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Since Pigo entered the cinema in the 1980s, he has read countless films, but he still only has a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg of the film world.
Recently found a 1980 Taiwanese movie, older than Pigo, only because I saw a photo of the heroine on the Internet and was attracted by it, watching it with a curious mentality, but unexpectedly it turned out to be a fantasy film with extremely deep ideas.
The title of this film is called "Hell and Heaven", which is based on the "Ji in the Mirror" in the strange novel "Firefly Window Strange Grass" in the early Qing Dynasty, which records the strange stories of the late Ming Dynasty and is the most accomplished of many imitation "Liaozhai" novels.
Director Wang Jujin is a graduate of art and engineering, the use of shots and the color of the set are extremely exquisite, each picture is as thick as oil painting, which is unforgettable, because the subject matter is novel and bold, and the film was also described as having the meaning of "opening a new page" when it was released.
The film tells a mournful ghost story, the rhythm is careless but poignant and moving, revealing the theme of life but thought-provoking.
First, the scholar mistakenly entered the peach blossom source, and the wine lady did not think about returning
The story of the film takes place at the end of the Ming Dynasty.
There was a reader named Liu Shi'an, whose family was so poor that his family was surrounded by disciples, but in order to obtain a meritorious name, he only studied the sages every day, relied on his wife and mother to work to earn money to support himself, and lived a life of clothes to stretch out his hands and food to open his mouth.
His mother hoped that her son would one day be able to get the title of gold medallion and would not let him do any housework at home. As a reader, Liu Shi'an is looked down upon everywhere, and he has no friends, and he always stays at home and rarely goes out.
One day Liu Shi'an was dizzy when he read and read, and suddenly found a beautiful woman in the mirror who was spinning yarn, and then he was blown by the beautiful woman and fainted.
In the confusion, Liu Shi'an followed a dog to a place called Huangfengling, was chased by a zombie carrying a large scythe, entered a village, and found a family.
There was an old man in this family named Tao, living with his daughter Yue Niang, and Pi Ge could see at a glance that this Yue Niang was the beautiful woman in the mirror, and it was obvious that she must be either a fox or a ghost.
At this time, Liu Shi'an was tortured by Old Man Tao's soul and asked, "Where did you come from?" Where are you going? ”
Although Liu Shi'an did not answer, he was taken in by the kind Yue Niang and slept in the stove wall of their house for one night.
But Liu Shi'an is a restless person, he was found stealing the moon lady bath, and Old Man Tao could only recruit him as a son-in-law in order to cover up the ugliness.
Yue Niang looks like a flower, much more beautiful than Liu Shi'an's wife in the family, Liu Shi'an is naturally willing, and half push and half down to become close to Yue Niang.
Liu Shi'an learned that the village was called Taozhuang, but did not know where the specific geographical location was.
There are only a few families in the village, but they get along harmoniously, just like a paradise.
Liu Shi'an learned to make umbrellas to earn money to support his family, can wear gorgeous clothes, is no longer a useless poor student, but also becomes confident.
But Liu Shi'an soon discovered something strange in the village.
First, there is not a mirror that can be found everywhere; second, the villagers do not know that there are books in this world, nor can they buy books to read.
Although Liu Shi'an is now living a rich life without worries about food and clothing, he is obsessed with getting a meritorious name, so he always wants to leave the village.
Finally, one day Liu Shi'an returned to see Yue Niang take off her head and put it on the dresser to make up for herself; and Old Man Tao also appeared in his original form after getting drunk, and it turned out that they were all ghosts.
Liu Shi'an fled the village in panic and finally woke up from his bed sweating profusely.
Second, the old monk fights to kill zombies, and Liu Shi'an drugs the Moon Lady
When Liu Shi'an woke up, he realized that he had been sleeping in bed for more than three months, and his mother and wife found an old monk to exorcise him.
At this time, the zombie in Huangfengling chased after Liu Shi'an's house again, roaring outside the door and trying to break through the door.
The old monk went out with a machete and fought with the zombies, and finally killed it.
The old monk sealed Liu Shi'an's ears with mud, reminded him that he could not break them within three days, and gave him three pills for him to take.
Liu Shi'an still inadvertently broke the mud in his left ear, so he was hooked again, and this time he learned that Old Man Tao was the zombie chasing him, who had been killed by the monk.
Liu Shi'an also learned from Yue Niang's mouth that this ghost world called Taozhuang was in the mirror of his home, although he had no worries about food and clothing here and did not need to worry about his livelihood, he still wanted to return to the real world. So in the end, Liu Shi'an poisoned Yue Niang with the medicine given by the monk, causing her to turn into a pile of white bones.
Third, reality and illusion, heaven and hell, in fact, it is difficult to distinguish
Liu Shi'an, who returned to the real world, was not well, his mother was sick and had no money for medical treatment, and he wanted to go to work to earn money, but he was ridiculed and returned.
In this real world, Liu Shi'an is just a useless student who can't pass the exam.
He began to miss the world in the mirror, where he was able to rely on himself, live a rich life, face his wife and wife, without trouble, like heaven.
Back to reality, he needs to face a difficult life, can't see hope, and can't find a way out.
It was hard to tell what heaven and what hell was, but the only thing that was certain was that Yue Niang had been poisoned by him, and he could never go back.
Although Liu Shi'an is a reader who has read the books of the sages, he is a selfish, timid and saccharine person, whose thinking is self-centered, and the purpose of obtaining meritorious names is only to be able to rise to the rank of rich, enjoy the glory and wealth, and be a person who can manage people.
And he poisoned Yue Niang, and he also blamed himself, and the second half of his life was only living in the torment of hardship.
Director Wang Jujin is criticizing this old idea, pointing out that readers should apply it to the world, benefit the people of Li, and have a new understanding of their responsibilities.
More terrifying than the ghosts in the film is the human heart.
Fourth, the connotation of the film is profound and awe-inspiring
In fact, director Wang Jujin devoted his life to the creation of literary and artistic films, paying attention to pure artistic creation, and from 1975 to 1980, he created many excellent film works.
"Hell And Heaven" is his more accomplished work, which obviously borrows from the shooting methods of many Japanese Shiki films, and also refers to the horror elements of chapters such as "Painted Skin" in "Liaozhai", and the picture is delicate and gorgeous, which is amazing.
Unfortunately, in the 1980s, Taiwan's production companies generally only wanted to fish for gold, which was contrary to the concept pursued by Wang Jujin.
After Wang Jujin launched "The Three-Headed Demon King" in 1988, he was disheartened by the film circle and finally decided to retire. And many of the old films like "Hell and Heaven" have only been released on DVD, and the picture has not been repaired, so that the picture is rough and dim, and the embedded hard subtitles also affect the look and feel.
What Pigo should confess is that when he first started watching it, he just had a curious mentality, hoping to see a thrilling ghost movie. Halfway through seeing it, I realized that this was a good movie with a deep connotation, and I suddenly felt a sense of reverence in my heart.
I really hope that these old films can be repaired one day, so that more people can understand the excellent works of director Wang Jujin.
Text/Pippi Film Editorial Department: Bloody Dan Heart
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