"When a chicken grows up, it becomes a goose. When a goose grows up, it becomes a sheep. When a sheep grows up, it becomes a cow. When a cow grows up, it becomes communism." By nature, he finally ran out of family wealth. His wife, Jia Zhen, took her daughter back to her parents' house with a big belly. When Fugui was at its worst, Fengxia brought her children home, and Fugui began to live by acting in shadow puppets. The great ship of the times is moving forward, the civil war, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution. Fugui, a family designated as "ordinary people" by the organization, lived ups and downs in the great era. "Alive" tells us the experience of a small family and a small person in the environment of a big era. It does not tell history, but in the depiction of the fate of the small person, we see the development of history. This is the best of times, this is the worst of times, this is the age we live in. For ordinary people, living is better than anything else.
About the era of the
forties.
At the beginning of the film, Fugui is the young master. He goes to the teahouse to listen to music and watch the shadow play. If he loses the bet, he signs on the account book. "I've lost a lot of accounts recently, but my handwriting has become better." Someone brought tea and water when he entered the door, and someone recited it when he went home. He was a typical playboy. His wife Jiazhen persuaded him to quit gambling, and he angrily scolded Jiazhen for leaving. Accompanied by the rush of drums, Fugui, who had lost the whole night, finally lost the account, only to find that he had not left a single tile or inch. "You have nothing now, and even your life is worthless." Only then did Fugui, who has been in a wealthy family, suddenly realize the warmth of human affection.
Fugui pulled the car with his head down and a straw hat on by himself. This was the second time he appeared in the street scene, which was in sharp contrast to the first time. The first time was when Mr. Fugui, who had played all night, was carried home, with a quiet street scene and shops, everything was quiet and peaceful. And the second time, when Fugui pulled the car, people stopped to see him in a down state, and the background music was slow and bleak. However, Jiazhen brought her son Youcheng back at this time. "Let's not mention the past, just live a good life in the future." Fugui began to make a living by acting in shadow puppets. Bringing the troupe around to perform, but for Fugui and this family, the shadow puppet play used to be a leisurely joke has become a means of subsistence, and Master Fugui has also become a lower-level actor, but he is not. Really live a peaceful life.
civil war.
Fugui and Chunsheng, who were acting, were arrested and sent to the army, "I have to go back alive, my wife and children are better than anything else." Fugui, who was unable to escape from the chaos of the army, was different from the previous young master Fugui. They saw countless dead and wounded soldiers who were defeated like a mountain. They took off the clothes of the dead to keep warm, and they only wanted to go back alive.
"Fugui, we have to go back alive."
"Go back, we can have a good life."
Fugui and Chunsheng became prisoners "as they wished", sang shadow puppets in the army and were allowed to go home. The music special of the shadow puppet show changed from the army to the street scene of Fugui's life. The streets in the third appearance were plastered with banners and slogans "Long Live the Chinese Communist Party" and "Long Live the People's Republic of China". On the street before dawn, Fugui saw Fengxia, who had become mute, and Jiazhen, who lived by selling water. The erhu music of the shadow play reminded again that Jiazhen's years of hardships and worries finally turned into tears and fell on Fugui's shoulders.
fifties.
In the singing of "Socialism is good, the Communist Party is good", a black scene brought the film to the 1950s, and every household took out iron pots and iron buckets to participate in the large-scale steel smelting. Everyone ate together in the cafeteria, made steel in the factory together, and watched shadow puppets together. Some became Zheng Fugui who used vinegar as tea, and was chased by Fugui and ran all over the yard. The melody of the erhu became active, the melodious flute after the noise was removed, accompanied by the laughter of adults and children, and the upgraded shots made the laughter on people's faces simple and pure. For a moment, it seemed that this was the best era.
sixties.
In the broadcast sound of "The proletariat is great and opposes the bourgeoisie", the movie crossed into the 1960s, and Er Xi brought the "Quotations of Mao Zedong" as a gift. When they entered the house, they introduced the family members before going on a blind date, and Mao Zedong's words were posted on the street. avatar. Everything about Chairman Mao is the most typical feature of that era, and it is also the reason for everything in that era.
