Ted's life suddenly fell into chaos. He can't take care of his busy work and children at the same time, and he is often dissatisfied with his boss and son. Fortunately, with the help of his wife's usual good friend, Margaret phelps (who is also a neighbor in the building), he can finally cope with it. Ted, father and son live together. Gradually, the father and son became intimate and inseparable.
In a blink of an eye, more than a year passed, and Ted suddenly got a call from Joanna. They met in a restaurant. At this time, Joanna, who is rediscovered and radiant, is already a well-paid designer. She came to new york to get custody of Billy, and they broke up. Litigation is inevitable.
However, it never rains alone. In this critical period of preparing for a lawsuit, Ted, who has made long-term mistakes in his work because of his family life, was unfortunately fired by his boss. In order to win the lawsuit, Ted kept trying to apply, and finally found another job within 24 hours after several efforts. In court, both lawyers are aggressive. Although Margaret testified that Ted was a good father, the judge awarded Joanna custody. In order to avoid affecting Billy, Ted gave up the appeal, but Ted's statement in court has also touched Joanna. Father and son will be separated soon, and they will make the last breakfast together. While waiting, Joanna called. She met Ted and told him that she had changed her mind and stopped asking for custody of Billy.
In the American society at that time, Joanna, who graduated from college, could find a job, and after giving birth, she could return to work and strive for her social status. Joanna began to take care of the children at home after marriage, playing the role of wife and mother.
When Joanna wanted to return to work, she was stopped by her husband Ted, because her husband was the breadwinner and her wife took care of her husband's family and raised children. Ted said, "You can't afford a nanny's salary." . This is the "false equality trap" created by society for women. It provides women with equality between men and women in the public sphere. Theoretically, men and women enjoy equal social status, and this equality is also protected by law. However, in the private sphere, women do not enjoy this social equal right. "Cultural rigidity" keeps women in their traditional roles.
The film begins with Kramer and Kramer's divorce. Joanna finally couldn't stand the role of a housewife who was not recognized, and made up her mind to leave her beloved son and prepare to find herself again. It took a lot of courage, but she did it. On the one hand, she didn't want to continue her unhappy life, on the other hand, she realized that such herself would not bring happiness to her son, and even bring bad influence, so she left.
She received psychotherapy in California and found a new job. She gradually had her own independent and active life, and she finally became herself. So she thought she was a qualified person and a qualified mother, and she came to fight for the custody of Billy. There is no doubt that she likes children. She has the courage to leave when she is in poor condition and may be bad for her children. No one can say that she is wrong and selfish.
In the end, Joanna won the case and went to her old home to pick up the children. She burst into tears because she realized that this was the place where children grew up. She didn't think it was good for her children to bring them to her, so she finally gave up taking Billy and let Billy and Ted move on.
First of all, he is not a qualified husband. In family life, I always pay too much attention to my career and ignore my wife's inner thoughts and needs. Finally Joanna was forced to leave because she couldn't stand it. After Joanna left, life at home became a mess. Breakfast is not done well, and all kinds of accidents are endless. I can't deal with Billy's accident at work in time. When Ted suddenly changed from a pure worker to a state of work-family balance, it was a mess. This also reflects how difficult the task Joanna has experienced before. Taking care of children is not an intention, but a natural and easy task. When my neighbor called on Joanna, I was very angry because Ted said she (Joanna) would come back after the trick. He thinks this is because the neighbor instigated his wife to get his attention in this way. When his wife runs away from home, even neighbors will worry about Joanna's safety and situation, but as a husband, Ted will only think that she is trying to lose her temper in this way again. He doesn't care about his wife's emotions at all.
On the first morning of his wife's departure, Ted was awakened by the children and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. The man who has never cooked can't lose face in front of the children. The children want French toast. All right, just French toast. In the days without women, men of all ages should be as happy as holidays. "Two eggs per person, we have milk and cream, and five dollars." But the egg broke and the shell fell into the cup. When the child reminded him, Ted said quickly, "It tastes crisp. Do you like crispy French toast? " The eggs were beaten, but the bread couldn't fit into the too small cup, so we had to break it. He told the child, "Broken tastes the same as whole." The child reminded that there was no milk and poured it directly into the pot. While frying toast, he made coffee and helped the children get orange juice. Finally, the toast was burnt and the pot fell to the ground. ...
But this is really just the beginning. The details of every paragraph of this film are extremely warm and touching, and they are carefully designed. In the end, it was still the scene of father and son in the kitchen, but they have cooperated very well. The cup for beating eggs was replaced by a big bowl, and my father was busy in an orderly way. The son threw the bread into the bowl one by one, wrapped it with juice, and then the father put it into the pot one by one to fry.
After Joanna left, Ted led a messy life. He can't take care of both work and raising children, which leads to constant friction between the two sides. Even hurt Billy. But in the end, after a period of running-in, the life of the father and son can be said to be quite good, as the female neighbor of the bystander said: "If you (Joanna) see their life now, you don't want to ruin it." The female neighbor's perspective is just like our objective third-person perspective. Although Ted was very unqualified as a husband, which led to the breakdown of his family, after Joanna left, he was trying to create a family life for two people and create a good environment for his children as much as possible. We can see his deep love for children.
In this film, we can't say whose fault it is. Joanna's self-pursuit and Ted's excessive indulgence in work are the reasons for the family breakdown. Although the name of the film is Kramer vs Kramer, the focus of this film is not the relationship between husband and wife, but the relationship between parents and children, and the balance between everyone and themselves. In the film, we don't see the relationship between Ted and Joanna's attitudes, but their love for their children.
Joanna didn't find her own value after she got married, which is what she didn't do well. Ted was obsessed with his work and neglected his family, and put all the family pressure on Joanna, which is also a bad place for him. I understand that what this film wants to reflect is a satire on the stereotypes of men and women in American society at that time, and that women failed to enjoy equal rights with their husbands in the private sphere and in marriage and family under the rule of patriarchy.
But I also think about how we can become better ourselves. Only when your heart is strong enough can you persist in being yourself in the face of the great pressure of this troubled times. Everyone will face pressure and difficulties in all aspects of life. If you don't stand on your feet first, you will collapse in front of life like Joanna in the play.
Who lives a comfortable life in today's society?