I must admit that I decided to watch "1942" after repeated ideological struggles. The reason for the hesitation is mainly because this is a film made by a domestic director, and I secretly think that in terms of this type of subject matter, apart from Zhang Yimou's "Alive", there will be no surpassing works since then. Putting aside the fig leaf of politics, the core evaluation system of the film still lies first and foremost in the director's ability. Feng Xiaogang's consistent language narrative structure is almost the same except for "Assembly" and "Tangshan Earthquake" (ignoring the night banquet). The high box office of "Assembly", "Tangshan Earthquake" and "If You Are the One" have indeed verified Feng Xiaogang's box office appeal, but it seems that Feng Xiaogang has exhausted all his cards. After all, another fact of the high box office is that other domestically produced The collective sinking of directors. Therefore, Zhang Yimou's solo flight makes people look forward to it.
For the themes similar to 1942, can we choose Chinese and foreign combinations such as "Schindler's List" and "Alive" for reference? In such a coordinate system, it is like a master's trick, and the superior and the inferior stand.
Before and after the movie was released, Feng Xiaogang had never had the humility and patience that he had never had before, just like the IMAX marketing that gave people a strong feeling, it was nothing more than a natural reaction of extreme lack of confidence. I even thought about whether it is because the box office of this film determines Huayi's year-end K-line chart, and too many hosts, film critics, opinion leaders, etc., or because they hold Huayi stock, they are indifferent. If so, that would be a great irony.
Structural pallor. The theme of "1942" is based on a rare historical event such as the famine death of 3 million people, but the pale structure of the whole article makes it impossible to believe that this is actually a work that Feng Xiaogang said was prepared for 19 years. . The funny thing is that the little girl at the end of the movie, as Feng Xiaogang said, is the protagonist. Such naive skills are understandable, but in such a movie, it is like the red cotton jacket of the flower branches and the black cat of the stars. The same thing appears, which is really proof that Feng Xiaogang can't break through. On the other hand, if you look at Schindler's List and Alive, you can feel that Spielberg and Zhang Yimou have achieved the extremes we can imagine for the events of the era described in the structural grasp of such subjects. In this case, there is no need to complain about the jokes in "1942". These jokes are deliberately given by language, and they are the most confident of Feng Xiaogang's lineage. The same joke, can you imagine appearing in "Schindler's List"? The mayor played by Niu Ben in "Alive" may make you laugh, but it is the black humor branded in that special era, and the indescribable knowing smile that the background of that era makes us unable to let go.
The abuse of the big scenes and the stingy of the details. With so many fugitives appearing in the picture, the most exciting scene should be the scene where they get on the train and jump off the train. In addition, many scenes, including the bombing of Japanese planes, the flow of people carrying the burden, etc., seem to be too many times to explain. And in "Schindler's List" the nude portraits of men, women and children in the gas chamber, "Alive" the rich and the rich and Chunsheng are in a panic when facing the corpses in the mountains and plains, such Feng Xiaogang's so-called "heart abuse" pictures, if like the three major battles and other celestial dynasties The frequent abuse of main theme movies, I don't know it is "heart abuse" and "eye abuse". In contrast, the weakening of details in "1942" has caused the film's visual language to pass like the end of a gun. How to eat bark, how can people starve to death day by day, how long-term hungry people are slow and numb step by step, how the relationship between people in hungry people changes before and after, so The details are really stingy. So an audience member behind me said at the end of the show: Are more people killed by planes or more people starved to death?
The piling and unprincipled embellishment of actors. Because of its inherent structural paleness, the story of "1942" is more fragmented because of the excessive accumulation of actors. What does the role of the stalker perform? In the end, he promised a lot of money and died generously. The pianist is okay, and there is continuity in the front and back, so what about Father Robbins? Is he making soy sauce? And what about those N-soy sauces? Shooting a large film is like cooking a small dish. If you add too much soy sauce, the taste will be too salty and difficult to swallow. Egg fried rice or rice fried egg, that's not the problem. But the actor decides the role, or the role decides the actor. For a director who claims to have the most box office appeal, this is a big problem.
Frankly speaking, I don't hate Feng Xiaogang, even I am a fan of Feng Xiaogang Weibo. I also like the Shuo style of "I Dedicate My Youth to You" written by him. I have seen almost all of his so-called New Year's films. I even admire his candidness and open-mouthedness. , dare to speak.
But for "1942", I think Feng Xiaogang should have a thorough rethinking.
Such a historical theme can only be said to be a huge failure. Feng Xiaogang should be able to retire if he is bound by a chain of interests outside of most movies. If you're making a movie just for the shareholders, not the audience, then you can take a break. The navy can be used, irresponsible touts can be given, PR adverts can be published, IMAX can be on, all actions for the box office can be accepted, but the final film should be worthy of a director's conscience. If you shoot commercial films, literary and romantic films, it’s fine, if you want to make your own breakthrough, if you want to touch on topics like national history, if you feel that politics allows and you have the ability to control, then please treat it with caution Make an appointment for a few movies before you retire.
Perhaps by coincidence, Robbins of "The Shawshank Redemption" ceremoniously hit the sauce in this film. I remember two lines from the film "Xiao".
Bottom line: The walls in prisons are really funny. When you're in prison, you hate the walls around you; slowly, you get used to living in them: eventually you'll find yourself having to live by it. This is institutionalization.
Another line is: To this day I don't know what those two Italian pussies are singing, actually, I don't want to know either. Some things are better left unspoken. I think they're singing some really beautiful and moving stories, too beautiful to put into words, too beautiful to make your heart hurt. Let me tell you, these voices pierced into the sky and flew farther than anyone could dream. Like some beautiful birds flapping their wings to our brown cage and making those walls disappear without a trace. In that instant, everyone in Shawshank felt free.
So Mr. Feng Xiaogang, you can choose to redeem or retire.
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