tearjerker director

In an exclusive interview, Li Yi mentioned the ignorance and insensitivity of the younger generation towards modern history, especially that period of humiliation. After the show was broadcast, it also caused a lot of discussion.

Some people agree and some oppose, and naturally disputes arise.

However, it is undeniable that "Once Upon a Time" was successful.

Although it has not yet been released to the public, it has been screened on a large scale across the country. Since the number of screenings is relatively small, every venue is almost full.

Liu Fei wrote in the film review: "To a certain extent, "Once Upon a Time" is actually the main theme of martial arts. I wonder if you have noticed? Huang Feihong is also the only movie where the protagonist talks about truth without any sense of violation. . It’s obviously such a main theme, but there’s really no embarrassment at all.

Why is this happening?

In fact, although in recent years, movies with main themes have gathered together to harvest box office, but in fact, most of the time, most people still don't like movies where the protagonist talks about truths all the time.

It always feels preachy, but "Once Upon a Time" did not give me this feeling.

So let's analyze why this movie is so special?
At the beginning of the movie, the three characters "Huang Feihong" are boldly printed on the background of the sea, sky and rising sun. Master Huang leads the militia to practice on the beach.The blue sky is thousands of miles away, the rising sun is spreading, the red light is spreading, and the blue sea is rolling.The rich and colorful image complements every lyric of "A Man Should Strengthen Himself", and the spirit of "Heaven moves vigorously, a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement" almost pours out of the picture.

I can say that when I saw this scene in the movie, I personally had a feeling of "it's so good to be Chinese". The spirit of enthusiasm and masculine beauty in it can only be felt by Chinese people.This sense of pride will kill countless pretentious chicken movies and music slideshows now and for a long time to come.

In fact, "Once Upon a Time" itself is also a movie that puts old wine in a new bottle, but this movie is rare. It is about breakthroughs. It can be said that it breaks the traditional martial arts movies' happy hatred and petty spirit. From the beginning of the movie, and the Black Flag general Liu Yongfu's couplet of "high aspirations and soaring chivalry" and the freehand picture of the red sun on the seaside directly raise the level of forcefulness to a new level, full of grandeur.

From the opening scene, the theme of this movie has been established!

The majestic opening chapter set off the curtain of an exciting era.After truly entering the story, what touches my heart is the display of the ugliness of the Chinese people. "Once Upon a Time" has three villains, the American traffickers, the Shahe Gang, and the down-and-out martial artist Yan Zhendong.The foreign traffickers are powerful and Yan Zhendong has the force. However, the confrontation between the two and Master Huang is the Shahe Gang, which can be solved by Master Huang with one move.

This third-rate gang, composed entirely of rabble-rousers, took advantage of the troubled times of the late Qing Dynasty to bully the market and burn down Baozhilin. After being wanted, they turned to foreign traffickers and used them as bargaining chips to arrest and kidnap female workers. They asked the traffickers to frame Master Huang and hired Yan Zhendong as his The thugs involved him in the kidnapping and smuggling incident, and eventually died.From the beginning to the end, these people bullied and harmed the Chinese people.

The setting of the Shahe Gang is very old-fashioned, but it is very consistent with the historical background of that era. As the villains in the movie, the Shahe Gang can be said to be a group that truly makes all viewers have the same hatred and hatred.

Why?Because as early as ten or twenty years ago, many people had seen or endured their bullying to one degree or another.

Those shots showing the faces of everyone in the Shahe Gang are the most terrifying scenes in the movie.The pride and vulgarity when taking refuge with foreigners, the rudeness and greed when enjoying wine and meat, the collective ignorance when holding a musket, knowing how to use it at the cost of accidentally shooting an accomplice, instantly transformed into the arrogance and arrogance of fighting against others.Through these frivolous movements and ferocious expressions, you can completely feel the mental badness and morbidity.I couldn't help but gasp, even today, this is not uncommon.

What makes people angry but helpless is that originally, Master Huang could have solved this cancer long ago.When Master Huang subdued the Shahe Gang boss in the inn to extort protection money, if he could be sent to the Yamen, so many tragedies would not happen in the future.But after Master Huang captured the Shahe Gang boss, he had the following conversation with the people who were praising Wuyingjie: Dear fellow villagers, this man overcharged protection fees. I want to take him back to the Yamen. Please come with me. Become a witness.

The crowd dispersed.The innkeeper said: This big brother is really good at martial arts. He dares to jump from such a high place.

Master Huang: Boss, he forced you to buy the God of Wealth. Follow me to the Yamen to be a witness.

Boss: Be a witness?I don't want to be like the theater owner who was surprised all day long. You guys were competing in martial arts. I didn't see the fight, and I don't want to know about it.

This kind of conversation, this kind of scene, this kind of warmth and warmth in human relationships, and the indifference of the world, are they very familiar?Western powers invaded, and China under the rule of the late Qing Dynasty ceded its territory and lost power. The Chinese people were inferior to others, and monsters and monsters took the opportunity to make great fortunes in the country. However, these people were not completely innocent. They were timid, numb, and silent. They also committed evil, even in the late Qing Dynasty. Part of the decline.

