The film’s intention of friendship: encountering hostility as a reality
, too many commemorative events spring up like mushrooms, easing the hostile cross-strait relations; international humanitarian warriors re-unearthed, telling us that in history, there are too many unhesitating Foreigners dedicate their lives to the miserable Chinese. The documentary film salvaged and finally saved the anti-Japanese story of "the old man who was not in a fire fight"; the drama film created a new Schindler and Bethune, which moved Chinese audiences to tears. In the video, through the documentary "Nanjing", we met another Schindler-John Rabe; through the feature film "The Veil", we found another Bethune-Walter Finn.
However, the dual efforts of history and film have failed to eliminate the deep-rooted "China threat theory" in Western countries. How many Westerners take care of the poor Chinese in the old society and establish their own image of a living bodhisattva in the video. There are so many Westerners who treat every incident in contemporary China conspiratorially in reality and wishfully desire to be the savior of democracy. It seems that these commendatory words can only belong to historical stories and commercial films, which are shocking, touching, and borderless. However, ideological differences and conflicting world views have been sadly left in the judgment of realistic news such as the Tibet issue.
For this reason, the realistic effects of those films that eulogize the warriors of internationalism inevitably make us deeply disappointed. Friends who have watched many movies can also find Schindler in Cambodia and Rwanda ("The Killing Fields", "Rwanda Hotel" and Bethune in Kenya ("The Immortal Gardener") in more films, and even Japan based on the "real "Story" concocted his own Schindler. At the beginning of World War II, the Japanese ambassador to Poland who rescued many poor Jews from the German Nazis (a short film that participated in the Sundance Film Festival, I don’t remember the name). Facing the dilemma of "moving Chinese characters" and the cruel reality, we had no choice but to spend 90 minutes of business time and spend money to buy simple touches.
Narrative structure of the film: assorted more than traditional film
fought with, "The Children of Huang Shi" and moved to China with a real story here, a British Bethune took the children were arduous "Little Long March", and finally as Bethune Same, unfortunately died of tetanus. By the way, this reporter named George.Pig brought a piece of "civil war of resistance" that is strictly in line with history; he also brought out a story of the king of the child like a paradise in "Mediterranean" and a piece of "Xin" with both gains and losses. "Dele List"; brought two international Chinese superstars Chow Yun-fat and Michelle Yeoh, as well as Australian lady Michelle, a lot of pairing, in order to launch the international version of the men’s "Heroes", A Qing’s Wisdom Fighting National Army officer’s "Sha "House Bang", "Casablanca" between the men and women's triangle, and the story of "The Veil" after a couple of men and women are left alone.
Since it is unable to change the international reality, it is commendable to reveal as much as possible a history that has been buried for many years outside of textbooks. What's more, this is a novel history of civil war of resistance, an unknown "Scout Long March", absolutely possessed The secondary development value of documentary and feature film follow-up. The producer and director at least did not sculpt an "imaginary China" at will, but carefully examined the history of the War of Resistance against Japan, and distinguished the delicate cooperative relationship between the Fourth Army and the National Army that can be tense at any time. Of course, audiences with a little knowledge of geography have discovered that the "Long March of the Boy Scouts" from Huangshi, Hubei to Lanzhou, Gansu in the movie can never be only 500 miles away. According to Nie Guangchun, the prototype of one of the orphans in the film, the "Old Fourth", He Ke did not take them to escape from Huangshi, but from Shuangshipu in Shaanxi. It is possible that the original author of the novel mistakenly wrote the pinyin (shuangshi) of Shuangshi as Huangshi. (huangshi).
As a foreigner watching China’s vision, such a geographic error is plausible, but the film is not willing to just concentrate on creating a "Long March road film" that shows arduous and outstanding performance, and focuses on portraying the male protagonist played by Jonathan on the journey. The history of thought growth, and an attempt to embrace most of the elements of commercial films in every aspect: love, friendship, danger, and laughter. It is a pity that all these elements have not been properly assembled like an excellent commercial film. Before the start of the "Scout Long March," reporter He Ke, like the brave field reporters in other films, wittyly got into the Red Cross truck and pass, and came to Nanjing during the massacre; unlike "El Salvador" and "Killing Fields" Similarly, he had no chance to rescue his photographs and colleagues. After being rescued by Chen Jieke of the New Fourth Army, the movie appeared with the cool flavor of "The True Colors of Heroes" to match Chow Yun-fat's deeply rooted traditional image.
After being forced to enter the "Scout Teaching Camp", He Ke became a king of children. At this time, Huangshi was also like a paradise like the Italian movie "Mediterranean." Women patrol the forefront of China, sharing the "Military Medal" together. Then, perhaps in 1941, when there was a problem with the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, Michelle Yeoh played a businessman and rescued the British journalists. However, she could not fight the national army like "A Qingsao" and could only devote herself like Wang Jiazhi. Huang Shi couldn't stay any longer, the "Scout Long March" began. At this time, for the "Casablanca"-like "the beginning of a great friendship", Chen Jieke chose to be accompanied by a gun, leaving the love of his sons and daughters to the Westerners. . "The Long March of the Scouts" ended, and accompanied by the camel cavalry in "Lawrence of Arabia", reporter He Ke and nurse Li finally took their children to Shandan, Saibei. While trying to build a good southern part of Ganbei and "sow seeds" for the revolution, the relationship between Li and Heke has unfortunately reduced to the same "harmonious doctor-patient relationship" as in "The Veil". In the end, it has the same goal as "The Veil". On the 9.6 million square kilometers of China, men and women are sad.
The production mode of movies: the repetition of personal history in the great age
Although "Children of Yellowstone" did not find the most suitable focus of expression, it still attracted domestic and foreign audiences with its excellent international production, big-name Chinese stars, true restoration of historical scenes, and the landscape of the Chinese land. Another co-production film that is successful in terms of production. It is too mean to demand foreign directors' "correct understanding" of China and even doubt their goodwill starting point. After all, from the "Earth" in which Hollywood actors played the role of Chinese farmers in the 1930s, to the allegorical Chinese gangster films about the fear of the "yellow peril" during the Cold War, to today's "Countess," "Veil," and "Children of Yellowstone". "Foreigners' Chinese past", Western filmmakers are gradually restraining their "pre-imagination", and further conforming to our own understanding.
It's just that we should always believe and demand that this kind of co-production should be better. Throwing Schindler to Kenya to achieve "The Immortal Gardener", and then to China, becoming "The Child of Yellowstone", and then Kosovo and Iraq have the next British and American journalists to rescue the wounded. Things that change personal identity and name like this, thrown into a period of time to copy, are indeed too simple and too boring. These people, these things, can become genre films, but their past buried in history is definitely not a unified genre routine that can be demonstrated. Such duplication can only bury their historical luster. When we have enough materials and ability to reproduce our own Schindler, the Shanghainese who have helped the Jews, we don’t want to see just another "Children of Yellowstone".
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