On September 25, with the release of the movie "Win the Championship", the horn of the 2020 National Day file was sounded ahead of schedule. As the first "golden time" after the theater resumes work, this year's National Day competition is quite fierce. From mainstream blockbusters to domestic animations, various types of movie works have assembled in theaters to prepare for a "box office war". The
movie "Win the Championship" is directed by Chen Kexin and starred by Gong Li, Huang Bo, Wu Gang, Peng Yuchang, Bailang and the Chinese women's volleyball team. It tells the story of the struggle of several generations of Chinese women's volleyball team and the touching story of their tenacious struggle and glory for the country. The strong production team and cast members carry the women's volleyball story that has been shared by generations, and the true qualities of the active women's volleyball players of the national team. These elements make this work one of the most watched films on the National Day.
A new breakthrough in sports movies
"Winning Championship" is not the pioneering work of Chinese sports movies. As early as the 2008 Beijing Olympics, sports movies with Olympic themes such as "One Man's Olympics" and "Ice Breakers" appeared. In 2015, the youth enthusiast film "Broken Wind" with cyclists as the protagonists also developed a story around sports competitions. This time, "Win the Championship" received high attention. On the one hand, the label of "Chinese Women's Volleyball" itself has a certain "national character", which is a feeling that many Chinese have retained in the changing times; on the other hand, "Win the Championship." The super high degree of restoration of the characters and scenes makes the audience feel the full sincerity of the production team. The
film is based on the legend of Chinese women's volleyball team Lang Ping. It reproduces the state and spirit of several generations of Chinese women's volleyball team from the 1980s when the Chinese women's volleyball team won the world championship to the 2016 Rio Olympics. The growth of Chinese women's volleyball team has been witnessed by generations of Chinese. It is no small challenge to make such a well-known story into a movie. It is very difficult to tell the story of the Chinese women's volleyball team for nearly 40 years in more than two hours of movie time. Therefore, for the creative team, the most difficult thing is the choice of materials. In the end, the screenwriter Zhang Ji proposed a creative direction for four decades with two meritorious coaches and three games. Zhang Ji told Chen Kexin: "This is a relationship between a pair of god-given characters. Both of them are attractive enough to be teammates and opponents. They are also friends. They have all devoted their life, blood and sweat to the Chinese women's volleyball team." The casting process of
also reflects the dedication of the production team. Due to the particularity of the subject matter, most of the roles in the film are athletes and coaches. Especially for the actors who played the female volleyball players in the 80s in the film, it is not only necessary to use acting skills to restore the simplicity and perseverance of the old women’s volleyball team of that era. Must master certain volleyball skills. In order to present the best results, the director finally decided to adopt real volleyball players. The team spent more than a year in the middle-level selection of provincial and school teams across the country, and identified a group of athletes who will play the old women's volleyball team.
Chinese women's volleyball team's true appearance in the film is also a highlight of "Winning Championship". After repeatedly coordinating with Lang Ping, the head coach of Chinese women's volleyball team, the crew won eight days to wait for the women's volleyball girls to triumph from the World Cup and participate in the filming of the film. Chen Kexin said: "It is a gift from God to let members of the active national team come to help us make a movie." It is the "sense of faith". This sense of conviction is found in the young players who play the old women's volleyball team, the active women's volleyball players, and the Bailang who plays the young Lang Ping. Because I accidentally saw a photo of Director Lang's daughter Bailang on the Internet, the director found that she was qualified for this role. "Bailang played her mother with a lot of energy, she wanted to do what her mother used to do."; Chen Kexin said.
If Lang Ping among the old women's volleyball players is the most difficult to "copy", then Zhu Ting among the active national team members can also be played. On the eve of the "China-Pakistan War" at the Rio Olympics in 2016, Lang Ping sent a text message to encourage the stressed Zhu Ting: "Zhu Ting, you are the most proud of the players I have brought. As long as you stand on the field, you are the most Okay, I believe you." Zhu Ting was particularly moved and inspired by this text message, and finally won this crucial game with the whole team. This passage is very important in the film. Zhu Ting, who has no acting experience, wants to act in a crying scene. Chen Kexin said bluntly: “How difficult is this for Zhu Ting. She is such a person who can restrain emotions.” Finally, it was acting director Li Yarong. The sentence "If there is no Lang's guidance, where are you? If it's not volleyball, what are you doing now" poke Zhu Ting and mobilize her fullest emotions to complete the scene.
