In addition to Zhang Yimou, there is not much time left for "Jia Zhangke"

Text | Ling Hu Boguang

In 2023, domestic pop culture is really recovering, and the outbreak of film and television animation in this Spring Festival file is not mentioned. We can also clearly feel that the foreign films that were rarely introduced before are now also introduced, and the film and television dramas that were previously withdrawn and suppressed are now set again.

There is another point that has been overlooked, that is, other stalled projects in addition to the main theme have now begun to work again. No, there have been several projects in a row in the past two days, namely the new animation "Liaozhai: Lanruo Temple" of Chasing Light Animation, Tsui Hark's new film "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", and then the animated film "Lion Boy 2". Zhang Yixing and Jin Chen's new film "Fishing Action", the 2021 word-of-mouth film "Love Myth 2".

and Jia Zhangke's new film "Merry Generation", you must know that Jia Zhangke's last theatrical movie "Children of the Rivers and Lakes" is already a movie in 2018. After 5 years, although Jia Zhangke did not shoot the famous unfinished project "In the Qing Dynasty", a new film was ushered in.

These films are only projects, but also pre-preparation, and it may take a long time to shoot. Now even the actor has not been decided, and there is nothing worth analyzing, here is still an analysis of Jia Zhangke. After all, the introduction of Jia Zhangke's new project is: the coincidence of men and women in the small northern city and the combination of Guo Bin, reflecting the progress and hard work of the generation after the reform and opening up.

It still seems to be familiar realism, or the familiar smell of Chinese change.

Curry favor with foreigners, shoot ignorance and backwardness? Why Jia Zhangke and Zhang Yimou are controversial

How to say it? Many people may not be very clear, this world film industry (mainly the Western film industry), this ranking of Chinese film directors, such as in 2019, the American authoritative film website referred to as TSPDT has selected the 20 greatest Asian directors, the list is as follows.

This list includes Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, Indian director Satyajit Rey, and Thailand's Apichatza. All the rest were dominated by Chinese and Japanese directors, and none of the great Korean directors blown up by the Chinese Internet made the list.

Among the great Chinese directors, in addition to Hong Kong Wong Kar-wai, Taiwanese Hou Xiaoxian, Yang Dechang, Ang Lee. Then there is Zhang Yimou in the mainland, followed by Jia Zhangke. The ranking of Asian directors by different foreign media is basically the same, but the ranking is slightly higher or slightly lower.

It can be said that Zhang Yimou, the representative of the fifth generation, and Jia Zhangke, the representative of the sixth generation, are the double with the highest international ranking of Chinese mainland major directors. Of course, the selection criteria is in the art of film, but these two international directors are not without controversy among domestic audiences.

Whether Zhang Yimou or Jia Zhangke, he has long been criticized for filming China's ignorance and backwardness to curry favor with foreigners.

There are also rumors circulating on the Internet that a college girl questioned Jia Zhangke at a foreign film festival about filming China's poverty and backwardness, currying favor with foreigners and then spreading a negative image of China, and then Jia Zhangke's rebuttal (just like Mo Yan's remarks), and then every time it aroused a supportive audience, as well as opposing netizens scolding the war.

So, what should we think about this? Now the atmosphere of online public opinion is too "binary opposition", this kind of crude definition of "no right to speak if you don't do investigations, no right to speak if you don't do correct investigations", you think about it for a while, there is a logical problem. You said that Zhang Yimou, Jia Zhangke just relied on the wind of the times, a work completely relied on the original work is a photographer is incompetent, and the other is to shoot ignorant backwardness to please foreigners.

That is to say, 8090 There is no other photographer in China who will not adapt literary works for more than twenty years, and did not seize this outlet? In the 00s, after 2010, and after 2020, no director will shoot realism to please foreigners? Of course, there are such directors, but why are they not so powerful.

Are you scolding Zhang Yimou, Jia Zhangke is incapable, or are you setting off the Chinese directors for more than 40 years are too wasted?

Realism is to please foreigners? Why can Jia Zhangke become an international director

The representative of the sixth generation of mainland directors is Jia Zhangke, his first really famous film "Xiaowu" was in 1997, 25 years ago, his films are mainly realism, like Mo Yan won awards abroad is not without controversy, this attack on Jia Zhangke's film common view is: filming China's backward and ignorant places won awards abroad, sent blades abroad.

So for so many years, there have been no other Chinese directors who have shot realism and won awards abroad? The answer is yes, like the same sixth-generation director Lou Ye has become nihilistic, Wang Xiaoshuai is more of a youth film, only Guan Hu's "Survival Migrant Worker" is similar, in fact, there is Li Yang of "Blind Well" and "Blind Mountain", and later "Mr. Tree", "Ten Thousand Arrows Through the Heart", "Hidden in the Dust" and so on.

However, these directorial achievements are far less than Jia Zhangkegao. Is it because Jia Zhangke's realistic films were made earlier? Does his film make China more ignorant and backward?

Of course, the answer is not so, in fact, the listed "Blind Well" and "Mr. Tree" you can understand if you think about it. This film can be divided into literary films, genre films and commercial blockbusters; The film itself can be divided into subject expression, light and shadow, text and technology. Directors with high historical status are usually in literary films, and genre films have made huge breakthroughs in these levels.

After a director breaks through to form his own distinctive style, about 3 films of the same kind are called eating the old book, and after 5 there are no other breakthroughs, they will face the problem of obsolescence. The higher the director's artistic achievements (including commercial achievements), the more there is no breakthrough after ten years, almost only historical status, basically no market position.

