Following the successful "out of the circle" on the B station with depth and warmth in the five episodes of the documentary "But There Are Books" two years ago, the voices of netizens are constantly heard. The recently broadcast "But There Are Books 2" can be described as "a thousand calls to start out". Compared with the first film that uses "books" as a link to tell the stories of book lovers such as editors, framers, picture book authors, and old book collectors, "But There Are Books 2" continues the same narrative structure, not only does not make the audience feel aesthetic fatigue, but also obtains a network score of 9.5. This stems from the fact that the work enters the hearts of these people who deal with books in a unique way, revealing their rich and interesting spiritual world.
Yang Guanghui, deputy director of Fudan University Library and executive vice dean of the Institute of Chinese Ancient Book Conservation of Fudan University, said that "But There Are Books 2" shows a group of characters with their own professional expertise and rich in life from a unique perspective, and it is this warm expression of sensibility and innovation that will reach the essence of the documentary to the hearts of more audiences.
Books make them more pure people, and they continue the spirit of craftsmanship through books
Cartoonist Xu Xianzhe flipped through the "History" and "Zizhi Tongjian" in order to create "Dart Man", looking for inspiration from the cracks in history; translator Bao Huiyi went to Europe to study medieval literature in order to translate ancient English; Gu Xiaojun, a librarian at the National Library, learned more than ten languages such as French, Persian, and Greek in his spare time... In the lens of the documentary, these characters and books have an indissoluble relationship, and the process of dealing with books makes them have a pure and transparent heart, which supports them to engage in book-related work without distraction, and they continue the spirit of craftsmanship.
"Shen Xieyuan, a bibliographer who has spent more than seventy years studying the editions of ancient books and the field of source streams... Participated in the compilation project of the "Bibliography of Ancient Chinese Books"... Today, he is still immersed in the compilation of more than 800,000 words of Huang Pilie's inscription collection. In the narration narration of the actor Hu Ge, the image of an old gentleman who is engaged in the protection of ancient books and works in the library gradually becomes flesh and blood.
The picture of Mr. Shen still insisting on taking the bus to work in the Nanjing Library every day makes Yang Guanghui feel particularly moved, "Shen Lao has enjoyed it all his life, because the catalogue of ancient books has infinite charm."
Continuing the spirit of craftsmanship is not an easy task, and it is necessary to cut through thorns along the way. Zhao Jia, who "wanted to be a painter all his life", experienced many tribulations in the road of life, but never stopped drawing the comic "Black Blood". Zhao Weiqun, deputy director of the Comics and Animation Art Committee of the Shanghai Artists Association, who was the deputy editor-in-chief of the weekly magazine, said in an interview with reporters that at that time, Zhao Jia's works were very mature and one of the best in China, but due to the difficulty of the overall operation of the animation magazine industry in the country at that time, there were many problems such as slow capital turnover, serious piracy, insufficient recognition of domestic readers, lack of scripts, etc., which made many cartoonists experience difficulties like Zhao Jia at that time." Every cartoonist goes from being recognized to acknowledging it, and it's a long road."
Whether it is compiling ancient books or drawing cartoons with bare hands, it is a lonely and long road, along the way, these ordinary people have endured the wind and rain, are willing to know themselves, but their ambitions have not changed. This kind of craftsman-style persistence stems from their adherence to pure original intentions. As Luo Yingluan, one of the film's directors, blessed the characters in these documentaries - "bless them all to find their own way".
The incisive narration + unique expression method constitutes the essence of the documentary
The somewhat odd title of "But There Are Books" comes from the poet Chesław Milosz's poem of the same name— that man is delicate, but that the books that preserve human wisdom, civilization, and emotions are eternal. Under the title of the film with a cultural heritage, a series of incisive narrations expand the ideological depth of this documentary.
"Thousands of years later, people will still be moved when they read the Iliad, Romeo and Juliet, because this is human nature" "In fact, the translation is a kind of knowing that it will not be fully transmitted, but it is still necessary to do it, so there is a kind of tragic heroism of a labor" "In the labyrinth of words stripped of the cocoon" "Some translators love lightness and enjoy midnight flight in the dense forest of words, and some translators are like land boats, taking you over the peaks of thought"... "But there are books 2" Episode 3 " In "The Word Ferryman", philosophical and concise words appear frequently, and almost every narration is concise and original.
The director of the episode, Zheng Suhang, wrote in the director's notes that the creators visited many translators before the production and listened to their stories, and these concise narrations are condensed in the creator's tribute to this group.
"But There Are Books 2" also innovates in terms of performance techniques, showing shen xieyuan roadside transaction of "Huayan Jing", Yang Wuneng's dream of repairing the Three Gorges hydropower station and eventually becoming a German translator, etc., all of which use the form of animation to add to the fun of the documentary.
When anime is used to simulate the soul dialogue between cartoonist Zhao Jia and characters such as knife and horse in "Dart Man", the audience has commented on the bullet screen such as "injecting soul", "planting grass fiercely", and "suddenly chivalrous and coming out". In this regard, Zhao Weiqun said: "For cartoonists, there must be an inextricable connection between a virtual character and a real character, and the sparks that collide will be stronger and more interesting. This kind of expression presents a more lifelike side of these characters, narrows the distance between the audience and the characters, and also gives new inspiration to the creators of the documentary.
Author: Wang Licheng
Editor: Zhou Minxian