If someone asks me about my favorite Chinese martial arts movies, and even removes the word "martial arts" and choose my favorite work in the history of Chinese century-old films, I will definitely tell him without hesitation that it is "The Legend of the Goddess" by Hu Jinquan .
If you can only watch one martial arts movie, or even one that best represents China, then don’t hesitate to watch “The Legend of the Condor Heroes”.
As long as there is such a movie, Chinese martial arts movies will gain a foothold in the history of world cinema. On the contrary, no matter how prosperous martial arts movies were afterwards, if "The Legend of the Goddess", it would be like the Crown lacking the largest gem, everything would be eclipsed.
Hu Jinquan has always been known as the Akira of Kurosawa of China. This description is not only a praising Hu Jinquan's style similar to Kurosawa Akira. Or, it means that Hu Jinquan's status in the history of world film is close to that of Kurosawa. It would be better to say that Hu Jinquan is to China just like Akira Kurosawa to Japan. The two almost strive to open up the possible realm of expressing their own national culture in the movie, transforming the most subtle, most difficult to describe, most unique and richest beauty and artistic conception in a culture into an eternal image on the big screen. Moreover, the most rare thing is that this transformation has been recognized by the world. In other words, they not only grasped the core part of local culture, but also allowed this part to truly influence the world.
It was from Hu Jinquan that Chinese directors began to create their own world, whether it was Hou Hsiao-hsien , Yang Dechang, Cai Mingliang , or Tsui Hark , Wong Kar-wai , or even Ang Lee , those who have entered the world-class director rankings are all influenced by Hu Jinquan. (Please don’t mention the third and fourth generation directors in mainland China. Their influence and world status have been declining in recent years. Now, the only one that still maintains its reputation is about Jia Zhangke - what I said is just a fact.) Can you imagine that Chinese novels do not have "Dream of Red Mansions"? You can't imagine that Chinese movies do not have Hu Jinquan.
best represents Hu Jinquan's personal style, and of course, the one who won him the most praise and reputation is "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".
The story of "The Legend of the Goddess" is really simple.
(I want to spoil it out, but "The Heroes" is the kind of movie that can be watched more than ten times even if it is completely spoiled.) Although
is adapted from "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" by Pu Songling , the scholar in the original work is too vulgar. Not only is he poor but also lustful, but the Heroes in the story is too inexplicable and has no feelings at all. Hu Jinquan is obviously not interested in such a story, but in this story, the love and hate that is rarely dominated by women obviously touched his thoughts.
So in his movie, the story was modified into this:
A poor loser who was unwilling to be lonely met a rich and beautiful woman who experienced a great change in life. Just like Jiao Da would also like Lin Daimei. In order to catch a horse, he used a secret tracking technique. After discovering the girl's secret, the girl was moved by her mother and wanted to leave her behind. She agreed to become a friend of the poor loser. Unexpectedly, the poor loser also has hidden skills to help the girl deal with her enemies. I originally thought that I could get the white and rich beauty to promise me by running a revolution with my head, but the white and rich beauty mysteriously disappeared. The poor loser was determined to find the white and rich beauty, but the white and rich beauty finally became a monk, leaving only the crystallization of a one-night stand - a fat and fat boy.
(To write it more interestingly, I really tried my best, wuwuwu...)
is just such a bad joke, but Hu Jinquan photographed it with extreme poetry, extreme gentleness, extreme profoundness, extreme tragic, and of course, there is also the ultimate, exclusively traditional artistic conception and indescribable beauty.
If I were to describe it, I can only say that this movie has produced the ultimate Chinese flavor.
Moreover, all movies today cannot be compared with it. The core of "The Legend of the Goddess" is purely Chinese - or in other words, the way all characters think is so traditional, and no one will make people feel dissonant and out of that era.
Let’s first talk about the poor loser scholars.
and his old mother lived in seclusion in a remote small county with their old mother. They usually make a living by selling calligraphy and paintings. Although they are so poor that they can't even marry their wife. However, he loves to study and entertain himself, he has a unique "power" in his heart. This power makes him have no interest in being an official, but he also has the pursuit of not wasting his life and realizing his personal ambitions.
