The film market for the Spring Festival and Valentine's Day in 2024 can be described as a fierce competition. Jia Ling has become the focus of attention for the movie, "Hot and Hot" shows the female director's keen grasp of the subject matter, which not only has a bumper harvest at the box office, but also convinces the audience. And "Flying Life 2" starring Shen Teng is also full of competitiveness, and racing and enthusiasm are always the constant themes, which deeply moved the audience.
Even if such a giant makes a move, not everyone dares to fight against it. However, Zhang Yimou actually chose a comedy theme during this period, and "Article 20" has frequent jokes, and the texture is not inferior to the first two movies. It's a pity that the box office performance is not good, only breaking one billion, and it is not even as good as the cartoon "Bear Infested: Reversing Time and Space". However, the audience understands that the quality of a movie depends not only on the box office.
From my point of view, the point of Zhang Yimou's new work is to present the real state of life, which is in stark contrast to the exaggerated image of poverty in some films. In Article 20, the image of the poor is portrayed in a realistic and detailed manner.
In the movie, Hao Xiuping's family lives in extreme poverty. The first is their food, clothing, shelter and transportation. Their family is in a rural area, the family is poor, there are two deaf and mute, and the husband has a low level of education, so he can only do some hard work. In order to treat their children, they had to borrow money, and even bankrupted their families, and suffered all kinds of humiliation.
They can only live in humble brick houses, and the yards are covered with traces of time, which contrasts with the surrounding houses. Especially after being retaliated against by the bullies, their homes are even more dilapidated. Hao Xiuping and her daughter fled in shabby clothes and messy hair, which makes people feel their poverty at a glance. Zhang Yimou skillfully shows the true face of life at the bottom through these details.
In the movie, the poor are not only trapped in material life, but also limited in thought. For example, Hao Xiuping's husband borrowed loan sharks because of her daughter's illness, instead of seeking help in other ways. Maybe it's because they don't know how to help, or because there's simply no one to help.
For a long time, they were bullied by bullies and did not even dare to call the police and watched their wives being insulted. The reason why Hao Xiuping has suicidal thoughts is not because she wants to leave her daughter, but because she feels helpless. She believes that only by exchanging her life for justice can she make the case take seriously and let her husband clear his innocence. This fear of the law and helplessness in life is a true portrayal of people at the bottom.
In recent years, some domestic film and television dramas can easily gain attention as long as they are filmed in a down-to-earth manner. However, some directors have abused the concept and portrayed poverty at will. For example, the heroine in "Fearless" has a large amount of cash in her hand, but she claims to be poor, which makes the truly poor people unable to identify with it. There is also the heroine in "All Wishes Come True", although the salary is not high, but the life is staggeringly luxurious, and this misleading portrayal makes the audience's perception of the poor skewed.
In general, "Article 20" shows the lives of the people at the bottom through detailed portrayal, so that the audience can also feel the bitterness and helplessness in laughter. Although there are some sensational elements in the shouting at the end of the movie, every sentence deeply touches the hearts of the people at the bottom. After watching this movie, I have a deeper understanding of the real poor.
The directors of domestic film and television dramas should learn more from Zhang Yimou and truly show the lives of the people at the bottom. "Article 20" not only shows meticulous considerations in terms of costumes and scenes, but also depicts the rights and interests of the people at the bottom who have nowhere to redress their grievances, so that the audience can also feel the bitterness and helplessness in laughter.
This movie with both jokes and tears, full of depth, is definitely worth watching. What else do you think touched you about this movie?