Thoughts after watching "Let the Bullets Fly"
Goose, in some places, is another name for "idiot". There is a profound meaning in naming the place where the story takes place in the movie "Goose City" , the allusion of "If you are stupid, money will come quickly" probably comes from "Goose City", ha.
The appearance and essence of the identity of the characters in the movie are inverted. The county magistrate, that is, the chief executive, represents fairness and justice, which is supposed to be fair and just. In fact, the real purpose of the official is to make money. Money has nothing to do with fairness and justice; the squire, who was supposed to be a citizen managed by the county magistrate, is actually a bully who actually manages the county magistrate and the people in the city; the bandit, who should be the representative of evil, turns out to be a robber. No money is needed for righteousness. It can be seen that in some special periods, the traditional appearance of identity and its inner essence can be very different. Certain special periods refer to the Beiyang period mentioned in the movie. It was a chaotic time at that time, but now it is a peaceful and prosperous era. Of course not. So now, leaders are leaders, public servants are public servants, dignitaries are dignitaries, and criminals are criminals. There is no need to buy officials, no need to make money, there are no thieves, and there is justice everywhere in the world.
In this place, Goose City, because basically everyone in the city is a goose, and it coincides with troubled times, so the county magistrate is evil, the squires are evil, and the people are cowardly and allowed to be slaughtered. , the county magistrate and the squires legally make money from the people under the banner of justice, suppress bandits and charity to help the people in the disaster-stricken areas, etc. The so-called supervision still falls in the hands of the county magistrate and the squires. If the people do not support it, they will They say that you are a backward member of the masses. If you raise any questions, they will say that you are spreading rumors and seeking subversion. If you are arrested and sentenced to ten or eight years, you will not be able to receive an award from the outer city. If the outer city criticizes you, you will be called a goose. The city's own internal affairs, so do you think the Goose City is really full of geese or are they all scared into geese?
Everyone knows what justice is and what fairness is, but what's the use of just knowing it? Goose We will not sacrifice ourselves for the justice and fairness of other geese, so when our own fairness and justice are violated, we should not expect other geese to come forward. This is a fact, and this fact has also become the evil county magistrate. The motivation for evil squires to do evil is that when the county magistrates and squires collude, a single goose is a weak individual, especially when the geese form a habit of "sweeping the snow in front of the door", the county magistrates and squires will no longer No matter how evil you do, you can do it without any scruples. Unless, unless Zhang Muzhi comes out. Of course Zhang Muzhi is great, a thief, and even more a hero. Those geese, those geese that were not geese but were scared into geese, need someone like Zhang Muzhi, someone who can fire the first shot.
The root of Zhang Muzhi’s actions is his idealism. Fairness and justice are idealism. Fairness and justice become ideals precisely because they are rare. Being an idealist is of course very noble. , Not for money, not for fame, not for women. Maybe one day he will die and be splashed with dirty water by the conspirators. The truth will never be revealed. Zhang Muzhi won in the end, but his brothers were all gone, and the woman he liked also disappeared. He ran away with his brother. He won justice but lost everything. It was cruel, but this was indeed the fate of idealists. What's more, he left Goose City, so how much better will the next county magistrate and remaining squire in Goose City be compared to the previous one? The fate of Zhang Muzhi, a hero, is better than that of an ordinary goose. Being bullied, but having food to eat, clothes to wear, and being able to sleep with your wife at night, which one is happier?
This story once again tells us a truth: Silence against evil is the same as speaking out against evil. The acquiescence of evil is tantamount to being an accomplice of evil. If every goose in Goose City does not become an accomplice of evil, how can evil survive? If evil cannot survive, how can Goose City need a lonely hero like Zhang Muzhi? What's more, even if there is a heroic goose like Zhang Muzhi, Has the city really permanently solved the problem of evil?
Geese are afraid of being retaliated by evil, so they keep silent. So how can every goose keep silent about evil? If the county magistrate Is it elected by each goose? The vote is the goose's voice, and the power of recall and the power of impeachment are another voice of the geese. Speak like this without fear of retaliation.
