In the style of a quasi-documentary, "Twenty-Four Cities" presents the changes of the 420 factory of the old military enterprise in the past half century in the style of a quasi-documentary, with the strategy of dual narrative of truth and fiction, as well as the different survival experiences of the small people wrapped in this history.
As a famous literary and art film directed by Jia Zhangke, "Twenty-Four Cities" has attracted widespread attention as soon as it was released, and the film uses a pseudo-documentary method to record the mental journey of ordinary people in the factory, not enough for these ordinary people to be familiar actors, at this point, "professional actors" still have traces of acting, can only say that the film can not be perfect, but overall, this movie will still bring people a deep feeling.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" > factory in China</h1>
The factory is one of the special spaces carrying China's modern history, and its establishment, stabilization, transformation and even disintegration all confirm the traces of the times and witness the changes and development of Chinese society. After the founding of New China, China implemented the policy of "giving priority to the development of heavy industry", and industry also became the main force to promote China's development.
With the reform and opening up, the country began to gradually shift from a planned economy to a market economy, and many state-owned factories were eventually difficult to adapt to the great change in social constitution due to their rigid physique and low productivity, and began to close down in large areas and in large quantities.
The reform of the industrial system in the 1990s was undoubtedly an extremely important period in China's modern history.
"A forgetful people is pathetic and shameful, and has no future."
Therefore, many art creators will use various ways to help us resist forgetting and explore the truth of history, and the image can be used as the best form of expression, but in the history of the image, there are very few images about the factory.
"Twenty-Four Cities" shows that it is true
In recent years, the special form of video art such as pseudo-documentaries has gradually become popular, and many directors have begun to use this shooting method to create, but some people have scoffed at such films, believing that it does not have a minimum of authenticity.
In fact, pseudo-documentaries are also called imitation documentaries, which are often classified as a documentary or television program type, although it records real life like documentaries, but in fact it is a fictional story, using satire or imitation to analyze major events and problems in society. In pseudo-documentaries, people often see pictures of real historical materials or interviews with people.
Some people say that the trend of contemporary documentaries is that feature films move closer to documentaries, documentaries move closer to feature films, so the boundary between feature films and documentaries becomes very blurred, and the realistic style films of Jia Zhangke and Zhang Yimou are like this: "Three Gorges Good People", "Qiu Ju Fights Lawsuits", "No One Can Be Less"...
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" > real and fictional</h1>
There are nine important characters in Twenty-Four Cities, who form the overall framework of the film
Guan Fengjiu
Born in Haicheng, Liaoning In 1935, in December 1958, he moved from the 111 factory in Shenyang, northeast China to Chengdu, participated in the construction of the 420 military factory, served as the chief of the security section of the Chengfa Group, and retired as the deputy secretary of the factory party committee.
He Xikun
Born in Chengdu in 1948, he entered the fourth group of fitters in the 61 workshop of Chengfa Group as an apprentice in 1964, and later joined the army.
Wang Zhiren
He Xikun's master was old and frail and had difficult living conditions.
Hou Lijun
Born in Shenyang in 1953, he was originally a maintenance worker in the 63rd workshop of Chengfa Group.
Gu Minhua (played by Chen Chong)
Born in Shanghai in 1958, he is a quality inspector in the precision workshop of Chengfa Group.
Hao Dali (played by Lu Liping)
The original Chengfa Group was a worker in the finishing workshop, and won the title of "March 8th Red Flag Bearer" in the country.
Song Weidong (played by Chen Jianbin)
Born in Chengdu in 1966, he is the general manager and deputy director of Chengfa Group.
Suna (played by Zhao Tao)
Born in Chengdu in 1982, he is the daughter of the director of the branch of Chengfa Group.
Zhao Gang
Born in 1974, he is the host of the news comprehensive channel of Chengdu Television Station.
The film reflects the development history of the factory through personal history, and then shows the changes in the process of social reform through the history of the factory.
From the narrative of the characters in the film, we can see that their lives have gone from being respected and living affluent lives to the current poor living.
Through the film, we can see that the director still pays more attention to the performance of real actors, and tries to maintain the style of the real record of the film, but it is undeniable that the four professional actors did not perform too well, but since the director used professional actors, it is not without his reasoning:
First, the reform of state-owned factories, the workers have lost their dependence, for many years the life of not being rich is a stone pressed on the hearts of workers, facing the camera, they will inevitably not know how to tell their pain and misfortune, and there are many drawbacks caused by the body of the body, so the director uses the way of professional actors to show the real personal experience in front of the audience.
This not only avoids direct conflicts between individuals and factories, but also alleviates the contradictions between individuals and the system.
Second, Jia Zhangke's films have not been recognized by the mainstream from the beginning, and often do not get the opportunity to be released, even if there is a chance of release, the box office is not very ideal, so the four actors in "Twenty-Four Cities" Chen Chong, Chen Jianbin, Lu Liping, and Zhao Tao are all familiar stars, so with their intervention, this movie will also be seen by the public.
The little people at the bottom have always been unknown people in history, and they are often ignored, so "the characters of oral history lie in different positions, listening to the voices of the silent bottom, recording the suffering of ordinary life, bleeding the history of survival and resistance that has never been written." ”
The film tells the young audience more about the fathers' contemporaries so many kind uncles and aunts, the blue overalls, those tired but hopeful faces, their rough hands, and the factory machines they used to shuttle through, the roar, all return with the picture of the movie, the shock that the film brings to most of the audience, or the middle-aged people who look at the camera dimly, and then a retrospective but powerless breath slowly hit, Jia Zhangke with his familiar shooting techniques to make an ordinary individual, It shows the hottest years of their lives.
No one apologized to them, whether it was the distorted youth they had been delayed, the toil of their past, the incomparable piety they had to their motherland, or their old age today.
Only through Jia Zhangke's narration and records, let us recall the real life trajectory and bitter journey of our fathers with his lens, and the subtitle is inserted at the end of the movie: Only your vanished side is enough to make me glorious for a lifetime.
What the director wants to express is not only the disappearance of the plant equipment that can be seen, but also the oblivion of the dedication of countless workers for generations to the country.
With the help of this film, he expresses his attitude and arouses the attention of ordinary people, especially these ordinary people who have dedicated their lives to the construction of the motherland, which is a call to the conscience of modern people.
Perhaps with my current experience, it is difficult to appreciate what is contained in the film... But those who have experienced it will surely understand.
Original text, figure network