Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Photography and portraiture - Bernardo Bertolucci’s Oriental Complex

Bernardo Bertolucci’s Oriental Complex

As early as the 1980s, Bernardo Bertolucci had been to China and was full of curiosity about this mysterious oriental legendary country. He had repeatedly planned to shoot a descriptive film in China. Bernardo Bertolucci has always been working hard on films about China's great history, whether out of curiosity or for the sublimation of film art. Finally, after many efforts, in 1987, the movie "The Last Emperor" created by him was born under his spiritual handwriting. This film is the first film in history to be allowed to enter the Forbidden City in Beijing to shoot on location. Bernardo Bertulucci used "Twilight in the Forbidden City" written by Puyi's tutor Johnston as the original structure, and also referred to Puyi's autobiography "The First Half of My Life" and other related works create a biographical film that reflects a unique personal perspective. The film tells the story of Puyi who entered the palace at the age of three and succeeded to the throne, and was then banned from the Forbidden City. Later, the establishment of the Republic of China ended his career as an emperor in name only. Later, he defected to the Japanese and was supported by the Japanese army to establish Manchukuo in the Northeast, aiming to revive the former prosperity of the Qing Empire.

After Japan was defeated, he also became a prisoner. After ten years of rehabilitation at the Fushun War Criminals Management Center, he was released by Tehe. He revisited the Forbidden City as a tourist and was filled with emotion. It is jointly produced by the Italian Yanco Film Company, the British Dao Film Company, and the China Film Co-Production Company. Famous movie stars Chen Chong, Zun Long and Wu Junmei also participated in the performance. At the 60th Academy Awards ceremony that year, the film was nominated for nine items and won 100% of the awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Design, and Best Costumes. Design, best editing, best sound effects, best original music. Among them, the soundtrack is one of the best movie scores in the past decade.

The 1993 film "Little Living Buddha" was Bernardo Bertolucci's second oriental-colored film written and directed after "The Last Emperor". The film tells the story of one day when two eminent monks from Bhutan came to Seattle in order to track down the reincarnation of a former teacher. After traveling thousands of miles, they finally found a nine-year-old boy named Jesse in front of his home. They even believed that the blond boy might be the reincarnation of a deceased monk. Therefore, they hoped to take Jesse on the road with them and return to the monastery in Bhutan to receive the reincarnation. of verification. Talk of the reincarnation of the Tibetan Living Buddha has been circulating for a long time. What is the truth about this matter? Bernardo Bertulucci used very serious production to tell the story of Buddhism. Although it feels a bit like thunder and rain, it still has great viewing value. The film's fine art photography, soundtrack, etc. are all of a very high standard and are worth collecting.

"The Last Emperor" made him fall in love with Chinese culture. Bertolucci once went to China to shoot "The Last Emperor". He was the first foreign director to enter the Forbidden City to shoot a movie. He said frankly: "When I first arrived in China in 1984, I didn't know anything about this country. It was a period of A strange journey." Perhaps because of the filming of "The Last Emperor", he is particularly interested in ancient Chinese history. He said with a smile: "When I see Chinese people now, I feel that they are more than 5,000 years old. They are all wise. A symbol." Bertolucci also revealed that he likes to watch Chinese movies.