74-year-old Zhang Yimou has experienced two career troughs.
once was in 1996.
Zhang Yimou and Gong Li broke up this year, and new movies were stalled due to lack of investment.
Zhang Yimou, who had no money to make a living, met Zhang Weiping, a real estate developer whom he met at a previous dinner.
One had capital and the other had talent. Zhang Weiping extended an olive branch and put Zhang Yimou on the road to becoming a business leader.
From "Hero", which ushered in a new era of Chinese films, to the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, Zhang Yimou has since established his reputation as a "national teacher".
Another time was in 2016.
"The Great Wall", a collaboration between Zhang Yimou and Hollywood, failed at the box office and his reputation was severely damaged.
After "Shadow" and "One Second", the reputation was mediocre and the box office was not satisfactory. Lao Mouzi seemed to be drifting away from the mainstream market.
Just when people thought Zhang Yimou was "old and honest", he developed a new killing move.
Zhang Yimou, who went global with his literary and artistic films, "breaks away" from his original literary and artistic films and develops a new genre-mixing track.
's suspenseful spy thriller "Above the Cliff", costume mystery comedy "Man Jiang Hong", and anti-gang police gangster "Sturdy as a Rock". Each of
's films breaks through the traditional definition of genre films, and also stimulates young audiences' enthusiasm for Zhang Yimou's films.
Among the top ten box office films in 2023, Zhang Yimou’s films accounted for two, and one of them even won the annual crown.
In just a few years, Zhang Yimou has already established himself as a box office success.
As one of the most watched films during the Spring Festival, "Article 20" currently has a box office of over 1.5 billion. The final box office forecast given by the platform is as high as 2.4 billion. The 8.0 rating is also "a lot of praise."
's solid box office and reputation once again prove that Zhang Yimou, who is over 70 years old, can still firmly grasp the public's taste.
What are the advantages of Article 20?
With such curiosity, Qingshi also walked into the cinema to find out.
1After watching the movie for 41 minutes, Qingshi just wanted to say that there is a reason why this movie has such a solid mass base.
I would like to call "Article 20" Zhang Yimou's most down-to-earth movie.
includes the most mentioned point by the audience, which is also "life-oriented" and "down-to-earth".
It is no exaggeration to say that "Article 20" is not just Zhang Yimou's petty quarrel. Zhang Yimou's ambition that has not aged is hidden in the narrative that is consistent to the end.
Without further ado, Qingshi will dismantle the three "vulgar points" in the film one by one to see what is hidden in this film.
01
From the beginning, Zhang Yimou set a "popular" tone for "Article 20":
describes the contradiction between morality and law in the big and small situations of ordinary people.
This entry point is actually not the first time it appears in Zhang Yimou’s film.
"Qiu Ju's Lawsuit" in 1992 tells the history of rural woman Qiu Ju's lawsuit.
Her husband was kicked and injured by the village chief. Qiu Ju was determined to get an explanation and sued all the way from the town to the province.
Later, when Qiu Ju gave birth, the village chief helped send her to the hospital. The grudge between the two families was resolved, but the village chief was taken away by the police for investigation.
"Qiu Ju" is a lone hero entangled in human relationships and the rule of law, while "Article 20" is about a group of people who are confused by "love and law".
To put it simply, "Article 20" involves three "cases related to legitimate defense" .
A bus driver injured someone.
On the bus, a girl was harassed. The driver came to help, but accidentally injured one of them seriously.
The driver was convicted of intentional injury and served three years in prison. His wife appealed for him everywhere, she was exhausted and finally died with regret.
"Is my father guilty?"
"Is this sentence fair to him?"
The driver's daughter asked a series of questions, making it difficult to respond and give the correct answer.
It was a scissors murder case.
His wife was raped by a bully and his own life was threatened. The man named Wang Yongqiang accidentally killed the bully out of fear.
Wang Yongqiang was detained, and the bully’s family members blocked the door of the procuratorate in large numbers, demanding that the murderer be severely punished and seek justice.
The words "Give me back my son's life, give me justice" written in black and white are shocking.
On the other hand, Wang Yongqiang’s experience makes people sad and unfortunate.
In order to protect his wife and himself, is it wrong to pick up a knife and kill the other person?
There is also a school bullying case.
High school student Han Yuchen accidentally injured one of the violent students when he saw his classmates being bullied and tried to stop him.
didn't expect that he would be bitten back by the other party afterwards, and it would be defined as a "fight" by the school.
Killing for life is the right thing to do first. This is an iron law that everyone has recognized since ancient times.
Drawing a sword to help others and acting bravely when they see justice are not the qualities we advocate.
When the two collide, it will undoubtedly become the "trolley paradox" for which no standard answer can be given.
As the title of the film indicates, "Article 20" refers to Article 20 of the Criminal Law, which stipulates "justifiable defense".
What is defense and how to define the scope of "legitimate" have always been hot topics of debate in society.
The various contradictions surrounding legitimate defense outline an emotional dilemma that all of us are deeply aware of.
's sentence "The law is right" - "Who is at fault?" 's words and questions are exactly the soul of the three cases connected in series.
02
Many people’s first impression of Article 20 is the slogan “I love my family”.
At first glance, this slogan seems simple, tacky, and nutritious, giving people a feeling of "Spring Festival Gala family fun."
