"Rise" from "The Director's Talk"

The film uses accurate and rich film language to express the different choices of the two protagonists in the face of the test of life and death. When faced with such a choice, there is no third way for them to die in honor or live humbly. Sotnikov and Ryback made very different choices, and the difference between the two characters was so sharp that the director decided to shoot the film in black and white to accentuate the contrast.

The film begins with the tragic atmosphere of the harsh war years: on the edge of a snowy horizon, a group of black figures seem to have emerged from the ground, they are running, and the voices of men are shouting : "The Germans!" with the woman's voice shouting: "The Crusade!" These static, slow shots are immediately replaced by a short montage of quick transitions: women, children, and the wounded appear one after the other. The rhythm of the war is fully represented in the film, the camera rotation is accurate, nothing is taken in, not even the trees, the bare bushes emerging from the snow are not overtaken. Every detail that appears on the screen has a profound meaning, some details can be developed into an independent story, and some details have strong expressive and shocking power. For example: a man froze in the cold holding a spoon with difficulty, carefully feeding wet grains of wheat into the mouth of a child, the details of the life of this guerrilla that broke out depict the performance of war Much richer than other films that use too much symbolism. Then, the film uses panning shots to show people's faces: men, old women, and children are carefully eating the grain of wheat in their palms, lest one fall on the snow.

Sotnikov was lanky, sickly, coughing constantly, and he went about his mission with a strong mental strength; Rebak was strong. When the guerrilla captain sent the two of them to a nearby village to get food, they stepped out of the crowd, and the camera shot them in a long shot, and at first, it was impossible to see any difference between them. As they walked along the snow-covered road, the audience could see that the footprints the two left on the snow were different: Sotnikov's footprints were light, indicating his frailty, and Rebak's footprints were deep, showing his Steps are powerful. In the novel based on which the film is based, the characters of the protagonists are shown through their memories and inner monologues, and the film reflects their different pursuits through the events shown on the screen.

The physical difference between the two of them was immediately seen by the audience, but the disparity in their spiritual character was revealed only in the face of severe tests. The author of the film did not simply treat Rebak as a "traitor". In the beginning, he was also a heroic guerrilla who could do his best to complete his tasks and caring for his sick companions. The film shows Rebak's "friendship" to Sotnikov in detail: On the way, Rebak told Sotnikov that he was most afraid of performing tasks alone, even if it was the easiest task, he went to fight. A hundred battles are fine, but they must be in the team. When he heard Sotnikov coughing, he took out his towel and put it around his neck with care; told him to put the snow in his mouth to stop his cough; took out the remaining grain of wheat in his pocket and fed him; Teach him how to get a hat from someone else to put on. After Sotnikov was injured, Rebak dragged him through the snow and bandaged the wound on his leg. Especially touching: When Sotnikov's hair froze on the tree, Ryback puffed his hair off the tree one by one. All these depictions should have shown that the two of them were comrades-in-arms who shared life and death. But this is not the case. When the two of them hid in the attic of the Temchiha house, the enemy came to search and fired at the attic, and the difference between the two of them was revealed: Sotnikov decided not to speak With a sound, he would rather be shot to death than implicate Temchiha, while Rebak shouted, "Don't shoot," and he was captured. This scene explains: Although Sotnikov is weak, he is mentally strong, he is ready to bear everything, he believes he can bear everything; Rebak is physically strong, but mentally cowardly and weak of.

