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Perhaps, no other two films can be as comparable as "Eight" and "Gold" - both are war themes, from the same director, the filming time is very close, and even the main actors overlap.
There is a comparison to have a distinction. If we compare them, we can see that there are profound differences between the two films.
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In "Eight", there is a rather "tear-inducing" bridge section: the Nationalist soldiers are tied with grenades and jumped from the top of the Sihang warehouse one by one, and died with the Japanese army.
This detail, yu Shi Wuzheng, is purely fictional, I have a detailed study [click to read], here is not repeated. Movies certainly allow fiction, which is no problem. But interestingly, director Guan H took this fictional plot with such seriousness that many viewers thought it was a real historical fact.
Specifically, these fictional characters all shouted their names and places of origin and jumped down, Hubei Chen Shusheng, Tongcheng Li Mancang, Tongcheng Wang Shoucai, Liuyang Wang Jindou, Zhao Mengliang, Liu Beiwu, and so on.
In order to avoid suspicion from the audience, Guan H also arranged citizens, including He Xiangning, as witnesses on the other side of the Suzhou Creek, sighing:
"This is true of all the people of the country, how dare the Wokou deceive!"
Of course, tube H here is a bit too strong. Shouting his name and jumping down, like a character on the stage of the drama picking a curtain to appear, reading the white "Li Nai Changshan Zhao Zilong", the performance is too strong, it is difficult to imagine that the soldiers of the Nationalist Army in the thirties, composed mainly of illiterate rural zhuangding, would have a strong desire to perform like today's Internet celebrities.
Contrary to "Eight", in "Jin", those volunteer martyrs who originally had names and surnames (the management of the volunteer army has been quite perfect and formal, and the battle examples shown in the film also have detailed battle history records and memories) are given a series of rather ugly nicknames by Guan H.
These nicknames have now become sensitive words, you can check for yourself, I will not cite them here.
Looking at these nicknames, you will suspect that these are bandit dots in "Lin Hai Snow Field", and it is impossible to associate them with the mighty volunteer army.
In fact, even the male protagonist "Zhang Fei", played by the famous actor Zhang Yi, this name is more like a nickname than a real personal name. The purpose of giving such a serious, fairly authentic name to a fictional martyr of the Nationalist army is to make this fictional story thick, believable, and unquestionable.
Giving such an insulting nickname to the real volunteer martyrs, even if the deliberate innuendo pointed out by many viewers, undoubtedly reflects the director Guan H's playful and even provocative attitude towards the volunteers, and the objective effect is to make this heroic epic like a "wild history" and "folk tale" passed on by word of mouth.
So generous to one or the other, Guan H is really love and hate!
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The Battle of the Four-Line Warehouse, which had neither achieved its military objectives nor the diplomatic objectives that Chiang Kai-shek had expected, produced only a little propaganda effect and was an outright defeated battle.
But in "Eight", Guan H strives to present it as a great victory - the Successful Flag Protection of the Nationalist Army on the roof, the thwarting of the Japanese attack through the sewers, the use of human bombs to break the Japanese "Roman Turtle Formation", and so on.
In the end, the collapse to the concession, Guan H rendered the atmosphere in a strong way, feeling like a decisive charge for the final victory.
After doing all this, Guan H felt still uneasy, so he used the way of knocking on the blackboard to draw the key points, invited the Japanese commander Konoe Hondaisa to appear, and said face to face to Xie Jinyuan, who was riding on a white horse: "I am a loser, you are a victor." ”
Contrary to "Eight", in "Jin", the battle of the volunteer army's bridge and bridge protection, although in any sense, is a glorious victory that can be sung and wept, but it is presented by Guan H as a dark and depressing defeat.
On this point, there are many analytical articles, which will not be expanded here.
In short, in the face of the air superiority of the US military, the volunteer army could neither effectively counterattack nor skillfully conceal it, but could only rely on taking endless human lives to pile up. But Guan H is clearly hinting in the film that in the face of the attack of the US military's napalm bombs and bombshells, it is pointless to pile up human lives.
Therefore, there is only one logical conclusion, that is, the US military raised its noble hand and let us go.
No wonder some viewers say that "Jin" is to smear the volunteer army, and "Eight" is to depict the Red National Army.
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In "Eight" and "Gold", a white horse appears very suddenly.
What kind of symbol or image is the white horse?
In "Eight", the white horse is undoubtedly the shadow of the Soldiers of the Chinese Army in the Sihang Warehouse. Baima once rushed out of the Sihang warehouse in the chaos, ran onto the new garbage bridge leading to the concession, and could enter the safe zone with only one step, but it turned around and returned to the Sihang warehouse, which symbolized the spirit of the national army willing to take the initiative to sacrifice for the country.
For this white horse, Liang Jing, the producer of "Eight", explained to the media that the white horse represents the spirit of the Chinese nation, "several times down and several times to stand up, a bit like our nation, experienced various setbacks and tribulations up and down the past five thousand years, but finally rely on the spirit of Chinese, today standing among the world's great powers."
The white horse eventually became the mount attached to Xie Jinyuan, and the meaning was also clear: the national army was the bearer of the spirit of the Chinese nation and the destiny of the nation.
In "Jin", the volunteer company commander played by Deng Chao also rode a white horse very ostentatiously when he appeared, which is a volunteer image that has not been seen in historical photos or documentaries.
Undoubtedly, here, the white horse is also a symbol, what does it symbolize?
In the bombardment of the US howitzer, Deng Chao rolled off his horse, and the white horse hissed, and the dust disappeared.
Does this symbolize that U.S. artillery fire gives the "cannon fodder" a chance to regain their freedom?
Is this a metaphor for the loss of the national spirit after being shelled by the US military, and even the soul is scattered?
Perhaps, only tube H can answer.
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"Eight" and "Gold", the most brilliant place is at the end.
In "Eight", the camera gradually rises from the four-line warehouse that still emits smoke of gunfire, and the illusion of Lujiazui in Pudong, which is full of skyscrapers on the skyline.
The moral of this shot could not be clearer - Shanghai's prosperity today is all bought by the soldiers of the Nationalist Army who threw their heads and spilled their blood.
In "Gold", Guan H used a lot of shocking and quite realistic shots to show the casualties and sacrifices of the volunteers, but the significance of this war was like gold, and did not use any lens to explain.
On the contrary, after the end of the film, the end of the film is directly inserted into the honor guard to welcome the remains of volunteers found in South Korea to return home.
What is the impression of this arrangement to the audience?
Apart from death, the war was meaningless except for the fact that many young volunteer soldiers were buried in foreign lands. Isn't it?
06
The devil is in the details. Indeed, I saw the devil in the details.