Set against the backdrop of the Cultural Revolution, the film "Sunny Days" slowly unfolds in the memories of middle-aged Ma Xiaojun, and the film does not focus on heavy social reflection, but focuses the camera on Ma Xiaojun and his friends, who are just young.
It is said that director Jiang Wen watched "The Juvenile Murder Incident on Muling Street" over and over again when filming this movie, and it can be seen that "Sunny Day" was deeply affected by it, the most obvious is the fight scene, there are many similar traces: late night, corridors, bicycles, brick smashed heads...
But "Sunny Days" is fundamentally different from "The Juvenile Murder Incident on Muling Street": in "The Juvenile Murder Incident on Muling Street", Yang Dechang tries to unveil an era with Taiwan's first juvenile delinquency incident, and the camera is aimed at juveniles, but it is intended to criticize Taiwanese society.
"Sunny Day" is completely Jiang Wen's nostalgia and praise of youth.
Directed by Jiang Wen, "Sunny Day"
The revolutionary songs in the film are indeed symbols of that era, but they are more of an interpretation of the irrepressible enthusiasm and restlessness and heroism of youth.
The youth stories in the film can take place in any era. No wonder some people say: "When Ma Xiaojun came home from the Public Security Bureau and scolded in the mirror, I saw myself; when Ma Xiaojun climbed into the chimney to show himself in front of Milan, I saw myself..."
In the youth-themed films, "Sunny Day" is neither as heavy and sad as "The Juvenile Murder Incident on Muling Street", nor as cruel and indulgent as "Everything About Lily Week", although there are also the confusion and pain of youth, but it is more of a celebration of youth.
Freedom, restlessness, love, ideals, poetry, disillusionment... These are always the eternal themes of eternal youth, and they are also the main theme of this movie.
When his father went out to train, Ma Xiaojun could not go home all day, at most he would be scolded by his mother; the school was in chaos, and a group of people came out of the classroom when they were lecturing, breaking through the door, running from the desk, jumping out of the window, and asking the teacher to help pick up the slippers that had fallen out of the house.
Zhiqing went to the countryside, and the children who were older than them were not in the city.
Ma Xiaojun was very proud: "In the mid-1970s, there were not so many cars and luxury hotels in Beijing, and there were not so many people on the streets, and all the people who were a few years older than us went to the countryside and the army, and the city belonged to us."
The city belongs to us.
Youth is free, they can sing lewd songs on the street without anyone else, and they can resort to violence for desires that have nowhere to vent.
Even if the story does not take place in the summer, I believe that Ma Xiaojun in the film is always sweating, always jumping around like a monkey, and there is no moment of stability.
He can open the door of other people's houses again and again and experience the excitement of playing in other people's homes; he can shoot balloons in the room and play with his head
Khan, hearing the sound of his mother returning, panicked and packing up the "crime scene"...
Restless youth, heat with nowhere to vent, unspeakable ideals, some beautiful expectations... Ma Xiaojun, who was deeply trapped in it, could not recognize this until he found Milan in the rotation of the telescope, in this manic world—a handsome face full of youthful vitality, with crystal water droplets hanging from it, and a colorful photograph of the person wearing a swimsuit.
Ma Xiaojun stared at this photo for a long time, and the wings of love had already spread their wings.
The elusive yearning of youth, the ideal vision, the restless restlessness, seems to have found a final point in an instant, and found a physical object to rely on in real life, that is Milan, that beautiful posture, light steps, beautiful face!
As a result, Ma Xiaojun braved the fiery sun every day and crawled up and down on the roof near his home in Milan, "like a cat on a hot tin roof."
After much hard work, I finally waited for Milan. Moreover, they became friends.
He drove Milan to her farm, estimating that he had the happiest time at that time, and said: "I always smelled a smell of burning grass that summer, but where did the wild grass come from on a hot day?" ”
The overwhelmed Ma Xiaojun jumped around in the pavilion, next to Milan, under the wood carvings, looking at the sky, youth began to jubilant and agitated, and could not suppress the excitement and excitement in his heart: "I want to fly!" Fly! fly! ”
The little friends do not understand, but they will be shocked by his enthusiasm. Liu Yiku said: "Sometimes, Ma Xiaojun really looks like a poet. ”
Love ignites ideals and poetry. We only want the sun, and there is no room for dark spots in our eyes; we just want to be pure and let the dust fly in the sun; we melt ourselves into the sun and steam and sweat; we say words that are not marginal, eager to fly. It doesn't matter if we can't fly, we can slam on the bike and run like a sword; we roar out of tune, send ourselves to the clouds, pull and pull, laugh and curse.
This is poetic youth!
As Ma Xiaojun's contacts with Milan became more and more intense, Milan's relationship with Liu Yigu became increasingly close.
Ma Xiaojun infused the ideal love of youth began to disillusion, and he forced Milan to take out the photo to show himself, it was just a black and white photo, not color at all!
Is Ma Xiaojun reading it wrong? In fact, he was forced by reality to really see the world.
Growing up, youth faded as a result.
Celebrating youth
Maybe memory whitewashes the years? Maybe youth is so beautiful that it's hard to believe?
Jiang Wen said: "When memories reappear in the mind, truth and fantasy are often mixed together... Sometimes a sound or a smell can take us back to the real past. ”
It doesn't matter if we can't tell the difference between true and false, there are always some things that will preserve our memories for us.
In "Sunny Day", Ma Xiaojun's youth, with passionate revolutionary songs and the feminine "Country Knight", stores the restless and ignorant love of youth, accompanied by brilliant sunshine and the smell of burning grass.
Reminiscing about the years like water, let us use pens, paintings, poems, songs... Treasure the lost youth.
About the author: Qingyu, a middle-aged girl who collects beautiful things in the ordinary world, loves flowers, books, movies, and is willing to share material, interesting and valuable things with you.