Sir, think about it carefully, is this true? If all the geese are silent, will there still be evil in the world?
Jiang Wen is my first favorite film director from mainland China. I have strong tastes. There is no other way. I have been waiting for "Let the Bullets Fly" for about three years, and it took three years of foreplay. Yesterday, I had a 120-minute climax. Overall, I am quite satisfied. The music used is all from "The Sun Also Rises", which shows that the two movies are secretly connected. I like "The Sun Also Rises" very much. Jiang Wen's "The Japs Are Coming" and "The Sun Also Rises" will have a very lofty status in the history of Chinese films, godfather level.
Movies are good things, they effectively spread ideas. "Let the Bullets Fly" tells us in a very entertaining and very male way how to obtain fairness and justice and completely defeat evil forces.
That is: Don’t rely on heroes, rely on yourself.
Reflections on Let the Bullets Fly
"Let the Bullets Fly" is adapted from the chapter "The Thief of Officials" in Ma Shitu's novel "Ten Chapters of a Night Story". From the beginning of the movie, the protagonist yelled out the title "Let the Bullets Fly for a while," which seemed straightforward and exaggerated, but as I watched it, I saw the deeper meaning. The movie tells the story of Zhang Muzhi (played by Jiang Wen), a green forest bandit who commanded the mountains during the Beiyang period. He committed an earth-shattering train robbery and pretended to be the mayor of the town who died violently. He went to Echeng to get oil and water and was robbed to help. Zhang Muzhi's master, played by Lao Tang Ge You, is actually the newly appointed mayor. Ge You and the "mayor's wife" Carina Lau were robbed by the "horse bandit" Jiang Wen on the way. In order to survive, Ge You did not dare to reveal his true identity and pretended to be the dead Master Tang. The mayor's wife also became a "widow". While Jiang Wen coveted his wife's beauty, he led Ge You and his party to the town, where they battled wits and courage with the local tyrant Huang Silang, played by Chow Yun-fat. Huang Silang is not an ordinary character. He is rich, powerful, real and fake, strategic and ruthless. He also has a group of bully minions under his command. These have allowed him to dominate the Goose City and have successfully forced away many people. County magistrate. When two equally matched characters fight, there are bound to be casualties, and the process is bound to have ups and downs.
In addition to the novel and unique plot of the movie, the excellent production of the movie is also one of the reasons why I appreciate it. At the beginning of the movie, the bandits leapt out of the forest on horseback. The beautiful moving shots in the sun, coupled with the roar of the train, immediately gave off the unique atmosphere of modern China. The first few shots of a film can establish the style of the entire film. The first few shots of "Let the Bullets Fly" prove that it is extraordinary in terms of imagination.
Several horses pulled the locomotive galloping on the railway. Steam was still coming out of the locomotive. It turned out that the people in the car were eating hot pot. This reflects the film's unparalleled imagination. Imagination is creativity, the idea of ??cinema. Because I am a history major, I am particularly sensitive to the age of the film. I have complained about many period movies because of this, but the movie "Let the Bullets Fly" successfully created the feeling of the early Republic of China, which is real and has simple beauty. There is a section in the movie where Mazi, Shiye and Huang Silang sit together to discuss plans to suppress bandits. Several people have their own plans, but behind the curtain is the life and death of Huang Silang's three men. And the scene where Mazi asks Master Tang "What is a surprise?" seems like asking back and forth in one sentence, but it continuously advances and escalates the game between Mazi and Huang Silang. It is very exciting! The climax of the movie is when the two groups of people are in the forest. In the battle, there are only a few people, but it feels like there are thousands of troops. This is also the effect of the organic combination of vision and hearing. Ang Lee said that movies have several elements, including thoughts, emotions, luck, technology, and finally personality. "Let the Bullets Fly" not only combines several factors such as thoughts, feelings, luck, and technology, but the most important thing is personality, a kind of overbearing narcissistic self-confidence. It can be seen from Zhang Mazi, that is, Zhang Muzhi, that he can laugh at a character like him by lying on the knees of a beauty while drunk, beheading an enemy when he wakes up, holding a knife in his hand, and rejoicing in revenge.
