Today we will talk about "Donkey Got Water", which is a drama adaptation of the film. When it was released in 2016, it became a phenomenon-level hit, and the media discussed a lot, but the box office was actually not high, only less than 200 million, compared with the other movies of Happy Twist, the gap was very large, why is this?
Let's first look at what story "Donkey Got Water" tells.
The time is set in 1942, a poor area in the northwest plateau of China. Principal Sun brought a few young teachers here to run an experimental primary school, determined to change the greed, stupidity, weakness and selfishness of Chinese peasants.
However, the school is seriously short of water, and they need to raise a donkey to pull water for the school, but the Ministry of Education does not have this funding, and the principal falsely reports a teacher quota "Lu Deshui".
Originally, it was good, and the salary of the donkey water teacher had to be transferred to the earmark, but in fact, everyone took advantage of this money. Principal Sun's youngest daughter, Sun Jia, drives a donkey back and forth 20 miles to fetch water for the school every day, but she herself is very opposed to the practice of inflating the quota and eating empty pay, and is a simple and upright child.
What about the other teachers? Zhou Tie is impulsive, does not like to use his brain when things happen, and originally played the head of the department when he was in college.
Pei KuiShan has a city government, but it is said that when the original school purchased teaching aids, there was a stain of eating kickbacks, which was recorded.
Zhang Yiman advocated sexual freedom, and originally was debauched in the big city, and his reputation was very bad.
Only Principal Sun is generous and loves education, but it was his idea to eat empty salary on false registration.
One day, the school suddenly received a telegram saying that the Ministry of Education had sent a commissioner to inspect the work of the school, and it was specifically stated that five teachers should be present, and the principal suspected that the Ministry of Education was suspicious. Because of the remoteness, the telegram was delayed, and the commissioner arrived the next day. The principal was in a hurry and thought of a stopgap measure, asking Sun Jia to bring back the coppersmith who repaired the bell to pretend to be Teacher Lu Deshui.
This coppersmith was actually a language genius, Zhang Yiman taught him a few words of English, he learned it at once, took a shower, cut his head and changed his clothes, and looked really like an intellectual. After the commissioner came, he pretended to listen to The teacher Lu Deshui's lecture, but he himself actually could not understand a word of English, the coppersmith read a lyric in Mongolian, Zhang Yiman lied that it was Shakespeare's classic play, and the commissioner was greatly pleased, claiming that the rural educator he was looking for was Lu Deshui. After that, Teacher Lu Deshui could receive 30,000 French dollars donated by american educator Ross every month, and everyone was very happy.
The matter was about to pass, and the commissioner needed teacher Lu Deshui to take a picture before leaving, but the coppersmith refused to take a picture, saying that the photo would be short-lived. Zhang Yiman thought of a strange trick, using his body to "pajamas" the coppersmith, the coppersmith actually has a wife, which lays the foundation. The next day the coppersmith honestly took a picture, and after sending the commissioner away, he himself refused to leave. This night stand caused the coppersmith to be overwhelmed, and Zhang Yiman cut another head and sent it to him as a souvenir, which was to coax the coppersmith away.
Zhang Yiman's wayward behavior deeply hurt the teacher Kuishan who once loved her, and since then he seems to have changed as a person. After the money was paid, Pei Kuishan resolutely disagreed with the expansion of the classroom, but insisted on the three thousand yuan a month bonus he had agreed to, and he even wore a mink coat in the summer.
Two months later, the coppersmith's wife came to the door, saying that the coppersmith had changed a lot in the past two months, and he didn't work all day just holding various books to turn around, and at night he changed his tricks to toss his wife, and yesterday he bit her ear, and the coppersmith's wife seriously suspected which bad woman taught her husband bad.
Zhang Yiman couldn't help but laugh when she heard this, but she definitely didn't dare to admit that she had done a good job. The coppersmith's wife was making a fuss, and the commissioner came to the school with the American educator, and had reached the bottom of the mountain during the conversation.
When the matter was urgent, the principal advised Zhang Yiman to focus on the overall situation and admit the bad things she had done. But once this kind of thing is admitted, even if it can be good, the coppersmith's wife will rush up and beat people, and the coppersmith who was originally very afraid of his wife will desperately stop it, and will not hesitate to turn his face with his wife. Zhang Yiman looked at this posture, wouldn't this destroy other people's families? Moreover, the coppersmith did not leave, and when the commissioner came, he punctured the matter. So Zhang Yiman scolded the coppersmith fiercely with a clear conscience, saying that in her heart, the coppersmith was an animal, and that day he had just used him once. The coppersmith was deeply shocked after hearing this, and threw away the hair that Zhang Yiman had sent before, but he did not go home with his wife, but hid in the school.
