Lao Mouzi always misses every festival, launched "Man Jianghong" and "Solid as a Rock" last year, and this year in the Spring Festival schedule still presented "Article 20" as promised.
Although there are fewer films, with the continuous fermentation of word-of-mouth, this movie has counterattacked to 1.5 billion box office and experienced 4 reversals. In terms of attendance and plot discussion, it deservedly became the MVP of the Spring Festival stalls.
Some people praise it, and some people complain.
The problem with the film is that, for example, in "Desperate Housewives", when the stepfather violated the girl, the director only shot a shot of pushing the door of the room open, and the audience could immediately understand what was happening, but Zhang Yimou chose to focus the camera on the grief-stricken face of the victim, which is the reason for the complaint.
We can see this in the movie.
When Hao Xiuping was bullied by the bully Liu Wenjing played by Aruna, the camera showed a woman's cry, wearing a tattered floral top, and the picture lasted for up to 20 seconds, which made some viewers feel uncomfortable, and even began to wonder why Liu Wenjing's hideous and terrifying face was not filmed.
All of Zhang Yimou's works present this kind of image, such as "On the Cliff" showing violence and cruelty, and even "Man Jianghong" has a similar plot.
Praise viewers believe that "Article 20" does not shy away from the dark side of society. A lowly and powerless rural woman like Hao Xiuping may have experienced more suffering than the movie shows.
Although Zhao Liying plays Hao Xiuping, she does not have many scenes, but it can be said to be the most critical role. Under the careful interpretation of the actors, her performance has become more down-to-earth, full of form and soul.
The delicate deaf-mute face left a deep impression on people, and she wore an ordinary blue coat, which had been washed and faded, deformed and loose, and this dress vividly showed Hao Xiuping's poverty.
Some people also feel that the clothes are slightly **, because the buttons on them are not tightened, which is not quite in line with the original image setting.
She didn't wear short sleeves like others in hot weather, but chose long sleeves and underwear, which made her look not **, but a little cramped.
Hao Xiuping's residence is not only shabby and crowded in terms of clothing, but also full of all kinds of bottles and cans. It can be seen that this is a poor farming household.
In such a predicament, in order to treat their daughter's illness, the couple had to fall into a quagmire, and in the end, although they could not cure their daughter's illness, the family faced a fragmented situation.
When standing on the rooftop, Hao Xiuping glanced down and firmly made the decision to jump off the building.
The wind blew her hair, and with the belief of "tooth for tooth", she decisively ended her life, showing perseverance and determination.
Although she is materially poor, she is not spiritually.
Even if she couldn't make a defense, had no other choice, and had no money, she still resolutely decided to jump off the building for her daughter and husband. Hao Xiuping shows the strength of ordinary women, she is pitiful but not self-pitying, brave and fearless.
The women in Zhang Yimou's early works have some similarities with the women in films such as "Alive" and "Red Sorghum", and they both show vitality, not only showing resilience, but also revealing their inner limitations.
Therefore, some people believe that "Article 20" is like a modern version of "Qiu Ju's Lawsuit".
Some people questioned why they had to jump off the building. Isn't there any other solution? In fact, Hao Xiuping's living environment allows us to see how the powerless and powerless weak can make their voices heard.
She had trusted prosecutors, but when her child disappeared again, despair and anger filled her mind, and she made the shocking move, which is perhaps the only way for the lower class to defend themselves by causing a stir.
Zhang Yimou's directing skills are very superb. In the movie "Article 20", the plot of "Hao Xiuping jumping off the building" became a turning point in the plot.
Some questioned the fact that the plot was not true enough, and why it was only after she jumped off the stairs that the villagers came forward to testify. What exactly were they in before?
The screenwriter's writing skills are very good, he is not only good at describing the weakness of the people at the bottom, but also portraying the essence of goodness within them. His works are both real and idealistic, seemingly contradictory, but in fact worth pondering.
Movie bloggers criticized Hao Xiuping for being too beautiful and inconsistent with the image of rural people, which is also Zhao Liying's role in the film.
The comment area exploded, and some people said: "Isn't it possible for rural people to be beautiful?" She is coveted by bullies precisely because she is beautiful. ”
In domestic dramas, the image of the poor usually presents a "mediocre" characteristic, which is in stark contrast to the description in Article 20.
Even characters like Liu Qiaozhen, who are portrayed as precious as gold in Lu Yao's "Life", have changed significantly after the film and television adaptation.
The girl's teenage years disappeared in an instant, and the village flower was smeared with black powder on her face, and she had a fluffy chicken nest on her head, as if she had aged 10 years all of a sudden.
Mao Jian, a professor at East China Normal University, talked about the feudal characteristics of domestic dramas in a speech, and frankly pointed out that "in current film and television dramas, people distribute their appearance and morality according to status and wealth, the poor are portrayed as mean and selfish, while the rich are portrayed as noble and beautiful."
In the popular summer movie "Disappearing Her", the character He Fei is from a humble background, and his selfishness, hatred of the rich and ugly behavior run throughout.
The whole movie emphasizes the themes of "the wrong door" and "the character gap between the rich and the poor", but ignores the root of the evil - gambling.
What about the image of the poor in Stephen Chow's works? **Yangtze River No. 7", you can see that "they" in the film show backbone and tenacity, their three views are positive, although they live in poverty, they have lofty aspirations.
From this point of view, Zhang Yimou returns to the theme of realism, showing the dual face of the poor.
He portrays their cowardly and incompetent side, their inaction in the face of bullying, and their brave and strong side. Hao Xiuping's love for her daughter overflowed on the screen, and finally chose to express her despair with death and jumped off the cliff.
The helplessness of the prosecutor is also expressed, he has to deal with the complexity of interpersonal relationships on the one hand, and the trivial family matters on the other.
showed realism at the beginning, and finally ended with idealism, and conveyed to the audience and friends with the help of a speech by Han Ming: The world may not fully meet the expectations of idealists, but idealism must not be missing!
Zhang Yimou's best word-of-mouth work in recent years is "Article 20", although the box office is not as good as "Hot and Hot" and "Flying Life 2", it profoundly speaks for the weak.
Perhaps only by returning to this good subject can Lao Mouzi show his true strength.