I glanced at the novel, but my eyes were different.

(novel)

/0 1- author /y/03- Yang _ j/ Yang _ jiang.htm

I have seen this film.

Title: Bathing

Director: JASON ZHANG

Screenwriters: JASON ZHANG, Liu Fendou and Huo Xin.

Starring: Zhu Xu, Pu Cunxin and Wu Jiang

Photography: Zhang Jian

Produced by Xi 'an Film Studio Yima Film Technology Co., Ltd.

Production time: 1999

Awards:

Best feature film award of the jury of the 24th Toronto International Film Festival in Canada.

Best Director Award at the 43rd San Sebastian International Film Festival in Spain

Introduction:

Lao Liu, who has been running the "clear water pool" in the bathhouse all his life, was widowed in his early years and had two sons under his knees. Daming, the eldest son, has been away from home for many years because of dissatisfaction with the status quo. Only Erming, the younger son with low IQ, stayed with Lao Liu to help look after the bathhouse business. Because there are old customers for many years, a group of old people who are used to bathing have reserved some joy and vitality for the clean pool.

One day, Daming suddenly came back from Shenzhen. It turned out that a photo of Er Ming made Daming mistakenly think that his father had died of illness. In the face of his dying old father, his foolish brother and this shabby bathhouse, Daming has no intention of staying long, so he is ready to return after a little settlement. Just when he went to buy a plane ticket, he accidentally lost Er Ming. Lao Liu is in a hurry. Fortunately, Er Ming found his own bathhouse the next day. Daming felt guilty and began to change his attitude. One rainy night, after Daming helped his father repair the leaking roof, his father fell ill. Daming decided to stay and take care of it. It was from this time that Daming really began to get in touch with his father. He worked all his life before he began to understand his father. It seems that Daming has not paid attention to his father and this family for almost forty years.

Finally, Lao Liu received the final notice of demolition, but he decided not to separate from the clear water pool. At this moment, Daming seemed to realize something, but at this moment, Liu suddenly passed away. Daming realized the responsibility on his shoulders and decided to take Erming and start looking for a new life.

Artistic interpretation:

This contemporary urban life ethics film, created by the sixth generation directors, caused quite a stir in that year. The vivid characters, wonderful stories and relaxed and humorous language make the audience laugh and have a deep thought. It can be said that this is a rare good film.

First of all, there are rich cultural connotations behind the seemingly simple story. The beginning of the film is a demonstration of modern bathing machine, and the programmed operation saves time and effort. This is in sharp contrast with the old bathhouse in later films. In addition to the different ways, it is more important to have different ideas. Many viewers think that the film is mainly about the conflict between father and son. In fact, it is also the conflict between new and old, tradition and innovation. In the face of the rapid development of modern social economy, groups of young people have gone out to find their own positioning and ideals, and their desire for the vast world outside has urged them. Daming in the film is a typical representative of these people who go out to look for their ideals. They are full of confidence in change. However, the older generation felt uneasy and afraid in the face of sudden changes: not only did Lao Liu stick to the bathhouse to show his support for traditional culture, but so did the old men who were used to bathing. There is such a common conversation in the movie, but it contains many meanings: an old man raised his worry about another old man: "I don't know if I am used to living in the community in the future. Is there such a bathhouse for us to take a good bath?"

In addition to the performance of the conflict between the old and the new, we can also see the director's thinking about "water is the source of life", the complexity of social changes, and the relationship between the survival of individual life and the survival of a creature.

Secondly, in artistic conception, bathing has its uniqueness. First of all, the director cleverly embeds two paragraphs that seem to have nothing to do with the theme of the film: two paragraphs about the northern Shaanxi Plain and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. However, it is undeniable that whether it is "wedding bath" or looking for a sacred lake, it will further highlight the profound theme that the film needs to express and raise the film to a higher level. Secondly, in the character setting, the director boldly created the low IQ character of Er Ming. Er Ming is a very lovely fool. With his father's care and education, he can help his father manage the normal affairs of the bathhouse. He and his father run, compete and play happily in the bathhouse. He likes listening to my sun. He knows how to draw a beautiful picture for him when he misses his brother. Friends who have seen movies will be moved by his kindness and simplicity. This is exactly what the director wants to call the most precious thing. Like the elder brother in Rain Man, George in the Eighth Day and Forrest Gump in Forrest Gump, Er Ming is destined to become a typical image in China's film history. Other characters, such as the couple who often quarrel until they are about to divorce; The fat guy who has a slight mental disorder and can only sing "My Sun" in Italian when taking a shower; The girl from northern Shaanxi, who is about to get married, sends meals to her family to "get married and take a bath"; Following grandma to find the little girl who almost broke her leg in the legendary holy lake added a lot of color to the film. In addition, the director vividly and accurately showed the details of cricket fighting, chess playing, tea tasting, cupping and yangko.

Finally, let's talk about the lens language of the film. The director rarely uses close-ups and close-ups in this film, but organically combines panoramic view and middle view, and the interaction between straight-angle shooting and overhead shooting provides a space for the audience to show the real life, and sometimes takes the audience into life and truly feels life; Sometimes it leads the audience out of life and objectively judges life. In addition, the director also used the method of differential focusing to distinguish the person who is the theme in the film from the person who is the northern background, and achieved a good expression effect. Musically, my sun appeared six times, which became a signal to deepen the theme. At the end of the film, Er Ming stood in the bathhouse he knew and loved, and sang My Sun, an old elegy and a new hymn.

Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why some people say that this film, whether rich and profound ideological connotation or mature film techniques, seems to be far beyond the actual age of director JASON ZHANG.