Title: Twelve Citizens
Director: Xu Ang
Starring: He Bing / Han Tongsheng / Qian Bo
Release date: 2015
Douban score: 8.4 points
"Twelve Citizens" is adapted from "Twelve Angry Men", and on the principle of abiding by the basis of the story, the twelve characters have been deeply excavated and made a very good secondary creation.
Personally, I think that "Twelve Citizens" is a very good remake, and the story of the second creation is rooted in Chinese society, whether it is the old drama bones, or the compact, ups and downs of the plot itself, it is very wonderful, and it is definitely a work worth revisiting.
The film mainly shows twelve parents of different professions and different classes gathered together to discuss whether a rich second generation in his early twenties has committed the crime of killing his father.
The rule is that the outcome of the twelve-member discussion must be adopted by consensus. That is to say, as long as there is one person who believes that the rich second generation is innocent, then this discussion will continue endlessly.
In this debate about guilt and innocence, the inner story of each person is unfolded.
A group of strangers who did not know each other, at first full of contradictions, and finally achieved a certain tacit understanding and harmony, and there was a debate in between.
Rich character contradiction settings, Beijing people's prejudice against Henan people, the masses' colored glasses for the daughters of the dry fathers, the contradictions between the father and the rebellious son, and the hatred of the rich by the people at the bottom to the rich, these contradictions attract you to continue to watch.
As the contradictions and conflicts become more and more intense, some seemingly stubborn or annoying images unravel their own knots, and people can't help but feel sympathy.
The idea transmitted by the main line is actually only two sentences, one of which is said by He Bing: We cannot arbitrarily determine that a person is guilty. The other sentence is the man who squatted in the unjust prison said, your case, it is his ten thousand.
Sometimes what we want may not be the prosperity of all citizens, but no matter what your status, what your occupation is, whether you are rich or poor, your demands can be heard by the public, and your life and rights can be equally respected and judged equally fairly and objectively.
Of course, Twelve Citizens is not a perfect movie. Although the actors are all old drama bones, the acting skills do not have to be picked, but as far as the movie is concerned, these drama actors and drama-style picture design make the performance in the movie look strange, in short, more like a drama than a movie.
The actors act too hard, and the sense of stage is greater than the sense of film, which are all lacking places, but "Twelve Citizens" is ultimately more advantageous than negative.
Of all the advantages, the most memorable for the audience is the practical significance of the film.
Those things that each of us will face but cannot find the answer, even if we find the answer, there is no way to solve it, and even if it is solved, it will create new problems, and it constitutes the society of all people.
The twelve citizens in the film represent different classes, occupations, educational attainments, personalities, and so on, and it is these different groups of people who make up our country.
Hatred of the rich, brainless comments, online killings, irrational thinking... These are the questions that "Twelve Citizens" throws at us.
There is a sentence in the Korean movie "The Melting Pot" that is very suitable for commenting on the practical significance of "Twelve Citizens": We fight all the way, not to change the world, but not to be changed by the world.
Overall, "Twelve Citizens" is a middle-level work from any point of view, the box office does not explain the value of the film itself, such a work is suitable for viewing at any time, and what is more rare is that it is a remake, which is even more difficult to do.
Personally, I think "Twelve Citizens" is a remake that qualifies for the top five in China, what other excellent remakes do you think there are?