On the Japanese film "Wangxiang" (Published in People's Daily on November 8, 1978)

Author: Zhao Wenying

Recently, the three Japanese color films "The Hunt," "Wangxiang," and "The Fox's Story," which were released at the "Japan Film Week" held in China, aroused strong repercussions among the broad audience and aroused extensive discussion. This shows the friendly feelings between the Chinese and the Japanese people, and shows that the Chinese people sincerely hope to further enhance their understanding of this friendly neighbor with whom we have a history of exchanges for more than two thousand years; it also shows that these three films do have their own special achievements in ideology and art, and many places are worthy of study and reference by our filmmakers.

In these three films, the one that caused a strong response among the audience and had a different understanding was "Wangxiang". Because of my work, I have paid attention to the audience's reaction. Once after watching "Wangxiang", I heard several viewers talking about it. A young comrade said: "At present, we are studying advanced foreign technology, thinking that the technologically advanced capitalist countries eat, wear, live, and use well. A middle-aged viewer said: "Watching "Wangxiang" has made us understand the other side of Japanese life." In contrast, the socialist system is still good. Another female audience member said: "Capitalist society does not treat women as human beings, and after watching this film, I love the socialist system even more." At the same time, some people are worried that playing such a film will lead young people to the evil road. These reflections raise the question of how we should view literary and artistic works such as Wangxiang.

First of all, we should affirm that the film "Wangxiang" has a certain positive significance for our vast audience. The tragic experience of Azaki, a poor woman who was tricked into selling herself as a prostitute in Nanyang, reflects an aspect of Japanese social life at the beginning of this century. The film depicts the life of a prostitute, but it shows an extremely serious theme, that is, through the tragic experience of a group of "Nanyang sisters", it attacks the social system that caused this irrational phenomenon. The film depicts the Japanese bourgeoisie from the beginning of this century to the 1930s (from the last years of the Japanese shogunate to the early Showa period), accumulating capital by any means, including the bloody method of trafficking women to Nanyang, in order to obtain a large amount of foreign exchange, so that it can squeeze into the ranks of the modern capitalist powers. With vivid artistic images, the film answers the real reasons for the misfortune of poor women like Azaki, thus arousing the hatred of the capitalist system by the broad audience and the deep sympathy for the oppressed and exploited working people, especially the insulted and damaged working women. While watching the film, we noticed that many people shed tears of sympathy for Azaki's unfortunate life. When people see Azaki, whose face is covered with wrinkles carved by the wind and frost of life, talking to Keiko Mitani about her life that has been trampled on and discriminated against for more than half a century, who can not be deeply moved? Azaki has had her own childhood, her own youth, and her own beautiful ideals.... But the man's cannibalistic society left her with only the accumulated scars that could never be cured. Especially in the most precious youth of her life, she was forced to live in Nanyang and became a prostitute who was humiliated and persecuted. She also fervently hoped to break free of the cage and jump out of the sea of suffering as soon as possible. But what is even more tragic is that in that society, in order to achieve this goal, there is no other way but to trample and mutilate oneself more desperately. The only sprout of love and hope that had ever grown in her traumatic soul, the hope that Ah Xiu, who was also from a poor background with her, would one day rescue her, and was soon completely destroyed by a fierce wind and waves. When she had endured more than ten years of suffering, thirty years old, and finally returned to her motherland and family, which she had missed for a long time and had contributed to her own humiliation and suffering, there was nothing but snub and discrimination waiting for her. This situation did not change until the end of her seventies. This story is true and moving, and our audience can fully understand it, because we have had a dark society like Aki in the past. In that society, some Chinese women did not suffer better than Aki. It is precisely because they hate that dark society that we proletarian revolutionaries of the older generation have resolutely risen up, shed blood and sacrifice, and used revolutionary means to completely destroy the evil old society and create a new China. Now that we have watched the movie "Wangxiang", we have not only strengthened the exchange of ideas between us and the Japanese people, but also felt the preciousness of our new society even more, and strengthened our determination and confidence in defending our new society and building our new society into a better and richer society.