The ending of the film is a bit melancholy. The brothers all have something to pursue. Zhang Muzhi was confused for a moment. I can see his reluctance. His godson Xiaoliuzi is no longer here, but now we get along day and night. The good brothers of life, death and sex are also leaving. Facing the sunset train, Zhang Muzhi must be thinking about his whereabouts.
As a child studying history, I also see something true.
In the film, Mazi, Master Tang and Huang Silang seem to be three unrelated people, but they are all inextricably linked. Several protagonists have mentioned 20 years ago, the age of 17 and the Revolution of 1911. All three men joined the revolution when they were 17 years old. Then Zhang Muzhi became a horse bandit, Lao Tang became an official cheat, and Huang Silang became a bully. Twenty years ago, these revolutionaries came together for different interests. Twenty years later, they reunited again for vested interests. On the other hand, under the environment at that time, under high pressure, exploitation and serious injustice, what the people showed was not resistance but cowardice. Everyone was afraid that if they stood up, they would be attacked. This was the anger of the great writer Lu Xun at that time. . But after people were convinced of victory, they rushed into Mr. Huang's house and robbed him. This behavior vividly reflected the quality of the Chinese people at that time. They were timid and selfish, but there was no other way. Even so, they had to work hard to redeem themselves. rather than giving up.
High-quality movies require sophisticated technology, relaxed plots, and popular yet meaningful ideas. Movies need these things, for example, the optimism and longing for tomorrow and the unchanging love for lovers and relatives in "Life is Beautiful"; the simple, desperate and all-embracing love in "Titanic"; the love for all in "Schindler's List" The compassion for the weak, the human concern that transcends national boundaries; the immortal hope for the future in "The Shawshank Redemption", the patience and calmness against injustice; etc., many films can become immortal because of the support of such an immortal soul. Classic! I think the reason why "Let the Bullets Fly" is favored by the audience is also inseparable from the sense of justice of the little person interpreted in the movie.
After watching "Let the Bullets Fly"
"Let the Bullets Fly" is an excellent film work directed by Jiang Wen in 2010. It is adapted from the novel "Night" by Sichuan writer Ma Shitu. The section "The Thief of Officials" in "Ten Records of Tan". His box office is very high, up to 700 million, which has become a box office peak in the history of Chinese movies. There is naturally a certain reason why the audience is so optimistic about this movie. Perhaps every audience understands something from it to a greater or lesser extent.
When I first saw the name, I was very attracted to it, and even made me wonder what kind of story "Let the Bullets Fly" was about. Full of curiosity, I went to the cinema to watch it. , this time the teacher played it again in class, and the feelings it brought to me these two times were different.
A few years ago, I watched "Let the Bullets Fly" for the first time. The first thing that attracted me was that after the gunshot, there was no reaction, "Missed?" "No, let the bullets fly for a while. !" The ratio of the questions made me understand that the title of the movie came from this. Although this scene passed by in a flash, it left a deep impression in my mind, not because of its humor, but because I felt that this concise and clear dialogue could be discussed. In my opinion, the reason why someone asks "missed?" is that he can't wait and is inevitably a little impatient in his mind. If we put it to ourselves, why not? Impatience, lack of calmness, and eagerness for success may be flaws exposed in our daily lives. They say that you can't eat hot tofu in a hurry. In many cases, it's not that you haven't done it, but that you still owe it. The fire requires you to wait patiently. Everything is ready, all you need is the east wind. When the time is right, things will be completed naturally. This is my first impression.
The second time I watched "Let the Bullets Fly" in class gave me a deeper understanding. The first time I felt it was just based on the superficial aspects of the movie's plot, and the second time I watched "Let the Bullets Fly" in class. The second time, on the basis that I was already familiar with the entire storyline of the movie, I felt something holistic.
