(no spoilers)
1) This is a historical drama with a not small structure: the protagonist is a nation and an individual caught up in the tide of a turbulent era. The film is involved from top to bottom (central government/local government/military/grass-level officials/basic-level people, etc.), and strives to depict the entire era surrounding this event. The care for the content of each level is relatively balanced, just right, and the connection is relatively natural and not abrupt.
2) Regarding the history: Overall, I think it is relatively balanced. The performance of Chiang Kai-shek is relatively positive: it creates a person who is willing to resist the war, oppose corruption, is committed to fighting for China's international status, cares about the people, and believes in Christianity. However, as a national leader, we have to consider multiple factors and make multiple difficult choices in a complex situation. KMT: There are good people and bad people. There is integrity and corruption. It's nothing to look at today. Plus they are fighting. The landlord class: the landlord and the protagonist have a good heart, are also good to the villagers, and have a positive image; other ordinary people and national characteristics: they are all small individuals in the turbulent times of war, neither particularly good nor particularly bad (a few deserters who plundered the victims still Except for corrupt officials), their choices and practices are mostly understandable under certain historical circumstances. The film avoids masking and demonization, but I think it is more realistic.
3) About the Communist Party: If I read correctly, there is not a single word in the whole film that directly or indirectly mentions the Communist Party, not even lip-service. The Communist Party doesn't seem to exist in those days.
4) About the main theme: This is a humanism/humanism film. The theme is to explore the survival and fate of people in times of turmoil and disaster. There is no political propaganda and ideology, and the content is not politicized. Secondly, from the film itself Watching is not commercialized (some people say that Feng is making a fortune again, I disagree with this film), I think after watching the film, the audience has a trace of respect
and understanding for those who lived and died in that difficult era. That's it. Some people say that this film is excavating and showing the inferiority and servility of the people. These are all nonsense that people who have no worries about food and clothing today type on the computer keyboard. If you don't experience and choose under the historical circumstances of that era, you will not be able to judge their qualifications. This is my consistent view of such historical events.
5) Character characterization: relatively thin, not enough for character development. But considering that the novel was adapted into a play, there are so many characters, it is impossible to explain clearly and understandably.
6) Narrative: It is relatively straightforward and lacks a climax. Impressive overall, but frankly no single episode particularly struck me. Regarding the tragic events in it (it was commonplace in those days, it was a "banality") such as dead people, I think it was more natural to deal with it, without being artificial, hypocritical, or sensational. At least I didn't feel it. Another shortcoming is that the historical background explanation is slightly insufficient, and a little more would be good.
7) Acting: Chen Daoming, Li Xuejian and Zhang Guoli all performed well. Zhang Guoli and Xu Fan are too fat to play
disaster victims . Zhang Guoli's landlord character Ge You may be better, but there may be no interesting lines in the script to support it.
8) Soundtrack: Very weak. A consistent feature of Chinese films. Photography: Overall good. Other details: All are still in place. The production team is very attentive.
9) Regarding the potential rating: There are some violent and bloody scenes, including broken legs, dogs eating human corpses, etc. There are a lot of deaths, and the whole mood is relatively depressed. I don't think it's suitable for children (I personally think it is below junior high school) to watch. In addition, it is not very interesting for children to see, and it is difficult to understand the whole picture. Junior high school and above can be guided by parents to watch.
10) Add one more point. Something about Christianity is covered quite a bit at the beginning of the movie. The theme is probably that these religions are useless in extreme environments, and even the beliefs of devout people will collapse, and they are skeptical or even critical of religions. It is good to have this part of the content in the novel, but it is a little redundant in this movie and can be cut.
Overall I think it's a good movie and can see the sincerity of the writer/director. The film is educational, it can help us understand and remember the sufferings experienced by people on this land, help us understand human nature, and understand the relationship between individuals and society/state/nation.
Rating: 4/5
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