" Dang Kou Fengyun " poster
1905 Movie Network In the splendid history of the Chinese nation for 5,000 years, there have been countless national heroes who can sing and cry, and their stories are constantly being reshaped in various artistic forms . Since the birth of Chinese films, there has been an endless stream of films praising national heroes. In this year's Chinese film market, there are still many films with this theme released. In addition to the hit "Dang Kou Feng Yun", the film " Dragon Battle " based on the Sino-French war in the late Qing Dynasty will also be released in the summer. This gives us the opportunity to review the light and shadow, all those great national heroes on the screen.
China has a vast territory and constant wars since ancient times, so there have been battle heroes like Yue Fei . With the rapid expansion of Western forces, the Ming and Qing dynasties, when wars were frequent, became a historical opportunity for national heroes to be tempered and born in the war. The story of the movie "Dang Kou Feng Yun" took place in the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. The Japanese pirates continued to harass and loot the southeast coast of China. The official army was helpless in the face of foreign pirates, and the local people were struggling. A young military attaché, Qi Jiguang, who came from a family of soldiers, was ordered in danger and came to Zhejiang to preside over the anti-Japanese military affairs. In order to organize a truly effective army in the face of Japanese pirates, Qi Jiguang recruited brave miners from the local area for rigorous training, and formed the " Qi's Army ", which made the Japanese pirates fearful. In the history of
, Qi Jiguang has both culture and martial arts. It is a wise move to choose Zhao Wenzhuo , who is a martial arts athlete and has a refined temperament in the movie "Dang Kou Fengyun". Another famous anti-Japanese general in the film, Yu Dayou , is played by veteran action film director and actor Sammo Hung. The two kung fu superstars turned into famous historical generals, which undoubtedly enhanced the visibility of the film from a commercial point of view. But the focus of "Dang Kou Feng Yun" is more than that. Restoring history through grand war scenes is the focus of the film. Director Chen Jia went to to study Qi Jiguang's related historical materials for nearly ten years, and finally chose Qi Jiguang's experience of training the "special forces" of the Qi family army as the starting point, showing the fighting spirit inspired by the generals, soldiers, and coastal civilians in the face of Japanese pirates.
"Lin Zexu" stills
Compared with those national heroes who became famous by martial arts, Lin Zexu, who sold cigarettes in Humen, became a widely circulated role model for later generations with his boldness and courage. Lin Zexu's deeds have been put on the big screen many times. The two most influential versions are "Lin Zexu" in 1959 and " Opium War " directed by Xie Jin in 1997. The two films are starring Zhao Dan , the earliest "national male god" in Chinese films, and Bao Guoan , who is a household name by virtue of the role of Cao Cao in the TV series " Romance of the Three Kingdoms ". Lin Zexu played by Zhao Dan is elegant and indifferent, while Bao Guoan emphasizes his concern for the country and the people. The two versions of Lin Zexu have many subtle differences in temperament, but in general, they portray Lin Zexu from different angles when he faces political enemies and invaders. , showing the upright, unyielding national spirit.
"The Opium War" stills
, especially the movie "The Opium War", it pioneered the British drama with a large English dialogue, and examined the situation at that time from a different perspective. The film was released on the eve of the return of Hong Kong to China. At that time, China had undergone more than 20 years of reform and opening up, its national strength had greatly increased, and the people's material and cultural life was much richer than before. As said in the film, only when a nation really stands up can it face up to and reflect on its humiliating history. The film used smoky and dim scenes to describe the anti-smoking situation at that time many times, and it also alludes to the current unbearable political environment. Under this corruption and decline, the film vividly portrays a loyal and wise old official, Lin Zexu, whose "loyalty" and "righteousness" are also particularly deplorable.
Lin Zexu's greatest historical achievement lies not only in the determination and perseverance of the Chinese who presided over the sale of cigarettes in Humen, but also in that he inspired latecomers to "open their eyes to see the world". At thisUnder the guidance of this kind of thought, the Westernization Movement of "Teaching the barbarians to improve themselves" emerged, and the Qing government formed the strongest fleet in Asia - the Beiyang Navy. In this fleet, a heroic hero who died for his country was born, his name is Deng Shichang.
