" plan was passed unanimously by the House.
So the camera turns back to Dublin, Ireland...
"Mr. Yuan himself once said that the structure of "Orphans of Famine" was "plagiarized" from Dante's "Divine Comedy".
The three Farrell sisters were still alive at the beginning.
With the death of the priest and the change of celestial phenomena, they fell into the underworld.
The moment they saw the mass grave, they actually arrived at the entrance to hell.
And by the time they get to Dublin, it means they are already in hell..."
——Excerpt from "Ten Movies You Can't Miss: An Appreciation of "Orphan of Famine""
In fact, our Master Yuan wrote the script this way not to pay tribute to Dante Alighieri, but to take into account the psychological endurance of the movie audiences at that time.
Twenty-first-century horror and thriller films are naturally all about sensationalism. After all, audiences of later generations have already experienced countless sensory stimulations. How can ?
1921 was different. Horror films of that era would seem childish to later generations. But on the other hand, if you had just let the audience watch a film like "Saw", they wouldn't have been able to handle it.
So the opening of "Orphan of Famine" is just "miserable" rather than "evil".
After entering the "Dublin" in the film, things started to become "evil".
This "evil" is not only the disgusting "evil" that makes people feel nauseous, but also the "evil" of evil deeds that touch the bottom line of human morality.
And the reason for all this is "hunger"!
Of course, due to the limitations of the times, the two main creators, Yuan Yanshu and Griffith, still "softened" many clips.
But the audience still understands that the Farrell sisters see the ubiquitous sex trade in the city, all kinds of violence, and even vague acts of cannibalism.
These scenes made the Irish in the audience feel very uneasy, because not only did it completely go against the teachings of Catholicism, but they also knew that these "villains" in the movie were their ancestors.
Do you understand? These two reasons are the reasons why Master Yuan and others need to "soften".
The originally bustling venue became quiet again.
The three Farrell sisters and their fellow villagers took care of each other and finally made it to the door of the poorhouse.
They found that there was already a long queue at the door of the workhouse. You should know that the entire Irish relief system at that time could accommodate up to 100,000 people.
By this time the Irish Relief System had received orders from London to admit only healthy young girls.
So here comes another very tear-jerking "separation" scene, where several girls other than the three sisters have to say goodbye to their parents, brothers and even lovers.
In fact, there were two young men helping the three Farrell sisters along the way. It can be seen that they had some feelings for the eldest and second sisters, but love was too luxurious at that time.
In this way, the girls in the village entered the poorhouse.
If you have read "Oliver Twist" and "Les Miserables", you will know how terrible the workhouses were in the 19th century, not to mention that this was a workhouse during the Great Famine in Ireland.
However, in order to let the audience take a breath, our Master Yuan made this segment seem warmer and more relaxed in comparison.
For example, girls were given short haircuts and smiled secretly.
For example, the way they eat voraciously.
For example, the eldest sister tells stories to other girls.
For example, they teamed up to play a trick on the vicious but stupid Mammy...
In short, these scenes that found joy in the midst of hardship and displayed the girl's playfulness and cuteness made the audience laugh softly.
Then, the day of departure arrived.
The first group of "famine orphans" were taken to the dock and boarded a sailing ship bound for Australia.
This scene is based strictly on historical facts. Historically, each of the three ships carried 700 women. David Griffiths also found three real sailing ships and 700 women to film this scene.
Of course, this is nothing compared to the 15,000 extras they hired to film the Persian army's march to conquer Babylon in "The Insurgency".
But even so, the scene is quite spectacular.
These sailboats have been modified to a certain extent, and with Master Yuan's "post-production", they look like prehistoric sea monsters, opening their mouths wide to swallow these poor girls.
Then came the ocean voyage.
In fact, the famine orphans were much luckier than their compatriots who went to America during the same period.
Even though the journey from Ireland to America only required crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the poor people had no money and could only take the cheapest ships. These ships were in extremely poor condition, providing passengers with only a small amount of water, food, and space, and the mortality rate for passengers was often as high as 30%!
At this time, Britain had considerable experience in transporting prisoners to Australia. After all, they had been doing it for nearly half a century since 1788.
It’s also fair to say that the British government was absolutely exceptional in the 19th century. It was a purely governmental operation, closely monitored by government agencies such as the Irish Poor Law Commissioners, the Colonial Land and Immigration Board in London, and the Australian authorities.
