Domestic War Movies 2.0 Era: Deconstructing the Artistic Value from the Perspective of New Creation

The three films, The Great Cause of Building the Army, The Battle of the Dragon and Wolf Warriors 2, have their own unique perspectives.

Special feature of 1905 film network Military has always been one of the fundamental forces of a country, while war often bears important historical significance. 2017 coincides with the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army of China, and a number of domestic films with military and war themes are released in cinemas one after another at the special time near August 1st. The stories told in these films span over a hundred years and have completely different styles, but they all have their own unique perspectives in the choice of artistic creation.

 

Whether it’s a little-known "new story" that has been put on the screen for the first time, a "new face" that restores youthful and passionate days of our lives, or a "new technology" that supports the grand scene and makes the film more visually impactful, all kinds of breakthroughs have helped domestic war movies stand on a brand-new height in this burning summer file and ushered in their own 2.0 era.

Zhu Yawen, a young actor in "Building the Army", plays Zhou Enlai.

New faces restore the history of youth and blood, rationally adapt and enhance the charm of genre films

 

As the final work of the trilogy of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, The Great Cause of Building the Army has chosen a completely different route in creation: giving up the more "safe" mature cast and boldly using young actors. These new faces have their own "flow" and "topicality", but they are also burdened with more controversy and doubt.

Liu Weiqiang insisted that "youth cannot perform"

But director Liu Weiqiang has always insisted on the idea that "youth can’t perform". After all, in the successful year of Nanchang Uprising, Mao Zedong was 34 years old, Zhou Enlai was 29 years old, He Long and Ye Ting were both 31 years old, the oldest Zhu De was only 41 years old, and the youngest Su Yu and Lin Biao were only 20 years old. When we see these young faces on the big screen, we can more intuitively appreciate the courage shown by our ancestors when they faced the major choices of revolution and the future. This kind of unrelenting youth and blood bring people shock, which can’t be given simply by acting.

 

The strong starring lineup has always been the characteristic of the "trilogy of the founding of the People’s Republic of China". In addition to the influence of actors, "Building the Army" also explores the content of the script, hoping to further enhance its appeal as a genre film through fascinating plots. As a mature commercial film director, Liu Weiqiang, together with producer Huang Jianxin and others, created a new role for the "Nanchang Uprising" within the scope of reasonable adaptation, and used him as a breakthrough point to detonate the tense confrontation atmosphere between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. Let this already thrilling battle be more artistic and ornamental after being put on the big screen.

 

The rational adaptation of this artistic level, the costume action blockbuster "Battle of the Dragons" has also been tried. In the movie, Feng Xiangxian, the son of national hero Feng Zicai, is an original figure. Through this side story, The Battle of the Dragons not only depicts the father-son relationship between Feng Zicai and his beloved son, but also shows Feng Xiangxian’s bravery and bravery as a new generation of "elite troops", enriching the characters’ images, and even "achieves" the climax of Feng Zicai’s painful death of Feng Xiangxian in the latter part of the film.

The Battle of the Dragons is famous in Feng Zicai.

Develop ideas, explore new creative breakthrough points and play a role in the complexity of Mexican human nature

 

The Battle of the Dragons is the only war movie with a costume theme among several movies. The film is adapted from the famous "Great Victory in Zhennan" campaign in China’s modern history: in 1883, the Sino-French War broke out, when the Qing army was losing ground. In 1885, the French army invaded Guangxi from today’s Vietnam, and the Qing government used Feng Zicai, a 67-year-old veteran who had been demobilized, to lead the army against foreign enemies. With extraordinary courage and strategy, coupled with the indomitable resistance of the military and civilians, Feng Zicai finally led the Qing army to defeat the French army and won an "impossible victory" war, which is known as "a great victory in the town". This campaign fundamentally reversed the Sino-French war situation and added a lot of color to China’s modern history of anti-aggression.

Feng Zicai led the extraction army against the invaders.