Gu Shengzhai has certainly the shadow of a Confucian scholar, "he lives in troubled times, and does not seek to be heard from the princes." Although his dissatisfaction and even hatred of the social and political environment have not been clearly revealed, his self-pretentious and noble personality can be seen from his mentality of not wanting to be involved in the officialdom and being content with poverty. It is this personality that made him fall in love with Yang Huizhen, a lady from the Huan Family at first sight. There is no doubt that the scholarly family and loyal lady naturally has the temperament that girls in remote and isolated county towns do not have, and this temperament is the shadow of the ideal world that Gu Shengzhai longs for. Therefore, he was told by his mother all day long that he was in his thirties and never married his wife. Sooner or later, he became an old family and wanted to carry out the "leftover man" to the end. He never said a word that he recognized Yang Huizhen as his "destined person" by just one glance. He secretly liked his mother that he wanted to propose marriage. After being rejected, he often secretly observed the other party's every move, which was in sharp contrast to the repeated disapproval of women in marriage before, and even laying the foundation for him to risk his life to help Yang Huizhen in the future, and constantly pursue her.
After Yang Huizhen appeared, voyeurism became more serious.
How did Gu Shengzhai’s emotions about Yang Huizhen happen? Hu Jinquan laid the foundation for more than half an hour. There is no direct line, but it just turns the eyes of the actor who plays Gu Shengzhai, Shi Jun , and turns back and gossip, so that everything happens in the unique Chinese subtlety, restraint and tranquility. In today's Chinese film and television dramas, we can hardly see such emotional expressions - but by borrowing ancient props and sets (even this one is a mess), we start to act in an inappropriate and awkward manners seem to be the mainstream today.
Although emotions are far from the theme that "The Knight" wants to express, this emotion aroused a certain feeling in my deepest heart: so slow, so quiet, so quiet - even a one-night stand can be so poetic and beautiful. It is because the characters quietly form a huge inner tension in this slow, quiet, and quiet, so that people can empathize so much, right? So slow, so beautiful!
Every calm subtle movement seems to breed surging emotions.
Let’s talk about the hero Yang Huizhen.
Yang Huizhen's actor Xu Feng . In terms of appearance, he can be said to be a classical beauty, with a standard duck-egg face and apricot eyes like a autumn eye. However, this classical part lacks the weakness and pathology of traditional ladies. Like Zheng Peipei , Xu Feng's beauty has a hidden edge. Even if you are squinting to the end with a face, you have to admit that she has its own light. Moreover, his words and deeds are quiet and calm, and he is also as cold as a chivalrous woman.
Compared to Gu Shengzhai, she is more mysterious, more restrained, and harder to get close to. Although she is the absolute female protagonist, there is always a fog around her, which makes people awe and may be difficult to understand.
The chivalrous woman in the original work of " Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio " is actually far boring than Yang Huizhen. She still promised her body even though she knew that the other party was too vulgar and was too obscene to the bride (of course, the purpose of repaying kindness and staying for the rest of the country) can be said to be just a symbol. In a patriarchal society like the Qing Dynasty, Pu Songling's chivalrous woman concentrated on men's alternative fear and admiration for women - this woman is so powerful that she only has grace and revenge, love and affection, weakness and dependence, all thrown into the pile of paper. Such a woman is actually not credible.
is Yang Huizhen, which undoubtedly represents Hu Jinquan's longing for traditional women: affection, righteousness, integrity, and moderation. In her emotional world, Gu Shengzhai is probably just a passerby and a supporting role. Maybe she can get a glimpse of her inadvertently, but that's all. As she sang among the ruins of the dilapidated house:
meets each other when they wake up, and scatters after they get drunk.
Forever, traveling mercilessly, and we will meet each other in the distant Han Dynasty.
...
This scene has no language, a large number of long and short shots and pure scenery demonstrations, but it is unparalleled.
Does Yang Huizhen love Gu Shengzhai? This question seems to make no sense. For her who has experienced the loss of family and death, as a fugitive, lonely and helpless, today but not tomorrow, her emotions and ties with anyone are unbearable, which is the so-called "bad fate".
But as a woman, or in other words, how can you not have that little bit of feelings for a certain opposite sex?
When Yang Huizhen leaned on Gu Shengzhai, she didn't want to find a support, but just "to accompany the moon for a while, and enjoy the spring." She just found a little comfort for this long journey of escape - of course, she was even more grateful (Gu Shengzhai's mother's care for her was weakened, but Miss Yang seemed to be moved by the other party's sincere proposal), closure (Gu Shengzhai, who was about to discover her identity, revealed her secret), and the purpose of staying (both her parents died, but she was not tolerated).