The Shahe Gang burned down Baozhilin in revenge, but the only one willing to testify was a foreign priest.This is ironic, but it makes people sigh. This is probably reality.

Previously, Huang Feihong had no choice but to let the Shahe Gang boss go. On the way, he met a priest preaching and asked Jesus if he would testify for him. The priest was also speechless.But at least, he is willing. The foreigners in "Once Upon a Time" range from snobbish and sinister villains to pioneers who come to communicate with others. They are not all bad people.This is actually very rare, because we cannot deny that in that era, there were indeed some pioneers who truly adhered to communication!We cannot use one to cover it all.

"Once Upon a Time" is undoubtedly telling the story of a hero, but the hero's greatness lies in the existence of the masses.Perhaps the most powerful images in the movie are the faces of passers-by who are in charge of extras. Compared with the chivalrous warriors, officials and dignitaries, these melon-eating masses may be the incarnations of the ancestors of ordinary people like us.This is not to despise them, because to this day, we are not the same.

"The brave are angry and draw their swords at the stronger; the timid are angry and draw their swords at the weaker. Among hopeless nations, there must be many heroes who glare at children." What Mr. Zhou said at that time has come true to this day. . "

The main plot of the movie is the cracking of the piglet smuggling case, which reflects the history of blood and tears of Chinese laborers that was laid under the railway sleepers in the United States.The movie also sets up two characters to perform.One is an escaped uncle. When he tells Master Huang that the laborers were deceived by Jinshan Meng into signing a contract of sale, suffered mistreatment, and died in a foreign country, the film edited an empty shot of the sea at the beginning, and the surging symbol of the times instantly became the era. Merciless waves.The fake foreign devils who spread the Jinshan Dream on the streets to deceive the Chinese people are Chinese, and the Shahe Gang who finally killed this uncle are also Chinese.

The other is Master Huang's apprentice Yacasu.In the movie, he seems to be a funny character when he first appears, but after watching it, it is difficult to make people laugh.This man is a descendant of overseas Chinese workers. His Chinese is stammered, but he can recognize more Chinese characters than several of his native-born brothers. He studied Chinese medicine with Master Huang and saw his compatriots who were shot by muskets and died of serious injuries. He cut off his braids and wore trousers in anger. He put on a suit and planned to leave Baozhilin, but after the Chinese labor piglet trafficking incident was shattered, he returned to Baozhilin.This little man's struggle between Chinese and Western civilizations is no less than that of his master, and his identity confusion is even more poignant.It is these inconspicuous supporting roles and supporting characters that outline the suffering history of our nation and give the movie "Once Upon a Time" such a lovable spirit.

When a kung fu movie is set, its historical background and supporting characters have a complex sense of layering.The warriors as the protagonists are by no means just heroes with duality of good and evil. They can solve all problems with just one punch or kick. The warriors in "Once Upon a Time" all stand in the mist of steam and gunpowder as the east wind blows from the west, confused by their own martial arts.

The hero Yan Zhendong first came to Foshan to make a fortune in the world. He originally wanted to make a name for himself through his own abilities, but he found that the social loyalty at that time had been exhausted, and he began to accept the mercy of fate.

Kong has a lot of skills, can't even eat, and is laughed at by the prostitutes upstairs. In order to survive and make a name for himself, he starts to think about taking a better path.

Directly challenge the local "rich, handsome" Huang Feihong. Thinking about it, this trick can be regarded as "learning to have a child successfully in 21 days". It directly saves a lot of detours, and then joins the evil party "Shahe Gang" for the sake of his own nickname. Li started to do whatever it took, but was taught by Wong Fei-hung minute by minute. In the end, both his martial arts and moral character were defeated, his personality was completely humiliated, and he ended up being beaten into pieces by a new foreign gun.

In fact, he was also a self-respecting martial arts master at the beginning, but life turned him into the person he least wanted to be.

"The rivers and lakes are dangerous and must be guarded against." In fact, it is not referring to our current world, allowing us to go further and further on the road of "old rivers and lakes".

As the villain martial artist Yan Zhendong, Master Huang's biggest opponent in martial arts, he can hardly be regarded as a big devil.When he first arrived, he was eager to make a name for himself with his skills.His martial arts are also full of folk mythological iron cloth-shirt hard qigong, and sinister and ruthless martial arts moves.However, under the impact of the trend of the times, Yan Zhendong was displaced, and step by step he went from being in abjection and embarrassment to the point where he abandoned propriety and righteousness, and did not distinguish between loyalty and treachery.

After Master Huang won a small victory while taking others into consideration, Yan Zhendong's inner demons were deeply rooted in him. According to the plot, he was recruited by the Shahe Gang to play a role named Master, who is actually a thug. In order to quickly gain reputation and the first pot of gold, he was willing to Performing kung fu like a monkey in front of a bunch of scumbag gangsters, with inexplicable hatred, he stood in front of Master Huang who was going to save people.

