If I use two words to describe the status and influence of the film "Spring in a Small Town" in the history of Chinese cinema, I think it must be "special".
One. The play --- dramatic and poetic
The setting of the relationship between Dai Liyan, Zhou Yuwen and Zhang Zhichen, the closedness of the space setting, the accident of the three people's encounter, the changeability of the emotions between the three people, the suddenness of Dai Liyan's suicide, and the concentration of various events make this film full of drama. However, "Spring in a Small Town" deliberately makes the whole film not form a strong dramatic conflict---- adopts a negative and positive treatment mode on the other. This makes the whole film seem gentle and intriguing, and it has a certain poetic character. The dramatic and poetic mixture produces a wonderful chemistry. Needless to say, this treatment and performance effect are "special".
Two. History --- legendary and twists and turns
From the early days of its release (1948) to the founding of New China, the film was almost criticized, but after the 1980s, the status of the film was gradually accepted. The legendary and tortuous growth history of "Spring in a Small Town" is "special" and difficult to reproduce in the history of Chinese cinema.
(1) Different evaluations in the early stage of release
1. "I watched the test screening of "Spring in a Small Town", such as drinking wine. ......
Consciously, this play is full of humanity and expresses the contradictions of the transitional era. ......
Acting: The whole drama is harmonious, and no one has done a little more drama. ”
2. "'Spring in a Small Town' is a true ancient Chinese poem—gentle and pure. But the spring light is confined to a corner of the decadent city, with some narrow, conservative, old, hidden smell. ”
• 3. "The emotion expressed in the film is 'that pale, that sick', it 'simply forgets the times'. ”
(2) Evaluation after the founding of New China
1. "The artistic treatment of Spring in a Small Town does show the characteristics of Director Fei Mu's art. However, these artistically appealing treatments, in such a gray and negative film, will never have any other effect than to deepen the rendering of the decadent feelings of the fallen class in the film, and expand its adverse effects and influences. ”
(3) Evaluation since the 1980s
• Since the new era, especially after the "Review of Chinese Cinema in the 1920s and 1940s" was held in 1983,
• 1. "The exquisite conception of this film, the delicacy of the psychological portrayal of the characters, and the harmony of the integration of environmental modeling and character personality are a strange peak on the road of Chinese film development." In the use of film language to express poetry, it is very original. ”
• 2. "The Spring of a Small Town renders the ideological and emotional melancholy and depression of a large number of petty-bourgeois intellectuals at that time very fully and intensely, and describes the actual situation in which they are dissatisfied with the actual situation, strive to get rid of repressed pain, and pursue light and happiness, but lack sufficient courage, which is a true portrayal of such intellectuals at that time. Therefore, as far as the ideological value of the film is concerned, we must give full affirmation without giving too much praise. What is really worthy of a big book is its artistic achievements. What has amazed, impressed, and shocked people today is mainly the artistic contribution of the film to Chinese cinema. ”
Three. Audiovisual ---- the use of long lenses
"Spring in a Small Town is the first film in the history of Chinese cinema to systematically use depth of field, long-shot passages, sports photography and acoustic montage throughout the film." Among them, the long lens has been particularly prominently used, the depth, lateral and up and down movement of the characters, the movement of the in and out of the painting, the movement of the camera, and the comprehensive application of different types of complex movement forms to the long lens, so that the psychological activities of the characters in the picture have been fully externalized, which in turn contains a double combination of meaning connotation and form externalization. In addition, the plot, characters and dialogue of "Spring in a Small Town" are very concise, and the director gives full play to the characteristics of the film through the complicated audiovisual language (especially long shots), and in a sense also achieves a balance between complexity and simplicity.
The special significance of the long shot of "Spring in a Small Town" lies in its pioneering and innovative nature, and in the independent exploration of its own national style. "It is not okay for Chinese films to pursue the style of American films; Even if it imitates the style of any country, it is not possible, and Chinese films can only express their own national style. Fei Mu "made a bold and arrogant attempt to construct my play (unskilled) with 'long shots' and 'slow motion' in order to convey the gray mood of ancient China." "Spring in a Small Town" abandons the usual model of Hollywood films and successfully practices a new local way, a restrained, slow-paced, and emotional film language expression, which is very in line with the characteristics and traditional aesthetics of our nation. This is an innovation in the aesthetics of sub-Oriental cinema, especially in that era, which is absolutely "special", and even more extraordinary in the sense of film history, influencing the subsequent countless film masters.