After the American Rose came, he had altitude sickness and rested in the room, and the commissioner first lectured the teachers. It turned out that Ross donated 100,000 French dollars per month, while the Ministry of Education only gave Sanmin Primary School 30,000, but the commissioner made all teachers speak in unison, and must admit that they received 100,000 yuan per month. The commissioner found that Mr. Lu Deshui was actually absent, and the American Ross insisted that he must see Lu Deshui. The commissioner also understood that the American was suspicious and believed that the Ministry of Education had defrauded him of money.
The principal lied that Teacher Lu Deshui had just traveled on a business trip and would not be able to return for a month, and the commissioner was anxious, even if he knew that Teacher Lu Deshui suddenly appeared at the door. The coppersmith hadn't left before, he had overheard what was being discussed, and knew that he had played such an important role that he had come out wearing Pei Kuishan's mink coat.
The commissioner looked at it, and this was the savior. The coppersmith was heartbroken by Zhang Yiman's previous insults and shouted that the principal should fire Zhang Yiman or he would leave. The commissioner didn't know what had happened before, and he came again to make a fool of himself, saying that Zhang Yiman didn't scold you? Then you also scolded her, and everyone present scolded her until you were satisfied, and the coppersmith said that he could try.
Of course, Principal Sun and Iron Man were just pretending, but Pei Kuishan caught the opportunity to retaliate against Zhang Yiman, he scolded Zhang Yiman fiercely as a slut and a bitch, jumping up and scolding more and more vigorously, the principal had to pull him away. But the coppersmith was not satisfied, and wanted everyone to slap her, Zhang Yiman slapped himself, he was not satisfied, he wanted to cut her hair, he knew that Zhang Yiman loved beauty, he liked his long hair the most, he hated this hair. Principal Sun still put the overall situation first and personally cut Zhang Yiman's hair, and Zhang Yiman finally couldn't bear the humiliation in turn and was driven crazy.
The coppersmith still did not spare, zhou Tienan finally shouted out the truth, saying that Teacher Lu Deshui was just a coppersmith, and the real Teacher Lu was just a donkey, but this truth was no longer important. The commissioner thought about how to fool the American Ross, and Teacher Lu Deshui must be an educator, shoot anyone who disobeys, and then kill the donkey and eat meat. Hearing that he wanted to kill the donkey, Sun Jia of course did not do it, Zhou Tienan also rose up to resist, the commissioner instructed the police chief waiting to shoot Zhou Tienan, fortunately, Principal Sun stopped it, the bullet flew over his face, and Zhou Tienan finally broke his guts and knelt down to beg for forgiveness.
Of course, the donkey was killed, the meat was eaten, and the coppersmith obeyed, and he was told to do whatever he wanted. The big commissioner thought of a way to let Lu Deshui pretend to die, and the educator who did not speak English could deceive the commissioner who could not speak English, but it was impossible to deceive the Americans, only to let him pretend to be dead, saying that he was on the way back, because the donkey cart overturned in a hurry. But the Americans also produced a moth, believing that his persistence killed Teacher Lu, and he must pay a pension of ten thousand US dollars, and he must also hand over to Teacher Lu's family.
When Principal Sun was inflating the quota at that time, he said that Teacher Lu Deshui's parents were both dead and unaccompanied, so there was only sun jia who was wronged and pretended to be Teacher Lu's fiancée. Ross asked Sun Jia what other wishes he had, Principal Sun had a selfish heart, he shouted that Sun Jia wanted to go to the United States for further study, hoping that Mr. Ross would take her to the United States, hearing this, the coppersmith who had died for half a day bounced up again, and he also wanted to go to the United States.
Rose was so angry that Pei Kuishan had exhausted his eloquence, and it was hard to convince Rose that it was a miracle that Teacher Lu Deshui had come back from the dead. Ross then proposed that since Teacher Lu Deshui had decided to marry his fiancée Sun Jia before, his ten thousand dollars would be used as a congratulatory gift, hoping to participate in their wedding. At this point, the coppersmith and Sun Jia must get married, so of course Principal Sun cannot agree, so the commissioner tied up Principal Sun and threatened Sun Jia that if he did not marry the coppersmith, Principal Sun's life would be in danger.
Sun Jia only agreed, and when the wedding was being held, the coppersmith's wife broke in and made a big fuss, and also snatched the gun of Sheriff Hou, frightening everyone to scatter and run away, and finally, the pistol accidentally fell into the hands of the crazy Zhang Yiman.
