In this year's Spring Festival, there were two war films in the film market that triggered a movie-watching boom. The sequel to "Chosin Lake", "Chosin Lake's Water Gate Bridge", is based on large materials and shows the "panorama" of war; "Sniper" is small and large, more like a partial "close-up" of the battle. The same war theme, choosing the same period of release, have shown a good box office appeal and word-of-mouth influence, breaking the market pattern of the previous Spring Festival comedy films singing the protagonist.
The theme of war has always been an important theme in film creation. In the history of Chinese cinema, there have been many upsurges in the creation of war themes, and a number of well-known works have been born. However, for some time, domestic war films have fallen into a creative bottleneck. Some of the whole process of gunfire and shelling, artillery fire, but let people sleepy. There are also obvious traces of preaching, lack of deep power and "snubbed" by the market. From the "big" of the "Chosin Lake" series to the "small" of "Sniper", what kind of transformation has taken place in domestic war films?
War movies are getting better and better, which is inseparable from the improvement of the standard of China's film industry. The film industry level is reflected in the creation of genres, the production management of scientific systems, and the application of new technologies. The creative experience of the "Chosin Lake" series shows that the same type of film can follow certain creative standards, follow certain creative rules from script to production, and constantly copy successful experiences to ensure sustainable production. The combination of technology and art is also an important criterion for the industrialization of film. The "Chosin Lake" series uses high technology to create a breathtaking audio-visual experience for the audience with the help of high technology, and more than 90% of the post-production and special effects technology are completed in China. At present, under the impact of online media, movies need to move to a higher level of production, and moviegoers want to get a completely different experience in the cinema than other audiovisual platforms. These changes urgently require filmmakers to lead the development of the industry with scientific and technological innovation, and with the further improvement of film technology research and development capabilities, the unique charm of the big screen will further bloom.
War movies are getting better and better, and it is inseparable from the improvement of Chinese directors' storytelling ability. Nowadays, war movies pay more and more attention to telling small stories in big scenes. It can not only "get the big and the small", but also "see the small and look at the big", which not only has a panoramic expression of the course of the war, but also a vivid portrayal of the ordinary soldier. From this point of view, although "Sniper" does not have a vigorous scene, the film's portrayal of characters is deeply rooted in people's hearts. In particular, the use of dialects, the use of light comedy to depict the tragic core, so that the image of amiable and respectable Chinese soldiers jumped on the screen. The cultural attributes of films determine that they must carry the national spiritual and cultural values. Therefore, film creation should not only pursue the shock of the scene, but also pursue the shock of the heart. When the technical means that directors can use are becoming more and more advanced, they should also think about what kind of art form they should use to reminisce about the beacon years and pay tribute to the "loveliest people".
Domestic films should be based on the domestic market and open up international vision. It is worth affirming that while the current domestic war films are exalting the main theme, the theme idea is no longer single, and the relationship between war and peace and war and people has been more deeply considered. Film art is a universal language and one of the best carriers for spreading Chinese stories. Chinese films also need to continuously explore the breadth and depth of the subject matter, strengthen international exchanges and cooperation, find the code of human empathy, and let the Chinese story truly go to the world.
The "Chosin Lake" series and "Sniper" let us see that the war theme has a broad creative space. As of February 9, the total box office (including pre-sales) of cinema films nationwide in 2022 will exceed the mark of 10 billion yuan, and the consumption potential of the film market can be seen. It is expected that Chinese films will grow in the transformation and achieve a double harvest of social and economic benefits with more acclaimed and popular artistic masterpieces.
Source: Economic Daily