In the blink of an eye, the film is almost twenty years old. Yesterday I suddenly remembered that this is the first time I've seen it. All the characters in the movie are not professional actors, and they almost use their real identities and names to perform in their own right. In other words, the village head is the village head, the students are the group of students, and the station head is the head of the station. It is a semi-documentary film and television work. Even the principled receptionist aunt who talked to Wei Minzhi at the entrance of the TV station had a set of principles and methods. In reality, she was a conductor at the People's Park in Zhangjiakou City. So the dialogue between the two is so natural and smooth. Wei Minzhi was just a 13-year-old rural girl with a childish face. Elongated eyes, not large, with single eyelid. Completely plain face to the sky without makeup, with rustic braids, messy bangs, as well as the common gray hair and gray face of rural people and innate shyness towards big cities. Singing with a strong local accent, and crappy dance moves that have not received professional guidance. Such an ordinary girl has caught the eye of director Zhang Yimou. He asked her to be the heroine and played herself. Originally this role was played by her twin sister, but because Wei Minzhi dared to dance in front of the camera, she eventually became the female lead. This film won the Golden Lion Award at the 56th Venice Film Festival and the Best Director at the 19th Golden Rooster Award. After "Alive", it is another masterpiece that can be called a masterpiece. I remember that many people dislike Zhang Yimou, saying that he loves to photograph China's closed and backward scenes, ignorant people, and smear China to cater to foreign judges. If you learn about China through his well-known films, many foreigners will think that this is the real situation of China, so the national teacher has not been well received by the Chinese for a long time. Now that I think about it, there is an essential difference between blackening and love. Blackening is often prejudiced and ridiculed, but what permeates the movie is the warmth and tears of emotion. From the first shot at the beginning, a strong sense of rural occlusion comes oncoming. There are hardly any red and green embellishments, gray-yellow-yellow soil, barren countryside, and crumbling classrooms. Twenty-six children, big and small, who are not divided into classes, all crammed into one classroom, dressed in shabby clothes. Lao Gao, a private teacher, had to go home for a month because his mother was critically ill. The village chief invited a girl from Lin Village who was not a few years older than these children and had just graduated from primary school to serve as a substitute teacher. The girl's original purpose was even more straightforward, she just wanted the fifty yuan for the tuition fee. Can a 13-year-old be a teacher? But no one could be found, and no one could be retained. Lao Gao himself has not been paid for half a year. It sounds sad and sad, but this is the current situation of rural education at that time. The so-called rich country and strong people, the most fundamental thing is not how many high-rise buildings have been built in the city, which Chinese names have been added to the Forbes Global Rich List, and how many percentage points the country’s GDP has increased. It is whether the people at the bottom have solved the problem of food and clothing, and whether those children of the right age have received the education they deserve. One is the present of this country, and the other is the future of this country. The heroine appointed by Zhang Yimou, we often jokingly call the "Mourning Girl", started from the first generation of Gong Li, both in appearance and temperament, it seems The same shadows have emerged throughout the past years. At first glance, it looks simple and unpretentious, but in fact, she is beautiful on the outside, and her eyes are firm. When the newcomers he discovered rarely miss, most of the characters have an "axis" energy that only accepts reason and does not admit defeat. The stubbornness and tenacity of the little people shine brightly in many of his works. The impossibility that ordinary people may have given up long ago, tenaciously persists and demands in these roles. There are no heroes in his stories, only persistence and the most simple sense of responsibility. There are very few villainous characters in his films. They don't rely on strong character conflicts to advance the story. Some of them are just the most mundane and difficult to hold on to. In the midst of a turbid, agreeable, and submissive future, there is no possibility of a story in silence or tolerance. His heroines can always speak out bravely and move forward without hesitation toward the impossible. Wei Minzhi was alone, looking for lost students in the city, and met many people on the way. The relationship between strangers is flat and friendly, and helping out is utilitarian. It's not just almsgiving, and there's no condescending contempt from the city people, and this kind of interpersonal relationship feels very comfortable. Passers-by photographed Wei Minzhi awake, fearing that she would catch a cold and get sick on the street; the shop owner gave the little boy a bite to eat, provided that he would not interfere with her business by walking around in front of the guests, and if she was hungry, she would come over to help wash the dishes and have food; the TV station is willing to Helping Wei Minzhi to do a tracing advertisement also valued her news selling point. While describing the story, the director did not depict the suffering of the disadvantaged with compassion, but told them how to find a way out. I love watching Guoshi's films, and because in his footage, he often spares no expense to photograph some of the customs and customs of China at that time, which is full of reality. Even a few flashing shots, popular posters on the wall, various advertisements posted on the street, and drinks that have now disappeared on the shelves all clearly recorded the social scene at that time. The main means of transportation for citizens is bicycles, and the blue, black and gray clothes have not faded from the mainstream of society, and fashionable men and women have begun to emerge, appearing in the camera from time to time. This is what Chinese towns looked like in the late 1990s, we can feel the changes of the times, we can feel the huge vitality in this bustling crowd. I remember many years ago, when I was very young and still studying. I once participated in the activities of members of the group, and went with the group to send poverty alleviation materials to children in poverty-stricken areas. There are clothes, books, stationery, and small candies. Although the time was short, seeing the happy eyes and excitement of the children when conveying this kindness is the happiest memory. When I came back, I still remember that the children wrote a thank you letter to us, and it was written crookedly. full of their names. "Thank you, dear brothers and sisters. We will get revenge on you when we grow up." Yeah, it really was written like that. This joke is mentioned at almost every class reunion.
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