I remember the big battle in the warehouse in the movie. Yan Zhendong looked at Master Huang's master movement, with a lonely expression on his face. This shot was particularly interesting.

Perhaps he had hoped to be as upright and upright as Huang Feihong, shouldering the responsibility with iron shoulders, but life did not give him such an opportunity.

So he was envious of Huang Feihong. He envied Huang Feihong for being upright and awe-inspiring, and envied Huang Feihong for his unique status. In the real showdown, Yan Zhendong was beaten by a great master until he looked ugly, physically and mentally broken, and chased away , trying to make a final struggle, but what finally greeted him was the indiscriminate shooting of foreign muskets.

The iron shirt was beaten into a sieve, and Master Huang's helping hand was covered with blood. Before he died, he left a sentence: No matter how good our kung fu is, we can't compete with foreign guns.

Perhaps just as great war movies are anti-war, great kung fu movies should never blindly create the myth that Chinese kung fu is invincible in order to beat the blood of nationalism.Yan Zhendong's last words are precisely the shattering of the Kung Fu myth and a wake-up call for the arrival of the era of industrial civilization.

Master Yan stayed in the old era that would eventually be destroyed, and as the frontal No. [-] warrior and the core protagonist of the movie, Master Huang started his own thinking.This Huang Feihong is constantly wondering throughout the entire movie.The arrogance of a great master and the isolation of newcomers in the late Qing Dynasty formed a complex entanglement.The image of Master Huang and the objects used in the movie materialize this intentionally or unintentionally.

In the prologue, Master Huang accepted Liu Yongfu's paper fan with an unequal treaty written on it. When he welcomed Aunt Thirteen, he came into contact with a camera, but his first photoshoot almost went wrong, leaving a bad impression on Master Huang.

While treating the injured vegetable vendor, the bullets from the foreign gun were taken out. When Lin Shirong was stopped from going mad and making trouble, the film abruptly gave a close-up of Master Huang's cloth shoes, perhaps to show his traditional and conservative stance.

Aunt Thirteen wanted to tailor a suit for him, but Master Huang declined, saying that he would follow the trend when everyone in the country wants to change their clothes.But then, Master Huang, who was wearing a long gown, put on a Western-style hat, sunglasses, and umbrella. This was a compromise look.I heard on the street that the liar who advertised said that he was wearing sunglasses because he was afraid of being caught by Jinshan's gold, so he took them off again.

The Shahe Gang burned down Baozhilin. Aunt Thirteen forgot Liu Yongfu's fan in the fire because she was taking pictures of Baozhilin. As a result, a corner of the fan was burned off, which became a treaty of equality.Master Huang was furious because of this and forbade Thirteenth Aunt to bring foreign goods into Baozhilin again. At this time, the conflict between the national sentiments reached its peak.However, after the Shahe Gang started a rebellion and the foreigners shot at the crowd indiscriminately, Master Huang became angrily and alert as he tried to figure out the bullets he had taken out while treating his wounds, and made a declaration that he must change.

In the final rescue, Master Huang rode a bicycle to save people and used his martial arts to eject the bullets from the foreign gun and kill the trafficker.

After the final war, he was strongly impacted by Western civilization and witnessed the tragedy of Chinese workers behind the Jinshan gold rush dream. Master Huang began to think, are foreign countries really that good?The director also expressed his hope through Master Huang: Maybe we are already standing on the golden mountain.The inferiority and self-confidence of the nation are neither humble nor arrogant, reaching a balance here.

At the end, Master Huang, who originally resisted foreigners and foreign gadgets, took the lead in putting on a suit, sat in front of the camera that he had threatened not to bring into Bao Zhilin again, and took a photo.

This warm and peaceful ending is the film's summary of Master Huang's thinking, from waiting for others to change before following suit, to taking the lead in accepting and learning Western civilization.Master Huang here is not only a martial artist who eliminates harm for the people, but also joins the group of awakened people who opened their eyes to the world in the late Qing Dynasty. What makes him better than Yan Zhendong and the Shahe Gang is far more than just martial arts.

Ugly and despicable villains, indifferent and numb passers-by, fatuous officials who also have troubles, foreigners who may have evil intentions or good intentions, bitter little people, enthusiastic reckless men, new young people who are willing to Westernize, and social lofty ideals who wake up and think, such rich stories. Group portraits of life, coupled with environmental settings rich in Lingnan style, form a picture of China in the late Qing Dynasty!

A great chivalrous person serves the country and the people.I have always felt that a great martial arts movie should have a heart for the common people of the country.Li Yi's "Once Upon a Time" captured my ideal realm of martial arts movies.Although there are many exquisite masterpieces, after all, they are about cultivating one's health. What "Once Upon a Time" shows is the ambition to bring peace to the world. Master Huang's deeds are a true hero who saves the world. "

(End of this chapter)