A song by the Daur composer Tongfu, "Ao Bao Rendezvous", sings the beauty of grassland life and becomes an enduring classic. Not only because it satisfies people's beautiful vision of the poetic life of the northern grassland in the era of material poverty, but also because it expresses people's desire for pure love with the most simple melody.
"Ao Bao Rendezvous" is from the 1953 feature film "People on the Grassland" produced by the Northeast Film Studio of the Central Film Bureau (the predecessor of changchun film studio). It is directed by Xu Tao, co-written by Hemmer, Malaqinfu and Damulin, and starring Uzina, Eun Hesen, Chaolu and Shuhai. It won the third prize for outstanding feature film of the Chinese Ministry of Culture from 1949 to 1955.
It is not only an ode to beautiful love, but also an era image rich in the characteristics of the times and reflecting the changes in the face of grassland life in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
<h1>Background of the times</h1>
The film is based on Malaqin's 1952 novel The People of the Horqin Steppe, published in People's Literature. Malaqinfu, who was called "the thousand mile horse of the literary world" by Lao She, was a well-known Mongolian writer and a representative of the steppe literary genre.
The story is about the grassland in the early 1950s, when the leader of the mutual aid group, a member of the youth league, and a model worker, Sarengeva (Uzina), falls in love with Sambu (Enhesen), a good hunter in the grassland. While everyone is obsessed with the production and construction of the new society, baolu, an immortal agent with an immortal heart, is still lurking and secretly wreaking havoc.
After a series of conspiracies such as cutting ropes and herding sheep, poisoning and marrying Sarengeva, and setting fires to the grasslands, Sarengeva and other public security personnel finally completely eliminated the hostile elements.
As a film in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, it not only shows a picture of working together to build a homeland, but the most careful part of the film is to grasp the psychology of the people in the grasslands - the desire for a better industrial life.
This is portrayed in detail at the beginning of the film, such as sarengeva's words of "settled nomadism", "electric lights", and "machine mowing" are the best portrayals of the times. In the early days of the founding of New China, all walks of life had to face innovation, and the focus of this film was on the herdsmen's mutual aid group.
<h1>Prairie style and anti-special elements</h1>
Similar to other ethnic minority films such as "Five Golden Flowers" and "Visitors on the Iceberg" by Changchun Film Studio, "People on the Grassland" is also a beautiful record of the customs and customs of the frontier.
The story takes place in the vast northern grasslands, so the film naturally does not lack the unique grassland elements of "herdsmen", "yurts", "Naadam congresses", "steppe storms", and also "wool sweaters" and "cowhide shoes", which are the symbols of the then-fashioned grasslands.
At the same time, the film also has anti-special feature film characteristics, such as the potential enemy Baolu has been destroying from beginning to end, and a large part of the clues to the development of the storyline is the search for the "real murderer behind the scenes".
At the time of the storm, the details of Baolu sneaking into the sheep pen to cut the rope and release the livestock are also detailed plots in the film. It's just that compared to the later anti-special films such as "Railway Guard", the thrilling elements of this film are far less intense, and many times the tone of the film is quite clear, and the laughter between relatives and friends makes the film not obscure.
<h1>Love motif</h1>
Love is an immutable motif.
In the same period of film, there is no shortage of excellent works that show love. For example, in "Battle in the Desert", Zhang Yuan took the initiative to show her love for Wen Xiying, showing us an open view of love for women in a new era - dare to take the initiative to express and take the initiative to fight.
The heroine of this film is also a typical example of the new women of the times, not only a model worker and activist who dares to accept new ideas. When it comes to love, she also dares to speak. Not as subtle as traditional women, she can take the initiative to ride a horse to catch up after the male protagonist shows love, or she can take the initiative to make a vow.
When the foal has teeth together, I will wait for you.
If the role of Zhang Yuan in "Battle in the Desert" is a well-educated intellectual who walks at the forefront of the times, then the heroine of this film, Sarengeva, is more simple and sincere in the hearts of working people, and she has the boldness and generosity of a steppe woman.
It is interesting to note that both partners in love will feel that they are not perfect, and Sambu, a good hunter of the steppe, wants to work harder to become a model. This is also in line with the psychology of both sides of the times, always hoping to make themselves better through efforts.
<h1>Ao Bao meets</h1>
(Wang Shuli)
Fifteen moons rose into the sky
Why are there no clouds next to it
I waited for the beautiful girl
Why haven't you come yet
(Wu Xiuyun)
If there is no rain in the sky
Begonia flowers don't bloom on their own
As long as brother you wait patiently
The one in your heart will come running over and yo-ho
The film has the characteristics of seventeen years of movies "one song per piece" and "many songs per piece" (such as "Why The Flowers Are So Red", "Missing Comrades" and "Visitors on the Iceberg"). These songs tend to be long-lasting and have a more profound impact than movies, and it's often easier to remember melodies than plots.
As far as this film is concerned, "Ao Bao Rendezvous" itself is a completely conceived work of art, and it has an artistic charm that can be presented independently of the film.
The song "Ao Bao Meets" not only sings the beauty of grassland life, but also sings people's deeply hidden desire for love.
The first half of the paragraph through the description of the moon and night scenes to set off the male protagonist's expectations for the female protagonist, and the second half is compared with "rain" and "flowers" to show the female protagonist's love for the male protagonist. The lyrics of the battle are paired with the wonderful use of "Bixing", and the appeal of Chinese who has always loved the art of words is self-evident. The easy-to-understand vocabulary makes the songs have an influence on all ages.
No matter when and where you are, no matter how your lifestyle changes, your vision of beautiful pure love is unchanging.
(It is worth mentioning that Ao Bao does not refer to a yurt, it refers to a "pile" made of wood, stone, and earth, which we can clearly see through this scene of male and female duets in the movie)
If the film also makes young audiences have a sense of distance because of a strong sense of the times, the depiction of the universal motif of love shown in the song can better capture the audience's heart, which is why the lyrics are still missing the plot of the movie.
If "People on the Prairie" is a representative masterpiece of the time, "Ao Bao Rendezvous" is an enduring classic.
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