When "On the Cliff" was released, someone asked Zhang Yimou why he wanted to shoot such a subject?
Zhang Yimou said: Because China's spy movies can be remembered too little.
Regardless of the quality of "On the Cliff"? Can it be remembered?
But I agree with Zhang Yimou's words.
Because look around, so far.
The best spy war TV series in recent years is "Latent" starring Sun Honglei and Yao Chen 13 years ago.
And the best spy movies in these years are still 12 years ago, the scale is amazing, the peak of suspense -
The Sound of the Wind
In 1942, China's war was chaotic and the political landscape was complex.
On October 10 of that year, at a grand ceremony to celebrate the anniversary of the Wang puppet government, a key member of the government was shot and killed.
Previously, a number of Wang puppet government officials and senior Japanese officials had been assassinated.
This matter has attracted great attention from the Japanese side.
Takeda, the head of the Japanese secret service, suspected that this series of assassinations was planned by the underground Communist Leader of Peiping, the "Old Ghost"...
According to secret service wires, undercover agents of the assassination organization have been lurking inside the command.
After layers of investigation, they finally identified the five people who were most likely to have access to the telegram:
Wu Zhiguo, head of the Military Staff Department of the Puppet Army.
The commander of the puppet army headquarters was a subordinate officer, Bai Xiaonian.
Li Ningyu, head of the translation and telecommunications group of the Puppet Army Command.
Gu Xiaomeng, administrative sending and receiving commissioner of the puppet army command.
Jin Shenghuo, director of the Military Aircraft Division of the Puppet Army Headquarters, was on fire.
They were taken to a mountain-facing lake, a closed villa temporarily requisitioned by the Japanese army, Qiuzhuang, for quarantine and censorship.
Several people who did not know the situation thought that it was just a simple inquiry and investigation.
But they did not know that what awaited them was actually a mad killing game.
Because of the intelligence leak, the Japanese army's investigation period was only five days.
Takeda, the person in charge, must stop at nothing to find the "old ghost", otherwise he will also land on the ground.
The five people under house arrest are haunted, and in order to save themselves, they carefully observe the wind and grass around them...
How can you catch the old ghost?
Wang Tianxiang, director of the puppet army's special service department, said: Simply, all of them will be punished, and it is better to kill by mistake than to misplace them!
Soon, under Takeda's torture, the first person was tortured to death, Bai Xiaonian, the attendant officer of the commander of the puppet army headquarters.
He was tortured by stripping his pants and tying him to a chair welded with iron nails.
When it was over, it was thrown into a stinky pool and shelved.
In the end, the commander, who was originally ambiguous with him, used a horse whip to beat him to death in order to clear the relationship...
Bai Xiaonian's death frightened Jin Shenghuo, director of the Military Aircraft Division of the Puppet Army Corps, and in order to avoid execution and torture, he chose to shoot himself.
Two people have died, but no evidence has been found on who the "old ghost" is.
So who the hell is the old ghost?
Is it Gu Xiaomeng, who is beautiful and exquisite, proficient in Morse code?
Is it Li Ningyu, who is smart and calm, and is the head of the translation and telecommunications section?
Or is it Wu Zhiguo, who is cold-blooded and fiercely rebellious?
This tells a series of thrilling stories that after the assassination of a high-ranking official of the Wang puppet government during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Japanese army wanted to thoroughly search the anti-Japanese underground organization.
Spy war film "The Sound of the Wind" co-directed by Gao Qunshu and Chen Guofu
Adapted from the novel of the same name by the famous contemporary novelist Mai Jia.
12 years ago, in 2009, the movie "The Sound of the Wind" was released, and the annual box office reached 225 million, ranking seventh, and was praised by the media as the best domestic group portrait drama that year.
It is even considered by many viewers to be: the ceiling of Chinese spy movies.
At the same time, in the Golden Horse Awards, Golden Film Awards, Hundred Flowers Award, Golden Rooster Award and other major film festivals, it has shined and won many heavyweight awards.
Why has "The Sound of the Wind" received so much accolades and appreciation?
Because as a commercial film, in many ways, it has achieved near-perfection, and other spy movies are difficult to stop.
The first is the cinematic scale.
It is filled with bloody and violent torture: vicious dog bites, iron nail chairs, mental delays, electric shocks, steel needle, rope punishment...
