The film is adapted from Liu Zhenyun's novel of the same name. The full text of this reportage novella describes some scenes of the 1942 Henan famine and the national government's psychological dynamics before and after the decision in a dark humorous tone. Let the "big history" like a golden rule in textbooks and the insignificant "small memory" from the individual make a contrast, forming a strong contrast. It can be said that Liu Zhenyun is one of the more sharp contemporary writers who criticize the national character. However, the 1942 film, I personally feel that the value of its existence and the thinking it evokes are far from simple. Vertical
line - two main lines and four
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change.
It is difficult to locate the character of the old club with good and evil. The film begins to let his second young master bully Huazhi, and then plans to report to the county magistrate to arrest the victims who are begging for food in the city. He cannot be called a good person; Ask the court to protect Shuanzhu and distribute food to Huazhi's family, although not willingly, but not indifferent. On the way to Shaanxi, he did not forget to relocate the land, and then returned to his hometown after being settled and prosperous. We can see that this is the image of a feudal landlord with a strong family-based ideology, a basic concept of right and wrong, and some selfishness. As the plot continues to move forward, his son is stabbed to death by a robber at home, his daughter-in-law starved to death with his child in his arms, his wife died silently, and the last companion—my own grandson who was born shortly after was suffocated to death by himself, and his old boss was physically afflicted While being devastated by starvation, he also suffered a double blow from his heart, which made him fall into despair from hope again and again, and finally sighed like this: "It's good to die, die early and be freed early". The disaster not only made him let go of his body, retreated all kinds of foreign objects, and became a small and miserable ordinary disaster victim, but also made this once mighty landowner seem so powerless in the face of disaster. Such a plot and image, let us accept the role of the old club a little bit psychologically, and turn his experience into more sympathy.
In the film, Generalissimo Chiang and officials from top and bottom of the Nationalist government never seem to regard disaster relief as the top priority in the country, but more depict how severe and urgent the war situation is. Either through the Henan Provincial Government's retelling, or through third-party forces in the society, Ta Kung Pao, and Time Magazine. It seems to be more in line with the sentence in Liu Zhenyun's book, which is also the beginning of the film: At the same time that three million died, there were also such things in history: Song Meiling's visit to the United States, Gandhi's hunger strike, the bloody battle at Stalingrad, and Churchill's cold. Any one of these events, in the context of the world in 1942, was more important than three million. Under the pressure of Chinese public opinion and international reputation, Chairman Jiang finally decided to start disaster relief. We saw that the subordinates symbolically punished a group of officials, and forced the victims to act as spectators. We also saw the skyrocketing food prices at that time. Grain merchants took over the officials' personal pockets, and various agencies in the disaster area debated endlessly. Although the government of the Republic of China was accused of corruption and incompetence, there was no final conclusion like the previous movies. We saw that Chairman Li Peiji was dedicated to the people, and we also saw that Chiang Kai-shek was worried about the international war, but he wanted to love the people like a son, and tried his best to do what he said and did. Unite. It objectively and comprehensively demonstrated the corrupt national government at that time.
There are four branches in the film:
1. Time magazine reporter Bai Xiude's follow-up report on the disaster area;
2. The pastor played by Zhang Hanyu's faith is shaken;
3. The process of the old horse played by Fan Wei from a chef to a mobile court and back to a chef
4. Donations from all walks of life in China .
The character Bai Xiude has a definite historical prototype. Several paragraphs in Liu Zhenyun's original work quoted Bai Xiude's report. Facing the scene of the famine in Henan, Bai Xiude was shocked and puzzled at the same time. In his value system, the principle of checks and balances makes the government's primary existential value to serve its citizens. When he compared the government based on the idea of "by the people, by the people, and for the people", he kept throwing this question: why did their government not act? The pastor played by Zhang Hanyu was a devout Catholic at first. He believed that the casualties on the way of fleeing the famine were due to their lack of faith in the Lord. He kept lobbying the people, giving alms and preaching. After a little girl is blown to pieces by artillery fire in front of him, he begins to shake, and his faith completely collapses after asking God's will and demonic crimes; Fan Wei's role from chef to judge, so The dominant mobile court continued to follow the victims, maintaining a completely formless legal order, until the invaded Japanese soldiers turned him into their cook again. Even if domestic industrialists are willing to donate half of their property to help the disaster-stricken areas, there is still no guarantee that all of them will reach the victims during the delivery process, and the disaster situation in Henan has not slowed down.
The interweaving of the main line and the branch lines
When we jump out of this link and look at the movie macroscopically, we will notice that the two main lines and the four branch lines are intertwined and related to each other. The two main lines represent the subject and the receptor respectively, and the four branch lines are the integration and complement of the subject and the object. Foucault's philosophy of power states: Powers are not just physical or military might, of course they are an element of power. For Foucault, power is not a fixed position that can be grasped, but a "flow of energy" that runs through society. Foucault sees power not as a form, but as a different way of using social institutions to express a truth to impose one's own ends on society. The government of the Republic of China in 1942 symbolized the existence of this kind of power to a certain extent, and when this kind of power was not dominated by truth or knowledge, it could only be reduced to a cruel and violent ruling machine. The intertwining of many clues also shows one of the themes of the film: that is, in the absence of the government as the main body, journalists, churches, mobile courts, and industrialists donate money, which is the corresponding public opinion, religion, justice, and charity they represent. . Neither can make changes for the living environment of the victims, at best, some repairs in the age of technological rationality.
