"Dog Thirteen" is the best movie this year so far, the most cinematic movie, the most thought-provoking movie.
"Dog Thirteen" was filmed in 2013 and has undergone many deletions, until today, 5 years later, when it finally meets us. It really lives up to our expectations, and it's hard to imagine that a movie can still have a shocking power after 5 years of snow hiding.
Hearing Cao Baoping's name should start from "Li Mi's Conjecture", Zhou Xun, Deng Chao, Zhang Hanyu and Wang Baoqiang's ultra-luxurious lineup under the tutelage of Cao Baoping, let us know Cao Baoping's directing style - under the appearance of literary and art films, it is always the most heart-wrenching truth.
"Li Mi's Conjecture" also represents Cao Baoping's selection and directorial style, and 2016's "Burning Heart of the Sun" is even more vivid in this style. Cao Baoping prefers the star lineup, I have to say that it is a wise approach, the literary and art film itself is a relatively narrow audience type, only the all-star lineup can attract more people to endure to watch.
"Burning Heart of the Sun" is an unprecedented attempt to send Deng Chao, Guo Tao, and Duan Yihong to the throne of the film emperor at the same time, creating a record in the history of Chinese cinema. At present, it is rare that literary and art films can be made into masterpieces in China, and there are even fewer literary and art films that can be made into popular works.
"Destined for Heaven" and "Children of jianghu" allowed Jia Zhangke to taste the sweetness of combining literary and commercial films. And Jiang Wen, a literary and artistic film ghost, is still exploring his own path, "Let the Bullets Fly" was put on the altar, but "One Step Away" and "Evil Does Not Pressure justice" failed to make the public accept. In the final analysis, it is because Jiang Wen is partial to literature and art, and his commercial temperament is less, which will inevitably be like a double-edged sword.
Such literary and commercial discussions are not only being explored by Chinese filmmakers, but also by large foreign studios. DC had been troubled by his own style before "Aquaman", but Wen Ziren helped DC turn over and had to admit the decisive role of the director for a movie, and Cao Baoping was such a powerful director who could influence the audience.
The superiority of "Dog Thirteen" compared to "Little Times", "Left Ear", "Gardenia Blossom" and the like is that it tells a more real life, and often the truth represents pain.
The protagonist of the film is a 12-year-old girl Li Play, her parents divorced, her father is obsessed with work, and has his own new family outside, Li Play has been living with her grandparents.
Li Play's grandparents are traditional old people, although they love Li Play, but also have the idea of "son preference". Even the name Li Play was casually given by grandpa, and when his grandson was born, he was repeatedly hesitant to name him. When his granddaughter went out at night, Grandpa would dress her; but when her granddaughter repeatedly made a fool of herself, he would also scold her sternly.
Li Play's father is also the most shrewd and literary parent, he knows when to stop the child, but also knows when to soothe the child's wounded heart. He would chant Su Dongpo's "bamboo sticks and shoes are lighter than horses, a smoke and rain for a lifetime", and he would also look back at his youth and cry when he received a call from his ex-wife.
Li Play has never had anyone she really trusts, and she does not dare to fully trust her father, because his father will pour out his hopes again and again. Li Play couldn't believe his grandparents, in their eyes, "granddaughter is not as good as grandson". Until her father gave her a puppy, Li Play named it "Einstein"—the famous physicist.
In this movie, Lee played 3 times with blood and pain growing up.
For the first time, because of Grandpa's negligence, Einstein went missing. Li Play began a strong rebellion, but when Grandpa was almost lost because of his own hands, and Grandma was almost lost because of himself, his father no longer indulged her nonsense, and used a beating to make her remember that he should grow up and should not mess around. It was the domestic violence she remembered most deeply in her youth, and I think she would remember that night for the rest of her life.
The second time, when Einstein went missing, her stepmother sent the exact same dog and lied to her that it was Einstein. She was fiercely opposed at first, how much she liked Einstein at first, and how much she hated this new dog now. But when she saw the dog hurt, her compassion and love were aroused, allowing her to find a sense of pity for the disease, and she accepted the new "Einstein".
The third time, the new dog was asked by his stepmother to be sent to the hot pot restaurant because he had bitten his little brother. Even though Lee played crying and begging his father to let him have a way to live, he was still sent away. Only later, Li Play learned that the dog had been sent to the shelter, but had died of hunger strike. Li Play still said thank you to his father, and this was the first time Li Play said thank you to his father.
The fourth time, she saw her original Einstein on the road, which already had a new owner, and Li Play told her companions that she was "very afraid that Einstein would recognize me." She thinks she can't give Einstein a safe environment, so she prefers to let herself use a cry to make her heart give up her attachment to "Einstein". This was the most painful, profound, and active growth in her heart.
Director Cao Baoping brings us a great movie, his works always question our hearts, and in his films, the bad guys are always full of charming colors. This is true of Deng Chao in "Burning Heart", and the same is true of the father in "Dog Thirteen".
Dog Thirteen isn't necessarily about our own youth, but we've certainly seen it. Such a real character, such a painful growth, in a person's life, there will be many encounters.