The author of the film did not want to treat Rebak as an unconscionable "traitor", but just wanted to properly represent him as a coward who was greedy for life and fear of death. He can perform the task without fear of hardship, but he cannot stand the test of life and death. When he had to make a choice between life and conscience, he chose life. His heart is not without struggle, and there are two scenes in the film where he imagines his escape, which accurately shows his psychological activities. In one scene, after he, Sotnikov and Temchiha were arrested, the traitor Stas who took refuge in the enemy used a sled to send them to the pseudo-police compound. The film used specific pictures to express Rebak's imagination The escape scene: He jumped off the sled and ran forward, immediately after a burst of gunfire, he was shot and fell. Foreseeing such a scene in his imagination, he sat obediently on the sleigh and did not move. Here, he did not dare to escape because he was afraid of death. Another scene is: when Sotnikov and the other four were hanged, Stas took him from the execution ground to the pseudo-police compound to be a policeman. In the crowd watching the execution ground, someone scolds him in a low voice. It was "Judas", and he was in a bad mood. On the way, he imagined that he was running away again, but he was killed again. The desire to survive made him obediently become a pseudo-police. On the contrary, in the film, Sotnikov does not have much inner struggle. He has a firm belief in life and has clear love and hatred. When he mistakenly thought the village chief was the enemy's son-in-law, he wanted to shoot him because of the difficulties in the early years of the war and the harsh life of the besieged guerrillas. All make Sotnikov cruel. He believes that sympathy for bad guys is also a weakness, and he is uncompromising. Sotnikov's body is weaker than anyone else's, but he believes that he can bear everything. The film treats his image like Christ. In order to save others, he was willing to be crucified. He bravely defended Temchiha, As soon as they were escorted to the pseudo-police compound, he took away the rags that Stas had stuffed in Temchiha's mouth, for which he himself was beaten hard. On the morning of his execution, he asked to see Portnov, claiming that he did everything alone, and that he had nothing to do with the others, and asked Portnov to let them all go. Although he failed to rescue Temchiha, the village chief and the little Jewish girl, they all drew strength from him, looking into his eyes, Temchiha stopped crying, and they all died bravely, It was Sotnikov who gave them human dignity back. For Lei Bak, he once thanked him for his help and care, but when he heard that Lei Bak had agreed to be a fake police officer, he slapped the comrade in arms who had been through hardships and looked into his eyes. , and felt that he was so unfamiliar to him. When Sotnikov went

The film expresses Sotnikov's mood when he bids farewell to the world through his last gaze. He finally looked around: the vegetable garden next to the house, silently looking at his old ladies and gentlemen, a little boy with a drooping face on his cheeks. Tears, and the endless land of that hometown...

There are not many crowd scenes in this film, but there is one scene that is very touching: Sotnikov and others were escorted to the pseudo-police compound on the way, when the sleigh they were riding passed the crowd, and passed through Sotnikov's Eyes, the audience saw: the child at play turned his head away; the young woman with the bucket in her hand stood stunned on the steps; the sad old man watched the sled go away in the yard of his house. They all seemed to match Sotnikov's gaze.

The image of the "ravaged village" is shocking in the film. The village where Sotnikov and Rebak were going to get food was destroyed by the enemy. The audience can see from the picture: there are broken stoves. A mirror and a few clothes hanging on the ropes in the yard make one feel that life has just passed from here, and even the warm breath of the main character of the house is still in the air. The harsh environment of the cellar where Sotnikov and others were imprisoned was also very accurate. The author of the film only used the fact that Sotnikov was crawling with mice to show that the cellar was as terrible as hell.

Sotnikov's interrogation scene is very long, mainly to show the contest between good and evil. Portnov believes that all people will appear weak and powerless in the face of the pain of flesh and blood, and they will lose people after being tortured. face. So when Sotnikov passed out after being tortured, Poltnov gave him a look and believed he was right. But the next day, when he saw Sotnikov walk to the gallows without fear, his heart was afraid. Although Sotnikov's body has been destroyed, his spirit has been sublimated.

At the end of the film, Rebak uses his trouser belt as a noose in the toilet of the pseudo-police compound, trying to put his head in. This scene sarcastically shows that although Rebak survived, his mood will not be calm. He will often be condemned by his conscience, he will secretly torture his own soul, and his retreat and surrender in the face of death will torture him forever.

The film achieves a good combination of documentary and legendary. The audience can feel the author's clear love and hatred attitude: hatred for the enemy, full of love for the sincere patriot.