First of all, let me talk about Jiang Wen. Jiang Wen's films are mostly well-received because he has unique taste and style in art. However, despite the packaging that he is an outstanding filmmaker, underneath he is a bloody person who always uses very meticulous and sensitive techniques. His perspective captures something that he feels can be brought up for everyone to talk about, as is the case with "Let the Bullets Fly." The core theme of this movie is actually human nature.
Furthermore, let’s discuss the characters in the play. Needless to say, the most important and core characters in the play are Master Tang played by Ge You, Zhang Muzhi played by Jiang Wen, and Huang Silang played by Chow Yun-fat. Huang Silang is a local tycoon who exploits the local people. He has no sympathy and no moral bottom line. Seriously, nothing is more important than money.
He doesn't care at all that his subordinates are doing some shady things under his nose. People are as light as feathers in his eyes, and he has no basic respect for everyone's human rights. Master Tang, when he was bribed by Huang Silang, helped Huang Silang do all the evil things, but his warm humanity and conscience were not completely buried. He was still willing to retain some favors and humanity when it was not absolutely necessary. Some compassion, seeing that the people still have some compassion among the living people in deep water, the word "grass on the wall" is vividly displayed in him. Zhang Muzhi, compared to the other two, is obviously a very kind character. Because it happened that the warlords were fighting, he became a bandit out of desperation, so he no longer used the name "Zhang Muzhi". No one would believe that a A bandit would use such an elegant name. The movie contains a sense of irony towards these so-called people. They only saw the coat of Zhang Muzhi as a gangster, but they did not know that he had a passionate love for the people.
When Zhang Muzhi went to the watchtower to find Huang Silang, a group of geese followed behind him. At first I thought this scene was just a joke, but then I thought about it. In the so-called Goose City, the geese are actually the people in the city. . This scene actually satirizes the people in Goose City who have no opinions of their own, blindly follow the crowd, and cannot distinguish right from wrong. The local tyrants and land tyrants do whatever they say without their own thinking process. This echoes the theme of the movie? Human nature. These "geese" don't understand what human nature is at all, let alone whether there is any human nature.
In my eyes, what Jiang Wen most wants everyone to understand through this film "Let the Bullets Fly" is that by using "Let the Bullets Fly" for a while, everyone should stop, wait, and think about it. , what is human nature, how to cultivate human nature, how to maintain the human heart and keep the original intention.
Reflections on Let the Bullets Fly
The gun has been fired, but the officials in the train are still drinking, singing and ignorant - because the bullets will still fly for a while. Such a scene that seems to be just funny can stimulate the audience's wild imagination: Behind the calm lies the power of pursuing justice, bullets are already flying in the sky, and the moment of carnival may come at any time. Lone heroes and local tyrants, collusion between government and businessmen and the power of capital, utilitarian mass politics and the battle of wits and courage between rationalism? A movie that lasts more than two hours seems to accommodate the so-called "long 20th century" from 1789 to today. All keywords.
At the same time, with its bloody murder scenes, sultry and sensual images, the suspense of a detective film, and the enlightening dialogue of a sophisticated art film, this film also uses many narrative elements from commercial films. , brilliant colors, exaggerated shots, hilarious lines, weird and changeable stories? These common movie temptation methods in the era of "silly music" can show extraordinary visuals in this movie. Conquering power.
Obviously, "Let the Bullets Fly" has created a refreshing new type of film after the commercialization of Chinese films: allegorical films. Through absurd performances, funny scenes and suspenseful plots, it shows the understanding and observation of the current social and political reality, which is the narrative charm of this kind of film. Directors have always defended the box office performance of their films, which means, "I also want to make art, and it must be great; but the audience doesn't like it, and there is no box office. There is no investment." It seems that the value connotation of commercial films can only be the silly music of "Laughing in the River" or the pretentiousness of "Love at the Hawthorn Tree". Zhao Benshan's arrogant remarks of "Kneel down if the ratings are the first" seem to make those who criticize entertainment culture speechless.
