Invited Author | LORENZO
"Children of the Rivers and Lakes" became an eye-catching blockbuster before the 71st Cannes Film Festival was released, causing long queues of reporters at the entrance of the cinema. As Jia Zhangke’s fifth impact on Palme d’Or, "Children of the Rivers and Lakes" has indeed set off a storm in Cannes.
The movie tells the story of Brother Bin (Liao Fan), a gangster in Datong, Shanxi, who was threatened by his life in a violent incident. His girlfriend Qiaoqiao (Zhao Tao) took out Brother Bin's pistol and fired a warning shot. Qiaoqiaowei Protector Bin claimed that the gun was his own and was sentenced to five years in prison. After being released from prison, Qiao Qiao became what Bin Ge called the "people of the world" because of his desperation, but he was ruthlessly abandoned after seeing Brother Bin again. However, because of fate, Bin's career is low and he can't walk because of a stroke. Qiaoqiao takes up the loyalty of the world and accepts Bin again.
"Jianghu Children" has Jia Zhangke's unprecedented ambitions. In this film, Director Jia not only pays tribute to his past works in many places, but also expands the creation of the universe in his works as never before, and popularizes the word "Jianghu" to foreign media. . In terms of time, Director Jia used an epic love story to spread the time span from 2001 to 2018. In terms of space, Director Jia started from his hometown of Shanxi, went all the way south to the Three Gorges, and then traveled west to the desert in Xinjiang. , And finally returned to Shanxi, completed most of China's latitude and longitude crossing. It can be said that "The Children of the Rivers and Lakes" is a history of China's development in the longitude and latitude.
Speaking of tribute, the time span, narrative structure, and the influence of the times on individuals are very similar between "Children of the Rivers and Lakes" and "Old People of Mountains and Rivers". They are also three-stage time arrangements, and they are also life changes under the background of the times. Lacking future sci-fi factors, "Jianghu Children" is more natural than "Old Men". What's more coincidental is that Dong Zijian, who played Zhao Tao's son in "The Old Man of Mountains and Rivers", has made a cameo appearance in "The Children of the Rivers and Lakes" this time as a police officer who received Zhao Tao's report.
And in the film's Three Gorges segment, a few short sentences about the flooded landscape of the Three Gorges, draw the audience back to Jia Zhangke's work "The Good Man in the Three Gorges", Zhao Tao holds a mineral water bottle in his hand, and in "The Good Man in the Three Gorges" In the same way, this kind of water cup culture also appears in Jia Zhangke's works such as Twenty-Four Cities. The clever Binbin's story is like a continuation of "Ren Xiaoyao", the karaoke hall returns to "Xiao Wu", and the song and dance hall and coal mine protests remind people of "Heaven Is Destined".
In the soundtrack, Director Jia also followed his usual style, Ye Qianwen’s "A Life of Light Drunk", Dick Cowboy’s "How Much Love Can Come Again", and Ye Liyi’s "Shanghai Beach". Director Jia shouted out with the most popular KTV tracks. The emotions of the characters in the movie. From GO WEST in "The Old Man of Mountains and Rivers" to YMCA in "The Children of the Rivers and Lakes", Director Jia has become obsessed with the early batch of karaoke foreign music that entered China. In Jia Zhangke's view, the picture scrolls of mountain villages accompanied by cheesy music and square dance may be the most authentic China.
Although in "The Children of the Rivers and Lakes" Jia Zhangke used a lot of playful plots to enrich the watchability of the movie---the scenes such as Guan Gong's case, theft of believers, motorcycle dating, younger sister's pregnancy, etc. make people laugh, but they use black humor to set off The reality of Chinese society is the real intention of Jia Dao.
Jia Zhangke collaborated with French photographer Eric Gautier for the first time. Many of the aerial scenes in his work are like picture scrolls with the sound of drums, from the coal capital of Shanxi to the clouds and fog of the Three Gorges, from the starry sky of the desert to the city. The complex of buildings, from the bleakness of the prison covered with snow to the muddyness of the Three Gorges Power Station, Jia Zhangke tried to use his composition and aesthetics to connect the development and urbanization process of China over the past ten years, and to magnify the expressions of people under the change. . The close-ups of the expressions of people on vehicles in the opening scenes of the movie seem to be telling the confusion and melancholy of the Chinese in those years. It is a kind of nostalgic sentimentality, a myth of an era in China.
Jia Zhangke's review of the times was praised by Screendaily reporters as "like a Dickens novel", but Jia's ambition did not end there. Compared with the exploration of the time dimension (the future in 2025) in "The Old Man of Mountains and Rivers", this film also completes Jia Zhangke's view of the universe. A flying saucer appeared in "The Good Man in Three Gorges", and this time in "The Children of the Rivers and Lakes", Zhao Tao walked in the night of the Gobi. Not only did she accompany her a little bit of stars, but also the mystery after the thunder rolling the electric light and flint. The elephant crossed the sky. It is a long gaze and look up to the unknown beyond time and space.
In addition, it is the first time that Director Jia explored the concept of "Jianghu" in his works. The relationship between Qiaoqiao and Brother Bin started because of the rivers and lakes, and declined because of the rivers and lakes. In the end, the rivers and lakes are sinister and sinister. , Is still a heart-to-heart chivalrous heart, we don't know, but the scene of the rivers and lakes finally came to life under the interpretation of Director Jia.
Speaking of performances, Feng Xiaogang, Dong Zijian, Xu Zheng, and Zhang Yibai also appeared in director Jia's films. Although Liao Fan has collaborated with Jia Zhangke for the first time, the performances are very stable, accurate and ruthless. However, the real star of the film is still Zhao Tao. "Jianghu Children" is tailor-made for Zhao Tao. She carried most of the performances alone, shaping Qiao Qiao's personality changes in "Jianghu" in more than ten years, and also added weight to her winning Cannes film. , This year's award Xu is her closest to the Cannes film queen.
It is better to forget each other in the arena. For example, the English name of the movie, Ash is Purest White, not only refers to the pure and innocent heart of Qiaoqiao, but also the eternal love under the scouring of time. Following Director Jia's review of China's changes, I should be fortunate to know. And I wish the movie a great victory.
· THE END· This is the 628th issue of "Won't Disperse", Taotao slay!
This article was originally published by the WeChat public account busan-movie. Reprinting without permission is prohibited
View more about Ash Is Purest White reviews
