A recent variety show, "Summer of the Band", really made rock music that had been dormant for many years a fire. Bands of different styles brought unparalleled performances that made the audience addicted. Rock 'n' roll for thirty years, there is a good partner who has been following him, and that is the documentary.
Documentaries about rock and roll are constantly being born, with nearly a hundred well-known documentaries. Some documentaries have a certain band, such as "Heart wild: The Adventure of the Houhai Surfer" about the Houhai Shark Band, and there are also rock bands that record a certain city, such as Xi'an's "West Shake", Wuhan's "Never Let Go of My Fist", and a documentary that reviews the history of rock and roll, such as "Goodbye, Utopia" and so on. We listed nine documentaries about Chinese rock and roll and interviewed Frog Jun, a documentary filmmaker who has produced several rock bands (see second article). Share stories that belong to Chinese rock bands.
01
(The most lamentable)
Night of an Era
"Goodbye, Utopia"
Director: Sheng Zhimin
Country of Production: Chinese mainland
Language: Mandarin Chinese
Runtime: 90 minutes
Synopsis
This documentary is composed of three clues, which is a big review of the decade of Chinese rock and roll. The first clue is led by the search for Xiao Ke. This beautiful boy, Wu Ke, who was once the guitarist of the band Dream, was a sensation in Beijing in 1990. But he mysteriously disappeared in 1996. The second clue is about the past and present lives of the "Three Masters of the Magic Rock". These three musicians, who played a pivotal role in the mainland rock music scene, created an ideal era. The third clue is to follow Xiao Chang, a boy who works in the recording studio. When everyone followed the camera to his hometown in Shandong, a group of rural youth sang Beyond's "Really Love You" in unison.
Testimonials
The departure of musician Xiao Ke is like a kind of prediction for the future of rock and roll, and the director from the same era uses the lens to connect the past and the present. Lao Cui's words in the film are very realistic, "At that time, everyone was eager to criticize, and the moment rock music landed, everyone thought that its beauty was completely accepted." "The splendor of rock 'n' roll is an accident, the utopia is gone, life continues on the road.
02
(Coarsest)
<h1 class="ql-align-center" > Edge of Freedom</h1>
Director: Sun Zhiqiang
Language: Mandarin/Chinese
Runtime: 61 minutes
In a village on the northwestern outskirts of Beijing, young rock musicians and bands from all over the country have been home since 1997, and there were hundreds of people and more than 30 bands at most between 1999 and 2000, and their lives are actually only the most condensed tip of the iceberg, predicting that the art and life style of this generation of young people will begin...
The first documentary that can record the life of underground rock and roll at close range, the rough picture, does not weaken the power of this documentary, it seems to be a chowder without rules, but it can make people not think about the so-called film language, and the record appears more pure. In the movement of the lens, people seem to feel that idealism has always been there, never gone far.
03
(Warmest)
My Dad's a Rocker
Old Rock
Director: Hou Zuxin
Language: Mandarin
Runtime: 29 minutes
The film tells the story of Hou Zuxin, the daughter of Hou Muren, an early Chinese rock man, who sincerely records the ups and downs and persistence of Chinese rock people in the past thirty years with the identity of director. Hou Mu, who is the father and protagonist, suffers from cerebral infarction, which will recur, paralyzing or dizzying limbs, and severe ones will lead to acute coma and even death! But with the persistence and enthusiasm of rock musicians, Hou Muren miraculously persevered.
This is a rare private image of rock and roll, the director filmed from the father, the father implicated that generation of rock people, and the father in the case of serious illness, still use rock music to fight against fate, making the whole documentary unforgettable. My father wrote the song "Live Like a Fool."
04
(The most "village")
Post Revolutionary Era
The Post-Revolutionary Era
Director: Zhang Yang / Lola
Runtime: 96 minutes
The documentary was edited by director Zhang Yang and his friend Lola over a period of five years to collect material and finally edit it. Beginning with the Midi Music Festival in 2002 and 2001, it is interspersed with the life of the musicians in the Tree Village, the performances in the Happy Park, the second table outside the Happy Park, the painting and performance art creation that extends beyond the music, and the time spent with the "Autumn Bugs". Along this line, the creator's lens records the insistence of the optimistic and idealistic musicians on the art, the embarrassment of the living conditions, and the state of the young people on and offstage.
When rock meets life, midi, tree village has become a legend, countless young people from all over the country rushed here, dark rehearsals, mixed out are big gods, most people leave their youth here, shells away. The phrase "Rock 'n' roll is not important, what matters is yourselves." (Tongue Band)"
05
(The most road movie temperament)
"Love Noise"
Director: Liu Feng
Duration: 74 minutes
1 bus, 2 bands, 5 cities, 5768 kilometers, the "Love Noise" family began a bloody musical journey. The film records their many live performances, the trivialities of life on the bus along the way. On the road, they also have depression when the boats and cars are tired, and they also have tears at the climax of the performance, but everyone is full of enthusiasm, unswerving in music, active love for life, and looking for young and valuable, exciting music in the "love noise" journey. Sing all the way and always love noise.