All of us who know the history know that "the town is a great success", and Feng Zicai, a national hero, is famous abroad. But this important battle of great significance in the history of modern anti-aggression is presented on the big screen for the first time. By opening up a new historical theme and with the help of film art, Battle of the Dragons shows the mainstream thought of China’s current cultural self-confidence. While carrying forward the national spirit and establishing the subjectivity of the national spirit, it also gives a rare rational communication to our complex mentality of fierce collision between backwardness and progress in modern humiliating history.

 

In the past, domestic war movies always focused on the whole theme, and rarely touched on the description of "people" under individual units. With the development of the times, our creative style is constantly changing. Nowadays, "individual" has begun to occupy an increasingly critical position in domestic war-themed works. In addition to simply portraying characters, creators have also begun to pay more attention to the "human complexity" of characters.

 

Feng Zicai in Battle of the Dragons is a national hero who bravely fought against the French invaders, but combined with the atmosphere of the historical environment, this veteran is also a full-fledged tragic figure. At an advanced age, he had to fight with his bare hands against the strong French-French tough guy, and at the same time he had to lead the extraction army of the short-staffed Major General to face the invaders who were strong in Ma Zhuang … … These plots can not only reach the audience better, enhance the emotional connection between the audience and the characters, but also make the characters more multifaceted and three-dimensional. Wolf Warriors 2 also spent a lot of ink on the characters. Apart from the steely military will of Lengfeng, we can see that he is helpless and fragile when suffering from illness, persistent and single-minded when facing love, and full of blood when helping his compatriots, all of which make this role more attractive.

Wolf Warriors 2’s hardware and equipment upgrade

New technology supports the production of special effects and large-scale scenes to explain military affairs and war from multiple angles.

 

With the continuous development of the industry, the demand for the quality of works in the market is increasing day by day, and the production level of war films naturally needs to be upgraded simultaneously. Special effects scenes are an important part of most military and war-themed works. In the past, we all talked about the visual and sound effects of "five hairs", and the backward technology and lack of funds were the root causes of these regrets.

The domineering fire dragon produced by the special effects of Battle of the Dragons ignited the momentum for the decisive battle.

When this theme began to gain more and more recognition in the film market, the production of the work gradually entered a virtuous circle. With more financial and technical help, Jason Wu was able to find an international team to make special effects and design actions for Wolf Warriors 2, and at the same time upgrade the hardware to the level of tanks, helicopters and warships. In the battle of the dragon, the domineering fire dragon produced by special effects ignited the momentum for the decisive battle, and the design was ingenious and had a visual impact. Liu Weiqiang filmed the important war scene of "Battle of Sanheba", which created a record of 200 explosion points in a single shot.

 

Of course, the shock of war scenes and the amazing production of special effects are important for a military and war film, but they are by no means all the values it pursues. Every work and the creator behind it are exploring the spiritual connotation and the pulse of the times through historical events and stories.

The great cause of building the army leads the audience to relive history

As a tribute film for the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, The Great Cause of Building the People’s Republic of China leads the audience to relive this period of history and remember the ancestors who bled and sacrificed for the revolution by presenting such major events as the April 12th counter-revolutionary coup, the Nanchang Uprising, the Battle of Sanheba and the joining forces in Jinggangshan. In the new era, the special forces cold front used the thrilling story of African evacuation to interpret the connotation of the times that "those who commit crimes against China will be punished far away"; The historical background of The Battle of the Dragons is quite special. We have left too many humiliating memories in the history of modern anti-aggression. This tragic and cruel battle against foreign aggression will always remind us that we yearn for peace but always remember history.

Syria, a country ravaged by war for seven years.

Author: Xu Qian Li Xiaoyu Xu Haizhi

There is such a proverb among Arabs.

"If there is a paradise on earth, Damascus will be in it;

If heaven is in the sky, Damascus will be equally famous. "

Heaven on earth, a gift from the gods.

The "eye of the storm" of today’s war

Syria, heart for heaven, a dream of hell.

The flames of war burned everywhere.

This once peaceful ancient civilization

Here, the left hand is flashy and the right hand is bloody and tearful.

Seven years ago,

Large-scale anti-government demonstrations broke out in Syria

A military conflict broke out between Syrian government forces and opposition forces.

Trigger a large-scale civil war

The rise of "Islamic State" forces

Enter Syria, attack the city and pull out the village.

