The 1959 paper-cut cartoon "The Fishing Boy" was screened in the countryside in the late 1970s, when I was not yet 10 years old – I only watched it once, and time was like electricity, and I didn't see it for more than forty years.
In fact, I have always wanted to find this movie, but I can't think of the name of the movie. The little fishing boy in it, I was very impressed, but for so many years, I always thought that the movie was called "Fishing Basin"!
The 1959 animation was shot by the Shanghai Fine Arts Film Studio and lasted less than half an hour. How many people remember for half a century.
At that time, as long as the name of Shanghai Fine Arts Film Studio appeared, it was the most popular among children - there were too many people's childhood dreams here, although at the time they had no idea that this was one of the representative works of the three Wan brothers.
At that time, the animators really used a fiery heart to do every work for the children: sincere production, meticulous art, profound and easy to understand the truth contained in it. The animation films produced mostly use traditional Chinese methods, and also express the inheritance of traditional Chinese culture - our domestic animation is brilliant.
"Fishing Boy" is a film with the theme of promoting patriotic education, based on the legend of the same name circulating among fishermen, the story is based on the opium war, the contradiction between the people and foreign religions inspired a strong anti-foreign movement, the theme is very clear: anti-imperialism and anti-feudalism.
But at the time I couldn't see it, I just thought the house (church) was very foreign.
The story of "Fisher Boy" is set after the Opium War, which is of special significance - "Opium War" is the beginning of Modern Chinese society and the beginning of China's semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, and since then the people have lived in the depths of internal and external troubles.
Foreign warships can swagger into our ports, and the many countries on the flag of nations represent the aggression, bullying and oppression of the great powers.
The mighty powers, which make the style and ideology of the film stand out, have a clear theme, that is, the people at the bottom are anti-imperialist and anti-feudal.
At that time, the animated characters were all recognizable with Chinese - Chinese fishermen were the targets of bullying, and dared not speak out.
Foreigners occupied Chinese ports and did not allow fishermen to go out to sea to fish, and fishermen complained bitterly.
In that distant era, foreigners stole a lot of our treasures.
In the name of "Lord", foreign priests united with the government, swindled and deceived, and secretly stole Chinese treasures.
The image of this foreign priest, as long as it is Chinese, I believe that as long as you watch it again, you will leave a deep impression on him - black and white are too clear, and we have been stimulated by the film since we were young.
The old fisherman was forced to make a living, and on a dark night with high winds and waves, he ventured over the blockade line and went out to sea to fish, busy for most of the night, and not a single fish was hit.
But in the midst of lightning and thunder, the sea suddenly turned red, and the old fisherman had an unexpected harvest.
He caught a white jade fishing basin with a picture of a fishing boy. In other words, there is a small fishing boy in the treasure pot.
In the middle of the night, the painted fishing boy jumped out of the fishing basin - as soon as the fishing boy came out, the light was shining. The glittering part of the fishing basin in the dark night is very well done, and the transformation process of the basin from flat to three-dimensional is simply wonderful.
The pot conjures up lotus buds, opening a smart and cute little fishing boy, the picture is comparable to Nezha noisy sea, dazzling, full of childlike fun. When I was a child, I was thrilled to see it.
The fishing boy is shaped by Nezha, the image is very Chinese, the color is bright and bright - people at that time liked colorful pictures.
Although it is a paper cut, such a beautiful dynamic, such a wonderful dance animation, just makes people feel that such a smart and ingenious, it is really touching.
This fishing boy seemed to have to sing everything, and he couldn't hear what he sang. In fact, the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters can be reflected in the music - folk music pours out the pain and expectations of the toiling people at that time.
In the colored light, the fishermen sang and danced, the fishing rod fished in the basin, and the water droplets thrown out by the fishing rod condensed into a full pearl.
The clips of fishing turned into pearls are beautiful and can be seen intently. When I watched it, I especially wished I had such a pot, or I could buy a pot that a fisherman boy had already erected, what a magical little pot.
However, I love this fishing basin not because of the endless treasures, but because of the beauty of the water droplets turning into pearls!
And the little fishing boy, who was young but had a beautiful heart to help the poor people—all such magical beings who came out in the middle of the night to help were generally representatives of goodness and justice.
Good people will help one day – justice is the foundation, and morality is laid from here.
The old fisherman knew it was a treasure. The next day, he sold the pearls in the market.
As the saying goes, wealth is not exposed, the old man is too honest, and he tells outsiders everything. So much so that this secret was eavesdropped by foreign priests, and the bane was that he wanted to occupy this fishing basin.
