Audiences mentioned that Albanian movies are "inexplicable". The first thing they must mention is "The Eighth Is a Bronze Statue", about which the author once wrote Did a little analysis.
Almost at the same time, the audience of that year also mentioned another Albanian movie that they could not understand, which was "Footprints".
What kind of movie is this that has such a unanimous response from the audience?
The film "Footprints" was released in China in 1971 and is considered an early Albanian film.
According to the "Shanghai Cultural History Events (1966 1976)" in the appendix of "Shanghai Cultural Yearbook 1992": On November 28, 1971, in order to celebrate the 27th anniversary of the liberation of Albania, Albanian feature films "Footprints" and "The Brave Ones" will be released in Shanghai starting today.
In a cultural journal in Zhejiang, it was also mentioned: On December 17, 1971, in conjunction with the 27th anniversary of the liberation of Albania, Albanian feature films "The Brave Ones" and "Footprints" were screened in Hangzhou. "Zhejiang Daily" published comment articles "The vast sky and earth have weathered the wind and rain, and the vigorous mountain eagles are soaring -
Earlier comments appeared in major newspapers across the country. Let’s take a look at the headlines of the comments at that time.
"Liberation Army Daily" on December 2, 1971: Marching forward on the road of revolutionization.
"Beijing Daily" December 5, 1971: The glorious road.
"Wenhui Po" on December 7, 1971: The pace of progress.
"Guangming Daily" December 8, 1971: The pace that never stops.
"Guangming Daily" December 8, 1971: The glorious path of intellectuals.
Judging from the titles of these articles, the movie should have a positive theme, clear black and white, simple and straightforward, how could it give rise to "incomprehensible" comments? explain?
In fact, the cry of "not understanding" this movie can be said to be constantly in our ears, and we hear it from time to time.
This film was widely welcomed by Chinese audiences. In the article "Talk about Zhou Xiaowen" (written by Mao Guo), the film enlightenment process of Chinese director Zhou Xiaowen was introduced and Zhou Xiaowen's Memories: "I have watched "The Danube Waves" the most, no less than a dozen times! I have watched "Footprints" seven or eight times."
I have watched it many times, probably Incomprehensible factors are included.
Looking at the article "Memories of the "Cultural Revolution"" (Author: Zhong Likan), the author pointed out: "There is a film of "Footprints" in Arnia. After watching it, , most people don’t know what to say.”
The playwright Jin Zuoren is quoted in the book "The Scratched Years: Expressing Our Unforgettable Memories" (written by Gao Feng). A letter mentioned: "'Albanian movie - inexplicable', this is the conclusion the audience came to after watching "Footprints". The film uses a large flashback and time and space interlacing structural method, and is used to seeing a cause-and-effect linear structure. The structure of the film is difficult for Chinese audiences to adapt to. Of course, the rapid switching of shots and the concise description of characters and details in other Albanian films are also important factors. ”
In the "Ye Shengtao Family Letter" co-authored by Ye Shengtao and Ye Zhishan, there is also a large space that records the evaluation of this movie.
Qian Zhongshu satirized in "Fortress Besieged": When celebrities write letters, there is a desire for performance, and they are all considered for future publication.
It cannot be said that the correspondence that the Ye family and his son wrote in succession at that time did not expect to be published in the future. Today, in the letters between the two people, we are seeing the father and son performing a lively double act in the loneliness of history.
Because it is a performance, the letters written between them are not necessarily what they think in their hearts, but some traces of the times can be generally seen.
In Ye Zhishan’s letter, he mentioned this Albanian movie.
Ye Zhishan wrote in a letter on May 10, 1972: "Similar to the story, there is the Albanian feature film "Footprints" about a The doctor's thinking changed. This doctor had a good background and was very skilled in surgery. He believed that he should be grateful and respected for saving many lives. Later, he treated a worker in an accident. In order to save his colleague, two legs were blown off. After the operation, the doctor went to check the ward. It happened that the rescued colleagues came to visit the worker. When they met, they talked about technological innovation. The doctor felt very strange: these things. Didn't this worker save them regardless of his own life? Why didn't he even say a word of thanks? It was really out of his expectation. He told a friend about it, and the friend responded very well. , saying that they would do what he did under the same circumstances. The doctor realized that he was far away from the working people, so he took the initiative to go to the border to receive reform. In terms of ideology, this film was. Quite high. But they are used to using flashbacks and some unnecessary interludes, making it difficult for people to sort out the clues."
Ye Shengtao replied, if he has a vote, he will. I will go and see it. It can be seen that he is still interested in his son's recommendation and does not discriminate that this is an Albanian movie. It can be seen from this that the cultural integration and intervention of Albanian films into China is much more complicated than the ostrich status that we later avoided talking about and pretended not to know.
