" Into the Dust " is a film written and directed by Li Ruijun. It premiered at the 72nd Berlin Film Festival on February 10, 2022, and was shortlisted for the main competition unit of the Berlin Film Festival. The film tells the story of the difficult but heartwarming life journey of Ma Youtie and Cao Guiying in the northwest countryside.
The film does not have a luxurious cast. Except for the heroine Hai Qing, most of the actors in the film are non-professional actors. Most of the actors are relatives of the director. The male protagonist Wu Renlin is the director's uncle, and even the donkey in the movie It also belongs to his family; the filming cost of the film was less than 2 million, and now the box office has exceeded 50 million; more than 50 days after its release, the box office did not fall but rose. Due to its strong "box office stamina", it has been on the hot search list many times.
The film was shot over a period of nearly a year. In more than 10 months, the scene of the changing of the four seasons, spring plowing and autumn harvest in the countryside was completely presented. The biggest feeling given to people is that it is real.
1. The actors are real. Most of the actors in the film come from director Li Ruijun's hometown of Gaotai, Gansu. In the film, they are not playing roles, they are just living. Even the donkey in Ma Youtie plays his true character, repeating the daily routine of a donkey in the countryside in front of the camera. Work that needs to be done. Hai Qing's acting skills in the film are explosive. She plays Cao Guiying, who has been living a despised life in her brother and sister-in-law's house all year round. She lives in a wooden shed that is exposed to wind and rain. She is also lame in one leg and suffers from urinary tract diseases. Regardless of time, Urinary incontinence occurs on all occasions. In the early part of the film, her complexion is yellow and black, and she can see the symptoms of Qi deficiency and cold body. She is taciturn and autistic, with a confused expression. She has a look of helplessness on her face as she endures hardships. Even if she is not walking, you can feel her legs. Is lame, because people with physical disabilities focus on Unstable, she can only adjust it by twisting her shoulders, neck, waist, hips and other parts, so that her disabled body can walk without falling. In the whole film, her sitting and standing postures are not completely correct once , because that is the most authentic posture of a woman with a leg disability.
2. The scene is real. The film does not have grand scenes, but the pictures are simple and real. The dry land in rural Gansu, low adobe houses, green wheat fields in spring, and falling snowflakes in winter truly show the most real and natural scene in the northwest countryside; Ma You Iron is like a tree growing in the desert. They have swallowed all the hardships of life and still show strong vitality in this barren land, raising chickens, plowing the land, sowing and harvesting. Harvesting, laying bricks, building houses, changing the appearance of life with hard-working hands; a poor and humble couple in the northwest countryside did not say a sweet word, but they gave the viewer the feeling of sincerity, the simplest language, and the most sincere words. Real scenes, such as Cao Guiying knitting wheat straw for Ma Youtie's donkey, and Ma Youtie planting flowers from wheat on the back of Cao Guiying's hand, are all the most simple expressions of two people clinging to each other in hardships.
3. The plot is true. The marriage between Ma Youtie and Cao Guiying in the film is extremely realistic. Both of them are at the bottom of the food chain in the rural marriage market. An honest, honest and poor old man, and a disabled woman who cannot have children and cannot do heavy physical work, in the countryside. In people's eyes, "a lame donkey deserves a broken man - don't despise anyone"; Ma Youtie is a kind-hearted old man who responds to people's requests without arguing. His third brother asked him to marry his nephew He agreed to pull the furniture, but he didn't have a share in the wedding banquet. He was only given a plastic bag of packed food, and he didn't protest. His kindness makes people feel unreal, but only when you truly understand rural life can you understand Ma Youtie. The tragedy of this kind of person is that although he is married, Guiying cannot have children, and the two of them will eventually grow old and have no one to rely on. He will still be a burden to his brother-in-law and nephew. He can only obey and tolerate everything that his brother-in-law and nephew ask for.
4. Human nature is real. The most shocking thing about the film is the horror of human nature. The couple had their own house and livestock. They wanted to sell the grain to pay off the debt, buy a TV, and go to the city to find a good doctor to treat Guiying. No matter how slow life was, Slowly getting better, but unexpectedly, the most simple wish was cruelly broken by reality.On the way to deliver food to Ma Youtie, the sick Cao Guiying got dizzy and accidentally fell into the canal, and the world was separated forever. There was someone by the river, but no one came to rescue, and no one informed Ma You that there was iron. He waited until Ma You had the railway, and then he said: "Your wife fell into the river." Human nature is so cold, and no one was grateful to Ma You. Tie Tie donated blood over and over again to recover the debt they owed, but he watched helplessly as his benefactor's wife died. After her death, no one came to express condolences. "We didn't grow up in the soil. The soil doesn't despise us, so why should we despise the soil?" Ma Youtie's words are full of philosophy. If he had not suffered hardships and indifference, he would not be able to say such words.
"What can the wheat say when it is blown here and there by the wind? What can it say when it is pecked by flying sparrows? What can it say when it is gnawed by one's own donkey? What can it say when it is cut by the sickle of summer? What did you say?"
was enslaved by his brothers and drank all kinds of things. Did Ma Youtie say anything? Being disliked and bullied by her brother and sister-in-law, she got married hastily. Did Cao Guiying say anything? Ma Youtie sincerely devoted himself to the villagers and drew blood again and again. Did Ma Youtie say anything? Being looked down upon and ignored by the villagers, and having no one to rescue her after she fell into the water, did Cao Guiying say anything?
The film does not emphasize the hardship of life, the misery of life and the indifference of the world, but tells us that no matter whether life brings us good times or bad times, we must be full of enthusiasm and dreams for life, live with a firm attitude, and use persistence and Trying hard to resist the injustice of fate, even if it is as light as a feather and disappears like dust in the end, at least it has left traces of blooming with warm colors amidst the desolate background.
