Film Review Revolutionary: Towards The Bright And Embracing The Bright

By Hong Xiaowen

How will the revolutionaries go to the light?

As the earliest disseminator of Marxism in China and the pioneer of Chinese Communist movement, Li Dazhao returned from Japan in 1916 to participate in the new culture movement. From 1922 to 1926, Li Dazhao went to the grassroots level of China to carry out extensive social activities, and devoted himself to spreading Marxism until April 28, 1927, when he died for the revolution. During this period, the revolutionary journey of more than ten years has been well known by generations of Chinese people. The film revolutionary focuses on the last 38 hours of Li Dazhao's life. The tense and heavy countdown on the screen makes the story more solemn and solemn.

In the past, biographical films often review the important experiences of the protagonists from small to large in chronological order, and directly reflect the growth and fate of the characters. This film, on the other hand, uses non-linear narrative techniques to break the time axis structure, and takes Li Dazhao's personal emotional logic as a clue to restore the glorious and heroic life of the revolutionary pioneer. Therefore, we will find that compared with other biographical films, this film is more lyrical. With the continuous switching of Li Dazhao's personal experiences and memories in prison, the film presents the story of Li Dazhao's participation in the revolution from 1916 to 1927 in jump fragments. As director Xu zhanxiong said, this is more like an epic film than a simple record of historical facts.

In order to make the film more epic, the screenwriter also set up a lot of poetic monologues. The sentence patterns are sonorous and powerful, and the words are eloquent. For example, Li Dazhao's inner monologue in prison, "I rebelled from the darkness, but I don't belong to the bright land in the future. My foot is at the confluence of darkness and light, and maybe one day the darkness will devour me. But for the people, for you to go to the light, embrace the light. I, I am willing to face the darkness, because I believe that one day the sun will cover the whole land of China, and I firmly believe This kind of language design not only embodies Li Dazhao's immortal idealistic spirit before his death, but also fits in well with the high literary quality of this outstanding thinker in modern Chinese history, so that the ordinary audience can cross time and space and form a strong emotional resonance with the historical figures in the film.

It can be said that this is a revolutionary film with classic materials and atypical shooting techniques. Different from many revolutionary films that tell stories of heroes from the perspective of contemporary observers, the revolutionary restores Li Dazhao in the eyes of his wife, children, revolutionary colleagues, students, representatives of workers in various industries and ordinary people from the perspective of contemporaries. He is a husband who works hard to get home all the year round. He is the father of a child's model, a revolutionary leader standing at the forefront, a teacher who tirelessly preaches and dispels doubts, an organizer of the mighty workers' movement, and an awakened person who is committed to protecting the common people from the wind and rain. Through the intersection of various characters and Li Dazhao, the film makes the image of this firm Marxist on the screen more solid and full.

In addition to lyrical dialogue and editing, music has also become a driving force for empathy between the audience and the characters“ Innnard, it must be realized The famous song "Internationale" of the international communist movement runs through the whole film. The film makes a brand-new use of this song, which is familiar to the audience. In different plot scenes, through symphony, piano solo, solo, chorus, children's chorus and other different forms, the immortality of the revolutionary cause and the tragic fate of the characters are displayed incisively and vividly. For example, Li Dazhao, in prison, looks at the light coming in from the small window. He is lonely but calm and sings the tune of the international song; Li Dazhao skillfully played the piano version of the song when he entertained several Peking University students who came to ask questions at home; Li Dazhao went to the execution ground calmly, and a group of revolutionary figures sang the international song before his death. From soloists to group duets, and then to chorus, the clever use of the background music style in the film is a metaphor for the development of China's communist movement from a spark to a prairie fire.

The film begins with a compassionate and low-key electronic version of "Internationale" and ends in a vigorous chorus of children's voices. At the end of the film, 11-year-old Li Dazhao waved goodbye to his friends outside the window on the starting train. "Goodbye, I'm going to the distance!" This is Li Dazhao in his childhood, as well as thousands of Chinese teenagers inspired and inspired by Li Dazhao's thoughts to embark on the revolutionary road. The end of Li Dazhao's life is not personal sacrifice, but China's new vitality. I think the reason why the director didn't let the film end abruptly in the scene of Li Dazhao's death, but flashback the scene of his 11 year old journey. Maybe it is because Li Dazhao has given the kindled revolutionary fire to the hands of a new generation of young people, and a new story begins.

Youth always comes, but there are always young people. Revolutionaries are always young“ I wish my dear youth to be born and die of youth. "