"The Love of the Hawthorn Tree", which was released ten years ago, was watched again during the epidemic and still rippled in the heart - it is nothing less than a shot in the arm of the materialistic market society, an elegy dedicated to the purity of those who have passed away. Although Douban only gave a rating of 6.8, I think it still has an irreplaceable position in Zhang Yimou's film career, not only because it enriches the characteristics of Zhang Yimou's film one style and one aesthetic pursuit, but also because it cuts to the needs and pain points of the times. Those who have passed away, the innocence and true love that can no longer be regained, are exactly the comforts that people's hearts need most at the moment--just as adults always cherish childhood. This is just the overall look, but when you re-look at some of the details more than you first looked at, here are the highlights of these trivial ideas.
The picture comes from Douban, and the picture is stills from the movie "Hawthorn Tree Love"
1. Hawthorn tree. Hawthorn trees not only have a clue meaning in the film, but also have a deep figurative meaning. The first appearance of that hawthorn tree was on the way to the Education Revolution Practice Group to Xiping Village to collect and compile teaching materials, and Captain Zhang introduced the hero tree to the teachers and students - other hawthorn trees have white flowers, only this one, because of the blood of the anti-Japanese heroes, is a red flower. Therefore, writing the story of the hero tree is an important task for JingQiu, and this hawthorn tree has also become an important medium and witness for the love story of Jingqiu and laosan. However, Jing Qiu never saw the red flowers of this hawthorn tree, but when visiting Lao San in the hospital, Lao San bought her a basin with red hawthorn flowers printed on the bottom of the pot - there was a big smell of the moon in the water and the flowers in the mirror. In fact, when Captain Zhang first introduced the hero tree, you can feel a bit of humor in its tone (a true story of miracles), so even if the hawthorn tree really blooms with red flowers, it is mainly idealistic, dedication and sacrifice - revolutionaries dedicate themselves to politics and their homeland, and the third elder dedicates himself to love. Therefore, looking back, the hawthorn tree safflower that has never officially appeared (the ending theme song and the shot are explained to be white flowers) actually laid the sad color of the movie at the beginning. The story of the film is tragic, yet all the dedication and sacrifice is awe-inspiring or willing. In this sense, this hawthorn tree does skillfully combine the hero's homeland love with the old third's love for Jing Qiu — true love is giving or even sacrificing. In this way, a love movie that does not rely on kissing the bed scene to attract attention has become "the cleanest love film in history".
2. Cool tones. Zhang Yimou, who came from photography, pays special attention to the visual impact of his works, and his color control is by no means ordinary. Our deep impression of "Red Sorghum" is probably first of all due to its strong red and yellow warm color impact; similarly, "Hero", which opened the domestic commercial blockbuster model, is also inseparable from its aesthetic color effect. "Hawthorn Tree Love" is completely anti-"Red Sorghum" in terms of color, and green cool tones and gray tones fill the whole film. Even in the "Cultural Revolution" where the background of the times is "full of red and green flags", this film is basically isolated from the main color of the era of "Red Ocean", and even if it shows the big scene of sending intellectual youth to the mountains and the countryside, it is also deliberately restrained by color. This can be seen only by comparison with the fanatical scenes of street parades in Feng Xiaogang's "Fanghua", where the former is clearly understated and glanced at, while the latter deliberately uses the ink brushwork similar to chinese paintings and arbitrarily renders it. The main color of green and green effectively serves the plot and theme, setting off the youth of the first love, the purity of the characters, and also revealing a faint sadness and sadness. The success of color in this film is like "Red Sorghum", and it has to be said that Zhang Yimou is indeed a master of color control.
3. Beyond the times. The so-called supra-era here is to say that the theme and plot of the film somewhat transcend the background of the "Cultural Revolution". Was there love in the Cultural Revolution? Of course, this most primitive and eternal human emotion cannot be completely suppressed at any time, so the story of Lao San and Jing Qiu could also have happened completely at that time. However, the intellectuals are talking about "maybe when the policy will change", Jing Qiu, as the child of the rightists who are undergoing labor reform, not only does not want to go to the mountains and go to the countryside, but also becomes a teacher, the third elder is not implicated by his father at all, and even there is almost no negative image in the whole film, the love of the third elder and Jingqiu has not encountered any obstacles and saboteurs (Jingqiu's mother is not really an obstacle), and they are surrounded by good people dressed as them, which can only be said to be the creator's wishful thinking. In order to show purity, beauty, and cleanliness, to remove all evil and bad, it can only be said that it is a romantic method.
4. Child stars. The performance of the actors in the film, Li Xuejian (as Captain Zhang), Xi Meijuan (as Jingqiu's mother), Sarina (as the big mother) and other old drama bones need not be said, the lead actor Zhou Dongyu can also be said to have played the most suitable role at the best stage of life, aptly interpreting the ignorance, youth and purity of the first love at that time and place. It is particularly worth mentioning that the three young actors He Xiaoyu (as Captain Zhang's granddaughter Huan Huan), Qiu Muyuan (as Jing Qiu's younger brother), Hu Xinyuan (as Jing Qiu's younger sister), especially "Huan Huan" and "younger brother", although they do not play much, they are very able to enter the play, and even raise their hands and feet, and the words are all dramas. For example, "Huan Huan" repeats a few words of adults at the dinner table, and interprets a well-behaved little girl vividly. A few children not only stand up to the image, but also grasp the sense of the times just right, which really adds a lot to the film. No wonder it is said that the little actor "Huan Huan" was selected by the director from thousands of children.
The author | Xie Ziyuan
Editor| Xiao Yang