Dealing with the hard knocks

The Men (1950)

Before being hit by the events of the School of Hard Knocks, we all have dreams. We all have expectations in life. At times of weakness influenced by impulse or the foolhardy of the spring of youth, we commit ourselves into things. Matters of the heart are not easy to back off. The entangling strings of emotion come in the way.

So what do we when reality suddenly hits our faces? What to do when it dawns upon us that we had been given the raw of the bargain? Do we decide to clean the slate, clear our plates of the dish that we chose and try a completely new cuisine?

Do we just cry in silence over the wrong decision, embrace our misjudgement and make the best of what we have or cut our losses and absolve ourselves of the union?

This is the undertone of the movie ‘The Men’ made in 1950 as I saw it. This film is, however, is a tribute to all the military men who, after fighting wars with sword, guns, and bombs, have to combat their inner demons with the after-effects of their duels. Things like post-traumatic stress disorder, loss of limb and limb functions and the general change in the outlook of life are inevitable for combatants. In ‘The Men’, the main character, Ben (Marlon Brando in his debutant role), is paralysed from the waist down after being shot in the back. The story centres around his coming to terms with his disability, moving on with his life despite his accident. A good portion of the film highlights his acceptance of his sweetheart’s proposal of marriage fearing an inability to fulfill his manly duties.

An interesting thing that is visible here is how doctors and patients alive smoke in the hospital premises, be it wards or clinic, without a care.

Just like the girl who keeps on complaining that she has no shoes to wear is humbled by seeing another person with no legs, the protagonist comes to terms when his treating doctor narrates his sob story. The doctor’s wife, a paraplegic after a motor vehicle accident, died after complications of her condition. The good doctor long every day to have a single vision of his ill wife waiting for him at home, but he no, he cannot. It is better to appreciate what is around then to yearn for the unattainable.

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