In 1903, at the age of 27, Jack London completed his first fictional literary work, the novella "The Call of the Wild".
In 1876, a little boy was born in a bankrupt farmer's family in San Francisco. The distressed family situation forced Jack London to work as a shepherd boy on a livestock ranch when he was 8 years old. In order to earn more money, as soon as he was 10 years old, Jack London began to work as a newsboy, pier worker, sailing sailor, and hemp factory worker in Oakland, near San Francisco. Fortunately, the way God cares for this little boy is to make him love to read. Whether it's Jack London, the pier worker or Jack London, the sailor sailor, he doesn't let go. Flaubert's "Madame Bovary" and Leo Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" are him. Pillow book. The more books he read, the more Jack London felt that he should go to school and study hard. At the age of 21, he entered the University of California, Berkeley. What is embarrassing is that soon Jack London had to leave school because of his embarrassment, and began his extremely difficult and challenging adventure life, including going to the Yukon polar region near the North Pole with his friends to pan for gold. An extremely cold winter in the Yukon Polar Region did not bring wealth to Jack London. Due to lack of vegetables and fruits, he also suffered from scurvy. As a last resort, Jack London and his friends retreated from the Yukon Polar Region. Returned to California via the Bering Strait. This experience that failed to bring wealth to Jack London, but helped future writers collect a lot of writing materials. In the rich material, Jack London chose the most widely circulated dog story in the Yukon Polar Region to complete his first novella. This is the "Call of the Wild" that made Jack London quickly popular.
Jack London was one of the first American writers I knew, and his "Martin Eden" was also the first American literature I read. Although the contents of Jack London's novel is very homogeneous, is nothing more than a strong-willed man through thick and thin, the story of courage, however, Jack London's novel is so evil, it is easy to forget just read, like "wild The puppy named Buck in "The Call of Love" has become a literary image in the memory that will never fall behind because of being reproduced by Jack London with a distinctive and unique character.
But there is no doubt that the story of Buck the Puppy seems to be old, so I was surprised to see that the film of the same name adapted by Chris Sanders based on Jack London's novel "Call of the Wild" was actually completed in 2020. , Has also generated a strong curiosity: since the Lumière brothers invented the sixth art of film to today, it has been more than 100 years, and the continuous advancement of technology has made today’s movies even more powerful, making filmmakers in the production of "Inception". It's easy to change the movie on earth in one second. How can they become interested in an old story? What kind of new movie will they make an old story?
This is a movie very faithful to the original: The famous dog named Buck is the treasure of the justice in the small southern town of the United States. Buck was pampered and arrogant, rushing through the streets of the small town, jumping up and down in the justice's house, provoking the justice to love and hate Buck. The festive dinner has been set up on the long table, which is the effort of taking a group photo. Buck swept the table into a mess while others were not prepared. In order to punish Buck, the justice did not let Buck go home that night. That night, Buck was trapped, and after being "domesticated" with punches, kicks and sticks, Buck became a sled dog and was bought by the post office to go to the Yukon Polar Region. Unexpectedly, Buck, who grew up in a greenhouse, quickly adapted to the sled dog career day and night on the freezing mail road. Not only that, but he also used strategy, courage and strong physique to win the lead dog. status. However, the good times did not last long. After the postal route was cancelled by the government, Buck was resold again. This time Buck's luck was not so good. The new owner either scolded him or whipped him. Fortunately, an old man named John Thornton rescued Buck. After the accidental death of Thornton's son, Thornton relieved his grief by storming the snow in the extremely cold area. In this way, an old man and a dog who came to the cold Yukon polar region by accident and fate depended on each other. In the vast snowy field, only the howling of wild wolves accompanied a man and a dog. The wildness began to slowly return to Buck, but he was reluctant to leave Thornton, who was saving his life. Buck went back and forth between the wolves and Thornton. Wandering... To the worst old master of Buck, after hearing the news that Thornton took Buck to the Yukon Polar Regions for gold, he pursued it all the way. After a fierce battle, the bad guys have their rewards, and the good Thornton also followed the snow. The homes on the ground disappeared into the fire together. Buck, who couldn't find Thornton, became the head wolf of the wolf pack without any concern.
Chris Sanders, the director of "Call of the Wild", did use the latest stunts to make the movie very beautiful: a scene where a group of dogs is pulling a sled and galloping through the white wilderness, and Thornton takes Buck to control it. The process of chopping through the waves in the rushing Yukon River in a canoe is thrilling, and the interaction between Thornton and Buck under the unique starry sky of Yukon Polar Region is so warm that we watching the movie feel that the white snow is not so cold to the bone. Especially the dog named Buck, with the help of stunts, went from snatching newspapers from passers-by in the southern small town to shaking the mountains in the justice’s house; from sledging to death in the sled dog camp. From the subtle expression of the chieftain to the docile posture when he was crouching next to Thornton, Buck appeared in the camera to reach the level of a first-class actor.
It's just that it's 2020, why do you still want to shoot "Call of the Wild"?
This novel by Jack London was written during the gold rush in the western United States. At that time, the rule of survival in the Yukon Polar Regions was to stand and fall to death. You did not believe in tears on the gold rush. If it is said that Jack London truly and honestly presented his life experience of traveling to the polar regions perfectly through a dog named Buck, then, 100 years after the author left us, the world has undergone earth-shaking changes. The rules of survival at that time are no longer suitable for today's society. The movie leads us to revisit "The Call of the Wild". What do we want to learn from it?
Buck, who returned to the wilderness, could not forget the love Thornton had given him. Therefore, every summer, people who happened to be in the Yukon Polar Region would see a huge, smooth-coated "wolf" crossing the forest to the valley. , He will stay there for a long time, and before leaving, he will make a long and sad howl... No amount of advanced stunts can write Jack London's text at the end of "Call of the Wild", this paragraph of Buck will not hesitate Toiled back to the place where Thornton lived, the words commemorating old friends are perfectly visualized. Therefore, it is difficult for movie audiences who are deeply attracted by Buck's perfect performance to grasp the profound meaning of director Chris Sanders's letting the movie end on Buck looking through the screen eagerly.
When the Yukon Polar Region has no gold to find, and the law of the jungle where the weak eats the weak has been repeatedly criticized, what can the famous book "Call of the Wild" leave us? What "Call of the Wild" leaves us is that love will not be forgotten, even if it is a love between a person and a dog.
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