The film "Alive" by Zhang Yimou based on Yu Hua's novel of the same name is about such a period. The ups and downs of the hero Fugui's fate run through the entire film and are the main thread of the story. Although the film is adapted from Yu Hua's novel, the plot has been greatly changed. The film is not as absurd as the novel, although Chinese-style black humor is everywhere. The novel focuses more on the shaping of characters, it is not as grand as the film describes, nor is it overly critical of the politics of the time. No film has ever been made better than the original, but the director's wise move is to make changes to the original to make the film as much as possible from the original.
The film is particularly good is the use of shadow play. The vast Qin Opera makes people feel the vicissitudes of history, and the sad soundtrack of the movie enhances the drama of the story, and at the same time, it also better sets off the emotions of the characters. Although the movie understates the scene of burning shadow puppets, it is unforgettable. The scene that comes to mind is the scene of burning costumes in the movie "Farewell My Concubine". As well as evoking some unbearable memories, such as "broken four olds". Civilization burns to the ground, people expose each other, and human beings become hideous. Li Rui's novel "Human World" has this passage: "When persecution relies on the name of divine justice, when massacres evolve into popular fanaticism, when selfishness and cowardice become a raft of escape, when hatred and cruelty become a torch of light. At that time, what is the purpose of being born as a human being in this human world? What kind of human depth can Cihang experience? In this human world, where choices of good and evil occur every moment throughout the ages, being born as a human being is a A fortune, a sin, or an innocence?" I think it's an apt description of the movie.
Every character in the movie is tough. Neither the original book nor the movie describes the characters' confrontation with fate and their resistance to injustice. Instead, what people see in the movie is how easy it is to die. Many times, life is harder than death, especially in such a ridiculous era. In the movie, Fugui and Chunsheng were "Ding" by the famous party of the country. Later, they stood on the battlefield full of corpses and sighed: Go back and live a good life. In a chaotic era, people have to face multiple sufferings, and death is easy. Youqing accidentally fell asleep under the fence while guarding steel at the school, and because the district chief accidentally knocked down the fence, she was killed by bricks; Fengxia encountered so many in the hospital production Paramedics with any experience then bleed to death. Jiazhen said at Youqing's grave, "I never slept well before Youqing's birthday." I couldn't help but think of Eileen Chang's words: what is long is suffering, what is short is life.
When Youqing was slapped with bricks, the district chief was being sent to the hospital, but he couldn't get anyone who really needed first aid. In other words, it was an era when everyone was equal, everyone was in the same class, and there was no distinction between you and me. But what is in front of them is that the life of a Limin is not as important as the arm of a district chief. Fengxia's death was even more innocent, because Doctor Wang was starved for three days and swallowed seven steamed buns, so he couldn't give first aid to Fengxia. In other words, it was an era of advanced thinking and eradication of the old. But in front of us, experienced professors were paraded in public, while little nurses with no skills were on the operating table. In fact, it is not difficult to imagine all this, because it was an era when intellectuals went to the countryside to reform through labor, and the "poor and lower-middle peasants" without knowledge could be the principals. Everything is twisted and stupid. Today it seems like an absurd farce.
One of the classic lines of the movie is repeated twice. The first time was what Fugui said to Youqing, and the second time was what Fugui said to Mantou—a chicken becomes a goose when it grows up, a goose becomes a sheep when it grows up, and a sheep grows into a goose when it grows up Niu... Niu will be communism in the future... The days will get better and better... This is the protagonist's infinite hope for a better future, but it is also the director's criticism and irony of the politics at that time, as well as protest.
This movie is still banned in China, which makes me think of "Nineteen Eighty-Four". It said: "The works of Shakespeare, Milton, Swift, Byron, Dickens and others are therefore in the process of being translated. When this work is completed, their original works and other literary works that remain will be destroyed”, “For example, if Eurasia or East Asia (whichever it may be) is an enemy today, then that country must always be an enemy. If there are other facts that contradict this, those facts must be falsified, so history is constantly being rewritten."
The state is only a tool of the ruler, and the right to speak is often on the ruler's side. No matter what kind of system a society exists in, the people ignore it, and all the people want is a stable life. As long as the common people can live a good life, no matter the national system or the social system, it will be good. People want freedom and democracy. Instead of daring to slack off all the time, living in the shadow of "Big Brother".
What the movie wants to give us is perhaps a revelation - we should not forget history, let alone escape. Now we are in a good era , but there are also hidden worries in the good times. When can we be more enlightened and face history more correctly? What is a good era of freedom and equality? George Orwell said: "The so-called freedom is to say two plus two freedom equal to four".
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