In April's Marché du Film Market, "The World of Grass and Trees" is unassuming, but it is unique and eye-catching. It doesn't have the buzz of "Snow Leopard," the appeal of Hayao Miyazaki's new novel, and it hasn't swept the global awards like "Fallen Judgment," and it's hardly even visually comparable to "Godzilla vs. Kong 2: Rise of the Empire." However, it is such a seemingly ordinary film in all aspects, but it has attracted attention for its in-depth exploration of social issues. It touched on real-life themes such as fraud, gambling, pyramid schemes, medical care, and education, and resonated with audiences.
Although March's topical movie "Removing the Three Evils Around the Week" is in the limelight, "The World of Grass and Trees" is undoubtedly one of the most memorable theatrical movies in April. The film was nominated at the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival and the 17th Asian Film Awards, and its heroine Jiang Qinqin won the Best Actress Award at the 17th Asian Film Awards for her outstanding performance. This award is undoubtedly an unexpected surprise for her, who has rarely appeared on the big screen in recent years.
In the film, a plot about a pyramid scheme has attracted widespread attention on major video platforms, reminiscent of last year's hit realistic film "All or Nothing". After watching the movie, people found that "The World of Grass and Trees" not only boldly showed the inside story of the MLM industry, but also explored in depth why MLM can be demagogic.
The film is inspired by the ancient Chinese fable "Mulian Saves the Mother", which tells the story of a miserly and greedy mother who falls into the path of hungry ghosts after death, and her son Mulian finally redeems her with the help of monks. When director Gu Xiaogang created "The World of Grass and Trees", he not only retained the aesthetic elements of the story, but also injected profound practical significance. The aesthetic images in the film are on par with the director's award-winning work "Spring River Plumbing" in 2019, and are full of the gentle atmosphere of early spring. The profundity and truth of the film come from the director's personal experience and in-depth understanding of MLM organizations.
In "The World of Grass and Trees", Wu Moshua (played by Jiang Qinqin) is a rural tea picker, and after her husband disappeared for many years, she and her son He Mulian (played by Wu Lei) depended on each other. By chance, Wu Moshua was introduced by a friend to a pyramid marketing company called "Butterfly International". Since then, she has quickly transformed from a peasant woman to an urban beauty. And her son He Mulian also strayed into a "geriatric health care" industry for the purpose of defrauding the elderly of pension money. Although He Mulian was young and intelligent, she quickly recognized the inside story of the industry and left, but his mother Wu Moshua fell deeper and deeper into this scam......
In order to shoot this movie, director Gu Xiaogang even lurked in a pyramid scheme organization for many days to experience and understand the operation of the pyramid scheme organization and its strategy. The experience was "physically and mentally exhausting and a splitting headache" for him, but it also gave him a deeper understanding of the dangers of pyramid schemes and the psychological state of the people who are bewitched by pyramid schemes.
The MLM organization in the film uses various means to break down a person's psychological and physical defenses, making people begin to doubt everything and believe everything. This profound experience allows director Gu Xiaogang to truly present the dangers of the MLM organization and the helplessness and confusion of the people who are bewitched by it. Through this film, he hopes to arouse people's vigilance and reflection on pyramid schemes, and at the same time give a voice to those who have been victimized by pyramid schemes.