"The Train to Spring": Is the spring of time-themed movies coming?


1905 film news this year's high-profile low-cost era theme movie "Train to Spring", since its release on September 17 has only received more than 3 million box office. Regarding the film’s box office performance, both industry insiders and movie fans have the answer in mind.


"The Train to Spring" is directed by Li Ji, starred by Li Mincheng, Ren Suxi, He Weiran, etc. It has also been nominated for the 24th Busan International Film Festival New Wave Award, the 14th Chinese Youth Film Forum and other awards. It tells the life story of ordinary little people in the torrent of the times.



After going to the theater to watch "The Train to Spring", some fans said that it was "very worth the fare." Although it is the first work, Director Li Ji has successfully captured the typical state of life of small people. The style is simple and the plot is not monotonous, and the open ending is full of surprises. The gray-toned images occupies most of the movie, highlighting the economic depression of the small town but also bringing a strong sense of oppression. The lens language close to life is real and powerful.



filmmakers have never stopped exploring the story of the times, and there are also the creations of leading directors, but these works have always been "popular but not popular." Jia Zhangke's "Old People in Mountains and Rivers" (32.25 million), "The Children of the Rivers and Lakes" (69.95 million), Wang Xiaoshuai's "Long and Tian Long" (45.22 million) and many other films have won many awards at home and abroad, and there are many powerful actors. Acting, although it has the elements of a hit, it is still hard to escape the "box office vicious circle" of era-themed movies. Compared with the top ten 3 billion+ movies on the box office list,


still hasn't made it into the “mainstream of current screen movies”, and survival under the epidemic is even more difficult. Most of the movies on the theme of the era focus on the people at the bottom of society who have been passively endured but can only struggle, focusing on specific individuals, trying to show the helpless, regretful, and sorrowful life of small people through ordinary stories. Perhaps for some audiences, these movies still have a slightly higher threshold for viewing.



Nowadays, the movie market is still more inclined to simple and direct entertainment commercial expression, so the box office of the slightly heavier movies is still sluggish. But it is undeniable that a film that tells the story of the times like "The Train to Spring" is a useful supplement to the diverse themes under the entire theater system. While expressing respect for the creation of filmmakers, I also look forward to the day when excellent time-themed movies can receive more attention.