Original title: Using images to awaken the memory of historical beacon
The War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea that occurred in the 1950s is not only a piece of history living in people’s minds, but also a symbol of the era that reappears in movies. "Shangganling" (1956), "Heroic Sons and Daughters" (1964), "Fighting on the Unknown River" (1975) and other films reproduce the heroic age full of blood, courage and sacrifice. These works are not only praising fearlessness and unity, but also consoling everyone in that era and remembering the heroic people of that generation.
For example, "Shangganling" has shaped the portraits of volunteer soldiers in various positions such as company commanders, instructors, hygienists, ordinary soldiers, cooks, etc.; "Heroic Sons" shows the contemporary inheritance of the heroic temperament of the Chinese nation with the fighting experience of two generations of soldiers. "The Fierce Battle on the Wuming River" uses the heroic story of the Volunteer Railroad Soldiers and North Korean civilians to fight together to eulogize the solidarity of the soldiers and civilians. From "Shangganling", "Heroic Sons and Daughters" to "Fighting Wumingchuan", the heroic stories on the Korean battlefield are unforgettable image memories of the older generation.
Seventy years later, the Chinese nation, who has passed through countless wars of war, cherishes the memory of heroes, while also pioneering the greatness and glory of this era. The film "King Kong River" commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's mission abroad to fight against the US and aid Korea with detailed descriptions of war scenes, in-depth war value analysis and clever narrative structure in a short time and intense creative environment.
The story of the movie "King Kong River" is based on a small battle in the summer counterattack during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea in 1953: the anti-strangulation battle at Yanli Bridge in King Kong River. Prior to this, the more influential "Surprise Attack on the White Tigers" (1972) in related films described a fierce and intense surprise attack in the final stage of the Korean War. In contrast, the theme of the story selected in "King Kong River" is even more unpopular-the battle of Yanliqiao did not have a vigorous frontal fight or a tragic hand-to-hand combat, but only a common anti-stranding battle during the march of volunteers. Relatively small, there are even few close combat conflicts between the two armies. Most of the time, the focus of the battle was on the competition between bridge building and bridge bombing. It is true that this anti-strangulation battle is insignificant compared to previous large-scale battles such as the Shangganling battle and the Cheorwon blockade. But it is such a local battle that can highlight the normal state of the war to resist US aggression and aid Korea. It was in such a war that we were able to explore the rich meaning of the word "sacrifice" from a more civilian perspective, and then get a glimpse of the meaning of going abroad to fight against US aggression and aid Korea. In the battle of King Kong Bridge shown in the movie
, the firepower gap between the enemy and ours is obvious: when volunteer soldiers defend the wooden bridge, the US military has absolute air superiority and equipment superiority. The U.S. military continuously conducts investigations, harassment, bombing, and close-to-ground operations through warplanes, and cooperates with the terrorist firepower of long-range artillery to carry out high-intensity artillery strikes against the volunteers. The Volunteers can only rely on a small number of anti-aircraft artillery and the long-range support of the Katyusha rockets to stubbornly resist the repeated attacks of the US military's long-range artillery, delayed bombs, machine guns, and incendiary bombs. The floating bones on the King Kong River, the artillery standing in the valley, and the ever-explosive wooden bridge always remind the living in front of the screen: on the battlefield of the War to Resist U.S. Aid Korea, heroes like Zhang Fei and Guan Lei can be seen everywhere. . The
film takes a large number of close-up, close-up and subjective shots to observe the psychological changes experienced by the soldiers on both sides during the battle. Through the telescopes of Liu Hao, Zhang Fei, Guan Lei and American pilot Hill, we can observe the emotional conflicts and life choices of characters in different positions in war from four different angles. While showing the self-sacrifice of Chinese fighters such as Zhang Fei, platoon leader of antiaircraft artillery and Liu Hao, leader of the infantry squad, the film also meticulously portrays the process of a US soldier's gradual alienation, madness and destruction in this war. The
film shows the soldiers at close range and gradually unearths the different understandings of the meaning of "sacrifice" between the two sides in this war with heavy casualties. In the War"Sacrifice" is an extremely complicated vocabulary on the battlefield. It can be a consumable, like a cowboy hat of an American soldier, falling in the wind; it can also be a verb, a volunteer soldier with a limb is lighting a torch, a proud soldier pulling the trigger of a flare gun, It was a group of lovely people who carried the wood in the water.
Although due to the limitation of creative time and subject matter, "King Kong River" was neglected in editing techniques, scene presentation and story details, but the production team still used real and tragic shots after overcoming many difficulties. The devastated wooden bridge shows the magnificent epic of a nation forging ahead in artillery fire. Behind the populace perspective, the film and the anti-US aggression and aggression films since the 1950s have formed a harmonious resonance on the theme: when the beacon is everywhere, an indomitable nation always stands in the turbulent waves; Disperse, a hopeful country will rise up like a blood-colored sunrise.
In 70 years of time passing, that period of magnificent history seems to have only a vague figure left. But the blood, tears, wind and frost, pride and brilliance of history have left indelible marks on this land. The dust of history is gone, and we now have the confidence and glory that belong to this era. "King Kong River" often pays tribute to "Shangganling", "Heroic Children", "Fighting Wuming River" and other classic anti-US aggression and aid Korea theme films. From "Furious" (2014), "Dunkirk" (2017) and other excellent foreign war films in recent years. Embracing the world equally and sincerely based on Chinese cultural concepts is the creative concept of "King Kong River" in this era, and it is also a positive attitude that we should maintain when facing the future. (Author: in Utako, Department of Art Faculty of Television Drama Academy, assistant professor of Shenzhen University)
