The prison of self-doubt we've made for our boys (with the "man-up" mantra) and the prison that men make for themselves and each other, might matter less if males didn't then imprison the opposite sex to bolster their vapid self-worth. Less pretentious than "Nomadland", this earlier outing by Zhao weaves so many strands and details it deserves repeated watching, though many will find it "uneventful" from the outset and likely switch off. Throughout the western world, alcohol is demonised, not as the outcome of oppression and social ills, but through religion as something sinful and curable through "community". Maybe if religion didn't promise the unattainable, there'd be less self- and social repression. The lesson of the boxing class is simple: often in life it is not brute strength that gets you through, but stealth: learn to outwit your rival, anticipate his or her moves. And above all, should it end in defeat, lean into your failures with renewed wisdom, not self-pity, just as Johnny "leans into the wind, so as not to get blown away".
Review of Songs My Brothers Taught Me
