"The First Parting": Only the truth is the most moving

"The First Parting" poster Baidu Pictures

On July 20, the Xinjiang-themed film "The First Parting" was released nationwide from the first day of theater resumption. It uses a method close to the documentary to shoot a poetic and picturesque, vivid and vivid character image, full of the texture of life, so that audiences at home and abroad feel empathy, to achieve empathy resonance.

Preserve the texture of life

The vast Taklamakan Desert, the golden poplar forests, the glittering lake, the sheep slowly walking under the shade of green trees, the Eid al-Adha Festival, cotton picking, Uyghur ethnic dance... These xinjiang elements of rich natural features and the living situations of local people are displayed one by one in front of the eyes of the world through the lens of "The First Parting".

The film's director, Wang Lina, was born in Xinjiang in 1987 and spent her entire childhood in Kumutokay Village in Shaya County, Tarim Basin, before leaving for the first time at the age of 18. The film is based on a documentary she began shooting when she graduated from her master's degree, and for more than a year, the recording was in Uighur, and 600,000 words were translated and sorted out. The feature film recreates and reconstructs the pure record, using the life of the boy Isa as a clue, telling the touching childhood story between him and Kylie Binur, a good friend of the young plum bamboo horse, and his deeply touching love for his mother. The film uses all non-professional actors, "the people who appear in the film are local villagers, who may not have been out of the village in their lives, and continue the most simple way of life." Wang Lina said. She told reporters that although it has been reconstructed, in the film she especially wants to truly show the daily life scenes of people in the hinterland of Taklamakan and "maintain the real texture", such as the pit at the beginning of the film, which was built by Wang Lina and local villagers. "The costumes are according to their own habits, and I will choose one of their clothes for the sake of the film's good color." She believes that parents now attach great importance to their children's education, such as Kelly's mother. "This is a very simple idea, so in the specific shooting process, I have made such a plot more focused." She said.

"The film always presents the original appearance of life with a calm and respectful attitude." Zhou Xia, an associate researcher at the China Film Art Research Center, believes that this film allows us to see the real daily life of ordinary people in Xinjiang, no curiosity, no sensationalism, and even no excessive dramatic plot, the relationship between the characters is real, which brings the audience an incomparable real texture, and the actors in the film are "not performing, but living".

Film critic Yang Biwei pointed out in an article published in "Film Review", "Because the film has always adhered to the recording style of virtual reality, it has always let the camera speak, so it has restored the original appearance of life to the greatest extent." "The film contains a lot of humanistic elements from Xinjiang. At Eid al-Adha, people slaughter sheep and gather together to sing and dance; when Kelly's family of three was picking cotton in the field, Kelly's father sang the love song he had written for her mother, and her mother's face flashed shyness and joy, and Kelly quietly observed her parents, and a smile appeared on her face. The film also documents the traditional customs and modern life of the Uyghur people, such as eating roast lamb, family meetings, a new generation of children learning Chinese, and people in the village going out to work in order to earn more money.

Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Critics Association, said that in the process of modernization, all ethnic groups have been involved in the process of urbanization, which is also vaguely expressed in "The First Parting". "Truth is the power of art, and on the level of reality, this presentation of human nature is particularly powerful." He said.

Convey poetic feelings

Wang Lina has said many times, "'The First Parting' is a long poem dedicated to my hometown Shaya and childhood, and the poetry of the land itself is the source of this film. Some of the children's lines in the film are also like verses, such as Kelly Binur imitating the way sheep graze, saying that the taste is spicy, like "there is wind in the mouth.".

The whole film has a simple life scene and not many characters, but the film writes out the characters' affectionate connection with the living environment, with nature, and with the land under their feet, and presents them with a poetic lens, which is directly touching people's hearts.

Zhou Xia pointed out that the artistic processing of the film on the basis of reality has brought aesthetics and poetry to the whole film, and the spring, summer, autumn and winter, the cycle of the four seasons, the customs and customs of southern Xinjiang, and the pure nature have all become the roles of the film. The scene of three friends walking around in the desert at the beginning of the film, and the scene of children getting together and chatting on poplar trees in the later part of the film are very beautiful. Adult life is also romantic and poetic, and familiar labor scenes have their own beauty. So some people commented that the film has a "poetic realism" style.

Yang Biwei pointed out that in addition to Wang Lina's delicate and warm way to convey poetic feelings, the film's producer Qin Xiaoyu himself is an excellent poet and poetry critic, for the poetic style and standard of this film, he also carried out strict checks, as well as the film's camera Li Yong, soundtrack Wenzi, all echo the film's poetic pursuit with exquisite techniques.

Overseas exchanges have achieved excellent results

"Ethnic minority films have richer elements because they show the life of ethnic minority areas, including unique regional landscapes and folk customs, as well as precious intangible cultural heritage, and play a very unique role in international dissemination." Rao Shuguang said. "In the creation of ethnic minority films, the locally grown directors to make Xinjiang-themed films are more realistic and more grounded, which greatly enhances the reputation of Xinjiang." He believes that in addition to the parting experienced by children and their growth, the film also fully releases the care and charm of human nature, and the performance of friendship and affection is particularly moving, "These are all connected whether at the level of human nature or the level of life, and are the common yearning and pursuit of a better life shared by all ethnic groups, which can move all people in the world." ”

"Whether it is the unique charm of regional customs or the richness and variety of humanistic customs, this mysterious and attractive land in Xinjiang has become a fertile land for artistic creation." Wang Lina said. The film uses Uyghur because the communication between the characters in their daily lives is in Uyghur, so she feels that the film is more authentic in Uyghur, "I didn't think about matching it with Mandarin." She said, "As a creator, I think it is good to make emotions real, language is not a barrier at all, but I think it is particularly moving when characters speak Uyghur and sing love songs in Uyghur." ”

The film's actual achievements in overseas exchanges confirm Wang Lina's ideas and practices. Following the best film in the Asian Future Section of the Tokyo International Film Festival, the Best Film of the Jury of the New Generation Section of the Berlin International Film Festival, the Firebird Award of the Hong Kong International Film Festival, the Best Film of the 4th German Chinese Film Festival, the Edith Award of the Canadian Film Festival, and the Media Attention Filmmaker Award in the "Belt and Road" unit of the Shanghai International Film Festival, "The First Parting" recently won the Award of the Bubble the Difference at the Busan Children's Film Festival.

(Reporter Miao Chun)

People's Daily Overseas Edition ( 2020-08-07 Issue 07)

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