A farce finally ended, the commissioner was investigated by the superiors, all the teachers of Sanmin Primary School were also punished, fortunately the school remained, Principal Sun continued to serve as the principal, but Sun Jia was determined to leave, she wanted to go to Yan'an to find her eldest brother. When President Sun organized everyone to hold a meeting, he found that he did not see Zhang Yiman, and then a gunshot rang out, and Zhang Yiman ended his life.
The first half of Donkey Kong is a comedy, but the second half is a tragedy. There were 5 years of drama performance before it was made into a movie, and the script was very tightly polished, and because of this, it was very different from traditional movies. We all know that modern mainstream films are based on the lens narrative as the main body, and the performance form of the drama determines that it is based on the lines and performances as the main body of the narrative. We will find that all the characters are very good at acting, but the scenes of the film are very monotonous, and the shots are also a lot of fixed position long shots, which of course is determined by the subject matter.
For example, the "Daytime Fireworks" shared by the previous yige is a typical art film, the script is actually only more than 23,000 words, and there are a large number of long-shot dialogues. The story of "Donkey Got Water" is much simpler, the scenes are few, the script is more than 48,000 words, all the scenes are stacked with dialogue, and these two movies are almost two extremes.
The theme idea and the things to be expressed in "Donkey Got Water" are actually very straightforward, all of which are said in the lines, almost directly thrown into the face of the audience, so when the tragedy is staged in the second half, there is a feeling that they cannot bear to look at it directly.
From the complexity of the education system to human nature, from the fate of intellectuals to the bottom line of being a person, all of them are relentlessly deduced through a story that makes mistakes more and more wrong.
The commissioner represents the decay of the education system of the Republic of China.
Not learning to be a layman is only one of them, enriching oneself in favoritism and fraud, and using public power to suppress dissidents, being too arrogant, that is, "the head is kicked by a donkey", and it will inevitably collapse in the end.
The role of Principal Sun is the bottom line of being a human being.
Admittedly, he was a sincere scholar of education, but it was his idea to inflate the quota at the beginning. His mantra was to do big things without restraint, and before the first visit of the commissioner, everyone advocated frankness and leniency, and it was also when he insisted on stubborn resistance to the end. The coppersmith was ignorant and resolutely refused to take pictures, and when Zhang Yiman took the initiative to sleep with the coppersmith, the principal immediately acquiesced. When the coppersmith's wife came to the door to make trouble, it was he who persuaded Zhang Yiman to focus on the overall situation and quickly find a way to send away this plague god. In the end, the commissioner said that he had come to scold Zhang Yiman, and he didn't even think about it, and directly said that he could fully agree. Then he personally cut zhang Yiman's hair, and it was he who caused Zhang Yiman to go crazy. But he is almost the image of a victim who is forced to be helpless from beginning to end, and you are embarrassed to accuse him. In the end, when the farce was over and all pierced, he was still thankful that the school had been saved, saying that the past would let it pass, but Sun Jia cried and said, "If the past passes like this, then the future will only be worse." Principal Sun lowered the bottom line of being a man again and again on the grounds of doing big things without being informal, and on the grounds of good original intentions, and finally harmed others and harmed himself completely, and Zhang Yiman's death was caused by one hand. It seems to be generous, but in fact it is stupid.
The transformation of the character of Pei Kuishan is the most alarming.
He used to shout" "Why are you kidnapping my interests with your moral standards", but this is exactly what he did to Zhang Yiman. He envied Zhang Yiman's romance and freedom, thinking that it was love, and he felt that you had to agree to it when I confessed. You're debauched because you don't know yourself, and I know you better than you do. When he found out that Zhao Yiman had left her to go to the coppersmith in pajamas, he felt greatly insulted, and my talented teacher Kuishan was actually no better than a silly coppersmith. Pei Kuishan has since become a selfish person who must fight every bit, and wearing a mink coat in the summer is nothing more than a cold and empty mind. Once he seized the opportunity to legally insult Zhang Yiman, he immediately showed ugliness, he had never loved Zhang Yiman at all, it was just a selfish possessiveness. Why should we be wary of Pei Kuishan's selfishness, standing on the moral high point of self-righteousness, and arbitrarily accusing others of their way of life, which is actually a pathology, the key is that it is not easy to find, and I always feel that I am right.
Zhou Tienan has always bluffed, and the surface is as fierce as fire and jealousy, and a bullet appears in its original form.
It is true that we cannot ask everyone to be able to see death in the face of power violence, but the sudden change of kneeling and prostrating is too humiliating, and when Sheriff Hou wants to rape Zhang Yiman, he still holds his head and begs for forgiveness, pretending not to see it, completely losing his conscience. This is a typical external strength in the middle, Zhou Tienan is a real weak.
