Green Book, directed by Peter Farrelly and starring Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2018. This film is based on a true story, telling the story of bodyguard Tony being hired to drive for the world’s finest classical pianist, Don. The pianist will be on tour starting in New York and during the tour, a lot of things happen. Green Book is a story of a friendship that spans race and class. You can watch Green Book free online.
World-renowned African-American pianist Dr. Don Shirley is about to start a tour of the Deep South in 1962. Shirley, who is in need of a driver and security, hires Tony Lip, a brash bouncer from an Italian-American section of the Bronx. In spite of their differences, the two men quickly form an unlikely friendship as they deal with racism and danger in a time of segregation.
Based on a true story, Green Book starts with a black boss and a white driver on a road trip across South America. The friendships established in this dangerous but interesting journey not only cross the racial barriers but also explain how we should truly face ourselves in life.
Green Book is a work that makes full use of differences to create dramatic tension. From the performance point of view, the film shows the identity difference between the two protagonists in the eyes of others, but more deeply, the movie shows the contradiction of the black pianist’s self-identity cognition.
For Tony, who was hired by Don, he discriminated against black people from the very beginning. This point is vividly shown in the movie through the scene where he threw away the black man drinking water glass. But he was forced to make a living, so he had to take this job. For Don, who is highly educated and well-dressed, he longed to truly integrate into the upper class, but he had to live in the South for the black. In the hotel where he lives, he seems out of tune with his black compatriots. However, on the other hand, he hopes to use his talents to fight for more fairness for black people, so he took the risk to start this unnecessary trip to South America.
The film utilizes this journey to give the two characters vivid images. Don, who has received an excellent education since childhood, showed his extraordinary musical talent in front of Tony, and he also helped Tony with the letter for his wife. Everything about Don is changing Tony’s inherent perception of black people, and it is also during this journey that Don gradually realized his most real self.
What Don learned from Tony was courage, from returning to the hotel to go to the toilet to self-dignity protection, to finally happily playing jazz in the black restaurant. At the end of the journey, what Don reap was a brand-new self.
Green Book is a masterpiece of anti-racism, but what is more terrifying than discrimination is self-discrimination. Behind the black and white of the movie, what we see is the adherence to the principles of human nature and the courage to change ourselves. With a simple click, you can watch free movies online.