If the old fisherman doesn't say the fishing basin, there will be no foreign devils or anything, but if he doesn't say it, the story will not continue.
The old fisherman did not know that the catastrophe was coming, and still daydreamed, fantasizing about selling pearls for money to buy a boat, building a new fishing boat in the future, catching more fish with the boat, going farther away, and changing his hard life.
I used to think that the old fisherman's idea was normal and there was nothing wrong with it. Looking at it now, the laughter point comes out.
Fishing and selling for money? Why do you still fish when you have money? You can just sell pearls directly, is this old man stupid? Or is the film meant to show the simplicity of this character?
In fact, there is nothing wrong with the movie, it is not that the old fisherman is stupid, but that today we have become vulgar.
The old fisherman's dream was over before it was finished, and the foreign priest wanted to occupy his fishing basin, so he colluded with the government and took the fisherman to court.
I was impressed by the scene when the old fisherman was chained, and the indignation of the other fishermen: What a world!
Today, I revisit this more raw sentence and can't help but think: What about now?
The county officials are undoubtedly bad officials who bully the common people and unite with foreigners to exploit the good working people.
The impression of foreign priests colluding with corrupt officials is established from the movie. Their images are also demonic forms of a demon.
In the courtroom, the foreign priest reversed black and white, and nonsense said that this fishing basin belonged to him.
His foreign Chinese language, the dubbing master Qiu Yuefeng, is really a god match, and almost every sentence can be taken out to make people reminisce for a long time.
For example, "The fishing basin is my drop", "It is a drop brought from our country", "Poor old man ~ ~ child ~ ~ child"
These tones are particularly flavorful and have remained in the memories of generations of audiences.
Look at today's Western powers, those countries with a high degree of military and economic development often use various excuses to encroach on the resources of those weak countries, which is actually equivalent to this kind of particularly flavorful power politics!
The official master sang a harmony with the foreigners and forced the fisherman to return the fishing basin to the foreign priest. The old fisherman was furious.
"Chinese fishing basin, even if it is smashed, it cannot be given to the foreign devil!"
Even if the world is hostile to me, it cannot be destroyed in the name of justice, but there was no problem at that time, and the childhood of love and hatred was only hatred for the wicked!
The broken fishing basin, the fishing boy jumped out, making people feel very energetic, and the fishing boy could not only help, but also resist.
The fisherman's mythical rebellion, extremely angry, bluntly saying "no" to foreign enemies, the courage to strike hard is too rare.
The close-up of the "Mirror Hanging High" plaque above the gate, and the hat of the county official thrown on the dog's head, all have a metaphorical significance--telling us that there must be a name to have a reality, and that the official must have the words and deeds of the official.
The little fishing boy is very capable of fighting, although the weapon is just a fishing rod, and the golden hoop stick, the Qiankun circle is far worse, but the combat effectiveness is extremely strong, beating the foreigners and the official masters to fall into the flowers and flow, holding the head of the rat.
Really very cool!
Beating up foreigners and various compradors also has strong practical significance today.
The fishing boy hooked the foreign priest and circled him back and forth. Looking at it 40 years later, it is still very painful.
As a film of epochal significance, its epochality can be continued - now after joining the WTO, a large number of foreign capital has poured into the mainland, we are facing great challenges, and the strong demand for investment promotion has undoubtedly brought about a reduction in its own position, many people blindly pay attention to foreign-funded enterprises, and there is obviously a "flattering" mentality in the dialogue. Reflecting each other should arouse the deep thinking of the Chinese people.
Foreigners are directly thrown into the sea by fishing rods, and this is the fate of the wicked. This fisherman is really handsome!
From the perspective of demon exorcism and real-life situations, there is an overly strong political metaphor, but it cannot be seen at the time - children watch movies to watch movies, do not find any values, and the theme of the movie still applies today - the expulsion of the Tartars to restore China, this statement will never be outdated.
In the end, the broken mirror was reunited, and the white jade basin was completely returned to the hands of the old fisherman!
At the bottom is still the fishermen, and the fishermen can only become the beautiful fantasies in the hearts of the fishermen. But at that time, we believed, and needed to believe, that good people would have good rewards.
In just 23 minutes, both the supporting role and the protagonist are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and impeccable. The film truly and perfectly interprets the meaning of the four words "Chinese characteristics" and inscribes a glorious page of that era, which I think is well-deserved, and this is the honor it deserves.
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