There are many hot summer vacations that I have experienced, and I can not remember anything. “August” helped me think of it.
For the cries of soybeans and treads three rounds of sound through the heat, the fans are turning around the dinner table to eat a family of three, father ran the bowl of rice, said the “TV actor’s bitter phase,” the mother to the juvenile Folder a chopstick dish “eat hard”. The room of the words, the window bursts of cicadas, many of the sound intertwined, no one who was submerged, and no one prominent, quiet and even spread out of a Mi Wei, which is the summer of 1994.
Last year, at the 53th Golden Horse Awards ceremony, the young director Zhang Dalei to the film “August” won the best drama and international film critic Fibi Xi Award. So suddenly broke into the line of sight of the new director, as well as unfamiliar face out of the first victory of the scenes, deja vu, reminiscent of the last “dark horse” Bi Gan and his “roadside picnic.”
“August” gains the Golden Horse Best Drama Award
After Kinmen and Matsu, people enthusiastically “August” and Hou Hsiao-hsien, Ozu Yasujiro contrast, in the watercress movie recommended entry, there have been Zhiyu and Yang Dechang. These names often mean good at capturing the dull and warmth of life, but Zhang Dalei’s film is different.
“August” story occurred at the end of the summer, the film’s hero Zhang Xiaolei is enjoying his 12 years old this year’s long summer vacation.
With his father Zhang Chen to the swimming pool, father and son a demonstration action, a hard practice. Worship Bruce Lee and small bully third brother, pairs of knuckles put it down, no matter what time are hanging in the neck or do not enter the waist. Daytime wake up to a long sigh of relief, and then tiptoe under the window, peek across the balcony on the violin pull the girl – in the dream, she took the initiative to kiss a small mine. For Zhang Xiaolei, this is a carefree summer vacation, but for adults, this August is mind heavy.
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State-owned enterprise restructuring, in the film studio to do the editor’s father faced with laid-off, although the mouth with his family talking about the ability of people do not have to worry about, but still can not resist the brute force of change. Relatives and disputes between the reconciliation, long illness of the bas a child died, worship the third brother in the “strike hard” during the police arrested and experienced the death of his father.
From the perspective of adults, there have been many major events in August, there is no lack of life and death, contradiction, parting these heavy propositions. And black and white images are still as usual to calm narrative, and did not add more tone for these episodes, the story read cadence. Director of the “big thing” description and father and son in the farmland to eat watermelon this “little things” description, with the same strength, no favoritism. But also because there is no obvious in the processing of the strength of the points, conflict, the collision was gently carried over, so many people think too dull. However, the director Zhang Dalei also said in an interview, “August” is a particularly simple movie, “do not want to specifically emphasize what”.
Carefree and tense, which is trivial, which is heavy, has the adult audience of course, points out, but only rely on as an adult experience and awareness of life. Used to watch a lot of movies in a loud or whispering, as well as the ups and downs of the violent arrangements, the film often teach people to distinguish between conflict and climax, such as from the director’s reminder “attention, here is the key.” However, you will find that “August” did not take the initiative to help the audience to make judgments on the plot, all things are flowing, the Golden Horse Award official commentary has such a word to describe “do nothing matter, heavy lifting.” In the quiet cinema, I was the director “no matter in the world,” the narrative mess, resulting in a particularly wonderful feeling. After years of life, some of the things that have been very clear suddenly become blurred, so I can not help but wonder if I think it is really important.
If you return to a 12-year-old child’s body, with juvenile eyes and ears to watch and listen, the boundaries of things in fact not so clear, in the ignorant age, the understanding of things are not as deep as adults. Like the beginning of such a small beginning of the important life of the twists and turns, Ray’s test scores worse in the three points, but not the so-called, only a man full of worry. Even in the eyes of Zhang Xiaolei, it can also be mixed with the sound of the leaves and the sound of the cricket, counted as an unusual part of August. Even the characters, dialogue and light and shadow, still life are equal.
In the film and literature, people do not miss the summer alone, but it is a very special period.
In the absence of homework and homework summer vacation, juvenile finally have time to know the world and his side of the people.
Iron rice bowl was broken, workers laid off, father and friends worry hidden in the twos and threes of the dialogue.
Impressive, one day adults at home dinner, talking about the fate of their respective post. In silence, a few people suddenly sang a Mongolian song, all the complex emotions are simplified in a song. Zhang Xiaolei came in, sitting in the gas and food hot air, quietly, looking at the front of the adults.
Many things in August, he can not understand, but began to understand. Including the father told him the phrase “people can not lower the noble head.”
So, from the basil’s death, the small mine learned to comfort the father of the third brother, “crying cry out.” From the father’s education, the small mine to “Mo success or failure on the hero” to respond to her mother’s failure to criticize the test. He returned some of the understanding of August, returned to August, returned to the people close to him.
August is going to pass, and many big things happen, and nothing happens. In social change, adults began to get lost, and juvenile has no direction.
TV still flashing snow, often beat, the radio came Yang Yuying “gently tell you”, the wall is also close to Cui Jian “nothing” posters … …
At the end of the film, the mother raised the epiphyllum in the open at night, the courtyard of the neighbors are poured out, lined up to take pictures. Some people read poetry at the side, someone singing for this. In the nineteen years of leisure time, the flash in the pan is a big event, the limelight almost overshadowed many social changes. In the crowd, Zhang Xiaolei and Epiphyllum took a photo, compared to those things behind the complex look, juvenile may be better understand the short-lived open so simple things.
Many people commented that “August” is again on the nineties of the salvage, shake off the private diary is more like a narcissistic. However, this film is picked up but the memory of the slip of the net fish. And miss their own times, can not be said to be narcissistic. Like the director Zhang Dalei said, “is not particularly important or easy to overlook some of the moment, I picked up.”
“August” will make people remember those who have forgotten the memory of the summer, think of those big things, we have done so worth mentioning little things. At that time, we also understand the life is not deep, on the bloom of Epiphyllum is understood deep.
Death, separation, social change, workers laid off, juvenile Zhang Xiaolei is beginning to understand some of the blurred things. For us now, the blurred thing becomes a flash in the pan.
Particularly surprising is the film with Liu Sora “green wild grapes” this song, just as from the “roadside picnic” heard the “little jasmine”, will gently push the old time.
Lyrics from Gucheng a poem, “comfort”:
Green wild grapes
Light yellow little moon
Mother worried
How to do jam
I said: do not add sugar
In the morning fence
There is a sweet one
Red sun
Summer is going to go, in addition to Epiphyllum seems to have nothing to happen. Movie director Godard had done a self-confession “I am now old, the more people think the deeper, the water on the things I have to catch, and I thought in the bottom.” And “August” people back to the water, once again touch those simple fish and water – in many years ago, we have been in the above waves, even if it is a small ripples, we have also played with it, for it Excited