"Let the Bullets Fly" can easily integrate the connotation of social criticism and reflection with commercial entertainment measures, and can activate the audience's real-life associations and social experiences behind each plot. The wealthy gentry Huang Silang and the "bandit" Zhang Mazi sat on chairs, watching indifferently the agitated people hurriedly moving the Huang family's things; Huang Silang could not understand Zhang Mazi's purpose of risking to encourage people to carry out this revolution: in the end To kill himself for revenge or for his own money? He asked Zhang Mazi, which one is more important to you, "me" or "money"? Zhang Mazi told him: "Not having you is the most important to me.
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Obviously, Jiang Wen’s socialist utopian impulse creates the hidden meaning of this movie: to eliminate the hegemony of rogue capital and restore an equal social order for civilians; at the same time, Jiang Wen also plays a role in the movie It shows that he has always been self-righteous and elitist. Ordinary people are "helping whoever wins" and are a group of rabble driven by interests. Therefore, he can hold his head high and treat the "substitute" without hesitation. Hacked to death.
Here, we see that the meaning of "Let the Bullets Fly" cannot be explained and understood in the story constructed by the movie itself, but must go back to the scene of everyone's life. Imagination and interpretation. This is the typical feature of allegorical films, and even all allegorical works of art: no matter how absurd or deviant it is, it immediately becomes understandable as long as it is returned to the living conditions of real society. A story as clear as a fairy tale.
From this perspective, the success of the movie "Let the Bullets Fly" lies precisely in the hidden understanding of various social contradictions and contradictions in modern China behind its bizarre story. The desire to display anxiety and the urge to resolve it might as well be asked in reverse: if there was no serious polarization between rich and poor, if there was no rogue capital mechanism, if there was no anxiety about the lack of rights for ordinary people to survive, and if there was no conventional modern life. , how can we have the kind of colorful "political imagination" that Jiang Wen's movie can activate? Writer Jiang Fangzhou joked about "Let the Bullets Fly": "The cool thing about Jiang is that in this film, American fans can only see their hair. See Washington, the reformists see reform, the revolutionaries see revolution, the populists see populism, and the bastards see the savior? All factions like to hear it and feel that it speaks for themselves. ”
It can be said that the anxiety and pressure of real society have given people the possibility to weave stories in a fabled way; in turn, it is the ordinary people who are exposed to various contradictions and troubles that can Activate such rich political fantasy and interpretive enthusiasm in a funny movie.
Because of this, it is not difficult to understand why this "Let the Bullets Fly" brings people such joy. Reading joy: Through a kind of "violent pleasure" narrative, it brings secret pleasure to the audience. In the movie, Jiang Wen (Zhang Mazi) slammed the gun on the table and said, I just want to use this guy standing up. Money is made. So, clean elimination, hearty action, decisive handling in confusion, noble and calm revolutionary incitement? The title of the movie "Let the Bullets Fly" is already a metaphor for the aesthetics it provides. Type of pleasure: Nothing satisfies the audience more than a playful display of violence; at the same time, the movie also gives this violence a coat of moral appeal and realistic desires: eliminating the differences between rich and poor, Restoring a fair world.
To put it simply, behind the success of an allegorical film is the wonderful encoding of entertainment on real issues. The success of "Let the Bullets Fly" can also be understood as, The movie allows the mediocre and dissatisfied "grassroots" to imaginatively plunge into a violent carnival and pure utopian emotions.
Interestingly, "Let the Bullets Fly" is a commercial film and an art film. The successful operation of "The Movie" has pioneered the typical form of allegorical films. However, it is here that the film inadvertently exposes the cultural rifts in modern Chinese society, and entertainment has become a form that can imaginatively stitch these rifts. . From this perspective, "Let the Bullets Fly" is on the one hand an allegory of the contradictions in Chinese society; on the other hand, its success also constitutes an allegory of the state of China's entertainment culture: using entertainment to activate the passion for reality interpretation, and using happiness to to replace the possibility of realistic reflection. In other words, "Let the Bullets Fly" encircles people in the fortress of entertainment when it provides people with passionate discussions about political and social issues.