About shadow puppets
When Fugui was still a young master, shadow puppets were one of Fugui's playthings. When he was tired of gambling, he shouted to cheer him up. After deciding to be self-reliant, shadow puppetry became Fugui's profession, relying on him to support his family. On the battlefield, he said that he had to bring the big box of shadow puppets, because it was a tool to support his family. He wanted to go home. The equipment of shadow puppets seemed to be his spiritual sustenance. You can go back and rely on him to live a steady life.
The collection of iron when the steel was being smelted became a proof that there was still iron in the house and the wooden box was pulled out. In order to keep the box, Fugui proposed to encourage everyone to smelt steel through shadow puppetry. In Fugui's heart, shadow puppetry is a sign of his new life and a sign of living his life down-to-earth.
In the 1960s, Fugui wanted to use shadow puppets to express Mao Zedong's thought as an excuse to leave a box of shadow puppets, but they were eventually burned due to the Four Olds. "Forget the past." Shadow puppets and memories of Youcheng are buried in their hearts. Whether it is selling water or giving Fengxia a blind date, they are all looking forward to a new life.
Regarding living
, Fengxia had a fever for seven days and seven nights. Although she was mute, she survived. For Jiazhen, this was a fortune among misfortunes. Except for the tears when Youcheng died, in the whole movie, although Fengxia couldn't speak, it was not easy to hear, but as long as it was Fengxia's scene, she was always smiling. She is a manifestation of the film's thinking. Being alive is better than anything else. Except for death, there is no difficulty that cannot be overcome.
On the day Long Er was executed, Fugui was so frightened that he wet his pants, and hurried home to find the revolutionary certificate designated as "urban poor" and frame it. For this family, this certificate is a guarantee of life. With this piece of paper, they will have a clear relationship with the landlord who lives in the mansion, and they can live well.
Youcheng was killed by Chunsheng's car, and Jiazhen scolded Chunsheng away from the grave in anger. In the 1960s, Chunsheng wanted to give Fugui a job, but Fugui declined. Fengxia got married, Chunsheng came to visit with Chairman Mao's portrait as a gift, but Jiazhen still didn't see Chunsheng. Chunsheng was transformed into a capitalist roader and came to Fugui's house to say goodbye. Jiazhen finally found out that it was not Chunsheng who killed Yucheng, but that era. "You have to live if you don't want to live, it's not easy to survive." In the turbulent times, whether it is Fugui or Chunsheng, they are the epitome of the times. Thousands of families are like them and have to give up their lives and even their lives.
"When the child is born, take a photo of him once a year." Fengxia's pregnancy gave the whole family new hope. When Fengxia gave birth, Jiazhen was always worried about her daughter's safety. For Fengxia, when Fengxia lost her voice, at least there was someone who was alive and well, and when she died, at least he still had a daughter. by your side. However, the doctor who was brought out of the cowshed was knocked unconscious, and the daughter, who was bleeding profusely, was not rescued, and finally died.
As the audience, at the end of the film, I instinctively hope that Fengxia can survive. He was reluctant to let Fugui and Jiazhen send the white-haired man to the black-haired man again, and he couldn't bear to see that after going through the twists and turns of each era, someone still gave away their life. Recalling the whole movie, from a small family to reflect the changes of the whole society, not talking about politics but talking about life, for ordinary people, living is a stronger thing than anything else. Living a solid life is the happiest thing.
"When the chicken grows up, it becomes a goose. When the goose grows up, it becomes a sheep. When the sheep grows up, it becomes a cow. When the steamed bun grows, it rides on the cow." The chick was placed in the shadow puppet box. , the cow is no longer communism when he grows up. After the changes of the times, it is not easy to still live. Shadow puppets and communism are no longer hope and sustenance. We don't know what the chick looks like, but the people who have paid the price for the times just want to live in peace and happiness.
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