"Wangxiang" is also creative in artistic expression. However, there are also some areas that give rise to different opinions. For example, the scene of Aki being insulted in the brothel of Sandakan and the extreme change in her life style are depicted in the film more nude, so it has been suggested that the screening of "Wangxiang" should lead the youth there? This is a question that should be seriously considered and answered. I don't think that the depictions of brothel life in the film should be based on superficial phenomena, but should be carefully analyzed whether they help to reveal the essence of things or hinder the disclosure of the essence of things; whether they are good for the audience or poison the audience. The fact is that after watching it, the vast majority of the audience, in terms of thought and feelings, more sympathy for Azaki's tragic experience, and more hatred for the dark and cruel society in which she lived, did not have the opposite effect. For the author has exposed these scenes as evil facts in a sinful society through proper arrangement. So the audience only hates the social environment when they see it, but sympathizes with the victim. Even those actions of Azaki who were forced to take the initiative to solicit customers, the audience will not blame her for being frivolous, but only feel that she is unfortunate and pitiful. Of course, according to the specific situation of our country, our films do not necessarily adopt this method of expression. But for others, it is also beneficial for us to look at such works. Even if there are some side effects, they can be solved through education and guidance, and improve the analytical and critical ability of the masses. Simply denying and rejecting it is not a serious attitude, nor is it conducive to broadening our horizons.

With the development of cultural exchanges between countries, there will be and will be more contact with literary and artistic works such as "Wangxiang" in the future. Is it forbidden for young people to touch it, or is it appropriately instructed to allow young people to understand such works correctly? This could also take two different approaches.

One is to ban it, simply not to let people touch it. Chairman Mao has long criticized that the policy of confinement is a dangerous policy, and it can lead people to decline in their thinking, to fight alone, not to see the world, and not to sing against the stage. What good does this have for our socialism?

Another method is to resolutely implement Chairman Mao's revolutionary line and let the broad masses of the people know the truth in the course of struggle. Chairman Mao said: "Without understanding idealism and metaphysics, without fighting against these negative things, your materialism and dialectics are not consolidated." The shortcoming of some of our Communists, the intellectuals of the Communist Party, is precisely that they know too little about the opposite. After reading a few of Marx's books, I followed them and said them more monotonously. Speaking, writing articles, lack of persuasion. If you don't study something negative, you can't refute it. This was not the case with Marx, Engels, and Lenin. They strive to study and study all sorts of things contemporary and historical, and teach people to do the same. ("Speech at the Meeting of Party Secretaries of Provinces, Municipalities and Autonomous Regions") Let our young people know more about the suffering of the working people in the old society, know more about the situation of the broad masses of working people in the world, and use literary and artistic works to educate young people class.

During the period when Lin Biao and the "Gang of Four" were pursuing the revisionist line of false left and true right and implementing the policy of confinement, the vast number of film workers and audiences in our country were deprived of the opportunity to appreciate and learn from excellent foreign films. Now that the "Gang of Four" has been overthrown, the Party Central Committee headed by Chairman Hua has opened up for us a broad field to learn from all the good things of foreign countries. In order to truly learn what is useful to us from a foreign country, we must completely break the spiritual shackles imposed on us by Lin Biao and the "Gang of Four" and truly "emancipate our minds a little more and be bolder", so that we can truly achieve the desired results. Everything must be divided into two, and many good things often have bad side effects. If you refuse to accept good things because you are afraid of side effects, you will lose the big because of small things.

Of course, we advocate learning from foreign advanced things, and we do not mean that everything must be done accordingly. For example, film, our country has our own excellent traditions, our audiences have their own special hobbies, and our party has a correct literary and artistic line, principles and policies. We must constantly carry forward the excellent traditions of our country and create excellent works that are popular with our people and have Chinese style and Chinese courage to meet the needs of the broad masses of the people.

We are holding the "Japan Film Week" this time, of course, to celebrate the official entry into force of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship, but at the same time, it should also become a step for Our filmmakers and film audiences to open their eyes and learn from all the good things worth learning from foreign countries.