The new mainstream spy film "On the Cliff" was released on May Day this year, and the film's box office was finally fixed at more than 1.19 billion, telling the story of four Communist Agents who risked their lives to carry out the "Utra" mission. At the beginning of the film, the suspense of the enemy and enemy camp of the characters in the story is clearly and skillfully thrown to the audience, and more film language and film and television techniques are used to portray the emotions of the small characters in the play, so that the audience can better identify and resonate in the process of watching the movie.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="01" data-track="3" > the "little people" of "On the Cliff"</h1>
Although the film is a grand theme in the historical background, in order to restore the truth and shape the three-dimensional, four agents who perform the task are selected at one point, focusing the plot on small people, making civilian heroes the main body, and avoiding the common phenomenon of a thousand people in the grand theme. It is not difficult to see that Zhang Yimou has made multiple portrayals of small characters, thus narrowing the emotional distance between the audience and history.
"Little people" are within a grand historical framework
The director always places the "little people" under the grand historical background, and through the film we can look back at that period of history and recognize those people in history, and it is based on the influence of the historical background that the characters made such a choice. For example, Zhang Xianchen and Wang Yu, who are agents, have to abandon their children for their mission; because of their status as high-level undercover agents, Zhou Yi cannot show his own emotions too much when he sees his companions being tortured.
"Little people" are outside the grand historical framework
The heroes in the film are very different from the heroes in the film that used to be the main theme, they are no longer the "typical characters" under a perfectly standardized template. Within the grand historical framework, their faith decision determines their final choice, but they are also a couple, a couple, a flesh-and-blood "person", and they will hesitate because of their feelings when performing their tasks, which makes the character image more real, three-dimensional, and comprehensive, thus narrowing the distance between that distant history and the audience.
The "little people" are in the midst of a grand historical framework
The film incorporates many elements that become a bridge between the "little people" and history. History has shaped the "little people", and the "little people" have truly expressed that period of history.
First, the creation of environmental atmosphere. By describing the characteristics of Harbin's cold geographical environment, the film creates the solemn tension of the "Utra" action, and uses the dual channels of live-action shooting and post-production on the snow scene, (Figure 1-1) which shows the importance of snow in the film.
Figure 1-1 "On the Cliff" behind-the-scenes documentary
The "white" of the snow and the "black" of the clothes form a strong black and white contrast, and the thick snow is formed on the clothes, covering all the filth and trauma, and the invisible forms a sense of oppression in the emotions, shaping the inner tension of the characters and the severity of the exit. (Figure 1-2)
Figure 1-2 Screenshot of the stills of "On the Cliff"
Different from the cold blue tones, the "dawn light" at the end of the film brings warm tones to the picture, rendering the atmosphere of the picture through subjective tone control, expressing the change of the character's emotions from oppression to release, while alluding to the determination and hope of the revolutionaries to eventually win. (Figure 1-3)
Figure 1-3 Screenshot of the stills of "On the Cliff"
Second, the character arrangement setting. Zhang Xianchen and Wang Yu represent the patience and tacit understanding of the old Communist Party members, while Xiao Lan and Chu Liang represent the vitality and perseverance of the young Communist Party members. Separating two pairs of intimate people, so that the individual forms a small collective, but also a member of the large collective, they are all great heroes who give up their children's love and go to the great righteousness of the country, here not only describes the role as their own existence, but also exists for the country, a good interpretation of the people's attributes of communists. Each individual has a different symbol, Zhang Xianchen represents "family affection", "looking for children" is also his last wish; Xiaolan represents "love", she always misses Chu Liang; Wang Yu represents "hidden forbearance", after learning that her husband has sacrificed, she still pretends to be indifferent to the enemy; Chu Liang represents "sacrifice" and leaves the last bullet to himself in order to protect Zhou Yi.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="02" data-track="55" > the multiple narratives of "little people" in "On the Cliff"</h1>
The shaping of the "little people" in the historical structure of "On the Cliff" will inevitably present a pluralism of narratives, such a diversified narrative technique not only enriches the plot content, but also brings the audience a different audiovisual experience of the previous main theme films.
The narrative mode of "hidden and invisible"
The film is explained to be promoted by a group of four people, and the follow-up plot can also be seen that the four characters have made sacrifices and contributions for this mission, carrying forward the spirit of collectivism of the main theme rather than the dominant value of individual heroism. In terms of plot narrative, change the main theme of the film "preaching" form that separates the audience and the plot, carry out "hidden and invisible" implicit expression in the narrative, use multiple emotions to package the content that should be "preached", and there is love and family affection in addition to the film's home-country feelings and comradeship, and this multiple emotional expression is implicit and introverted.
Unconventional suspense settings
The film switches through multiple perspectives to set the suspense of the film, Zhou Yi's undercover identity is a suspense in the film, in the first half of the film, zhou Yi's identity was explained in advance, so that the audience obtained the perspective of God very early, and saw hope, bringing a strong sense of substitution and realism. But it is also because of this "hope" Zhou Yi who is caught in the crisis of his identity being exposed, so that the audience also feels the imminent despair.
A narrative of mood left blank everywhere
In the film, did the chief of the high section discover Zhou Yi's undercover identity? How will Zhou Yi choose his own fate? When Wang Yu sees her children, what will they face? "On the Cliff" does not give the audience a clear ending, nor does it directly explain the victory of the revolution, but takes the "dawn of expectation" as an open-ended ending, leaving behind the suspense of Oriental beauty, which not only makes the survivors in the film regain their courage, but also makes the viewers feel the difficulty of a good life.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="03" data-track="56" > the revelation of "little people" in historical themes</h1>
The film takes "small people" as the starting point, through the "small people" to narrow the audience and the sense of distance from history, Xiaolan is a metaphor for the new era of the director, she is the only person who may see the "dawn", she represents the youth of the new era, because with the protection of the predecessors with their lives, the new youth can see the "dawn". Similarly, we find that the metaphor of youth in the film is also a kind of care for the director's youth living in the present today, and the era that belongs to us is coming.
"On the Cliff" uses small people to support the macro historical structure, but the "small people" in the film have "big deeds". In the film, we see the living and free people represented by the four agents, the heroes who gave up their families and the private feelings of their children for the sake of the country's righteousness; the new mainstream spy war films not only opened up the unknown and dusty history, but also made the audience closer to these unsung heroes and close to that history, so that the audience walked into the film and also walked into that history.
Text/Wang Yuying
Editor/Xiao Yang
The pictures in this article are from the internet