The 69th Berlin Film Festival can be described as a "big year" for Chinese directors. The main competition section includes "Dinosaur Egg" directed by Wang Quan'an, "One Second" directed by Zhang Yimou and "Long Time" directed by Wang Xiaoshuai. However, on February 12, "One Second" was withdrawn due to technical problems, and "Dinosaur Egg" was a work produced and distributed in Mongolia and spoke Mongolian throughout the whole process. In fact, the main competition unit is only "Long Time". A Chinese movie.
February 14 is the penultimate day of the Berlin Film Festival. As the last film in the main competition, "Long Time" premiered at the film festival. In addition, it is the "only seedling" of Chinese films in the main competition unit. Heavy pressure. Fortunately, however, "Long Time" really showed the grandeur of the finale. When the film was broadcast, the media reporters also applauded because they could not restrain their excitement after seeing the film. After the screening, the Chinese media people also expressed that they were moved to "cry a lot".
In the author's opinion, "Long Time" is like a long-lost encounter, and it has finally returned Chinese cinema to its best state: it buries national epics and hidden wounds under the stories of several families, telling the story of what modern China has to do. that history. The pain left by the personal destiny being crushed by the great era is vividly interpreted. "Long Time" almost raised the quality of the Berlin Film Festival films to a higher level, which may be the closest Wang Xiaoshuai is to the Golden Bear Award.
"Long Time" tells the story of the pain experienced by several families due to changes in China during the nearly 30 years from 1986 to the beginning of the 21st century. The protagonists of the story, Liu Dong's family, Ben and his colleague Shen Yingming's family have a very good relationship. The two families each have a son and they were born on the same day and the same month in the same year. However, after Liu Dong lost his beloved son in an accident, the two families parted ways, and their fates were also very different. Director Wang Xiaoshuai aimed the camera at Liu Dong and his wife, let them accept the ruthless erosion of the background changes in China in the past 30 years, and gradually pushed their forbearance, kindness and strength to the screen.
"Long Time" adopts a solid and stable three-stage narrative in the narrative. The first scene of children playing in the water was in 1994, after which Liu Dong's family moved to the coast of Fujian to live. Because of the blurred clues, this period, in the words of Wang Xiaoshuai, "makes the audience unable to see whether it is in the past or not, until the third act of the early 20th century finally appeared, the old houses were pushed to the ground, and the tall buildings replaced the tube towers. You will suddenly find out how fast society is changing." Before the third act appeared, Wang Xiaoshuai continued to recite the story of 1986, the era of the gradual transition from a planned economy to a market economy. Because the background of family planning and the restructuring of state-owned enterprises is linked to the fate of the protagonists, the changes and ups and downs of their lives make the audience feel the same. Director Xiaoshuai used wave after wave of emotional climax to bring the audience in front of the seat back to that era, over and over again to hurt the heart of the protagonist and embarrass their lives. It can be said that the film is very outstanding in terms of script and production. Director Xiaoshuai said at the media conference that the script was created after years of polishing by him and screenwriter Ami. Actor Wang Jingchun also said that he was moved to tears after seeing the script. Qi Xi said more frankly that it has been two years since the filming ended, and even today, she still sheds tears when she thinks of this story, which shows the powerful script.
If a good script is half the success of a movie, then a good director and acting are extremely important factors in the other half. Last year's Berlin Film Festival "The Elephant Sitting on the Floor" was a hit, and the Hu Bo incident attracted much attention and pushed Wang Xiaoshuai and his wife to the forefront of public opinion. Although the discussion of "The Elephant" has not ended, director Wang Xiaoshuai obviously did not give up his original creative intention and artistic pursuit because of this. This year, he attended the Berlin Film Festival with "Long Time". The scheduling of the film, as well as his restraint and precision in showing the emotions of the characters, all showed his expertise and high standard as a leader of the sixth generation of Chinese directors. Starting from the long shake of the first indoor shot, Director Xiao Shuai's delicate capture of the characters' emotions seems to be natural, and with the familiar props, he restores the 1990s highly naturally. And in several key scenes, such as a "I am laid off, I am honored" scene, his scheduling is also very clever, and the audience who have seen it will have a deep memory of this scene.
The hero Liu Dong in "Long Time" is played by Wang Jingchun, Liu Dong's wife is played by Yong Mei, and their teenage son is played by Wang Yuan. Both Wang Jingchun and Yongmei contributed very high performance standards. In the laid-off play just mentioned, Yongmei's silent turn makes people feel her forbearance and helplessness for a second, and her emotions are directly conveyed to people's hearts. In the crying scene of the loss of her beloved son, Yongmei's grief was also easily revealed between her brows and eyes, and her restrained but tense performance added a lot to the movie.
On the other hand, Wang Jingchun's performance is even more at the level of a movie star. Because his role, Liu Dong, is the central figure in several families, including the role played by Qi Xi, he also has the most scenes, and the camera will test him the most. However, Wang Jingchun handled several emotional outbursts very well. Whether it was being persuaded to obey family planning or having several emotional conflicts with his son, Wang Jingchun's performances were all powerful. And when it's time to restrain, Wang Jingchun can also take it calmly. For example, in a "chopper" scene with Xu Cheng who played Shen Yingming, his tolerance and forbearance are both touching. There is also a separation scene with Qi Xi. What the camera shows is a constant farewell to Qi Xi, and it is especially extroverted. However, when it comes to Wang Jingchun, only his hands are slowly falling and his brows are tightened, and only his extremely restrained performance is used. , the complex mood of the characters was interpreted by him particularly well.
As a traffic niche, Wang Yuan's performance this time actually makes people feel good. According to what he said at the press conference, although he is too young to have a deep understanding of that era, he has specially listened to the director's speech about the story of that era. . And since he was going to play a rebellious teenager, he tried to use his own experience to feel it, treat Wang Jingchun and Yongmei as parents and try his best to release them. No wonder one of his kneeling scenes brought tears to the author's eyes.
Since the story of "Long Time" is based on the modern history of China, the audience can deeply empathize with the events. The emotions of the characters are cleaned up on and off the screen, which is why many Chinese media people "cry into one piece", or even "cry to the point of wanting to leave the stage": Wang Xiaoshuai has captured the pain points brought by the times to the audience, and can cause generations to come. Therefore, the author said that even if "Long Time" doesn't win the grand prize, it will be one of the best Chinese films this year.
Director Wang Xiaoshuai has an indissoluble bond with the Berlin Film Festival. In 2001, his "Seventeen-Year-Old Bicycle" won the Silver Bear Award at the 51st Berlin Film Festival, and in 2008, "Left and Right" won the Silver Bear Award for Best Screenplay at the 58th Berlin Film Festival. This time, his "A Long Day, A Long Day" has a very good audience, and the Chinese media have applauded it, and it is regarded as one of the most powerful films to hit the Golden Bear Award. The author also wishes him silently here. I hope that director Wang Xiaoshuai can realize his dream in Berlin. I also hope that after this film is released, the audience can take the time machine created by him and review our common experiences, dreams and tears. 30 years of remorse and love.
First published on 1905 Movie Network
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