The United States and Russia are involved in the Syrian battlefield

Start the "war on terror"

Turkey, Israel and other forces have stepped in.

The conflict in Syria has escalated, and wars have been fought one after another.

April 13th

Trump announced that he had ordered the US military to unite with Britain and France.

A precise military strike was carried out against Syria.

?

Seven years of protracted war.

Let Syria

The city was devastated and the historic sites were destroyed.

Thousands of lives have been lost and people have been displaced.

The Syrians are faced with broken mountains and rivers.

In Aleppo, the largest city in Syria

4000 years of civilization and prosperity

Gunfire falling from the sky

Destroy into ruins

Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee.


Once busy and orderly streets

Now it is riddled with holes and broken.

Once a bustling market with dazzling array of goods.

Now it’s empty, and there’s rubble everywhere.

The campus is deserted and dilapidated.

?Bullet holes are all over the wall.

The children shed tears.

Hunger, fear, helplessness

?

A conflict that lasted for seven years

At least 350 thousand people were killed and 1.5 million disabled

Nearly 11 million people were displaced.

Tens of millions of Syrian refugees take care of the elderly and the young.

Embark on the road of escape with uncertain life and death

The war brought scenes of human tragedy.

over here

Nobody talks about freedom, they just want to live.

"Baby, don’t cry, Dad will protect you."

The refugee father is disembarking from the dinghy.

He tried his best in the big waves.

Guarding terrified children

Little Alan, a 3-year-old Syrian child, failed to reach Europe.

And I can’t sleep on the beach in southern Turkey.

This scene stung the hearts of the public all over the world.

A sad father, holding his sleeping daughter.

Selling ballpoint pens on the street

How simple the dream is

Just to live with my family.

Tens of thousands of Syrian refugees in Qian Qian

How humble the wish is

Live, live

One day, I can return home.

Despite home, it is already broken walls.

Long escape road

Someone was buried in the vast sea.

Someone fell on the long journey.

Others, who have not left, have already left.

……

?

War is ruthless

What is the common people’s concern

Now the situation is rising again.

The suffering of the Syrian people is still long and there is no end in sight.

  

??? Trump "hands-on" to Syria: the fire reflected the smoke in Damascus.

  Us president trump announced a military strike against Syria on the evening of the 13 th local time, and then fire and smoke rose over the Syrian capital Damascus. At 21: 00 EST (9: 00 Beijing time on the 14th), Trump announced that military strikes were progressing simultaneously; A few minutes later, British Prime Minister Theresa May made a similar announcement.

??? Syrian media: The Syrian military air defense system has intercepted 13 flying objects.

  Syrian state television reported on the 14th that in the early morning of 14th local time, the United States and other countries launched military operations against Damascus, the capital of Syria. The report said that the Syrian military air defense system is responding to "aggression from the United States, France and Britain" and has intercepted 13 flying objects. At about 4 am local time, Xinhua News Agency reporters heard loud explosions from time to time near the center of Damascus. In the distance, there were red dots flying from the ground to the sky. It was suspected that Syrian air defense forces were intercepting air defense from the direction of Kasong Mountain in the suburbs. At the same time, smoke rose in many places around Damascus.

Click to view the topic.

Show the power of love and discover colorful life (stand talk)

  What kind of power can love produce? The online documentary My Home is a Museum gives the answer from the collector’s point of view. The work tells 12 touching stories about love. The audience can listen to the concert of Shi Lei, a collector of musical instruments, and capture the wonderful sound of "unheard of"; Open the storage cabinet with Wu erping, a collector of chemical elements, to spy on the magnificent moment of chemical reaction; Follow the meteorite hunter Zhang Bo over the mountains and touch the fragments from the vast space … The film does not introduce the knowledge of the collection too much, but tells the story of collectors exploring, protecting and displaying the collection. From traditional crafts to scientific and technological elements, from ancient costumes to national costumes, although the types of collections vary widely, collectors have a clear common ground-full of passion for what they love and a sense of responsibility for cultural communication and inheritance. It is such humanistic feelings that deeply infected the audience. A love is a perspective of observing the world, which leads us to discover a kaleidoscope of life.

  (Zhang Jiaying)


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