Director Xie Jin is very familiar to everyone, especially to long-time fans. People like to talk about Xie Jin’s most famous film, “Hibiscus Town”, as if it is basically the equivalent of Xie Jin’s own style, a style that has been embraced by some newer fans. The reason for this may stem from the spirit of rebellion, or from the history that is often overtold but not mentioned.
However, you may not get a fuller picture of director Xie Jin with only one film, but to get a complete picture of this director who hovers between the third and fourth generations, you need to at least look at his trilogy of reflections. With these three films, it may seem more comprehensive than if you were to rely solely on this one, “Hibiscus Town”.
I’ve talked about “The Shepherd” before, but today I’d like to recommend “The Legend of Tianyunshan”, which is also the opening film of Xie Jin’s “Reflection Trilogy”.
The Legend of Tianyunshan focuses on the perspective of a determined senior who was misclassified in a particular era. From his story, we, as the younger generation, can see or learn something about his spirit and beliefs.
Because of the history, this senior was wrongly beaten down, but during the harsh criticism, he did not stop his creation, did not become depressed, but continued to stick to the front line, and then silently endured all this, but never gave up his ideal beliefs.
If we are to sum up this work with a strong sense of history, faith is the core throughout. At the same time, faith is also the main core of director Xie Jin’s trilogy of reflections. We can compare these three films. Then we can understand director Xie Jin’s good intentions very well.
The Legend of Tianyunshan is the first film, and this film is also the first step of Xie Jin’s reflection on historical events. How to take this step is obviously a difficult problem, so his opening title is conservative and radical at the same time.
We can see that the story of Luo Qun’s experience is often told through a third person, rather than directly through Luo Qun to portray the suffering he went through. This kind of indirect narration adds a certain degree of objectivity, while at the same time not selling out.
However, the narrative is inherently risky, and the joy of victory can gradually overwhelm the objective and calm mind of the audience, so after the very aggressive narration of Luo Qun’s time, director Xie Jin focused on the establishment of values during the construction period. The following work, The Horse Shepherd, is a direct expression of this creative viewpoint.
Rather than depicting the experiences of that period, The Horse Shepherd focuses mostly on how to maintain an advanced faith in the face of the temptations of material life during the construction period. The core of that film has gradually shifted to the construction period, and the story of the special period is only skimmed over, and under the premise of certain suffering, it highlights revolutionary friendship as a way to resolve the suffering. Compared to the “Legend of Tianyunshan”, this is a change.
In this way, “The Legend of Tianyunshan” is a history of both suffering and hope, while “The Shepherd” focuses on construction.
Hibiscus Town, on the other hand, is a work that fully reveals the suffering. If The Legend of Tianyun Mountain is a complete big concept work with a beginning and an end, then the last two can be considered as subdivisions. Hibiscus Town speaks of the beginning, while The Shepherd speaks of the end. Therefore, the trilogy of reflections would seem more complete.
However, what is consistent throughout the trilogy is faith, which is the faith of a political party, the faith of a country and the faith of a nation. The Chinese have always had a pioneering spirit and are not afraid of sacrifice and suffering. This is because the Chinese believe that the immediate hardships are only temporary, that they will always pass, and that when these hardships pass, a new life will come.
If the Chinese people did not have this spirit, the New China would not have been established and the achievements we have made over the decades would not have happened. In The Shepherd, when the country is in a period of construction, when the overseas Chinese father, a symbol of wealth and material life, travels thousands of miles to find his family.
As an ordinary, blamed national, he did not leave his country and run toward wealth and material goods. On the contrary, he kept the basic belief of a national that the present difficulties would not last forever and that we would one day usher in our own glory.
In “Hibiscus Town”, in the face of harsh trials and tribulations, the couple in distress did not give up hope of survival, even if they had to live like dogs, they were never willing to die like this. Because they believe that this country will always have a better life. The hardships before them will pass, and the sun will always shine in, which no one can stop.
In this film, it is even more obvious that no matter how much suffering one goes through, one must always persevere in what is right, no matter how harshly one may be criticized for persevering, perseverance is perseverance. It has been proven that what is right is right and what is wrong is wrong. There will always be a day when the clouds will be cleared.
Looking back at those years, whether it was a time of war or a time of turmoil, there was always no shortage of adherents in our country. It is often said that faith is a kind of flux, but because of these beliefs, we can always see the direction and believe that good things will always happen.
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