This time, I watched Lao Mouzi's "The Thirteen Hairpins of Jinling" for the first time. Before watching it, I was a little worried, worried that he would rely on war scenes and rape scenes to make stunts (then it's not an attitude issue but a moral issue), but After watching it, all worries disappeared, Zhang Yimou is still one of the best directors in China, and Thirteen Hairpins is definitely one of the best works this year, and it has the potential to win awards, whether it is Oscar or Cannes Berlin or something.
The Nanjing Massacre is a heavy and difficult subject. To shoot it, you should not be too ambitious, too big to control, and you have to face overwhelming scolding. Yes, it is scolding, not simply shooting bricks, because this theme is not easy to handle. It's just a movie issue, but a national emotional issue (I'll talk about this in a separate chapter later, compare "Nanjing Nanjing" and "Rabe Diary"). Fortunately, Laomouzi understands humility as he gets older, so he didn't make any epic films, he just chose a perspective in this big history, that is redemption. The plot of "The Thirteen Hairpins of Jinling" can be summed up in one sentence: a foreign funeral director, a small national army officer and a group of prostitutes completed their own redemption in the redemption of a group of female students. But it is such a simple one-line perspective, under the narration of Lao Mouzi, the film length of two hours does not feel procrastinated.
The background of the war was clearly explained in a dialogue between the junior officer and the soldier: There are only dozens of people left in our teaching team, and we will leave the city in one step. Anyone who knows the general history of the Nanjing Guard War will know what happened. Those who should have fled and those who shouldn’t have fled have fled. The Northeast Army has been scolded for so many years, and the Central Army is not much better, let alone the big men. Small abacus, but there are always some hot-blooded men who are ashamed that their soldiers cannot defend the soil, and are willing to risk their lives, killing one counts as one, saving one counts as one. This explanation is reasonable, so the short street battle is thrilling and quite new: the slow motion of a group of schoolgirls running past and the subsequent artillery fire form a very textured contrast; comparable to the sniper scene of "Bold on the City", especially It is the part where the pre-released grenade is fired, which is very impactful; of course, the most touching scene is the scene where the soldiers cover the bombers and rush towards the tank. Laomouzi has always chosen the soundtrack very well. Show the helplessness and tragic death of generosity in tears (don't tell me that the fall of the front person will stir up the technical problems of the person behind, this scene is too classic, allowing it to exist symbolically and metaphysically). Audiences who go to theaters for war dramas are worth half the price.
The background of John "Father" as the protagonist was also explained clearly in a few dialogues between John and George Jr. He came to bury the dead priest, and because of this, he was trapped in Nanjing Chengli, and he asked for more money to come compensate. The stay of a group of protagonist female students and the escape of the fourteen hairpins were also explained reasonably in several quarrels, and there was no need to start a new thread.
Having said that, I have to say that, compared to the stories of "House of Flying Daggers" and "Golden Armor", Laomouzi put a lot of thought into telling the story this time, and it is estimated that Liu Heng helped him a lot. In particular, the details of the identity of the mortuary, the little boy sent in by the junior officer, and the eventful cat make the progress of the story strictly logical. If it is not for the mortuary, it is impossible to carry out the package plan, without the dying of the little boy, the tragic death of Cardamom cannot be led to, and without the troublesome cat (including the lucky cat in the back), there is no promotion of the package plan and finally pulled back at the juncture.
No one suddenly breaks out of character and becomes a hero, so the foreshadowing and advancement of the plot is very important. John, the fake priest, hid in the cupboard and couldn't stand the screams of the schoolgirls being chased outside. It was an act of desperation, and he was brave enough to drink. Plus he was wearing priest clothes, so he felt that he was The possibility of death is not great, so the choice is made. Later, the redemption and self-redemption in him can be accepted by the audience in the context of the church and the pity and admiration for Yumo.