The son saw that his father was interested in the Albanian movie mentioned in his previous letter. On 5 In this reply letter dated March 16th, he further elaborated on the content of the movie. This is the psychological trend that all viewers who have watched the movie in advance like to show. He wrote: "You have to spend some time to understand the movie "Footprints". He started with an assassination case, that is, the doctor was assassinated. Some people suspected that he committed suicide. The public security officer handling the case believed that the case could only be finalized through investigation, so he interviewed the doctor's father, wife, colleagues, and friends. , these people all narrate snippets of the doctor's life, and their own lives are also inserted into it, so it seems very confusing. Before Dad goes to see it, it is best to ask Sanwu to briefly tell the story about this theme in a detective film. There is really no need to express it in the form of "
The "Sanwu" mentioned here is the eldest grandson of Ye Shengtao. In fact, according to Ye Shengtao's writing skills, watching such an Albanian movie, one can completely digest the puzzles in the movie by oneself, without the need for others to point out. But from this letter, we can see that "Footprints" does have a little " Brain-burning".
Master Ye Shengtao was suspected of not being able to understand, but many people got the understanding they needed in this movie.
According to "The Role of Teachers' Ethics in Students' Moral Education" (Authors: Lin Jinghui, Wei Xuefen) included in the "Excellent Collection of Transportation Technician Education" compiled by the Transportation Technician Education Research Association, Use "Footprints" as an argument for the article: "There is a saying in the Albanian film "Footprints": Being with simple people can purify the soul."
It can be seen that this collection of essays cites "Footprints" as a time-tested classic statement.
In the era of reform and opening up, it is indeed a bit incredible to still use the arguments in Albanian movies as a source of information to support one's own ideas.
In an article "Football is not roulette - My opinion on the 14th World Cup" in Bi Xidong's "Football Player: From Germany to China" ", the author also eloquently mentioned the memory brought about by "Footprints": "Who made who? During the ten years of turmoil, only Albanian feature films were eligible to be imported, but I remembered the film "Footprints". A famous saying: It is the doctor who creates the operating room, but the operating room does not necessarily create the doctor. The chaos presented in this World Series really touches people's souls. ”
It’s just that the author has a memory misalignment here. In fact, this sentence in the article is not a line in "Footprints", but a dialogue in another Albanian movie "Trauma". These two movies show how doctors leave big cities and come to remote areas where there is a lack of medical treatment. The conflicts mainly come from husbands and wives. The husband is active and the wife is dragging her feet. The theme concept is very similar, so this is the reason why This caused the author's false memory of being so pretentious.
"Footprints" had a strong ideological impact on the young people of that era.
In the book "Huang Guanshun, the Good Warrior of Lei Feng Style" (published in 1973), we read a diary of the author. The educational impact "Footprints" gave me was recorded and recorded: "After watching the Albanian story film "Footprints" on March 6, 1972, I felt that it had a profound education for me. It is the education of our youth. A good film about people. It tells us: One cannot be greedy for ease in life, let alone be arrogant. We must know that one's progress should be attributed to the party and the people, and one must not regard it as the result of the help of comrades. The capital of one's own pride."
And more records appeared in the writings of authors who experienced that era. Shanghai writer Yin Huifen integrated the movie "Footprints" into the protagonist's life experience in "Dream of Brocade". She wrote in the novel: "Li Xiaorong said that she also admired the surgeon in "Footprints". He was handsome and talented. Unfortunately, He died, he was killed. Jin Fan said that the footprints in the film symbolized the footprints of life. Li Xiaorong said, "Oh, I didn't expect that. I thought the title of the film was wrong. I'm so stupid."
In "Can't Stop" (2007 edition) written by Mao Jiping, he also wrote about the impact of the Albanian movie on the characters: "She remembered what she had watched when she was a child. In an Albanian movie called "Footprints", the heroine confided her feelings to her husband: It's been five years since we got married, but we still feel like we just fell in love. She was completely immersed in a feeling of happiness. The initial anxiety caused by the affair, the fear of being discovered by others, and the vague sense of guilt caused by the deviant behavior disappeared. ”
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The comic strip also did not miss "Footprints". This comic book is marked as adapted from an Albanian film, adapted by Wang Peijia, illustrated by Xiang Qun and others, and published by Heilongjiang People's Publishing House in January 1974. The first edition had a print run of an astonishing 280,000 copies.
This comic strip deletes all the unintelligible memory scenes in the movie, clarifying the clues, and also makes the memories of irrelevant characters clear. I have omitted it, but it is a better popular book for understanding the movie.
And such an Albanian film "Footprints", which is not regarded by celebrities in today's film industry, has become a successful example in film textbooks in the early years. Today, these examples are even more important. Most of them follow the lead of Hollywood movies.
When introducing the technique of "dialogue montage" in "Compendium of Film Studies" (1992 edition) edited by Bu Zhaolin, he wrote: < /p>
Conversational montage is also a relatively economical and concise processing method. This kind of picture combination not only advances the storyline of the movie, but is also reasonable. This is also a technique widely used in the history of Chinese and foreign films. Below is the plot of "Footprints".
Nurse: "Dr. Aldan wishes you success."
Aldan: "Thank you."
"The difference between success and failure is often a hair's breadth." The professor in another scene said this.
So, why is "Footprints" so acclaimed that people can't understand it?
This point has been made very clear in Ye Zhishan’s letter to his father, that is, the movie introduces Dr. Aldan who died under the enemy’s gun through memories. Life stories.