Zhangzhou Sports Training Base has extraordinary significance for the Chinese women's volleyball team. Chen Kexin recalled that when he saw the training hall, he found the old women's volleyball team training hard here. After hearing the news that the Zhangzhou training hall was going to be refurbished, the production team immediately contacted each other and transported the bamboo walls, floors and other materials that were not needed to be demolished to Beijing. Using these materials that witnessed the blood and sweat of the old women's volleyball team, an old woman The "second hall" for women's volleyball training. When walking into the built venue for the first time, Chen Kexin said that it was like entering a time tunnel. “The props team labeled every detail. The kettle, notebook, whistle, volleyball... There, I saw it and felt very moved."
Chen Kexin believes that watching this film after the epidemic, the audience's empathy will be more obvious than during the Spring Festival. Rao Shuguang, president of the Chinese Film Critics Society, also expressed his great expectations for "Win the Championship". In his opinion, "This film was originally released during the Spring Festival, which drew the audience's appetite. Then, the film should also become a National Day file. The audience's choice, no matter the lineup or the content of the film, coincides with a special festival like the National Day file."
Use small cuts to show the power of China.
Film, the art of light and shadow, always plays its role as a window to showcase Chinese culture to the world. How can the stories in the movies resonate with the public and show the Chinese culture and heritage, so that the world audience can experience the majestic Chinese spirit in the process of international communication? The use of small incisions to present grand narratives has a lot of successful experience in film creation.
"Win the Championship" attracts many audiences to watch the movie theater, the sense of substitution and collective resonance is an important factor. "Watching the women's volleyball team" is a collective memory of Chinese people in a time. Many people are a family of three generations sitting in front of the TV to watch the TV broadcast. Therefore, the memory of the women's volleyball team has already penetrated the hearts of every Chinese. After so many years, the spirit of the women's volleyball team has always inspired every Chinese to move forward. Not only that, the women's volleyball team has also become the world's window to China.
, in Chen Kexin’s view, “After hundreds of years of suffering, the Chinese at that time wanted to let the world see us again, and let the world know that the Chinese people played. At that time, the Chinese women’s volleyball team was moving to the forefront of the world and represented The meaning of volleyball has surpassed itself and has been given a kind of Chinese power. It is not only a sports event, but also a spirit. Although the world is different, the spirit of women's volleyball will always be there and passed down from generation to generation. No change. So it doesn’t matter what the film conveys, it’s enough to inspire the Chinese.” In the
film, the coach played by Wu Gang roars: "Americans will not be soft to you! Japanese will not be soft to you! Don't cry! The Chinese women's volleyball team bleeds without tears!" Coach Lang Ping, played by Gong Li, said: "Go and play with confidence , Let go and fight, fight!" said the coach played by Huang Bo: “ The ball can be lost, but people can't! "Under their leadership, the Chinese women's volleyball team has experienced ups and downs, doubts and innovations, and has been on the championship podium time after time. The film is a tribute to several heroes in the history of the Chinese women's volleyball team, and it is a passion for a legendary team. The profile is an echo of the ever-burning Chinese power. How do Chinese films show national power and interpret the Chinese spirit? In the view of Liang Junjian, associate professor at Tsinghua University, "Whether it is from the "Me and My Motherland" released on the National Day archive last year. "Chinese Captain", or "Win the Championship", "My Hometown and Me" and "Home at One Point" which appeared on the National Day archives this year, all show the power of realism and the people-centered creative concept. In the historical period of rapid social economic development and rapid transformation, the creators of the above-mentioned masterpieces cut from short stories that audiences love to see, and through in-depth exploration of small characters, they present the rich and diverse between individuals and countries, individuals and times. The organic connection of the people has successfully evoked the collective memory and value resonance deep in the hearts of contemporary Chinese. "