But after watching the movie, Qingshi was shocked to realize that there was actually a lot behind these four simple words.
The main characters of the film come from two families.
Prosecutor Han Ming (played by Lei Jiayin) and his family have a power structure of "tiger mother and cat father".
His wife Li Maojuan (played by Ma Li) controls the lifeline of the family. Han Ming only obeys his wife's orders, and he dares not disobey her orders.
He also used playing cards to give an incisive summary of the family status of his son and his wife:
The son is j, the prince of the family; the wife is the preserved egg (q), the queen with all the stars holding the moon.
lives a turbulent life, but because of his son's beating incident, it triggered a series of ripple effects.
On one side is the authority that Han Ming fears, and on the other is the justice that his son is not recognized for. Which one is more important?
But compared with the deaf-mute Hao Xiuping (played by Zhao Liying) and his family, the troubles of Han Ming's family seem insignificant.
Her husband Wang Yongqiang accidentally killed the bully and was convicted of intentional injury. His future life and death are uncertain.
Not only that, Hao Xiuping and her young daughter were also implicated and frequently harassed by the bully’s family members.
The other party even used the child as a coercion to force her to admit that she slept with the bully voluntarily and was not raped.
She couldn't express her pain, so she could only fight for her child with her life, and even prepared to commit suicide in exchange for the safety of her family.
Hao Xiuping stood on the edge of a high-rise building, suffering and desperate. The scene when she stretched out her hand to Han Ming was even more touching and heartbreaking.
I am still deeply impressed by the "National Question" in the film:
"What will you do when your family is hurt?"
This is actually the meaning of the slogan "I love my family".
I love my family, and I love my family. I will risk everything to protect them.
Behind the game between law and love, this emotional core of "making family a family" is the real theme of the film.
03
Before this, many people thought that "Article 20" was a lively farce.
This has also caused many people to question: Could it be another "Spring Festival Special" sketch movie?
But if you are familiar with Lao Mouzi, you will know that most of his realistic themes actually like to be wrapped in a layer of comedy "sugar-coating".
Movies such as "Qiu Ju's Lawsuit", "Happy Days" and "No One Left Behind" all use comedy elements.
's most typical "Speak Well", urban men and women, absurd cause and effect, intellectuals' rampage, fully display the post-modern black humor.
's line "An Hong, I miss you so much that I want to sleep!" has become a classic line that has resounded throughout film history.
It can be said that the vulgarity of Zhang Yimou's comedy is not the so-called shit;
but the characters and stories based on life itself, as well as the chemical reactions between actors.
For example, Han Ming, who is transformed into a "social animal", is humble at work and knows how to figure out the leader's thoughts. He can be called the most competent Duan Shui Master.
"The leader leaves first" and "I will open the door for the leader". The irritating feeling of facing a superior makes people feel restless and laugh out loud.
There are also Lei Jiayin and Ma Li. Zhang Yimou brought these two together to achieve the effect of 1+1 greater than 2.
Lei Jiayin, who seems to have a low eyebrow, is actually a wealthy person who uses judo to resist the heavy reality.
Listen to his wife's lectures honestly;
His uncle calls him a "boy", but he also pretends to be confused, pretending to understand.
is as strong as Ma Li, straightforward in what she does and speaks, and absolutely unambiguous on key matters.
When the parent of an injured student (played by Zhang Yi) sneered at his son: If you raise your hand just one centimeter higher, (my child's) eye will be gone.
Ma Li, who was protecting the calf, replied sincerely: Isn’t it still 1 centimeter short?
One sentence overwhelmed the other party's momentum, and he was so angry that his lips trembled and he could not speak. Almost every line of
is hilarious, and the gags and vernacular are filled with a pure and natural quality of life.
Among all the laughter and curses, we can still see the fierce yet humane Lao Mouzi.
Peeling away this layer of comedy full of laughter, "Article 20" actually has a deep and serious foundation that is no less than that of "The Third Brigade" and other films.
It is related to the people's livelihood and the rule of law in society. It is a realistic story that is closely related to every ordinary person.
04, Facts have proved that Zhang Yimou has embarked on another avenue for Chinese male directors
If "Qiu Ju's Lawsuit" is a true portrayal of the transformation period in the 1990s, "Article 20" is Zhang Yimou's reflection on the current era. resonance.
The technique of using happiness to describe troubles and using joy to describe sadness has been used from "Autumn Jus" to this day, and has long become Zhang Yimou's authorial mark.
I have to say that "Article 20" is really vulgar in terms of topic selection and content.
But Zhang Yimou is good at using vulgar methods to express the power of reality through the back of the paper.
As some netizens said,
Zhang Yimou uses the most understandable face to wrap up the face of human nature and social laws.
He used perceptual emotions and humor to conduct rational thinking about reality, and finally achieved "Zhang's expression" that is both vulgar and elegant.
At the end of his career, he gave up the photography method that made him famous and focused on telling a story.
For Lao Mouzi of this rank, such an attempt is no less than gambling with his career.
But Qingshi wants to say that it is better to make more such attempts so that Chinese films can have fresh blood that will update the atmosphere.
Judging from the current performance, I believe that "Article 20" can rely on its excellent reputation to stabilize the box office and achieve better results after the Spring Festival.
Qingshi Movie | Shang and Zhou
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