In nineteenth-century France, on a roaring train, a pale and rebellious boy was none other than Rimbaud. A poor young man from a small town, he was also a poetry elf who wrote "Ophelia" at the age of 16.
At that time, he was preparing to find Verlaine, a poet who was already quite famous at that time. However, you could see that he didn’t look like he was traveling on a far journey. He didn’t have a single piece of luggage except for his head full of strange thoughts. . He was unrestrained, unbridled, and absolute; he threw the last coin he had on him to the beggar on the roadside, and then walked like a prince, as if he was the only one left in the world...
This is A film called "Total Eclipse" was released in 1995, directed by Agnieszka Holland, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the French 19th-century Symbolist poet Rimbaud. It tells the story of the alternative relationship between this talented boy and the poet Verlaine. Many scenes in the film have a sense of oil painting, and as the plot progresses, the classical atmosphere becomes rich. DiCaprio, who was only 21 years old at the time, was completely different from the love saint on the Titanic. He was younger and more unruly, perfectly interpreting Rimbaud, who was rebellious to the point of madness more than two hundred years ago.
Some people say that boredom is also a noble emotion. Maybe, because being tired means re-searching, re-thinking, and discovering a new self. The so-called desire and confession of "living elsewhere" is not just Rimbaud-style. After all, we who are not poets have also looked at and longed for the distance. Just pack your luggage and set off for a distant place. However, the scenery in the distance will only vary from person to person.
As for Rimbaud, his whole life was led by such an emotion. Running around was the main theme of his short life. From the small town in his hometown to Paris, where the elite gathered, and then to Brussels with Verlaine. After they broke up, Rimbaud began his life as a footless bird, and finally died on the way to Africa.
“My life is just gentle madness, my eyes are like a sea, but I refuse to be blue”
In the film, in Verlaine’s beautiful big house, when he When his wife, as beautiful as white jade, asked Rimbaud to read his poems, he spat cynically and proudly refused to even read his own poems. In Verlaine's eyes, he was an elf who fell into the mortal world, a rare Satan of poetry.
He took him to famous social places in Paris society; although unexpected situations may happen at any time where there is Rimbaud, Verlaine still admired him. Appreciate his courage to criticize academics for their unoriginal clichés, and his courage to express his own opinions freely and freely. These are courage and novelty that Verlaine has never experienced before, and later he completely abandoned family life, such a shocking move. Running towards him without any defense, although in the end they still parted ways.
In fact, for Rimbaud, as long as he is more secular, he can easily become a refined egoist and win people's applause and flowers; or he can be softer and become the focus of high-class parties. It's not difficult; or if he is a little more confused, he can become a "Barbie Doll" that everyone loves.
"My life is so vast that I will not devote myself only to strength and beauty."
But he is Rimbaud, and he is destined not to be that kind of person. For example, for us, the wandering life is full of wandering and uncertainty; but for him, the wandering process is a kind of perfection. Being on the road is always full of energy, always vivid and fresh, even though it is miserable a lot of the time. In his short life, the days of indulging in poetry flashed by like meteors. After the age of 19, he decisively threw away his pen and embarked on the long journey of becoming "anyone", a soldier, a sailor, an exploration team member, and even a businessman. Etc., various careers, various life experiences.
Before, he was a smart young man with domineering poetic talent, like a green elf; then he became more like a stern businessman, no longer talking about poetry, and immersed himself in running around, like the most worldly ordinary person. But people still don’t know where they can find the happiness and stability they want in their hearts, and where they can give them the power of inner peace. I wonder if in his intense life, where he also worked as a coffee merchant, he ever had time to sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee quietly...
Finally, a few words about Verlaine. He became famous as a young man, had a wife as beautiful as jade, and a son as beautiful as pearls. He already had the earthly happiness that the world envies. If he hadn't met Rimbaud, his poetry might have become mediocre, but it would have brought him stability in this world. But when he met him, this handsome and cool elf boy, he became a wind catcher, willing to run towards the unknown of life.
So he would not fail to understand that Rimbaud had always been unrestrained and indulgent in himself in front of him; because how a wind-catcher complained about the speed and mistiness of the wind; and how he loved it all his life That kind of absinthe looks attractive in color, smells fragrant, but tastes bitter when you drink it; it is very much like a lost love song, and the time flies that will never come back again.