Film Review of Ili Valley

"When there is no war, heroes are ordinary people." This line is the best portrayal of Xinjiang Construction Corps. The story of a soldier is not necessarily the smoke of war. A short story about the relationship between men and women can also be very touching.

"Ili Valley" is the embodiment of this idea. 195 1 year, Xinjiang was liberated,170,000 soldiers put down their guns, picked up hoes and joined the ranks of production and construction. "You can't settle down without a wife, and you can't take root without children." Under the consideration of General Wang Zhen, in the early 1950s, tens of thousands of female soldiers entered Xinjiang one after another, forming revolutionary partners with male soldiers and staying in Xinjiang for life.

Based on this background, the film describes the process of our female soldiers integrating into the cavalry regiment, a big family that used to be only male, and finding their other half. The love of five female soldiers, each with its own characteristics, without blood and fire and Mary Su, is memorable.

Lu Hua, Wang Xifeng and Xu Zuxiong formed a complicated love triangle. Xifeng is kind and has leadership, and is the big sister in the hearts of female soldiers. She and Xu Zeng lived in Shandong, and both experienced bereavement. Soon after Xifeng came to Xinjiang, she expressed her love and admiration.

Lu Hua is the youngest female soldier, with a round but not fat face and a little childishness. She is the sister of Xu's dead wife. Besides my love for Xu, she also has the idea of taking care of him for her dead sister. Xu was deeply in love, but when she was finally drawn by lottery, she read the name of Wang Xifeng.

There are various speculations about the reasons for giving up Lu Hua. Some people think that the head of the delegation is worried about whether the age gap will bring happiness to the other party. Some people think that the colonel has a moral burden because Lu Hua is his sister-in-law. Lu Hua's own guess is that the colonel was criticized for worrying about marrying the youngest female soldier.

But in any case, as a modern person, it is hard for me to accept this behavior. Originally two of a kind, but lost to too much concern, let a person sigh. He is brave and fearless on the battlefield, but he is timid on emotional issues, which really tarnishes the image of the head of the regiment, but such contradictions also make this character more vivid and real.

Zheng used to be an underground party member, but she was transformed into a dancer because she lost contact on the Internet. She joined the Xinjiang People's Liberation Army to find her fiance. She was discriminated against by her initial experience. Even if she is drawn by lottery, she will throw it back together, preferring to abstain. But she was lucky enough to meet Qiu Kefa, a person who really loves her, a person who doesn't care about her own background or other people's opinions.

In the end, she met her fiance, but she was determined to stick to Yili, parted ways with her fiance who insisted on returning to Shanghai, and started a new relationship with Qiu Kefa that really belonged to her. On the wedding night, she used the hometown custom "daughter firewood"-streaking around the bonfire 100 circle to express her wish to get along with her lover for a hundred years. It can be said that this love is the most gratifying in the whole movie.

If you want to ask the most interesting couple in the film, it must be Xiao Yingchun and Zhang Dali. Zhang Yi and Xiao hit it off at first sight, and then showed their love many times. But Xiao's response was sharp: "Even if there are only two men left in the world, I will never marry you." When we all thought that Zhang was destined to end up with a hot face and a cold ass, the story of hitting the face appeared: Zhang caught another female soldier by lottery, and Xiao burst into tears on the spot, denouncing Zhang for not catching himself, and then begging his comrades to give him his husband. We finally saw the truth!

Maybe this is the psychological reversal mechanism? Many times, people will subconsciously make a negative statement in order to cover up their emotions and thoughts. This is not uncommon in love, but it happened to a careless girl in the northeast, but it was unexpected, which is why it is more lovely.

There is also a couple who push comedy and tragedy to a climax. They are the only two pairs of glasses in the whole group-Wu Wenhua's reconciliation is calm. Wu culture is not only eloquent, but also has a very high understanding of music. He soon learned local folk songs and Dong Bu La. Xie Jing is gentle and talented, with the openness and understanding of progressive youth and the courage to pursue love.