However, Hu Jinquan still left a gap after all. That was on the morning when they had sex overnight, Miss Yang, who woke up first, used the reed grass growing in the dilapidated house to block the morning light that penetrated into the house for Gu Shengzhai, who was sleeping, and not disturb his sleep.
The smallest detail is far better than a thousand words.
Hu Jinquan has fully demonstrated the silent beauty in Chinese culture.
So, this "bad fate" that Yang Huizhen mentioned, the only night, was photographed with infinite poetry and infinite sadness. The moonlight, reeds, night, and piano sound also express the infinite desolation of life.
- Obviously, Yang Huizhen, who is a girl, still had true feelings, even if it was a little bit. Such a body is involuntarily, so fleeting.
The note she left for her companion said that Gu Shengzhai is not an ordinary person. She knew that he was observing herself, and she probably admired that there were people who could have such insight in this remote mountainous country. She also knew that he refused to become an official and was willing to be poor. Perhaps, she knew the darkness of the officialdom, and her parents died because of this, she also had deeper recognition and admiration for his choice. Seeing that he was talented and insightful in the countryside, or she also had the mutual compassion and compassion of both people who fell into the world. A specific situation narrows the distance between these two characters who were originally very different.
But in the slit of life and death, she dare not love, she cannot love. She is a lady from a noble family, how could she look down on this poor scholar in the countryside who is not astonishingly beautiful? The best thing about Hu Jinquan grasping this emotion is that even though the two were separated by a distance of 100,800 miles, in the end, she couldn't help but deliver a little bit, even if it was really only a little bit.
is just a little bit, it is enough to make people feel heart-wrenching. Now the screen is full of death, shaking the earth, you are the wind and I am the sand... But how many times have you ever had love that can match the mottled little love that seems to pass through the gaps of fate?
She didn't expect this man to help her, she would have responsibility. She didn't dare to expect anything, she just hoped that she would not implicate him.
Of course, Gu Shengzhai wants to help Yang Huizhen, and he has many motivations. This is the difference between a good movie and a bad movie. The characters in a good movie are always duplex. Why do they do that, they can only understand and not express it.
First of all, Gu Shengzhai is a Confucian scholar. He is not ignorant of right and wrong. He undoubtedly sympathizes and agrees with Yang Huizhen's father. Secondly, his feelings for Miss Yang are naturally far more passionate than the other party gives him. For Gu Shengzhai, Yang Huizhen was not a woman who passed on the family line, but a symbol of another world that he had always been sensitive and had no idea about, but could not be revealed. In that world, he can realize his life value, gain recognition of his talents, and gain dignity and love. If a man ignites such emotions towards a woman, it is often extremely passionate and long-lasting.
Gu Shengzhai, who ate steamed buns and side dishes, hangs a banner written by Director Hu himself, and never becomes an official even if he dies, and has the attitude of "resatisfied with the bamboo fence and thatched hut". But there were already ravines in his heart.
Finally, it is the ideal that every Chinese intellectual has: "If you are successful, you will benefit the world." He said that he was familiar with military books. Think about it, a life goal is to be a poor and corrupt scholar who teaches. What is the purpose of studying military books?
When he successfully designed Yang Huizhen to defeat the Dongchang movie with fewer and more, Hu Jinquan gave the most uncomfortable and exciting scene in his whole movie:
Gu Shengzhai held a feather fan in his hand and a scarf on his head. He dressed like Zhuge Liang on the stage, looking at the corpse, laughing wildly all the way, laughing so hard that he leaned back and forth. The laughter was endless pride, conceit, pleasure, and even creepy.
Is he finally having anger that was pretentious but trapped in the lower class and was in a state of poverty? Or did he claim to be Kong Ming and finally prove his compliment? Finally, he is no longer a down-and-out and frustrated person who is in vain and no one understands. He uses other people's blood and life to find his own sense of existence.
Hu Jinquan used a kind of pity, detachment, and even ironic gaze to look at Gu Shengzhai in his movies, and all the countless people in Chinese Confucian culture (perhaps it is more suitable for scholars and intellectuals.)
