The power of film

Hubert 2022-09-06 19:20:49

50 yuan salary, 9 yuan for a bus ticket to the city, and making money by moving bricks... It seems that the money is a bit too much. Fortunately, the influence of language is far less than the setting of the scene, the clothes of the person, the expression of the person, the behavior of the person and even the soundtrack. The director may be well aware of this, because this is where the expressiveness of the film lies. Why aren't professional actors used? It may also be because the director does not want to lose the truth that only the parties can convey.

There are schools with teachers, students and classrooms, involving rural education, but there are also teachers and students wandering, hardships and persistence in the city, so it cannot be said that this is an educational film. Students, teachers, village chiefs, villages, county towns, dilapidated classrooms, bumpy dirt roads, each and every picture awakened the real feeling in the heart of a post-60s rural person like me. The people and things in their hometown have been thrown into the long river of time by the maddened GDP of the devil, but the life feelings related to them are vividly preserved in people's hearts. What the film evokes is the feeling of real life.

Now people talk about medical education, complain about stock market prices, get used to repeated topics, and succumb to a life of not knowing whether it is happiness or misery. What is too late to ask is, where did the train of life come from and where is it going? When Zhang Yimou brightened up the dusty memory of life, and the feeling of life in the past became vivid again, I was suddenly surprised: My heart used to live in the past, is the current me really me?

If it is an educational film, it is not a film about intellectual education, but a film about how to teach children in remote villages how to make movies, a film that teaches adults to think about where life should start.

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Extended Reading
  • Loyce 2022-03-18 09:01:07

    6/10. The key clues of the narrative are money and chalk as representatives of the teaching conditions. From teacher Gao counting chalk, students slapping chalk to donating chalk, the blue pigment chalk written by Zhang Huike on the blackboard at the end. The blue color is the children’s feelings towards Wei Min. Praise, when Teacher Gao took the car home early in the morning and Wei Minzhi failed to chase his salary, Dawn’s cyan cool tone indicated the lack of material. If the promise of money cannot be fulfilled, the remaining money from the bricks can be bought for one person. Coke here is a poor student. Material luxury. Sound and painting artistic conception: a broken wall at the village chief’s house (hard work) and a touch of red (vigorous) paying attention to the national flag. The class moved bricks and stepped on the majestic yellow ground. Wei Minzhi walked to the city’s cave, and there was a lot of time behind him. The darkness of the long road presents the light in front of us, expressing a determination that is indispensable. Wei Minzhi went to a banquet to beg with the dark night as the background. The dark night reflects the inner confusion and gives the courage to let go of dignity. The noise of the train that broadcasts failed to find people creates a sense of psychological oppression. The green field in the background of the program when the TV station is a guest indicates the hope of finding someone. The host looked forward to Wei Minzhi's answer to the good in the city, but Wei Minzhi was most impressed by begging.

  • Lisa 2022-03-19 09:01:09

    Zhang Yimou’s films in his early years had the power to penetrate people’s hearts for a moment. The lens language was very simple and natural, and the principles were explained in a simple way. Some people say that Zhang Yimou pleased the West by taking pictures of China’s backwardness. I don’t think so. A director with a conscience should do these tasks. Nowadays, Chinese movies are often loved by men and women in cities, but I have never seen a real masterpiece of urban civilization. In the 1990s, Zhang Yimou’s films focused on the confrontation between rural and urban civilizations were not deliberate and unavoidable. It should be said that Zhang Yimou has done what he has done and should be evaluated objectively!

Not One Less quotes

  • TV Host: Do you like the city?

    Zhang Huike: Yes.

    TV Host: What is good about it?

    Zhang Huike: The city is beautiful and prosperous. Much better than the country.

    TV Host: What's the most lasting impression?

    Zhang Huike: That I had to beg for food. I will always remember that.