The film The Story of Qiu Ju is adapted from Chen Yuanbin's novel The Lawsuit of Thousands of Families. It was released as early as August 3 1 day 1992, and it has been 26 years since then. Although it has a long history, it still shines and never fades. It is a shocking masterpiece directed by Zhang Yimou. The story mainly revolves around the story of rural woman Qiu Ju against the old village head. When Qiu Ju's husband had an argument, the old village head accidentally kicked the man in the key, but did not apologize to the injured party. Qiu Ju started a long lawsuit in order to get a statement. From the county seat to the city and then to the court, I experienced many difficulties. Finally, the village head was taken away by the police. Qiu Ju didn't get what she wanted from beginning to end, and there was a sharp contradiction between human feelings and law.
From the story alone, this is indeed a realistic drama. This drama is set in the countryside, with the rural people as the protagonist, which is more close to the people and easy to resonate with the audience. The story arrangement design is particularly eye-catching, with reasonable contradictions and no embarrassment. The whole story has a compact plot and a desire to watch movies. The theme of the story is not imaginative, but it is also the epitome of social reality and has certain persuasiveness. So the success of the film has a lot to do with the selection of materials.
Director Zhang Yimou has always been good at using colors. Whether it's Red Sorghum with strong colors before or Shadow of Chinese Style which just won the grand prize, director Zhang Yimou's talent and sensitivity to art are fully displayed, and you never need to question him on the movie screen. His works have won the Best Photography Award for many times. In the film The Story of Qiu Ju, Zhang Yimou widened the visual lens, and almost the whole film was shot with a long lens. Whether it is the depiction of Qiu Ju's difficult litigation road, the handling of crowded and noisy rural markets, or the depiction of the gap between rural areas and cities, it is almost perfect, showing the unique style of rural areas, paying more attention to the costume modeling of characters, with large cotton-padded clothes and headscarves as the most eye-catching, and restoring the rural environment more truly.
By depicting Qiu Ju's complaints, Zhang Yimou showed the desire of rural people to protect themselves. However, the cost of her complaint should not be underestimated, just protect her rights and interests. But it is not difficult to find that Qiu Ju's understanding of the law is not complete. Qiu Ju just wants a statement, but the law doesn't talk about it, only tells the facts. The law always overwhelms feelings, so that in the end Qiu Ju is unhappy, anxious and confused. The fact that Qiuju gave birth to a child and the village chief asked for help praised the simplicity and simplicity of farmers and the kindness and warmth of human nature, which finally created Qiuju's ambivalence towards human feelings and law.
As a "public servant", the village head was taken away by the police, which embodies the unchangeable theory that everyone is equal before the law. As a representative of the new countryside, Qiu Ju dares to confront powerful people, provided that she must use legal weapons to safeguard her rights and interests. Qiu Ju's persistence and tenacity in the film is also a place to impress the audience, and it is also a good spirit to praise the perseverance of farmers.
As the heroine, Gong Li is also a key figure in this film. Her appearance is undoubtedly a major factor in the success of this film. A beautiful woman was born and raised as a rural woman. She is unpretentious and impatient, showing the rural temperament with her gestures. Especially as a pregnant woman, she staggered in the smooth snow and sat in a bumpy tricycle, which accurately interpreted the facial expressions and movements that a pregnant woman should have, so that she could not play at all, and it was even difficult to connect with the brilliant and beautiful image before.
The film The Story of Qiu Ju is a classic. The theme of this film is still useful today. I have to praise director Zhang Yimou for his extraordinary strength and influence, and at the same time, he has made contributions to the cause of popularizing law.