Their love developed so quickly and smoothly that something happened when they lived in the herdsmen's yurt, which led to their quiet pregnancy. Xifeng had to help them play the lottery and let Wu hide the note in his sleeve and go on stage. Who knows, Cheng Xiang slipped into the box with a shake of his hand, and his and Xi Feng's hearts were suddenly in their throats, and the cinema was suddenly silent.

Wu gingerly took one and handed it to Xi-feng, who also gingerly opened it. Fortunately, destiny takes a hand. As soon as the word "Xie quietly" was revealed, Xi Feng announced loudly and ran forward quietly and excitedly. Wu Wenhua immediately picked her up, and the atmosphere in the cinema relaxed. Many viewers couldn't help applauding them.

But the joke of fate is sometimes painful. In the process of rescuing Kazak friend Ayiguli, the pregnant girl quietly fell at the gate of the camp because of strenuous exercise. She bled to death because of premature abortion. When she woke up for the last time, Wu Wenhua and his comrades tried their best to put on a happy expression and lied to her that the child had been born, then woke up and hugged her. Quietly, I must have guessed that my comrade-in-arms lied to make her happy, so I refused, just telling my lover that I wanted to hear him sing a happy song.

In the songs of her lover and comrades-in-arms, she closed her eyes peacefully and left everyone forever, leaving the land where she lived and fought. In Chinese class, there is always a routine: set the sad mood with sad scenes to make it sadder. However, in this scene, the contrast between happy scenes and sad feelings makes sadness more deeply rooted in people's hearts; If there is anything that can make sadness go further, it is to pave the way for tragedy with comedy.

Say ordinary, because the whole movie is almost all ordinary things like life and love; But to be great, we must look at it in combination with history. When many pictures of the PLA and local ethnic compatriots working, playing and learning from each other appeared in the film, the history I learned came to my mind.

The reason why Xinjiang is at arm's length is because the harsh climate of "spring breeze is not enough to cross Yumenguan" makes not many Han people settle down for a long time, and the ancient military camps can't last long, and the national culture has not blended, and there is a long-standing gap between Han people and Xinjiang.

The people of the Corps went deep into the barren land, slept on the floor, endured ice and fire in the face of bandits and beasts, and took root there from generation to generation, becoming one with ethnic minority compatriots. They brought advanced technology and culture, turned the Gobi desert into fertile land, and melted snow to irrigate farmland. As a result, the people of Xinjiang and the people of the mainland are closely linked, and this place where all ethnic groups meet can no longer be separated. Every scene in their lives is an indispensable picture in the history of national unity in China.

The whole film is divided into many main lines, with no obvious core figures, including young child soldiers, veteran cadres, intellectuals, outspoken northeast girls and reform prostitutes struggling to integrate in discrimination. Their stories are spliced together, which is the emotional course of the first batch of military reclamation mothers. Either way, they are all female heroes, who have made indelible contributions to consolidating unity and national unity and promoting regional social and economic development. They are all equally great and lovely, and the creators pay equal tribute to them.

It is true that the connection of Ili Valley is a bit stiff in some places (which will be discussed later), but I think its plot design is quite remarkable. For example, in order to welcome female soldiers, officers and men took a bath in the river, but they ran into female soldiers. The scene was once awkward, but at the critical moment, a male soldier sang "Lift Your hijab", and other male soldiers sang along, and then the female soldiers sang together. Happy songs floated in the valley, and the embarrassing atmosphere suddenly became relaxed and happy.

In the last scene of silent tears, everyone sang this song again under the leadership of Wu Culture, recalling their initial meeting, echoing from beginning to end, setting off sadness with music, and making this sadness last for a long time. For another example, Xifeng galloped behind Xu Zuxiong, but she couldn't catch up. Lu Hua stopped in front of her, but he picked her up directly. Xifeng, who was chasing after her, had to rein in her horse and shed tears silently.

