Lawrence's Dream

Rating: 8/10 (26 April 2020)

It was undoubtedly one of the films that had a huge impact on me, and I have to say that Lawrence's fate is still one of the most important frames of reference for me to find myself.
In the film, Lawrence's life in the Arab world during this period was full of ambition, high spirits and boundless scenery. Although he experienced ups and downs several times, it ended up in frustration and grief. Perhaps because of the director's realist tendencies, or perhaps because of the length of the film, it is not clear why Lawrence was so interested in the Arab world, and the motives of several big ups and downs, which has become the focus of Lawrence's puzzlement. To my mind, all of that is rooted in the idealism that runs in Lawrence's blood. In other words, in the depths of Lawrence's soul, there were several dreams floating around.
Dream one: to be born. Why do you like this desert? Lawrence: clean. Yes, compared to the secular world in which they live, there is a cleaner place than the sand rolling desert?
Dream two: universal salvation. In the film, Lawrence has a distinctive personality. When he first met the new governor after he captured akaba, the new governor made a brief summary of Lawrence before he came to the Arab world: "no self-discipline, no punctuality, several languages, music, literature, knowledge..." . It can be seen that Lawrence was a talented, rebellious and independent man. The film is also heavy on Lawrence's extremely kind and benevolent character. Because of his outstanding talent, he is full of ambition; Because of his rebellion, he was critical of all the seemingly impregnable realities. Because of his kindness, he has universal compassion; Perhaps only such a man, seeing a divided, benighted Arab world, would naturally produce the great dream of a united Arab world and a free Arab people.
Dream # 3: chasing your own existence. "Who am I? It should be the question that Lawrence pursued all his life. The trajectory of Lawrence's personal development is never mentioned in the film, but Lawrence is confronted several times with whether he is British or Arab or someone else. In this quest, there are two images that make people feel sad. One is the first time Lawrence wears an Arabic turban on his head and hops around the desert in his traditional Arab costume. Scene 2: Lawrence lifts up his shirt and points at his skin, then shouts at ali, "see, I'm white! You can never change that!" The large Arab clothing once let him think he found his own place, but, the white skin will he mercilessly drove away from their pursuit of home for years. Perhaps the search for himself had been Lawrence's most distant dream.
Dream 4: pursue your own perfection. Defects, whether external or internal, were perhaps the last thing Lawrence himself wanted to be discovered. Even in his voluminous abaya, Lawrence remained elegant. When such grace was trampled upon by the Turkish soldiers, Lawrence's faith collapsed: his own compassion, his own dignity in the face of the ruthless reality is just a dream! I would rather Lawrence had never actually walked into the endless desert at the moment of his mad revenge for the slaughter of Turkey.
The beauty of the dream may be in its faint come true, however, the dream will eventually wake up one day, idealism in the end can not resist the reality of the existence of a light blow. Your life goes on, you still exist in this secular world; You were born in England, and you will return to rest in England; Your wit and bravery are boundless, but the unspeakable antiquity and mystery of the Arab world has far exceeded your wisdom. After waking up, you are bound to be helpless and sad, you can not escape as a person with the same fate.
If all these dreams seem bleak and capricious, does Lawrence leave no warm eternity in the sand? Although there is no mention of Lawrence's emotional world in the film, there are a lot of rumors about Lawrence outside the film, especially his famous poem "to S" in "the seven pillars of wisdom". The preface to "A" may presage his fifth, more obscure dream.