The first band to listen to the scene was the Houhai Sharks, so I remembered the name, which is a relatively successful documentary that combines commercial and rock music, and because of the sponsorship, the quality of the work is guaranteed. Directors can use their full potential. At the same time, the form of road documentaries can also be fascinating, with constant unknown situations and constant surprises.
06
(Most local station)
<h1 class="ql-align-center"> Never Release My Fist</h1>
"Never Let Go of My Fist"
Director: Wang Shuibo
Country of Production: Chinese mainland / Canada
Runtime: 88 minutes
Oscar-nominated director Wang Shuibo's latest work, a documentary about Wuhan punk rock.
Every city has its rock band, and there are also documentaries that belong to the band. Documentaries of the same genre include Yuwan City (Changsha), Xi'an (Xi'an) and so on. The members of this band are native to the city, and the rock music nourished by each city is also different, and Wuhan and punk are very compatible.
07
(Most well known to foreign audiences)
<h1 class="ql-align-center"> Beijing Bubbles</h1>
Beijing Waves
Directed by George Lindt / Susanne Messmer
Country of Production: Germany
Language: Mandarin Chinese / English
Duration: 81 minutes
"Beijing Waves" is a documentary film about the survival of underground rock music in Beijing over a two-year period since 2004 by two German directors, George Lindt and Susanne Messmer, and is also a video work documenting the rapid economic and cultural development of the Chinese capital in the early 21st century. In this film, the two directors chose a total of five rock bands that fans are familiar with: Joyside, hanging on the box, new pants, sand, and T9 (now Hangai Band). They delve into the lives of these rock musicians, follow their daily lives, passionate live performances, and record the changes in their rock and roll hearts through the camera. Without any artistic processing or fiction, the scene of Beijing rock music in the early 21st century is almost completely presented to the audience.
In 2007, "Beijing Wave" was released in Germany, which immediately aroused the curiosity and enthusiasm of audiences throughout Europe for Chinese rock music. Under the lens of foreign directors, this group of young people, although embarrassed and depressed, but they are full of personality, they know what they want. In fact, this is the most precious thing.
08
(Most comprehensive review)
"Rock and Roll"
Director: Gao Wei
Language: Mandarin
Runtime: 107 minutes
When rock 'n' roll appeared in China, many people's lives began to be inexhaustible. Twenty years, a year that Chinese rock music can commemorate, "Rock duoduo" filmed interviews with Chinese rock artists at various stages, life clips, and their youth on the stage.
One of the most comprehensive retrospective documentaries of Chinese rock music. Producer Huang Liaoyuan, a figure who cannot be avoided in the Chinese rock circle, has worked as an editor, journalist, and now opens a gallery, while continuing to plan music events and write columns. In 2004, Yinchuan Helan Mountain organized the "Glorious Road of Chinese Rock" large-scale open-air music festival with 18 bands participating, with an audience of 120,000 people in three days, setting a record for the largest number of participants in China's outdoor music festival. Times are changing, and the musical environment is getting better. However, the spiritual inheritance of rock and roll is the most important.
09
(Most mournful)
Paper Airplane
Director: Zhao Liang
Country/Region of Production: China
Runtime: 77 minutes
"Paper Airplane" chronicles the story of a group of young people in Beijing. They left their homeland for ideals and freedom to face the turmoil and change of social values. They chose rock music, with a little doubt and loss, and continued to fight. Some of them become addicted to drugs, some look for deformed love, and their lives become wavering. This thought-provoking film is aimed at a weird punk musician as the protagonist. The director's camera follows their daily routine.
The famous documentary director Zhao Liang's early works were recommended at the end of the film, and at the end of the film, the dying youth lying on the sickbed said to the author: "This film is called "The Story of the Paper Airplane". It wanted to fly, but it still couldn't fly because it was made of paper. I think this sentence is a good footnote to rock and roll, to ideals and reality.
Today, when it seems that the material is very rich, people's spiritual life may not be as rich as in the eighties and nineties, and few people talk about ideals, but more about material pursuits. The current rock music has also become a kind of consumer goods, which has received mainstream attention, but what is the final destination? No one knows yet.
Author / Zhang Laodong
Edited by / Li Jia
Bump mirror DOC
ID：pjw-documentary
Weibo: @Bump Mirror DOC
Promote | cooperation | submission Plus WeChat ☞pjw200951288
Join an exchange group or work team plus WeChat ☞aotujing-doc
Care for the lives of ordinary people with images and words