The most tragic is the role of Zhang Yiman.
When she was in the big city, she was spurned because of her debauchery, and when she came to this poor and remote area, she had no remorse and lived a dashing and free life, so she let Pei Kuishan look at her differently. In Zhang Yiman's heart, sex is sex is love, and she wants that casual freedom, but this concept is absolutely intolerable in Chinese culture. If the genders of the coppersmith and Zhang Yiman are exchanged, a brother from the city who sleeps with a country daughter-in-law must be a scumbag. Therefore, it was only natural that Zhang Yiman was hated, but she never expected that the coppersmith's revenge would be so strong.
Sanmin Primary School is determined to change the greed, stupidity, and selfishness of Chinese peasants, but their four teachers are typical of greed, stupidity, and selfishness. There is no class in teaching, and the fundamental reason for anyone to be educated lies in understanding the truth of a person, and the size of learning is still secondary. Coppersmiths are the consequence of educational failure. After the donkey was killed, Sun Jia cried and paid tribute, saying that she had taught people badly, and finally Sun Jia left, and the camera gave the school gate a few big words "learn to be a person". But the little knowledge that Sun Jia taught was far less than Zhang Yiman's touch on the coppersmith, and then he was insulted by Zhang Yiman, who had a reason for revenge, but he had to forgive people, and he was determined to die again and again, and the evil of human nature could not bear to look at it directly.
As we said at the beginning, the box office of "Donkey Kong Water" is not very high, which is not in line with the high rating it received. Yi Ge has also seen some negative reviews, the basic reason is that this form of theatrical performance is not accepted by more film consumers, and the drama is relatively niche. If you go to the scene to watch the drama performance, the audience always sees a panorama, the facial features of the actors are relatively inconspicuous, and there is a sense of distance that can think about the connotation behind it. And the film brings the audience into it, and those unbearable scolding and those extremely embarrassing contradictions and conflicts are mostly smashed into the audience in a close-up way, which is easy to cause discomfort.
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Yi Ge is more like drama, everyone look at my title logo, the combination of two words of Yi Ge is actually a bit like a traditional drama word, [Yi Ge said drama] This ID also comes from this. So with this film, let's briefly talk about the different genres of theatrical performance. There are three broad categories of theatrical performance genres, namely Stannis, Brecht, and Mr. Mei Lanfang's Mei Pai.
Stanislavsky was a Russian dramatist, and I think everyone will remember the book in Stephen Chow's film The King of Comedy, "Self-Cultivation of Actors", which is Stanislavsky's book. Stannis's performance genre is simply experiential, and the actor must deeply experience the inner world of the character and pursue sincere performance from the inside out, which is the heart of the star master to perform. Donkey Kong as a whole consults Stannis's performance system. It is said that in the early script, after the role of Zhang Yiman was humiliated, he became a very bad person, similar to Pei Kuishan's transformation. However, the feedback from the actor Ren Suxi and some viewers believes that this transformation is not in line with the heart of the characters, so it is later changed to madness, from madness to death, which enhances the tragic atmosphere.
Brecht is a German dramatist, and when Igo talks about Ginger's films, he mentions Brecht's "separation effect" more than once. For example, in "Sunny Day", when the story is tense, Jiang Wen suddenly cuts into the narration and says that this is not true at all, thus forcibly pulling the audience out of the play. The distancing effect is a typical feature of Brecht's genre, the actor is a state of control over the role, he does not want the audience to enter the play, but wants the audience to experience the story with strangeness and surprise. So some people say that they don't like to watch Jiang Wen's movies, in fact, they may not be able to enter the play, and the director just doesn't want you to be in the play, he wants the audience to think about the meaning behind the camera.
Mr. Mei Lanfang's innovative Peking Opera Meipai art is the peak of Chinese opera art, but it is a shame to say that as a Chinese, YiGe has the least understanding of Meipai performance, and I think this is not just my personal problem. At the end of "Farewell to the Overlord", it is mentioned that Peking Opera is already a world intangible cultural heritage, that is to say, Peking Opera is actually in an endangered state of existence in name only. Jiang Wen actually pays tribute to various drama genres in "One Step Away", and also deliberately uses Mei Lanfang's masterpiece "Noble Concubine Drunk" as the background music for the overturn.
Through the previous examples, we know that in fact, theater and film are inseparable, and the theory of film performance is still derived from drama. It is said that the actors in the drama and the stars in Nortel are probably the same reason.
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