It is probably this generation of young audiences who will no longer watch the films he directed, and no matter how high the significance of film history is, it will be outdated.

You can look at the fifth generation of directors in the mainland at the same time, how many directors of the sixth generation of great directors are outdated, and the great directors of the peak era of Hong Kong films like John Woo, Li Lizhi, Liu Zhenwei, Wang Jing, including To Qifeng, after "Three's Company" and "My Boxing King Boyfriend" -

Those big directors who can still be active in the market in 20 or 30 years, their films must be constantly breaking through, at least in line with a certain type of aesthetic of the current market audience.

Ordinary people have not understood that when it comes to their films, they will only use one of the easiest concepts to remember, Tsui Hark is a martial arts film, Jia Zhangke is realism, Zhang Yimou is just a photographer, in fact, even if they have breakthroughs in all aspects of film at their peak, they have been leading the entire industry.

For example, Jia Zhangke's films, from "Xiaowu" in 97 to "Destiny" in 2013, there are a total of 11 movies in between, the early stage "Xiaowu" and other realistic dramas, "Legend of the Sea" is a documentary, "A Tale of Twenty-four Cities" and "The Good People of Three Gorges" are like documentary feature films.

"Destiny" is a watershed in Jia Zhangke's films, and I have always felt that Jia Zhangke's "Destiny" is quite a pity, two realisms, two genre films. If you make four films separately, or combine two films, it will be much better, then there will be two more classic realist films (or magical realist movies) in China, and then two are classic genre films.

For example, Wang Baoqiang line, Zhao Tao line is obviously a crime film, and if filmed alone, it will definitely not lose to "Scorching Sun" and "Daylight Fireworks" (the ending should be harmonious); Jiang Wu Line alone is "Violent Silence", and Luo Lanshan Line is another factory version of "Ten Thousand Arrows Through the Heart".

Now the combination of four short stories is too blunt, genre films are not genre films, feature films are not drama films, and the whole thing is a little different, so I can only get the best script in Cannes that year. This movie I really feel is selling the wonders of Chinese realism, and the cultural curiosity is very strong.

Later, Jia Zhangke's "Mountains and Rivers Departed" and "Children of the Rivers" are like road movies of genre films, and they are a little tricky. This also made Jia Zhangke's two films have a big battle every time they go to foreign film festivals, and they can't win any awards in the end.

The most important thing is that his two films are not so realistic, but the highest box office in China.

Jia Zhangke's award? The "currying favor with foreign countries" of literary and art films thoroughly explains the difficulties of Chinese films

Jia Zhangke and Zhang Yimou and other Chinese filmmakers of the previous generation, especially literary and artistic films, won awards overseas. The main thing is that the literary elite and the cultural spirit dominated by the upper class have not been integrated. The simplest way is that domestic film festivals select art, and the main theme is pursued.

This will not cause the cultural elite to run overseas to win awards because of criticism, and as a result, there is no way to accommodate them.

Officially, for this kind of literary film, it does not prohibit you from shooting, and of course it is not very encouraged. After such films are made, it is difficult to win awards at major domestic film festivals, and it is more difficult to distribute, and it is easy to die as long as they cross the line. Those who engage in art always have some freedom, and oppose the pursuit of authority or something.

Foreign countries, especially the West, are the source of modern culture and art, and the film industry around the world, including audiences, is recognized. So I ran to the selection, won the award, and had a reputation, and the Western audience was more affluent, even if the audio disc was released, it could earn back the investment.

Many audiences wonder why Jia Zhangke's movie box office is not high, why can it still be filmed, this channel is one of the main income.

This is also the most critical point, literary films are difficult to make money in China. The films of the fifth generation of great directors are not so obscure, and the films of the sixth generation of directors have gone dark all the way to literature and art. Then the fifth generation or the sixth generation, you see in front of the real breakthrough theme, film and television industry and entertainment "Wolf Warrior" and "The Wandering Earth", including "Li Huanying" or something, the box office of literary and art films is scum.

What's behind this box office? Isn't it that ordinary people really buy tickets to see it.

Stop talking about the people at the bottom, the people at the bottom never watch such movies. However, Jia Zhangke and some audiences have pity from above, which may not be Jia Zhangke's original intention, but it is the original intention of the so-called fans. I want to really meet the spiritual needs of the people at the bottom, get down from the stage, even if I really help to help alleviate poverty.

I think Jia Zhangke's movies should definitely exist, just as "Wolf Warrior 2" and "The Wandering Earth 2" should also exist. A literary film, a commercial blockbuster, literature and art should be inclusive. Now the problem is that we have too many restrictions, resulting in a clear distinction between business and literature and art in films, and long-term leading to binary opposition in cultural public opinion.

You like to watch commercial blockbusters but don't pay attention to reality, and Jia Zhangke is to shoot ignorant backwards to curry favor with foreigners and win awards. In fact, what is Jia Zhangke's movie, or even what is a movie?

Finally, the commercial Zhang Yimou is also good ("Manjiang Red" and "The Wandering Earth 2" do not need to be talked about). The sixth generation of directors represented by Jia Zhangke is also a literary film, the rising post-80s and post-90s literary film directors in recent years, such as "Roadside Picnic", "Spring River Plumbing", "Yong'an Town Story Collection", and then to the literary and art science fiction film "Space Exploration Editorial Department", urban romance film "Love Myth" and so on.

These young mainland literary and art film directors, they all enjoy the urbanization and modernization of China in the new era, and they no longer follow their realistic routine.

In addition to Zhang Yimou, there is not much time left for "Jia Zhangke".