When Gu Shengzhai burned incense to Yang Lian, kicked several corpses, and kicked the county magistrate's body in panic, he realized that Yang Huizhen was missing. At this time, he truly felt fear, fear of death, fear of the future, fear of his murder.
Gu Shengzhai from being proud, rampant to fear and panic is the most credible and contagious scene in this movie.
So, he stumbled, covered in dust, and climbed out of Jingtun Castle in a row. He met a group of monks who buried their bodies silently. He grabbed these monks as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw, and asked everyone: "Miss Yang, Miss Yang?" The pattern of this man was fully exposed here.
The strategies he made were actually not elegant at all. At best, it was the level of rural village workers, Liangshan Wu Yong. It can only be said that at that time, he could still exert his temporary power, but even this scholar felt his own meaning of existence, but this so-called meaning of existence made him look so vulgar, so vulgar, so stupid, and so pitiful.
Hu Jinquan found a typical technical otaku Shi Jun who was a researcher. He insisted that he had a classical literary temperament and coaxed and deceived others to become an actor. I really can't see that Shi Jun has the temperament of a classical literary man, because he really has an indescribable hint of blackness, insidiousness and vulgarity. I can only explain that the traditional literati in Director Hu's heart is like this. It is undeniable that Shi Jun's acting skills are very good, but they are always somewhat incompatible with the elegance and book we imagine today. Even at that time, it has nothing to do with appearance.
His world, after all, is only so big. The soil he relies on is too barren after all. Even if he has talent, he cannot give him enough energy to become a person with a sound spirit, strong heart, and wise (you can only be a little clever).
Hu Jinquan seems to stab a Confucian scholar again here. But this reflection-filled knife must also require him to answer: Where is the road?
A thread of Zen.
The first half of "The Heroes" has a very good reputation, and in the second half, it can be said to have collapsed completely. Until today, there are still many different opinions and controversies.
As a non-Buddhist believer, I don’t want to comment on the second half at all, and I don’t necessarily agree with the second half. But because of this second half, I am full of respect for Hu Jinquan, and I can only say that he is a truly world-class director.
Huiyuan, the ideal character created by Hu Jinquan, shed golden blood. She used death to sublimate everyone, even the worst leader of the East Factory, the devil who killed people without blinking.All people could only kneel down at his feet, and let go of killing and hatred under his supreme spirit...
What Hu Jinquan wanted to say finally came out, and he failed to say it in all the previous movies.
The biggest difference between a world-class director and an ordinary director is that must have world-class ambitions.
As a human being, the greatest ambition is to find the highest spiritual realm and metaphysical meaning of life.
What to use to get rid of human nature itself, or to cleanse the darkness of Chinese culture full of blood, killing and selfish desires?
Huiyuan has become incarnate and has redeemed everything with his death.
This is the Zen trick that Hu Jinquan found, right?
cannot be said, cannot be said.
Just you can feel it.
In fact, the ending of Hu Jinquan is really not pleasing and easy to collapse.
He Ping of "Heroes of Heaven and Earth" wanted to worship Director Hu, but he just didn't have the strength and finally made the movie well.
Do you really have faith? You really have to take it out for a walk to know.
Based on this alone, what do you compare with Hu Jinquan after the Chinese director? The movie
, the most praised by later generations is Hu Jinquan's unique lens language, a lens that unfolds poetically and calmly like a landscape scroll.
A movie, which was filmed for more than 20 minutes of scenery, pure scenery, my god...
In Hu Jinquan's film, fog is the most important component of the background elements of the picture. The fog is both a barrier and a curtain. Covering the space in the movie in its specific atmosphere. More often than not, fog is also a pure aesthetic need, which conjures the ancient beauty of the film, causing blank space in the picture, and the mysterious realm of the martial arts world is expressed in the picture. Pavilions, railings, and curtains are also often seen in Hu Jinquan's martial arts movies.
light is another "separation" in Hu Jinquan's martial arts movie. (In the last battle in the desert in "The Legend of the Goddess", the desert is empty and desolate, a red sun hangs high, Huiyuan slowly walks to the top of the mountain, sitting quietly under the sun, the sun forms a circle of Buddha statue light behind him, and the halo spreads in the picture, blurring Huiyuan's face. Light forms a symbol and forms a curtain to set off the solemn meaning of treasure. At this time, the battle has entered another level, transcending the heights and moves of martial arts. Change, entering the spiritual level, so the lofty Zen meaning is naturally conveyed to everyone.