" Jiawu Fengyun " stills
In 1894, the Lunar New Year, the Japanese naval combined fleet broke into Chinese waters and provoked the Chinese Beiyang Navy. The 1962 film "The First Sino-Japanese War" reflects this history. It focuses on portraying the heroic image of Deng Shichang of the Zhiyuan ship's tube belt, and portrays the weak and warlike characters such as Li Hongzhang and Fang Boqian in contrast. The film is starring actor Li Moran . He has successfully created the hero Deng Shichang, a classic role in Chinese film history, with his sturdy stature and resolute temperament. Although the ships in the film are different from the real history due to the limitation of technical level, the thrilling naval battle scene still left a deep impression on that generation of Chinese audiences. The end of the Beiyang Navy's complete defeat made countless people feel sorry, but Deng Shichang, played by Li Moran, commanded the scarred ship Zhiyuan to crash into the Yoshino of the combined fleet. The spirit of seeing death as home in this scene is still deep. Inspire the audience. 50 years after the release of
"The First Sino-Japanese War", the audience welcomed the film "1894: Sino-Japanese War" filmed by the famous war film director Feng Xiaoning . The film increases the grievances between the protagonist Deng Shichang and the enemy officer Ito Yuheng before the naval battle, which strengthens the dramatic tension of the whole story. Most of the main actors in the film show credible acting skills. Although as a film released in 2012, its costumes, props and war scenes are still far from the current big-budget commercial films, but the film creates a different kind of tragic and solemn, and this tragic and solemn comes from the infection of the national hero itself force.
The Opium War made China lose Hong Kong, and the failure of the Sino-Japanese War forced China to recognize Japan's forcible occupation of Taiwan. It was not until half a century later that the Chinese people won the overall victory in the Anti-Japanese War and Taiwan was able to recover. And it is not the first time that this troubled treasure island has been occupied by invaders. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, she unfortunately fell into the hands of the Dutch invaders. The Chinese people on the island of Taiwan could not bear the exploitation and torture of the Dutch, and could only turn to the motherland on the other side of the strait. Zheng Chenggong, who is the mainstay of the generals of Nanming, after learning of what happened to his compatriots, organized a fleet to go to Taiwan without hesitation, and with the cooperation of his compatriots on the island, defeated the cunning and ferocious enemies and brought Taiwan back to the territory of China.
" hero Zheng Chenggong " stills
Zheng Chenggong's deeds were brought to the screen by director Wu Ziniu in 2001. The film, titled "Hero Zheng Chenggong", also stars Zhao Wenzhuo. From Qi Jiguang to Zheng Chenggong, it seems that Zhao Wenzhuo does have a certain unique temperament, which is in line with the audience's traditional cognition of national heroes. Compared with Qi Jiguang's high-spiritedness, the film adds a sense of sadness and resentment to Zheng Chenggong's loss of his country and his family. Under Zhao Wenzhuo's meticulous interpretation, the heroic characters are full of masculine beauty, and also perfectly express the flesh and blood of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and their common desire for unity.
Before the Japanese rebellion in the Ming Dynasty, China rarely encountered foreign enemies from the sea; in the Qing Dynasty after the Ming Dynasty, just like the Dutch invaders in "Heroic Zheng Chenggong", more difficult enemies began to cross the sea from farther places. The movie "Dragon War", which will be released in the summer, is such a story background. In the 1880s, the French army from continental Europe blatantly invaded China's vassals, Vietnam, and approached the Chinese border, killing Chinese border residents, and the Sino-French war broke out. In the anti-aggression wars in modern times, including this war, China is no longer facing a savage and backward enemy like the Japanese pirates in the Ming Dynasty, but a foreign power with more advanced weapons and systems. It is in this situation. , The Chinese military and civilians led by veteran Feng Zicai showed their tenacious will to resist and national integrity.
"Dragon Wars" poster
In the movie "Battle of the Dragon", in order to save the situation from retreating, the Qing government reactivated Feng Zicai, an aged and retired. And he did not live up to the trust of the country. At the age of nearly seventy years, he personally fought with a knife and a gun. He fought bravely against the tall and strong black soldiers of the French army, and finally led the Qing army to win the victory at Nanguan. The old Ji Fuzheng is ambitious, and the old general Feng Zicai is also a well-deserved national hero.
From "Jiawu Fengyun" to "Dragon War", generations of filmmakers have created vivid and moving national hero images on the big screen. For thousands of years, it is under the inspiration of these heroes that countless Chinese sons and daughters have fought resolutely and fearlessly for the land under their feet. With the rising of China's economy and the continuous improvement of film technology, we will be able to make better films of national heroes, not forgetting the history and celebrating their great national spirit. This is not only the needs of movie audiences, but also the spiritual needs of the nation, because it is these national heroes who support the unyielding backbone of the Chinese nation.