Moreover, it also has various problems. In order to obtain news, Bai Xiude went into danger several times. It was difficult to talk to Chiang Kai-shek. He also faced the risk of blocking news and restricting personal freedom. The acceptance of others has also destroyed their beliefs; ridiculous mobile courts, unprofessional judges, traitors on the outside, strong on the outside and hard at work, will only succumb to the sword of the Japanese army in the end; industrialists with a patriotic heart to save the people, in the process of disaster relief Without an effective supervision mechanism, the food payment will eventually flow into the hands of others.
Crossing the Line - Two Deep Contradictions in 1942
1. National Interests and People's Interests
There is such a line in the film and original work: When the common people die, the land is still owned by the Chinese; but if the soldiers starve to death, the Japanese will will take over this country. This sentence clearly distinguishes the interests of the country from the interests of the people. Mo Tzu said: The superior is the government, and the inferior will govern, and the inferior will be chaotic. In the film, we can see that on the one hand, the highest authority of the state mediates on the most gorgeous stage in the world. They strive for the power of the destiny of the country, sign contracts, attend meetings, attend the most advanced banquets, and enjoy the richest dishes. , while the victims who fled the famine in Henan stayed in the wilderness, approaching the brink of death step by step, falling from hope to despair again and again. Here, the narrow view of national interests and people's interests becomes the rupture of the internal stratum of the country. between the ruling class and the ruled class. The two simply divided classes not only have such a huge disparity in material conditions and living conditions, but also the powerful groups often bully the disadvantaged groups: soldiers rob the victims of food and money, and unscrupulous traders extract various benefits from the disaster relief funds. , Shaanxi officers expelled the victims of the inbound train. The film depicts these two classes with different emphasis. For the upper class, the film mainly depicts the officialdom of corruption, convention, party for profit, and conspiracy. For the lower class, it avoids possible disputes of interests between each other, and it is more within the individual. expand between. When the faults in this society continue to widen, distort, and gradually lose the convergence of national interests and people's interests, the country will not be a country.
2. Nationalism and Humanism
In the original work, we saw in the end the detailed description of the last victims who were rescued by the Japanese army's food supply, and became the Japanese army's villagers. They guided the Japanese army, carried stretchers for the Japanese army, and even joined the army for the Japanese army. In the film, this plot is vigorously downplayed, and it is only mentioned in the plot of the Henan Provincial Chairman denying this fact in response to Chairman Jiang's inquiry. On this point, the two opposing tendencies are: praise and criticism, that is, do not praise the Japanese army, because the Japanese army's invasion of China is the background of the whole incident. Likewise, the Henan victims should not be criticized for accepting food from the Japanese army. The desire to survive will overwhelm everything, and this is the choice everyone will make in the face of desperation. Xunzi said: Water and fire have qi but no life, grass and trees have life but ignorance, animals have knowledge but no righteousness, people have qi, have life, have knowledge, and also have righteousness, so they are the most precious in the world. However, when the so-called "loyalty", the order established by morality disintegrates, the sociality of people disappears, when the racial group relationship composed of blood ties disappears, and when human nature degenerates into basic animal nature under special circumstances, what about nationality and what? Righteousness is to use ideology to kidnap individuals morally, starve to death or become a traitor? From another point of view, the Japanese army's invasion of China caused the country to be in a state of emergency, which is the violence and ruthlessness of the expansion of modernity. As a result, this same logic is nothing but the brutality and ruthlessness of modernity's control over society, and Chiang Kai-shek was thinking within this logic, and naturally made such a decision. At this time, we should show more humanism, people-oriented, and a conscience in the sense of the concept of human's own functions.
The meeting point of the vertical line - at the end of 1942, when
we look at the whole movie, we can see that the idea of relocation in Henan Antu is deeply rooted. From the escape of the old club and the Xialu family, the idea of family standard and blood kinship is also everywhere. visible. This is related to China's well-known family tradition. At the end of the film, Lao Dong lost all his relatives, lost his beliefs, and only had the idea of "going on" in his mind when he turned back in despair, when he met the little girl who also lost her whole family, simple but powerful dialogue, brief but warm two The salutation melted away all the coldness and despair, made two people who had never known each other become family members, and rekindled hope in the unbearable history.
