Bethune came to China mainly to treat the wounded in the war, and his duty was as a doctor. Hok's journey to China began as a war correspondent, but eventually became a hero who protected and rescued a group of orphans, the "children of Yellowstone". There are many differences between the two: Bethune is a Canadian doctor, Hogg is a scholar graduated from Oxford University; Bethune is a communist, and Hogg is not, he is more like a Christian... However, their Commonality is perhaps the most important.
First of all, "The Children of Yellowstone" is based on He Ke's true story. He Ke, like Bethune, are foreigners who have truly helped the Chinese. Some of the children Hok helped back then are still alive. According to the characters shown at the end of the film, they call He Ke a perfect man and have fresh memories of him.
In addition, both of them came to China during the Anti-Japanese War, that is, in the context of World War II, and they both died in China in the end. Bethune died of a bacterial infection during surgery, and Hok died of tetanus caused by fatigue and hunger. Although not a Communist, Hogg had an unquestionable spirit of internationalism and communism, and it would be no exaggeration to rank Bethune as a preeminent communist fighter.
He Ke was born in a wealthy family and graduated from a world-renowned school. He came to China to report the disaster that was breaking out in China to the world. His purpose was to become an excellent reporter. original intention.
At the beginning of his time in Yellowstone, he was extremely reluctant, thinking that he could not just be a nanny for a group of wild children, but the environment forced him to calm down, and slowly he accepted the reality and fully took on the responsibility of looking after the children. Huangshi is the northwest rear area in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, which is under the control of the Communist Party. After He Ke was injured in Nanjing, he followed the advice of the Communist Chen Hansheng (played by Chow Yun-fat) and came here with another international friend, a doctor. Lily. Later, the war ignited to Huangshi, and a "Little Long March" (in Chinese in the movie) began to transfer 60 orphans from Huangshi, Shaanxi to Shandan, Gansu. They climbed over Liupan Mountain and traveled more than 800 kilometers before reaching Lanzhou. It was during the arduous journey of more than three months with heavy snowfall that He Ke, Lily and the children shared weal and woe, and demonstrated the selfless dedication unimaginable to ordinary people. The reason for choosing Shandan is that it is located next to the desert and is uninhabited, which can bring safety to children in such a war raging years. Completely thinking of others, such a kind of bodhisattva heart, Mao Zedong used to describe Bethune's "uninterested self-interested people" character is absolutely well-deserved.
In the film, the kite of the black cross is raised twice. Once, a rebellious child, Shi Kai, was crushed to death by an overturned carriage. The kite fluttered among the steep cliffs of Liupan Mountain. Along with the kite was Shi Kai's favorite cricket during his lifetime. The kite reappears near the end of the film, this time with the death of the protagonist Hok. The medicine for tetanus from Lanzhou was delivered to the door, but the person who delivered the medicine saw the kite rising from a distance... A person who thinks he has done nothing but contributes the greatest personality is like this gone. He slept in the arms of his lover, Lily, and was buried in the pale yellow land of China. Lily was in a relationship with the Communist Party officer Chen Hansheng, but since breaking up on the way, she has forever belonged to this guy who looks younger than her. After Hok's death, Lily continued their careers.
"The Children of Yellowstone", like last year's "Nanjing", is a film directed by foreigners that reflects the Japanese invasion of China, and the themes are similar. But after watching "The Children of Yellowstone", I still feel that the film can give people a different touch than a documentary. Its various, tortuous emotional expressions and some specialized detailed narratives are really irreplaceable from the standpoint of pure appreciation.
There is no doubt that it is a sad story, but what we see is such a beautiful picture: clear water and Danshan, green smoke curling, just like a fairyland on earth; setting sun in the desert, camel bells tingling, as if in an ancient country. Does the director want to tell us that fate is not only hard and heavy, but also the scenery along the way? Or, sword and chrysanthemum, is this all I have to show? In addition, there is an erhu song in the movie that plays frequently, and one of the orphans pulls it into the character. Orphans who lost their mothers and fathers in the war, there is probably no better way to relieve the little sadness than to use an erhu to play a melody.
It is quite interesting or interesting to mention that, according to the real experience of He Ke's life, Huangshi should be in Shaanxi, not Huangshi in Hubei, and even less likely in Anhui further south. However, we see He Kehe in the movie. The big house where the children live in Huangshi is actually a Huizhou-style building, and its beautiful landscape is also clearly a southern thing. The movie should have been shot in Huangshan, Anhui, or somewhere else in the south of the Yangtze River. When He Ke and the others arrived in Lanzhou, there was a shot that gave a panoramic view of the former Golden City. According to its topography, it can be basically determined to be Lanzhou. The Yellow River looks quite majestic, while the cities on both sides of the river are very simple, similar to the countryside, completely different from today. a face. Presumably this was done based on an old photo.
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