Thirteen hairpins, too, Chinese people are notorious for their selfishness and weakness. They like to talk about my business the most. When the little Japan comes in, they scold others every day for not resisting, but they can escape as far as they can. They call them bitches. Ruthless, what can we hope for them? So it takes a lot of foreshadowing for this story to make sense: Shujuan fled to the cellar where the prostitutes lived, and she fled elsewhere before she could see it, attracting the devils. When the prostitute Mosquito was exposed because of the damn cat, it was Shujuan who helped her out. People's hearts are full of flesh, not to mention in their words, isn't it just to serve men, that's what they do, let these twelve- or thirteen-year-old children suffer, and they feel distressed. At this point, the prostitute Twelve Hairpins replace the student Twelve Hairpins to go to the appointment (there is also a hairpin that is Little George disguised as a man) It does not feel far-fetched. A true hero never feels like a hero, but just feels like he's doing what ordinary people should do.
In fact, in both China and Europe, after the liberation of the occupied areas, prostitutes who served the invading army were pulled out to parade and beat or even shot. This is really the most despicable behavior of the so-called gentlemen. These gentlemen lingered in the fireworks field while despising the shamelessness of prostitutes. They were afraid of death and did not dare to resist in the face of the invaders. They bullied these people who were struggling to survive, but they were courageous, and even detained "traitors" and "traitors of the law". The hat to flaunt his own justice, shameless to the extreme, but there have never been many passersby watching and clapping.
"The Thirteen Hairpins of Jinling" chooses a group of prostitutes as the protagonists, so that the brilliance of humanity in the catastrophe happens to these women who are usually despised. There are two expressions here, one is to slap those hypocrites, and the other is to borrow the charm of Qinhuai. to reflect the cruelty of war. In the play, the soft and fragrant "Qinhuai Love" was sung like heaven on earth. They were wearing school uniforms at the time, but in Shujuan's eyes, it was replaced by a beautiful cheongsam. The yearning for beautiful clothes, beautiful hair and beautiful jewelry is the same, that is human nature, although in the face of cruel wars, it is as illusory and extravagant as a dream.
In the film, the light and shadow through the stained glass of the church, the coquettishness of the fourteen hairpins, and the innocent eyes of the female students, these images are naturally easy to grasp in the hands of Laomouzi, who is good at photography. The background of the massacre is shown with empty footage of corpses all over the floor. Enough is enough. The audience does not need to watch a large number of shootings, burials, and beheadings in the cinema. It is not a pre-war mobilization. It's in the bones, at least in the bones of someone like me. Since Laomouzi, who has always been short on storytelling, has told the story so well this time, what else is there to say, I give it 9 points.
Another chapter started
when I watched "Nanjing Nanjing" and wanted to scold my mother, but I was so angry that I chose to ignore it and didn't write a film review. Since I wrote a film review of "The Thirteen Hairpins of Jinling" today, let's talk about "Nanjing Nanjing" by the way. ” and “The Diary of Rabe”, these three films are all films with the theme of the Nanjing Massacre that appeared in recent years, and they cannot but be reviewed together.
There are many types of movies and many perspectives, but in the final analysis, they are an expression of the director’s thinking. If the censorship authorities allow the filming and release, it is an expression of the “authorities” thinking and an aspect of public opinion.
In the era of pure red, our literature and movies were all about portraying the heroic image of the Chinese people, especially the Communists. Of course, the negativity about the darkness and weakness of human nature will also be shown in some supporting roles (but those supporting roles are insignificant, We simply despise and laugh at it, and don’t think too much about it), the characters created by the literary films of that period were all made of masks, and they didn’t look like real people, but we could only face these “fake people”. To admire to love or to loathe to hate.
In the past decade or two, the cultural environment has become relatively tolerant, and we can interrogate history and think about people in history within the scope of limited freedom, so we began to recognize the real sacrifice of the national army in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and began to shape emotions and desires The real-life hero, began to examine the demonized Japanese devils in the past (yes, the Japanese devils are by no means fools in mine warfare, and not all of them are full of flesh and legs, they are also human, with the evil that all human beings have. kindness, joy and sorrow).