This episode completely sublimates the film's theme of warmth between people under the great disaster: Xing Xing from self-proclaimed as a noble female intellectual, reluctantly killed her beloved black cat, burned cherished books, and finally Selling for the sake of the family; not following the flowers of the second young master and bowing to Zhuanzhu for the sake of the child, let the "one-day man" take the initiative to sell himself, and automatically put on the Zhuanzhu warmer cotton trousers before leaving; Zhuanzhu is for the "one-day husband and wife" The promise of searching for children everywhere and dying under the sharp sword of the Japanese army... When the traditional blood relationship ends in the constant death and departure of relatives, a modern cognition based on love and responsibility is born, a A psychological identity beyond the traditional ties maintained by blood vessels is established. The conflict between national interests and people's interests seems irrelevant at this time, and the conflicts and disputes between nationalism and humanitarianism also become insignificant here. This modern approach will gradually disintegrate the old rules, and create a brand-new social order and system starting from interpersonal communication, which is stable, harmonious, and friendly. That is to say, when the disaster destroys the old order, destroys human nature, and makes it chaotic and retrograde, it also invisibly breeds a new way of cognition, a new social order, and a new era of civilization. I think that this is the main theme that the film's many clues converge to finally want to express, and this is also the reason why our nation is prosperous and the source of civilization.
The existence of several dark lines
1. The Allies were in a disadvantageous position during World War II
2. The incident of Chiang Kai-shek's bombing of Huayuankou caused disasters in Henan
3. The warlords' melee under the cooperation of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party's shadow
longitudinal line re-evaluation - Feng Dao's sincerity and the film's Insufficient
Director Feng's works in recent years are of high quality (except for the banquet, perhaps), for this film, the author does not feel that it is a moral hat, or the so-called difficult to make money.
Judging from the filming process of the film, the publicity reported that all the leading actors went on a diet to lose weight to participate in the film, which is a commendable professional attitude; it is worth mentioning that Director Feng did not modify the script for the two Hollywood superstars who participated in the film. , adding the role is not to let the script change with the stars, but to let these two integrate into the cultural system of movie scripts and play supporting roles in the movie. In a sense, domestic movies that do not bow to Hollywood superstars will be good movies. , the performance of the two superstars without highlighting the highlights is the biggest highlight of their performances.
Judging from the subject matter of the film, 1942 has a certain educational and enlightening significance. On the one hand, it popularizes cultural knowledge and allows people to understand that forgotten history; on the other hand, it also makes people think deeply. The real driving force of prosperity cannot stand at a distance and ignore the value of individuals.
Judging from the details of the film, when Li Xuejian was forced to bribe, the four characters on the wall behind him were "The world is the public, which is very ironic; when the Japanese army gave food to Shuanzhu, there were steamed buns in front and sharp knives in the back. The meaning is very deep.
From the point of view of the film's production, Director Feng seldom portrays the main characters as facial masks, and it is difficult to locate them with good or bad. At the same time, he also tries to avoid using grand narrative brushwork to portray some heroes who show national integrity. It is to write about little people, their displacement, emotional changes, and to show the warmth between people under disasters, which is more realistic.
However, the film attempts to intersperse multiple clues against such a grand background, trying to portray a panoramic view Characters, it is inevitable that there will be some deficiencies in the extravagance of the plot.
1. The description of the famine is slightly insufficient, and the description of the war scenes is too heavy. In the original work, there is a very detailed description of the food of the victims and their final living conditions. Perhaps An upholding of human nature, perhaps due to the current censorship system, most of these scenes in the film pass by, and there is no detailed description of how the last food is difficult to swallow, and how it is like poison. The tragic scenes such as suffering, changing children and eating were deleted in the movie, and many scenes were used to show the Japanese air-dropped missiles causing casualties, blood splashing, and corpses everywhere. Because of the countless domestic war movies, everyone is very concerned about The war and artillery scenes in the film are not particularly cold. Although it is to highlight the background premise of the Japanese invasion of China, it still makes the film lack tension to a certain extent.
2. Religiousism has not been fully reflected. According to the previous analysis, Religion, as one of the four branches, highlights the theme and strengthens the tragic effect of the plot. However, the teachings of Catholicism are not fully reflected here. On the other hand, since Catholics were a minority in the Republic of China in 1942, foreign perspectives Reporter Bai Xiude acts as the role, and the Western religious perspective here is not so prominent, nor can it form a greater impact.
3. The climax is not prominent enough, and the ups and downs stop at the music. Many people have the same emotion when they have seen the movie. The author thinks that the final climax of the film should be when the victims of the disaster in Henan become so-called "traitors" after the Japanese army releases food, and then sing a humanitarian elegy at this time. However, the film unexpectedly deleted this plot, and only mentioned a sentence in the plot that Li Peiji recounted to Chiang Kai-shek, which may also be due to the current censorship system. In addition, although the rhythm of the film as a whole gives a slightly strong sense of shock, it always seems to be a little bit lacking, which is the lack of a blank and gradual transition between the plot and the music. I remember the first episode when the music of the film officially sounded, which was the scene of the old club's house being burned, a kind of silent desolation. In front of this picture, there could have been more shots of the old club looking around and portraying expressions as a transition, allowing the audience to have more time to follow the emotional changes of the characters, but the music suddenly sounded, cutting off the bridge and letting the climax follow the music. Come, and stop at the music, but also make the music of the film have an indescribable sense of disobedience.
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