There are not many road films in Chinese-language films, and rural road films are even rarer. Huo Meng's self-directed and self-starred country road film "Crossing Zhaoguan" became a surprise for Chinese films in 2018. On "Pingyao Night", Huo Meng took When it came to the best director, the male lead won the best actor. It is said in the world that Wu Zixu turned pale overnight after crossing Zhaoguan, so the meaning behind the three words "crossing Zhaoguan" should be that the situation is dangerous and cannot be released. The movie "Crossing Zhaoguan" tells that Ning Ning, who was seven years old during the summer vacation, was sent back to the countryside to be taken care of by his grandfather Li Fuchang, who was in his seventies. Li Fuchang accidentally got the contact information of an old friend who suffered a stroke and has no time left. He decided to take his grandson and ride a motorcycle tricycle to visit an old friend thousands of miles away. I'm not talking about this movie, it's an old David Lynch movie from 1999, Mr. Streeter's Story. Many people may not have heard of it, but I think you should watch David Lynch's milky (tear) work that is different from his overall artistic style before watching "Crossing the Gate".
Also a road movie. The old man was dizzy and had inconvenience in his legs and feet. He drove an old lawn mower to visit his brother who had not seen each other for ten years because of previous conflicts. On the way, I met many people and many things, and experienced the fickleness of life. The journey of more than 300 kilometers has become the journey of letting go and the repairing journey of love for the 70-year-old man.
"I have to finish this road and rely on my own strength", isn't this the "passing through" in life? The boundless sunshine swayed freely on the vast and lonely wilderness. The old man in the cowboy hat drove the old lawn mower whose parts were about to fall slowly. Like a snail, he moved forward slowly, accompanied by stars, and kept moving forward. Bikes can whizz past a lawnmower as old as him. There are harvest scenes everywhere in the movie, as if people want to sum up their life when they reach their twilight years.
There are a lot of atypical narrative elements in what appears to be a typical road film shell. There are also turbulent undercurrents in the slow shots. David Lynch asked him to persuade pregnant and runaway girls along the way, wake up brothers who are separated, and also added a paragraph recalling the war. The use of sound in the long shot of this dialogue is an excellent case for learning movies. Looking back on the war years with the veterans, the soundtrack is the roaring and piercing sound of war explosions, like a fighter jet flying over the sky, and the separation of sound and picture reveals the war wounds and tingling hearts of the two veterans. Taking shelter from the rain, Mr. Street heroically parked his lawnmower in the old warehouse before the storm, lit a cigar, and enjoyed the storm. The woman who killed the deer went hysterical, and old Street made it a delicious dinner and decorated his old buddy's lawn mower with the antlers. So many hurdles that can't be overcome when you are young and energetic, can you be calm when you are dying?
Most of the actions of the protagonists of road films are caused by unruly growth, confusion, or "searching" motifs. A trip of Streeter is more like a spiritual course. In the simplicity and calmness, it also contains a sense of righteousness. The "taste" of life.
When the shabby lawnmower finally arrived at his brother's shabby house, Erwin Street shouted Lyle's name and walked slowly on crutches, calling the first time no one answered, the second time The time turned up the volume, and the audience, like Erwin Street, feared a disappointing ending, fearing that they would never see each other after ten years. David Lynch was still kind. After three calls, Lyle answered "Erwin" and Erwin breathed a sigh of relief. With no words, everything was expressed without words. The tears that were about to burst out and the corners of the twitching mouth explained everything. "You came to see me in that thing all the way?" "Yeah, Lyle." Time and space seemed to freeze. Sitting across from you and me has surpassed everything.
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