How should we think about the humiliating and catastrophic history of our nation, or how should our literary films reproduce that history? You can shoot grand historical dramas and show them from a panoramic perspective; you can shoot anthropomorphic chronicles to show people who have emerged in history and are worthy of being remembered; you can also tell the experiences of ordinary people in the big history from the perspective of small townspeople. emotion. You can sing about the nobility of being pitiful and compassionate, and you can analyze the despicableness of selfishness and weakness, but everything should be based on a real historical context and convincing logic. If there is anything in human society that is the most real and powerful, it is Logic, because regardless of beliefs, morals, rights, human nature, or the Taoism and magic of the Chinese people, there is an inherent logic.
History is grand and complex, and no movie can tell everything, so it is necessary to choose an angle. Spielberg also chose to find someone as an entry point for the landing of Normandy. How big is your Lu Chuan? Yaozi dare to shoot a masterpiece? Also take such a big name as Nanjing Nanjing? I said before that this subject is not good, and what I am facing is not a brick but a scolding, absolutely. The great history of the Nanjing Massacre can be made into an epic movie. Why didn’t Nanjing, the capital of China at that time, have a major battle like the Battle of Songhu? Why did the army of more than 100,000 nations coexist with the city and then retreated in a mess (According to research, Tang Shengzhi, the commander of the Nanjing garrison, took the initiative to ask Ying after listening to a fortune-telling monk who said that there was no danger and he could make great contributions in defending Nanjing. A cannonball without a long eye blew up the Buddhist temple and felt ominous and ran away. How could these generals who were transformed from old warlords ever have a sense of nationality)? Why did the European and American embassies, which have always advertised civilized human rights, disappear collectively in the face of the horrific massacre? These historical details are beyond our ordinary audience. The protagonists of such a movie should be Chiang Kai-shek, Tojo Hideki, the Japanese pro-dynasty who was in charge of the capture of Nanjing, Kamiya Hatohiko, Nanjing defender Tang Shengzhi, Wang Jingjiu, Song Xilian, and others who were far apart in the same period but all have inherent logic. The Communist Party, various warlords, European and American ambassadors in China and their masters, etc., of course, show a panoramic view of resistance and surrender, massacres and escapes, humiliation and tenacity.
Lu Chuan obviously wants to make such an epic movie, but unfortunately his ambition is too big, his ability is too small, and what he comes out even makes people doubt his position.
First of all, the film chose a lot of perspectives and tried to show it in full: he talked about the chaos and infighting of the national army, about desperate resistance, about surrender, about organized mass killings, about unorganized improvised killings, and about some Organized to capture comfort women, talk about unorganized rape, talk about Rabe's safe zone, talk about brave rescuers, talk about selfish and cowardly rescued people, talk about Mr. Tang's helplessness and self-sacrifice, he even Talking about the confession of the Japanese devils is also a fucking focus. The whole movie is like a pot of Northeast stew. I want to talk about everything, but nothing is good. A few highlights of the movie: For example, Mr. Tang's daughter was thrown downstairs and fell to her death without warning, because Lu Chuan was good at expressing the fragility and impermanence of life (the biggest shock in Kekexili was that the border guard was helpless and fell into quicksand and died suddenly) , and the soldier Lu Jianxiong (Liu Ye), the officer who could not hold back and left, and ran very fast. Later, when he was escorted into the car, he insisted on calling Mr. Jiang to save me, Mr. Jiang to save me, It directly killed the Virgin Mary in the film - Teacher Jiang played by Gao Yuanyuan. The contrast between the bravery and cowardice of human nature is extremely strong here. Apart from that, I don't see anything worth remembering.