After watching the movie
The biggest winner of the 2011 Lunar New Year film is undoubtedly the Lunar New Year blockbuster "Let the Bullets Fly" directed by Jiang Wen. This film has attracted the attention of many viewers since its release, and its box office It finally ended successfully with 724 million, beating "Tangshan Earthquake" to become the box office champion of Chinese-language movies in the mainland.
"Let the Bullets Fly" mainly tells the story of a story that took place during the Beiyang period in Goose City in southern China. , a legendary story between bandits, liars and bullies.
This film has achieved such great success thanks to its perfect integration of actors' acting skills, artistic techniques, musical effects, shooting techniques and the profound themes of the story.
In terms of cast, the entire film can be described as a gathering of stars. There are many big and small stars participating in the performance of this movie. This alone is worthy of our attention. Especially being able to get three movie king-level figures to join the cast. Director Jiang Wen and the production team invited the legendary mainland Chinese film star Ge You. This is the first collaboration between Ge You and Jiang Wen, and it is a highlight of the film. In "Let the Bullets Fly", the actor who plays the role of Huang Silang, the top tyrant in the South China, is played by the top Chinese superstar Chow Yun-fat. The three male stars Jiang Wen, Ge You, and Chow Yun-fat are among the best and most powerful at the box office. The three heavyweight actors played the distinct personalities of the three main characters in the film vividly. Zhang Mazi, played by Jiang Wen, is a heroic hero who hates evil as much as he hates evil. He is not a bandit in the traditional sense, but more like the heroes in "Water Margin" who robbed the rich and gave to the poor. Ge You, who plays the fake master Ma Debang, played the role of a charlatan in a pitiful, hateful and cute way, giving full play to his comedy style and making the audience laugh. For the villain Wong Silang in this film, Chow Yun-fat gave him the domineering attitude of a big brother and performed the role of a bully to perfection.
In the 132-minute movie, there are endless wonderful scenes. Especially the large-scale head-on battles created a tense and exciting atmosphere throughout the movie. At the beginning of the movie, there is a relaxing scene. The real master, the real county magistrate, and the county magistrate's wife are riding in a horse-drawn train while eating hot pot and composing poems. The scene is harmonious and comfortable. It turns out that they took office happily. But at this moment, the whole scene changed. Bandits attacked, gunfire broke out, the train broke off the tracks, flew across the sky, and rushed directly into the water with a "bang?" The county magistrate, who was happy to take office, now became a hostage of bandits. The strong contrast between the two shots before and after makes the audience's entire mood rush directly from calmness to excitement, reaching the first point of excitement. After watching the beginning, maybe everyone's impression of Zhang Mazi is that he is a bandit, and they just regard Zhang Mazi as a gangster who steals money. But in subsequent movies, as the movie progresses, the understanding of the characters gradually deepens. Zhang Mazi, formerly known as Zhang Muzhi, once followed General Cai E, but was forced to become a bandit after the Beiyang War. Although he was the leader of the bandits, he was a hero with a sense of justice. What he robbed were all the property of profiteers and local tyrants. poor. The character Zhang Muzhi shows us the image of a Northern hero who lives in troubled times, but values ??love and justice, punishes evil and promotes good, and robs the rich and helps the poor. In the film, Zhang Mazi said a classic line in front of the people: I came to Goose City to do only three things, fairness, fairness, or fucking fairness. This classic line reflects the need for fairness in Goose City, and bullies like Huang Silang cannot be allowed to step on the bodies of ordinary people to seek money and power. In addition, it is also a cry for the need for fairness in our current society. The idea of ??fairness is reflected in our country's policies, insisting on "both efficiency and fairness." It makes sense for this film to revisit the concept of fairness. We must implement the idea of ??fairness into practice in real life so that fairness can benefit the people.