In 1999, a fresh and beautiful sitcom was released in a Chinese cinema. However, in that era full of suffering, people's material life was not sufficient, and their taste for beauty was not enough, resulting in such an excellent literary and artistic film facing the situation of no one watching.
This film was not the most needed for Chinese society at that time, whether it was in the society at that time or in the modern society, it was a niche film, but the miracle created by the subsequent creation of this unwatched film made the newcomer director Huo Jianqi famous in one fell swoop. This movie is the film "That Mountain That Man That Dog" directed by Director Huo Jianqi.
Before directing this film, Huo Jianqi had directed films such as "Winner" and "Singer", and the film "That Mountain That Man That Dog" was not his debut work, but it catered to the consistent style of Huo Jianqi's films. It can be said that the failure of this film is Huo Jianqi's pursuit of beauty, as well as his perspective and his perception of the world.
Huo Jianqi is a director, but he used to be an art designer. As a front-of-stage director who switched from behind the scenes of art design to film, Huo Jianqi's career experience determined that his films were destined to work art.
"That Mountain, That Man, That Dog" is a creation of Huo Jianqi's aesthetics, and it is also a kind of remembrance of rural life. The film begins with the daily work of a small person, depicting the responsibility, emotion and mission that a family, a job, and a love bring to people.
The story takes place in the 1980s, in a rural area in southwestern Hunan, China, where an elderly postman with limited legs and feet retires, and his son takes over. The son went to carry a bag to deliver letters on the first day, the father sorted out the packages and letters over and over again, and then the couple watched the son and the dog go away together at the door, the dog was called "the second oldest", he did not want to accompany the strange son away, the father was worried that the son decided to change clothes and accompany the son to send the letter.
Father and son trekked all the way, three days and two nights of the trip, the son experienced being sent off, experienced helping the widowed old man read the wordless family letter, experienced the back of the father across the river, experienced sleeping together, from strange to familiar, the estrangement and strangeness of the father and son gradually disappeared, at the end of the movie, the son got up the next day in exhaustion to continue to deliver letters, and the father watched his son go away, and the mission of the messenger was passed on.
The story tells such an experience on the road, there is no great sorrow and joy, there is no pain, only a faint emotion and a beautiful scenery, telling a simple story, evoking the heart of a family, and the generation gap between two generations. In this movie, you're going to see situations you've never seen before, and people you've never read.
French director Drucker once said: "The real film is a film that discovers poetry and beauty from the real life of the common people and nature." This sentence is the most appropriate to say that the movie "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog" directed by Huo Jianqi is the most appropriate.
Huo Jianqi's appreciation and understanding of beauty makes his films always have unique insights in portraying beautiful things. Throughout Huo Jianqi's early films, this is the tone. Huo Jianqi is from the countryside small things or emotions to create beautiful things and emotions, the background of natural scenery, so that the film not only exudes a faint sadness and warmth, but also a good interpretation of the theme of the film, this form will only be used by Huo Jianqi.
Out of the study of special aesthetics, coupled with his own sensitive heart and the use of color and line, Huo Jianqi's film is to create an aesthetic and poetic imagery in the natural landscape, so that people can comfort and sublimate their hearts after watching it.
Aesthetic beauty and poetry constitute the "utopian Taoyuan" of Huo's films, which can be said to be the main theme of Huo Jianqi's films. Watching his films "That Mountain That Man That Dog", "Winner", "Warm", these movies have the beauty of imagery and the cruelty of reality.
The mountain is a presence that people revere, but it is also the home of the people in the mountains. The mountain people have lived here for generations, and the long years and familiarity with the life of the mountain village have made the mountain people accustomed to this kind of poor life.
Poverty is not a painful thing for mountain people, the most painful thing is the departure of relatives and the life without expectations. Therefore, when the old, sick and disabled mountain people stayed in the mountain village to continue their lives, the only thing they expected was the letter, the letter they had been looking forward to for a long time, all their hope and love.
The township postman is an ordinary job, but it is also a chore, and the only thing that allows them to persevere is to think about the head. In the film "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog", the mountain is ranked ahead of people, but it also implies that although people are the spirits of all things, Zhongshan in this film is the existence that is most worthy of people's awe and challenge.
The beauty of the mountain brings simple beauty to the people in the mountains, what brings to the township postman is the hardships and obstacles on the long road, and what is brought to the moviegoers is the inner spiritual baptism.
Because there are mountains, because of the three-day and two-night road to deliver letters, this story is no longer an ordinary and ordinary journey, but a process of a person overcoming inner laziness and frustration, and this process is witnessed by the mountain.
The film is set in a village in Hunan, the mountain is the soul of this village, and the people in the mountains fear the mountains as much as they fear the gods. There is a bridge section in the film, the son and the father and son stand on the top of a mountain, the father asks the son why he does not want to marry a mountain girl, but the son looks into the distance and says, "My mother is the girl in the mountain, my mother said, the mountain people like the mountain, as comfortable as putting their feet in shoes." ”
The people in the mountains love the mountains, even if there are too many inconveniences in the depths of the mountains, but the mountain people who have lived here for generations regard the mountains as their foundation, and it is as if there is no root without the mountains. The beauty of the scenery in the mountains in the film, each frame is a beautiful landscape painting, let people forget the fatigue and pain, bring people physical and mental pleasure and inner peace.