Second, the main point of view of the film is the Japanese soldier Kadokawa, which occupies the vast majority of the space. It is said that this Japanese soldier watched his comrades siege, massacre, rape, storm the safe area, celebrate and sacrifice, and later to avoid Jiang The teacher was humiliated, shot her, and finally let go of the two Chinese soldiers who had been shot by him, and shot himself. I really can't accept this choice of perspective. I'm not saying that choosing the enemy's perspective to talk about our history is not good, but that's not the way to say it. Simple demonization in the past is wrong. We advocate de-demonization and dig deep into human nature, but what should be analyzed is how ordinary people who have parents, brothers and sisters just like us, banish the evil in their hearts in front of the monster of war, and behave like beasts. Instead of analyzing the behavior of these Japanese people, they will also find conscience and repent (this is Lu Chuan's wishful thinking, Lu Chuan said that he hoped that this film will be released in Japan, do you mean that when you let Kadokawa confess and commit suicide in the film, it is naive to think that the Japanese After reading it, I will repent as a role model? It is almost despicable to be obsessed with this.) If you have to talk about human nature like this, please don't choose the theme of the Nanjing Massacre, because in this unprecedented atrocity, the confession of a soldier is meaningless, and it will definitely not help the audience to understand this history. If people like Kadokawa are the majority, will Nanjing die 300,000 people? And it is worth pondering what values "Nanjing Nanjing" conveyed in the film bureau's review and release. I dare not say more, for fear of being harmonious.
Third, if I were a Japanese, I would definitely be excited when I watched Lu Chuan's scene where the Japanese army occupied Nanjing and sacrificed to the dead. The passionate drumbeat, firm eyes, and witch-god-like dance steps, as if nothing could stop them from moving forward, and the heroic spirits who hung in the urns on the chests of the soldiers and died for the emperor with infinite glory-----this paragraph The play can be used as a Japanese conscription propaganda film without any cuts, and Japan should really let this film be released. Lu Chuan, in your "Epic Movie" about the Nanjing Massacre, you show the majesty of the Japanese soldiers with great attention to detail. I can't think of a way to prove that you are not a traitor. Cheat CTR?
Fourth, since you want to make an epic film, you must be loyal to history. The international security zone where Rabe is the chairman is real. He was acting like an acting mayor at the time, and he usually dealt directly with the pro-dynasty Kagami Hatohiko. Why? Possibly so humble in front of the little Japanese officer who guarded the gate? And what about the Hundred People Beheading of the two Japanese army killing competitions that are well known to the world? Such history can be ignored in epic films? Hundreds of prisoners of war suddenly fell under the city wall, and a Mr. Tang was laboriously transported to a suburban mine to tie up a few soldiers and shoot them together? What's more, Mr. Tang was not a prisoner of war, why was he shot? Unconscionable plots like this are endless.
Finally, what makes me speechless is that when Mr. Tang, played by Fan Wei, returned to the safe area, he said to the devil: Do you know? My wife is pregnant again. With a happy smile on her face, a daughter was killed by you, what happened, my wife is pregnant again. Mr. Tang's eyes are full of tears of happiness, but mine are full of tears of humiliation. Yes, Chinese people are inexhaustible. Is this what "Nanjing Nanjing" wants to tell us? Could it be that the loss of thousands of miles of rivers and mountains and the sacrifice of tens of millions of people have brought us to think that life is endless and China will not perish? Isn't that right, we have now given birth to another 1.4 billion people, and China is amazing!
Finally, let's talk about "Rabe's Diary".
Some people say that "Rabe's Diary" deliberately demeans the Chinese people in many places, and such a major historical event does not see any role of the Chinese people, hurting our national feelings, but I don't think so. think. Because in the eyes of Europeans, China at that time was no different from Rwanda and Somalia. It was a place for civilized Europeans to carry forward the humanitarian spirit and realize the sublimation of self-worth. It's just that we admit it or not.
When we jump out of our Chinese identity, simply as a film work, "Rabe Diary" is not bad. Interspersed with a large number of real black and white documentaries, the face of that historical period is truly reproduced. Those people with dark skin and numb eyes, carrying a bunch of children to escape, and those suits and cheongsams on rickshaws flocking to the dock are the real three. China in the 1900s.
"Rabe's Diary" takes the birth and end of the International Safe Zone Committee as the main line, and reproduces the history of salvation that belongs to them from the perspective of a group of Europeans. One is too strong. The changes in Rabe's thinking, the perseverance and angry youth of the doctor like Bethune, the compassion of the female teacher, and the ignorance and ridicule of the Germans to the Nazis (party members and non-party members) make this film a good history The various elements of the film are just that it is a European adventure in Nanjing, not a Chinese film about the Nanjing Massacre.
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