"Sorry, we're late!" On August 8, at the screening site of the movie "Deng Xiaoping Trail", Zhu Renwei, the representative of the producer and the founder of Feila Film and Television Culture (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., said. This is the film's Shanghai premiere more than 3 months after its release.
Just a few days ago, the film won the Best Biographical Film Award at the 7th China-Canada International Film Festival. The film uses pen and ink containing strong family affection to show a little-known story of Deng Xiaoping, which has been highly praised by Shanghai filmmakers. The filmmakers hope that with the orderly reopening of Shanghai cinemas, more cinemas can participate in the scheduling of films, so that more Shanghai audiences have the opportunity to see this film.
Innovative biopic mode
The movie "Deng Xiaoping Trail" tells the story of Deng Xiaoping who was sent to the newly built tractor repair factory in Jiangxi in the 1970s to supervise labor, and during the extraordinary years of three years and four months, he went to work every day along the path specially opened for him by the masses of workers, constantly thinking about the future and destiny of China. Despite facing multiple high pressures, he was always concerned about the well-being of the people, and through in-depth contacts with the masses at the grass-roots level, he came to the great conclusion that "poverty is not socialism", laying a solid ideological foundation for reform and opening up.
Huang Wangli, a professor at the Shanghai Film Academy of Shanghai University, said that in the past film and television dramas, the history of the period of "Deng Xiaoping's Trail" was rarely mentioned, and the film not only had the meaning of filling, but also played an important and innovative role in the creation of biographical films. "Deng Xiaoping's Trail" spends a lot of ink to show the feelings between Deng Xiaoping and his children, showing how he as a father takes care of his paralyzed son and the pressure he endures. "It is easy to stereotype biographical films, especially films related to great people, but 'Deng Xiaoping's Trail' adopts the method of creating popular dramas, and the surface is a touching family ethics story, which is supported by a large historical background."
The "revealing nature" of the film is also a point that attracts the current audience. "Deng Xiaoping Trail" is written by Wang Xingdong as the art producer and screenwriter, and he has made a detailed investigation of many historical details and scenes. The details of how the local people protected Deng Xiaoping in a special historical period are presented in the film, which is a rich and vivid video text for the audience who wants to understand this history. "This main melody work can make people feel the power of faith." Huang Wangli said.
Tong Gabo, director of the China Film Critics Association, believes that the film contrasts the "trail" with the "avenue", brings visual conflict and philosophical impact, and portrays the personality charm of the great man through emotion. Li Daoxin, deputy dean and professor of the School of Arts of Peking University, believes that "Deng Xiaoping's Trail" is a truly people-centered and people-centered film work, which can be seen in a small way, from the surface to the inside, and is an excellent work in domestic biographical films that can be compared with similar films in Europe and the United States.
Have the confidence to make young people like it
"Deng Xiaoping Trail" was jointly created by Jiangxi, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Sichuan provinces, which took four years to complete, and was screened nationwide in October 2021 and released on April 22, 2022, with a total box office of more than 25 million yuan and a cumulative number of moviegoers having exceeded 700,000. It is reported that due to the impact of the epidemic, most of the box office of the film was generated in Jiangxi, and other places will be promoted when the conditions are ripe. This also made the film's release in Shanghai long overdue.
"Nowadays there is a strange phenomenon in theaters, most people are watching a small number of movies, and most movies are only watched by a small number of people." Wu Hehu, former general manager of the united theater, believes that the main theme of the film is difficult to compete with commercial blockbusters in attracting young people, but films like "Deng Xiaoping Trail" that involve the core of family affection actually have a wider audience. Today's young audiences can not only learn about history through the film, but also watch it with their parents. "It has more memorable points than ordinary commercial films, and I believe that audiences who walk out of the theater will recommend it to others." We should support excellent domestic films, and we also hope that the theater side is full of confidence and has the courage to schedule films. ”
It is worth mentioning that Lei Xianhe, the general director of "Deng Xiaoping Trail", is also the director of the CCTV hit drama "Daughter of the Mountain". Also the main theme of the work, "Daughter of the Mountain" let young people watch with relish, and tears flowed, Douban opened a score of 9.1 points, and even rose to 9.2 points after the end. The play portrays a life-like, multi-dimensional and real Huang Wenxiu, using details full of realistic depth to let the audience feel the emotional exchange at close range.
The success of "Daughter of the Mountain" is also reflected in "Deng Xiaoping's Trail". Huang Wangli believes that many young audiences at present especially like to watch popular dramas with realistic expression methods, indicating that they do not reject the theme of great people or the theme of the main theme, but hope to see sophisticated production, especially to see works with realistic value and significance, which can reflect the sense of truth. "Returning to realism, writing about the current reality and historical life, this is the dimension that needs attention in future creation."
"We are fully confident that Shanghai audiences, who have always had high demands on the quality of the film, will love this film." Zhu Renwei said.
The event was hosted by Shanghai Film Distribution and Screening Industry Association and Shanghai Film Critics Association, organized by Fei la Film culture (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., and co-organized by Shanghai Sirius Xinghe Coffee Space-time Culture Development Co., Ltd.
Column Editor-in-Chief: Li Junna Text Editor: Li Junna Photo Editor: Shao Jing
本文图片来源：片方提供 Source: Author: Zhong Han