People are alive, and we can't decide many things.
To live is to survive, to make money, to fight for their inner thoughts, so some things can only be abandoned, some emotions can only be owed, some missions must be completed, and some roads are destined to be walked alone.
There is a lot of helplessness in life, we have no choice, for a man, to support the family, to be self-motivated, to become a role model for children, to do their own work well, to be a successful person, this is a very difficult thing, more rare is, but also have their own ideals.
In the movie "That Mountain That Man That Dog", at the beginning of the film, the father reluctantly sorts out the parcels over and over again, watches his son go away, and finally reluctantly accompanies his son to go back to the postal route, the complexity of the psychology in the middle, and the distrust of the son, the reluctance to give up the job of the township postman, and the feelings of the people in the mountains, all make this man look particularly sad.
For a middle-aged man, retirement means that he has become a waste, which means that all the efforts he has made are over, and for the rest of his life, he is a disabled person, losing the livelihood he relies on, losing the job that can make him realize his ideals, he can only mourn, and he can only bless his son to achieve his ideals.
Decades of dedication, the youth in the step by step walking slowly passed away, unconsciously, this old father is old, injured and sick, but his heart is not old.
In the movie "That Mountain That Man That Dog", director Huo Jianqi portrays the character image of his father. Nuanced, the emotions, actions, psychology and overall speech of the characters are very real, making us feel that this is a real movie, and the protagonist of the movie is really playing himself.
No matter how many ideals people have in their hearts, in fact, what they want to do most is always not to give up and not to serve the old. In fact, in this movie, in terms of the characters and the emotions conveyed by the film, Huo Jianqi said: "I am very sensitive to things, it is easy to be sad, such as the wind, I will think about how to be so depressed, how so many leaves have fallen, and the changes of the four seasons will make me feel." That kind of sadness is also a kind of enjoyment, an experience of things and life. ”
Director Huo Jianqi's mental sensitivity makes a gust of wind, a paper airplane, a subtle look, and the emerald green of the eyes form an emotion, a style, and this feeling is moving.
For example, in the film, the father to the third station to climb over a steep hill, the result of the hillside down a rope, the father and son just pulled the rope, a strong wind blowing up, the father and son were blown by the wind, the scene of the leaves swaying make people feel that the road is arduous, let people unconsciously integrate into it, experience the danger of the protagonist.
In this movie, the father worked hard to pay everything in a difficult and ordinary post, and he won the love and respect of the fathers and elders of the villagers with his heart, he said, "These villagers, it doesn't matter if you don't see the county magistrate for a few days, if you don't see him for a few days, you can be anxious." ”
The mission and sense of responsibility of the township postman made my father give everything in this hard road with all his life.
He used his lifelong youth and the attitude of life that the big me is better than the small self to complete the mission again and again, and also made his career more thoughtful.
The praise of the truth, goodness and beauty of human nature in this movie, and the strong perception of the misery of life, make this movie have both realistic helplessness and romantic ideals.
Beautiful things, beautiful mountain views, simple villagers, these are full of the peace of Taoyuan, but there is no absolute tranquility here, there are also left-behind old people, there is also a harsh environment, there is also a road that can only be walked out in three days and two nights.
A road is an ideal road, but it is also a road full of thorns. This road needs to be walked step by step, and this road needs to endure boundless loneliness and pain.
In the movie, for this road and this job, Huo Jianqi actually has a contradictory compassion and feeling.
Compassion is because he is sad for the scene of this old father who has worked hard all his life but has no choice but to retire, but also for his youth, and even more for the people in the mountains who can't go out, and can only be with their relatives in letters.
The most helpless thing in life is probably the long wait and hopeless waiting, the reality is cruel, life is impermanent, people always have pursuits, the old do not want to leave the mountains, the young do not want to waste their youth in the mountains. Dealing with such a tragedy, when the widowed old man sat in front of the door waiting for the letter to arrive, the father read the wordless letter, which made people feel warm and sad.
Director Huo Jianqi not only expressed the loneliness of the widowed and the elderly in these cruel things, but also made the film more warm in the sadness through the township postman's wordless letter. The director uses some warm techniques in the film to dilute the pain and torture brought by reality, which undoubtedly makes the film warm.
On this three-day and two-night mail road, the father and son walked step by step to a hillside, and when the son saw that there was a car on the road, he asked his father why he did not take the car, so that it would be faster, but the father said: "This car has not yet been cast on time for me, young people do not always want to be opportunistic, the road is still step by step to be steady."
Father's idea makes people applaud his steadfastness, the road of life really needs to be taken step by step, if any road, anything can be replaced by other things, then the township postman is not a township postman, and people are not such a great person.
Father's ideas were somewhat old-fashioned, but for young people, it was better to arrive on time and on time than to be opportunistic. Although a road is hard and difficult, if the letter can be delivered to the villagers on time, that is what they really value.
In the movie "That Mountain, That Man That Dog", the tepid plot, the scene full of romantic and humanistic atmosphere, and the trust and understanding and care between people make the whole movie have a touching beauty.
The reality is harsh, but everyone has a paradise in their hearts. There is pain in the world, but there is also warmth in the world. People live a lifetime, must live a valuable life, the work is not good or bad, it depends on whether you have intentions.