The Hundred Flowers Award for Popular Film, a national literary and artistic award founded in 1962, is the oldest important award in the Chinese film industry.
The 37th Hundred Flowers Awards for Popular Films (hereinafter referred to as the Hundred Flowers Awards), co-sponsored by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the China Film Association, the Propaganda Department of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the Chengdu Municipal People's Government, will be held in Chengdu from August 2 to 4 .
A few days ago, the list of nominees for this year's Hundred Flowers Awards has been announced. There are not only experienced filmmakers such as Zhang Yimou and Li Xuejian, but also young talents such as Yi Yang Qianxi and Wang Junkai . In order to let everyone have an in-depth understanding of the nominated works, Red Star News has launched the "Watching Hundreds of Flowers in Chengdu" series to introduce the nominated works and nominated filmmakers.
Today we take a look at " Volunteer Army: Heroes Attack ", which was nominated for the best film at this year's Hundred Flowers Awards.
" Changjin Lake ", released in 2021, still ranks first in the box office list in Chinese film history. As one of the co-directors of the film, Chen Kaige will once again focus on "Resisting U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea" in 2023, and has the ambition to create a magnificent epic through a trilogy, panoramic, and multi-dimensional approach.
What is an epic and what is a masterpiece? It’s not about pursuing bigness, completeness, or a “me-only” narrative strength, breadth, and depth; it’s about laying the foundation for every brick in every detail. Hongyu Chonglou also started from bricks and earth. Chen Kaige's "the most arduous creation in his 40 years of filmmaking" - the first work of the trilogy "Volunteers: The Heroes Attack" will give a sonorous and powerful explanation of how to lay bricks and build a building.
Shortly after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Korean Civil War broke out. The United States participated in the war brazenly, helping South Korea attack North Korea like a tiger driving a sheep. At the same time, the United States blocked the Taiwan Strait and provoked my country's northeastern border. Under pressure, China was determined to join the war, so it crossed the Yalu River with "vigor and high spirits" to resist U.S. aggression, aid Korea, and defend its homeland.
In the film, Liang Xingchu, commander of the 38th Volunteer Army played by Wang Xiao, failed to arrive at Xichuan on time, delaying the fighter plane, and was angrily reprimanded by Peng Dehuai.
The always brave commander finally explained: "I heard that there is an American regiment in Xichuan. I want to prepare and fight when I am ready. I want to reduce casualties as much as possible. We have sacrificed too many people, too many ...The soldiers have fought hard enough to see the new China and the good days..."
After hearing this, Peng Dehuai was silent for a moment, and then said: "Sacrifice is the price we must pay, if you don't pay it, your son will pay it. Sun Tzu pays. We are covered in blood and have mud on our feet, so let’s pay."
Wang Yanhui as Peng Dehuai
Such a humane dialogue rarely occurs on a battlefield filled with smoke. Liang Xingchu's dilemma illustrates the cruelty of war. This is also a concrete manifestation of the difficulties of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea: the gap between China and the United States is too great, and it is no more than a moth rushing to the flame. But the "fire" was too strong and had endangered their home. The "moth" had no choice. Even if he had to feed the fire with his body, he would still put out the fire with a river of flesh and blood.
There is also a line that takes place at the United Nations Security Council. Zhang Ziyi translator Tang Sheng talks with Li Xiao (played by Zhang Zifeng), a member of the Chinese delegation. She asked Li Xiao what the key was. Li Xiao said that it was the key to her home, like a token, as if the key was there and the home was there. Tang Sheng said that she also wanted to have such a key. For Tang Sheng, who has been working in Britain and the United States all year round, China is her home.
She wanted to go home because she saw the confidence and strength of a great power shown by Chinese diplomat Wu Xiuquan (played by Zhang Songwen) in his speech, the humiliation and resistance she suffered, and the hope and determination for the future. If you want to go home, you want to resist foreign humiliation; if you want to go home, you want to protect China. As a result, the diplomatic occasion also had necessary echoes and resonances with the same theme as the Korean War.
As for the main body of the film, those war scenes such as mountain ambush, village melee, life and death, night crossing, snowfield bombing, etc. are very different in space, time and style and are extremely cruel. : There are the brave and invincible armored tanks, and there is the sacrifice of a small Molotov cocktail being thrown into the tank; there are leaders and a group of historical generals who have left their names in history, and there are some unnamed soldiers, and every bullet in them , every battle and even every death is a witness to this war and an integral part that cannot be ignored.
Chen Kaige always splashes pen and ink on specific characters, dialogues and details, so that while the film constructs the inevitability of history at a macro level, there are also micro creations to support the writing of the entire event, so that it can transform from grand history to concrete and perceptible The story enables distant historical narratives to be linked to current emotional experiences, ultimately giving war legal justice and human warmth. Only in this way can "Volunteers: Attack" break away from the stereotype of war movies always being "war for war's sake" and become a masterpiece with a more epic quality.
Red Star News movie reviewer Li Ruifeng editor Su Jing