This method of expression is exactly the same as "The Eighth Is a Bronze Statue". Even in "Better to Die Than Surrender", it is through the protagonist Mira who is After the arrest, he kept flashing back to memories to express his past experiences.
It seems that Albanian movies like this large-scale memory technique very much, and it is precisely the movies that use this technique more that the Chinese audience cannot understand the "heavy part". disaster area".
In "Footprints", there is a suspenseful ending at the beginning. Doctor Aldan died suddenly while practicing medicine in the border area, and a gun was found in his hand. The easiest conclusion to make is that he committed suicide. So the police launched an investigation and interviewed his father, wife, colleagues and patients to fully understand his thoughts. Different from "The Eighth Is a Bronze Statue", Dr. Aldan in "Footprints" is more like "Roman" The "perspective determines the perception" color of "The Gate of Life".
"The Eighth Is a Bronze Statue" is a juxtaposition of characters and deeds that do not interfere with each other, while "Footprints" is a cause-and-effect platter of characters and deeds. Group after group, there will inevitably be conflicts in each group of memories due to different angles of recollection, which results in the characters in "Footprints" being in a state of clearing away the clouds and shifting appearances.
In other people’s multi-angle memories, Dr. Aldan’s character and thoughts are progressive, and the final point is to prove that he is a A good doctor, not a suicide who may have committed treason.
As Ye Zhishan said in his letter, "Footprints" adopts a suspenseful structure, which is not necessarily successful. Because there are no flashes of swords in the entire movie, and a mysterious death incident suddenly occurs at the end, and a movie with ideological conflicts has to be involved in a murder incident, the two seem a bit nondescript.
In fact, the memory of the entire movie explains how the protagonist changed from a vain, selfish, and satisfied with personal happiness to a doctor who realized the change of values ??and devoted himself to service. a more meaningful life in society.
This obviously proved to be a very difficult path to achieve in the subsequent transformation and change of the country of Albania, and the current Albanian people, But the choice was made in Italy and Greece, countries that were enemies of Albania in World War II, which are the countries where the defectors in the movie are eager to go.
In other words, the ideological changes of the doctors in "Footprints" are exactly contrary to the ideological trends of the people in reality.
Therefore, films like "Footprints", in turn, can be seen that the domestic people at that time wanted to go abroad, rather than being single-minded like the doctors praised in the film. The intention is to take root at the grassroots level.
Therefore, the whereabouts and whereabouts of heroes always go against the trends and trends of society.
The movie also summarizes that era through the mouth of a girl: "Our descendants will envy our difficult era. One year in this era is equal to a century. ”
In fact, on the contrary, today’s Albania has forgotten that era.
In movies, heroes are set up as role models, telling the public about the alternative to worldly choices. This is the existence value of the hero law, and Hollywood movies are no exception.
The factors that affect the doctor's ideological change in "Footprints" are the key areas of the film. We can roughly see that Aldan was indulged in individualism and family circles from the beginning, and his ideological changes came from the following factors:
The doctor and his colleagues went out to play and met the mother of his childhood friend. When they were in the countryside, they were cared for by this rural lady. Later, the friend died in the battle against fascism. This is He gave Aldan a traditional education and felt that he should not forget his roots. This was an important factor that prompted him to return to his hometown to practice medicine.
While the doctor was treating patients, a worker was injured himself because he was protecting his colleagues. The doctor originally treated patients, but he was also treated by patients. This changed his concept of superiority and reversed the doctor's god-like existence in the doctor-patient relationship.
In the film, Aldan’s father was an army officer who was later discharged and returned to the field. He had a profound understanding of his son’s degeneration. He pointed out: "You take the honor given by the people for granted. You are divorced from the people and forget who trained you." Colleagues also pointed out that Aldan is divorced from reality, engages in purely theoretical research, and is enthusiastic about maintaining his own prestige. , instead of serving the people. These concepts were quickly transformed from theory into action practice after the protagonist touched the patient's touching behavior, thus achieving a change in thinking.
Although "Footprints" is limited to the life of a doctor, its social breadth is still extraordinary. In the film, it is also mentioned that the Soviet aid was interrupted, and the factory relied on its own efforts to cope with the difficulties of the raid. Including the harsh social environment at that time and the complex situation in the border areas, they can all reflect the current situation facing the country. Under such a situation, the doctor gave up life in the big city and came to the border areas to serve the villagers, which gave his choice a deep strength supported by the entire social background.
The murderer in the film is the so-called friend who once sent a chandelier to the doctor. In the final ending, the film omits the reasoning and The detective directly pushed out the murderer. This is one of the reasons why Albanian movies disdain logical analysis, making the movie so baffling.
"Footprints" adds so many elements to a simple theme movie, which dilutes its theme to a certain extent, and also The movie is too confusing, and the details are too complicated, and in the end it leaves people with the impression that they can't understand it. In fact, the theme of the movie is still very clear. The summary of it in the newspapers at that time was very conclusive and undisputed, which shows that it is not difficult to understand. At least the audience who has watched the movie may not necessarily be able to sort it out. The narrative line of the film is trending, but the content conveyed by the film is still clear at a glance.