This strong visual impact makes many first-time viewers feel extremely uncomfortable.
In the film, Gu Xiaomeng has a punishment of being put on a hemp rope by everyone, which is extremely cruel.
After filming this scene, the actor Zhou Xun cried when he saw the rope and cried for a whole day...
The last few minutes of the scene were filmed for two full days before they were filmed.
And Li Bingbing directly dedicated the largest scale of her acting career, naked and tortured, and was stripped naked by Takeda, played by Huang Xiaoming.
In order to shoot this scene, Li Bingbing drank eight or two liquors in one breath, but after filming, it was still difficult to restrain herself, crying until she had an emotional breakdown...
However, in Mai Jia's original novel "The Sound of the Wind", there is not much to describe the punishment, and more attention is paid to the characters.
Later, an audience member asked the director: Why does the film spend a lot of space to present these tortures?
Gao Qunshu, one of the directors, said:
Because of these unique tortures, compared with the traditional tiger stool and pepper water, not only can destroy people's bodies, but also destroy people's spirits, through this double torture, they can more perceive the cruelty and indifference in the context of that era.
In addition to the large scale, the characters in the film are also perfect.
For example, in the scene where Li Ningyu is humiliated, there are no lines or voices, just look at her expression and demeanor, you can make people feel her desperate emotions.
At first, she stubbornly turned her head and shed a tear.
Then, unable to restrain his emotions, he looked up at the top.
It portrays a highly educated intellectual woman, unwilling and aggrieved when she is insulted, to the heart.
For example, when Gu Xiaomeng learned that he was going to die, he rubbed his fingers and smiled at the corners of his mouth, which was both helpless and bitter.
Finally, he slowly went from laughing to crying, and all the grievances and pains of these years were revealed.
This transition to the mood of death is textbook-level.
For another example, Su Youpeng, who plays Bai Xiaonian, directly broke through the drama road and performed amazingly.
From all aspects of posture, tone, and style, this girly, annoying drama has been completely played...
Even Huang Xiaoming, who has always been known for his greasy acting, has performed the horror revealed from the bones of takeda's character...
It became the highest light of his acting career.
Not only these counted protagonists have light, but also those uncountable small supporting characters are also glowing.
Zhu Xu, Wu Gang, Ni Dahong, Duan Yihong, Deng Jiajia, Liu Yun these cameo dragon sets, raising their hands and feet, between the eyebrows are all drama.
It can be said that no one in "The Sound of the Wind" has acted badly.
Because of this, every character in the movie "The Sound of the Wind", no matter how big or small, is extremely charming, worthy of the audience's consideration and speculation...
Needless to say, this movie can be said too much, and there are countless film reviews about it.
But there is another point, which is an important reason why I think that "The Sound of the Wind" has endured for so many years and no one has surpassed it.
That is, it jumps out of the mold of a commercial film, and while it looks good, it also has the depth of thought and emotion.
In the film, under Takeda's torture to force a confession, the "old ghost" still can't find it...
But at the end of the movie, we have been told the answer, and the undercover is the Gu Xiaomeng who was tortured to death, and she used her own death to successfully send the information out.
So is she an old ghost?
Yes and no.
Because it doesn't matter who the "old ghost" is, the name represents an otherworldly spiritual support.
So when Li Ningyu asked: Is intelligence more important than your life?
Gu Xiaomeng was silent.
She hid the answer in those few recitations:
Only because the nation has reached the time of survival, my generation can only fight to save it in case.
My flesh is about to perish, but my soul will be with you.
The enemy will not understand that the old ghost and the old gun are not individuals, but a spirit, a faith!
They have been living in corners where the worldly sunlight cannot reach.
Their stories, their emotions, their destiny, are our eternal secrets.
Maybe in the future, you will never see such a ups and downs, shocking spy movie.
12 years ago, when "The Sound of the Wind" was released, the stars were gathered, the gimmicks were pulled, and all kinds of slogans and publicity were overwhelming...
At that time, whenever I read the subtitle of the sentence on the poster, I felt that it was exaggerated.
Now that 12 years have passed, looking back at the movie, I find that the unchanged text is not a little false:
After the sound of the wind, there is no legend in the world!
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