movies also use a lot of long shots, a character slowly passing through the camera, a cloud, a reed and a moon... Just like the most traditional Chinese landscape painting, slowly unfolding, leaving only infinite white space and poetry. Like the part of Ouyang Nian in the film, Ouyang Nian saw through General Shi in the rain, the color of the picture is old and dull, the autumn rain is continuous, Ouyang Quan wearing a straw hat and holding an umbrella, which is completely the artistic conception of Chinese painting. The scene of the hero and the Dongchang spy fighting in the bamboo forest, Yang The light penetrates the fog and bamboo forest, and is ethereal, which reminds people of the poetic meaning of Wang Weichan's poems, as if "returning to the deep forest, shining on the moss again." This classic scene was used by later director Ang Lee in the scene of Li Mubai and Yu Jiaolong's bamboo forest fight in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", which also created a classic scene that Chinese martial arts movies are frequently used. The soundtrack of the movie
also uses traditional instruments, including guzheng, guqin, flute... and Kurosawa Akira Different from using Western instruments, Hu Jinquan has deeper experience and emotions about opera and classical instruments. Therefore, in his movies, these instruments seem to give different personalities and emotions to different characters and situations. He truly interprets unspeakable complexity with single-line national instruments that have always been considered to be not full enough, giving the movie more classical mood.
From the resume, Hu Jinquan, who was born in a scholarly family, has classical cultural literacy that is difficult for directors to reach today. Most of Gu Shengzhai's calligraphy and paintings in "The Legend of the Goddess" are written by him.He has a more natural love for classical opera, and these have become the realm of vast and peacefulness in his movies, the time and space of time and space, and the clear mind of the Tao, which is super open and ethereal. Hu Jinquan's aesthetic contribution to Chinese directors is huge. In this regard, he can almost be said to be a pioneer.
Hu Jinquan is the first person to win a world-class award by Chinese directors. It is precisely his own efforts that Chinese traditional culture can be combined with "modern" products such as light and film, that is, it proves that traditional culture still has the value and possibility of existence. This is exactly what makes Hu Jinquan compare with Kurosawa Akira.
But compared to Kurosawa Akira, there is no doubt that Hu Jinquan's position in the history of world film is much dimmed. The biggest reason is not the talent of the two, but perhaps more of it, the environment and era in which they are. Although
also faced traditional cultural dilemma, Japan at that time was more diversified than China at that time, and there would be more room for people to play. Moreover, his efforts also received responses from many other creators. Before and after him, there were people who took the initiative to pave the way for him, actively learn from him, and move forward in the direction he pioneered. On the contrary, whether in Hong Kong or Taiwan, Hu Jinquan's title of "box office poison" is really not sympathetic. Although he has gained a very high world reputation, it is really difficult to survive in Hong Kong, which is highly commercialized and developed. At that time, Taiwan was not tolerant of the attachment to the mainland and various ideologies revealed in Hu Jinquan's movies. Hu Jinquan wanted to go back to the mainland to shoot movies several times in his life, but was rejected by the mainland because of cross-strait relations. "Empty Mountain Spirit Rain" could only be filmed in South Korea, which became a regret for Hu Jinquan's life.
The most important thing is that although Hu Jinquan repeatedly shows himself as a Confucian scholar, his worldview does not conform to the mainstream of Confucianism after all. The ultimate metaphysical meaning of life he was looking for was not the "benevolent loves others" in Confucianism, but the highest Nirvana in Buddhism and the Pure Land of Bliss without desire or tragedy. All disputes were upgraded into a philosophy interpretation after Hu Jinquan's hand. All this is meaningless in Zen, so any struggle is invisible, and any vortex of emotions and power has lost its support - so Hu Jinquan will never be as hot as Kurosawa Akira, and he and his life in the world always maintain a sense of alienation like his movies. This is indeed a bit cold for ordinary people and people with foreign cultures.
(However, this may also remind us that the thinking about the ultimate meaning of life in traditional culture is missing. Culture like ours cannot nourish truly influential world-class national elites?)
But that indescribable ray of Zen is a ray of light that can illuminate the hearts. However, is it the last rejuvenation or the infinitely profound future? In today's decline in martial arts movies, or the overall decline in Chinese cultural influence, I have no idea what to say.
can only be left to answer.
