In the past few years, while domestic films have repeatedly achieved box office miracles, they have also left many problems.
The most obvious phenomenon is that when it comes to the holidays, everyone flocks to shoot the main theme blockbuster and family comedy for the box office.
To some extent, it has caused aesthetic fatigue among the audience.
Because of this, many good themes are left unattended and fall into immersion for a long time.
However, there is a recent movie that has to face the difficulties.
It is - "The stream does not "go out"
It appeared at the International Film Festival in 2021 and was not released until 2023, making the audience wait for a full 2 years.
From the poster to the characters to the soundtrack of Jean Hisaishi, the entire movie is filled with a strong smell of "Kikujiro's Summer".
"The River Does Not "Extinguish" focuses on a pair of grandfathers and grandchildren, telling their journey to Beijing together, so as to show the living conditions of Chinese families and the family affection behind them that dissolves in water.
However, there are also some audiences who are not optimistic about this movie.
The reason is that, in addition to some prejudice against the subject matter, I still don't really understand this movie.
Therefore, although the story seems simple and easy to understand, there is still a certain threshold for really wanting to understand "The River Does Not "Extinguish".
The whole movie, in fact, can be condensed into three keywords.
Only by understanding these three keywords, it will be clear whether this movie is good or not.
1. Home
For Chinese people, "home" is always an extremely heavy topic.
In the movie "The River Does Not "Extinguish", what is presented is the current situation of a typical Chinese family.
From some ordinary life scenes, you can easily see some clues.
Although living under the same roof, the family is not too close, like the most familiar "stranger" in the world.
The son and daughter-in-law are running for a living, and they cannot see the loneliness and loneliness of their father eating alone.
Even if it is rare for a family of four to sit down and eat together, the common language between father and son and grandchildren is pitiful.
And over time, the relationship between parents and children gradually drifts apart, resulting in a much weaker relationship.
Parents were worried that their children had not eaten breakfast, and hurriedly chased out the door, but they did not expect that such concern seemed a little redundant in the eyes of their children.
In the end, the children gradually faded away in order to go to the future, leaving behind the backs of their parents who stayed where they were.
In the film, the mode of getting along with Chinese families presented by these scenes reflects the most real side of thousands of real families.
Three generations live under the same roof but lack the necessary communication and love for each other.
Unexpectedly, a sudden phone call broke the family's cold status quo - grandfather and grandson decided to "run away from home".
One day, grandfather Zhang Dachuan received a call that his old comrade-in-arms had died.
Zhang Daechuan, a veteran of the Korean War, looked at the photo with his comrades hanging on the wall and fell into deep thought for a while.
After much thought, he decided to go to Beijing alone to attend the funeral of his comrades.
And grandson Zhang Xiaosong, after discovering that his grandfather had run away, threatened and begged his grandfather to let him take him with him.
After some arguments, the grandfather and grandson, who had never been far away, hurried on the road.
To be honest, this trip gave me a double feeling.
Sometimes laughter, sometimes tears.
Before the journey begins, the picture is filled with "loneliness", and there is no trace of the warmth of home; At the end of the journey, all were healed and reconciliation was reached with their families.
Behind this is the power of family affection that blood is thicker than water, which invisibly changes everything.
2. Beauty
In "The River Does Not "Extinguish", there are three treasures that are the most "beautiful".
They are the scenery, music and grandfather's actor Yang Xinming.
1. Family affection
First of all, the description of family affection in this movie naturally does not need to be said.
Away from the hustle and bustle of fast-paced city life, the film travels through quiet rural fields in order to "quiet" time.
In this way, people will be given some time to think.
The film has ingenious tone processing and the use of lenses.
The beautiful scenery and joyful plot are integrated, presenting an aesthetic charm that is completely different from European and American road movies.
2. Music
The music of the whole movie is also very ingenious.
The first half is extremely joyful, and the second half is deeply moving.
Moreover, the promotional song of the movie was composed by Jean Hisaishi, and Andy Lau filled in the lyrics and sang it himself.
In just 3 minutes, the music just conveys the emotion behind the movie - family affection.
"Black hair slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly forgotten".....
The sound of "slowly" in the lyrics seems to tell the bits and pieces of family getting along, constantly impacting everyone's heart.
Third, actor Yang Xinming
I have to admit that in the era when traffic is king, few movies dare to let actors with "no traffic" be the protagonists.
Yang Xinming, who plays the male advocate Dachuan, has created many classic roles in many movies.
For example, the gas station owner in "No Man's Land", Professor Chen in "Ghost Blowing Lantern Exquisite Ancient City", and Pastor Liu in "I Am Not the God of Medicine".
In the film, Yang Xinming's performance is very natural, capturing the character characteristics of the "old child".
Moreover, he captures the inner heart of the characters very well, so that he is emotionally restrained, but emotionally outward.
And the story told by this movie is actually a journey to regain family affection.
As a parent, he must accept the growth, independence and distance of his children.
As children, we must also learn to accept the aging and death of our parents.
At the end, grandpa faces the death of his comrades-in-arms, and remembering the past time, Yang Xinming's performance is enough to move people.
In the end, the theme that the movie wants to express: death is not the end, forgetting is.
If "The Tide Never Goes Out" only revolves around the point of "family affection", then it is not enough to be a good work.
But the remarkable thing about this movie is that it focuses on a pair of grandfathers and grandchildren.
Although they are a grandfather and grandson group, they are more like children. It's just that one is a physical child and the other is a psychological child.
Perhaps, the intention of the film is to let us read the hearts of different ages and pull in the distance between us and our families through the two characters of Zhang Dachuan and Zhang Xiaosong.
3. Love
As a line in the movie says: "People only remember the past when they have a bad life." ”
The film takes family affection as the main line, and through some family trivia, the contradictions between three generations of a family loom.
And these contradictions all imply that people also need to pay attention to the family while pursuing material life.
In the film, Zhang Dachuan and Zhang Xiaosong represent different topics in current society and family relations.
The story is set against the backdrop of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, showing the rapid changes and development of society at that time.
As a veteran who participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Zhang Dachuan has a strong sense of national identity and national belonging, he hopes to witness the lighting of the Olympic flame with his own eyes, and also hopes to bid farewell to his old comrades-in-arms.
As a teenager, Zhang Xiaosong is the hope of the future of the motherland, he has a big dream in his heart, and this trip is to find himself.
In the film, you can see many details, all of which show the heat of family affection.
Zhang Dachuan sold his military medals that he had treasured for many years in order to buy Komatsu tickets for the Olympic Games;
Zhang Xiaosong is in the temple, praying for his grandfather's health and peace.
In Chinese-style families, there are often subtle and subtle emotions, and this kind of love is difficult to speak, but it is always in the heart.
For example, the journey of grandfather and grandson from quarrels to reconciliation, falling in love and killing each other, has become an important opportunity for the two to constantly understand each other.
For example, the relationship between father and son has also gradually drifted away from the beginning to mutual understanding at the end.
At the end of the movie, the picture is frozen in that family photo, and everyone is smiling from the heart, as if surrounded by happiness.
Family affection is eternal, it doesn't matter whether you live or die.
In general, the story of "The Stream Never Goes Out" does not look heavy, but rather relaxed and pleasant.
Just like the lyrics in "Slowly": No reason and no points, you can't walk into this home!
这样一部国产的良心之作，绝对值得一看，别让它被埋没了。