So although the journey to Australia was much longer, the mortality rate of the orphaned girls on the voyage was less than one percent.
But, but, but, this film was made by Yuan Yanshu, how could he possibly say good things about the British?
Therefore, our Master Yuan began to generously launch the lunch box.
In the damp, cramped, dark, and bumpy cabins, already frail orphans of famine died one after another. Multiple burials at sea were carried out every day.
Seeing these young girls being swallowed by the merciless sea, soft sobs were heard in the venue.
However, under the care of their eldest sister, the three Farrell sisters finally arrived in Melbourne safely.
When they walked out of the cabin, the sun came out for the second time, but it was a scorching sun.
Famine orphans who survived were placed in Hyde ParkInside the military camp.
But the Australians did not welcome them. The local newspapers, the upper and middle classes condemned these orphans, believing that they were immoral, useless, untrained, unable to become qualified maids, and would only waste public funds.
The Sydney Morning Herald commented: "These are not hundreds, but thousands of girls arriving. They are not just orphans, but a wave of Irish paupers that is drowning us."
A more hateful and discriminatory comment came from the Melbourne Argus: "Our funds are not being spent on decent, qualified, well-bred girls... Our money should be spent on rosy-cheeked English girls or on fine Scottish girls, instead of being wasted on these coarse, useless creatures, with their short, stout, stunted figures, thick waists, clumsy ankles, and bad physical qualities for the future colonists of Victoria."
These words naturally drew boos from the audience.
The three sisters were finally about to start a new life. However, before being chosen as wives, they could not sit idle and were forced to go out to work. This period lasted an average of two and a half years.
Of course, it was impossible for the three Farrell sisters to marry, have children and live happily ever after.
The attentive eldest sister overheard the British gossip behind her back and went to work as a waitress in a pub instead of her younger sister. Sure enough, she was raped by the unscrupulous boss that same day and ended up becoming a prostitute under his control.
There were also two sisters who worked as maids.
The second sister soon married a policeman, but this policeman was an alcoholic and violent man. She had a miscarriage due to beatings from her husband and eventually died painfully from typhoid and enteritis caused by the miscarriage.
Her policeman husband didn't even arrange a funeral for her, so it was the eldest sister and the third sister who used up all their savings to bury the second sister.
The third sister was suspected of stealing the family's property. The strong female employer and her sons beat her to death, and no one pursued the crime.
The eldest sister went to the police station to report the crime, but was humiliated by the second sister's husband, who even tried to take advantage of her. So she took advantage of the situation and killed the man who killed her sister.
Before being discovered, she left the police station and ran to the home of her third sister's employer and set fire to it, burning the entire family to death.
Well, this plot is a bit clichéd, and not very reasonable, let alone realistic, but it is satisfying to watch.
After all, this movie is a commercial film, so we have to consider the audience's feelings.
Finally, the eldest sister walked into the sea facing the sunset.
At this moment, Miss Moman's singing voice rang out again along with the music:
"I don't want to see you continue to suffer and stay alone on the branch."
"May you die peacefully along with your companions."
"I gently spread your fragrant petals on the flowerbed."
"Let you and your beloved companions be buried in the yellow earth..."
She sank into the Pacific Ocean along with the sun.
The screen goes black.
THE END.
The audience stood up one by one and began to sing the third verse together:
"When the lover's ring loses the sparkle of its gem."
"When that precious friendship withers, I also want to sleep with you."
"When the faithful heart withers, when the beloved dies."
"Who would still want to live alone in this desolate world?"
After "THE END", another line of words appeared on the screen: This film is based on a true story.
Yes, this sentence is usually placed at the beginning of the film, but our Master Yuan placed it at the end of the film to deepen the audience's impression.
Finally, a big number appeared on the screen - 4114.
This is the total number of "famine orphans" transported to Australia.
“Woo, woo, woo…”
They sang "The Last Rose of Summer" over and over again until everyone was sobbing and crying...
"Your Highnesses, this is a great opportunity. Let's go now!"
Our Master Yuan was naturally very moved by this situation and immediately made this suggestion to the two crown princes.
The Prince of Wales and Prince Di Gong certainly had no objection to this, so they sneaked out of the stadium when no one was paying attention.