Through this sharp contrast, Xu's love is clear at a glance. In many other film and television works, the handling of this mentality may be a public announcement that "my true love is xxx", or simply a direct confession of two people face to face, but in Ili Valley, the implicit beauty of literature is shown through scenes.

A classic movie always leaves many classic lines and dialogues. In the Ili Valley, from the leader's teaching to female soldiers: "When there is no war, heroes are ordinary people", to Feng Jie's "If she really loves that person more than me, I am willing to fulfill their love", and the last conversation between Lu Hua and Xu Zuxiong after discovering the truth of the lottery, "You have the right to refuse my love, but you have no right to arrange my love!" , not profound, not wonderful.

These bright lines reveal the writer's understanding of the spirit and love of the times at that time, and I have to admire the writer's writing skills.

The photography and music of the film are also very powerful. Photographers have a good grasp of light and shadow, and the magnificent river valley scenery, the momentum of Ma Benteng Cavalry Corps, and the sweetness and coziness of love are all reflected incisively and vividly; Music with the scene, some vigorous, some cheerful, some long, some heavy, just set off the atmosphere, but also vaguely with regional customs. These create a sense of substitution, make the audience feel immersive, and add a lot of appeal to the film.

Some people accuse the film of showing the distribution marriage at that time, but I think this is not a stain, but a bright spot. First of all, this is in line with the historical facts at that time. At that time, the mobilization of female soldiers into Xinjiang was really to let the soldiers take root. Moreover, although the original policy was "organizing introductions, exchanges between the two sides, and voluntary legal procedures", in order to solve this problem quickly, there was indeed a phenomenon of compulsory distribution and lottery in the film.

Then, for these facts, the creative team did not shy away from singing praises, but boldly showed these inhuman phenomena. Isn't this commendable? Because some events do not conform to the current values, they have been tampered with and erased. The whole movie has only simple grandeur and illusory romance, which deviates from the history of a person's tribute. Is this the artist's historical feelings, and is this work still a work of conscience?

Of course, this film also has defects. First of all, it may be because of time-controlled editing, and some places seem a bit stiff. For example, from the beginning, Lu Hua's anger towards the head of the delegation to admiration, instantly became a partner, and quietly became a partner with Wu Wenhua, without any foreshadowing and explanation, which was a bit abrupt.

Secondly, it is mentioned in both the original work and the script: "This lottery is friendship. If you find it inappropriate after contact, don't be reluctant. " I think if this is reflected in the film, it will be more easily accepted by the audience, and it is also in line with the original intention of the policy at that time (but it may also affect the following plot, such as Lu Hua's final questioning of the head of the delegation. Or the director intends to criticize the excessive behavior in execution).

Besides, there are details. For example, from 1944 to the early 1950s, the head of the regiment was always the head of the regiment, which was unimaginable for a war hero to stay in high flyers in the Soviet Union. In the original book, he studied in the Soviet Union and participated in the war during the whole World War II, and returned to China in the Liberation War, from company commander to colonel, while his ex-wife who studied together died in the Soviet-German war. I think this setting is more appropriate.

By the way, Fu Longzhi, where he studied abroad, is a senior military academy, so he wants to be a battalion commander at home, so the school should also be changed into a grass-roots military academy. But it touched me deeply and brought me into the plot, which I can't forget for a long time. Therefore, this work is undoubtedly successful. If someone can fill these loopholes when remaking or drawing lessons from them in the future, it may remind people of the past of military reclamation in the revolutionary years, just like Youth.

Just as the Southwest Art Troupe bears the youth of Liu Feng, Xiaoping and Sui Zi, so does the Ili Valley and the Construction Corps. They devoted themselves to Xinjiang and made indelible contributions to the local economic development and the consolidation of national unity and national unity. Through this film, Mr. Tao Jin and Mr. Liu Fan want to pay tribute to the most lovely people and their distant youth. It is true that some behaviors and concepts in movies are not suitable for people today, but please always remember their contributions.