For this tragic ending, there are hints in the film. First, when Song Shijie and Li Cheng entered the court, people welcomed James Soong and his wife on both sides of the street, asking for autographs and sending flowers, which was very warm. But one thing, people send chrysanthemums, and chrysanthemums are usually used by Tomb-Sweeping Day to worship the dead, so it is suggested that Mr. and Mrs. Song Shijie die in this lawsuit.
The second detail is that after Song Shijie discussed the results of the case with the chief secretary of Harvard Tour Press, Shanxi Magistrate, Guangzhou Magistrate and Shanxi Magistrate, Song Shijie left the room with Li Cheng, and suddenly a golden light shone on Song Shijie and his wife. In fact, there is a false light here to suggest that this scene is false. Mr and Mrs Song Shijie have passed away. All these were Song Shijie's dying fantasies.
Personally, I think the ending of this tragedy is purely over-interpretation. From a Chinese odyssey to the mainland, Stephen Chow films have always been regarded as rich in connotation, and many comic burdens have been endowed with postmodern significance. In fact, for these excessive interpretations, Stephen Chow said in more than one interview that he didn't think so much at all and didn't design so many connotations and details. He just wants to be funny.
The director of The Judge of Death is Du Qifeng, and he and Master Xing did have a lot of arguments when shooting. Du Qifeng likes to play with foreshadowing and hinting, while Master Xing likes to advance the plot with a relaxed and humorous rhythm, so this film is the product of the constant collision of two people's artistic concepts. Lao Du has some gloomy and heavy treatments, such as Song Shijie's theory of retribution, and the helplessness of the family being driven to a desperate situation. But for Song Shijie's triumph, it was indeed a happy ending for Xingye, and there was no so-called tragedy hint.
Legend has it that Du Qifeng filmed two endings. One was that Song Shijie's family was killed, but Master Xing refused, so there was a nonsense performance of "changing Feng Shui", which was actually a joke on Du Qifeng. Of course, this statement is not officially recognized, but can only be regarded as a joke by paparazzi.
The Judge of Death must have ended in a comedy, but the interpretation of the hidden details on the Internet can't stand scrutiny.
First of all, sending chrysanthemums is not just for the dead. Ancient literati also liked chrysanthemums. Chrysanthemum represents nobility, arrogance, indifference to fame and fortune, and integrity. People send chrysanthemums to Song Shapi, which is actually a recognition of his righteous act.
As for the golden light when the Song Shijie family walked out of the county magistrate's office, it was actually just an ordinary night light. If the backlight of the virtual symbol is real, the effect should be like a dream in "New king of comedy", which is a proper fantasy.
In addition, Song Shijie's family went to the cemetery to worship, and the number of tombstones actually corresponded to the openings. At that time, Song Shijie took his little son, who had just turned one year old, to the cemetery to worship his brother. There were twelve tombstones in the cemetery.
Song Shijie's poem also clearly shows that we have lost twelve children.
After helping Chen Xiangfu finish the lawsuit, his son also fell into the well and drowned, so he collected 13 tombstones for the last scene. Finally, there are thirteen tombstones. If it is true that Song Shijie's family was killed, then the number of tombstones should exceed twenty. After all, such a big family, such an important supporting role as wet nurse and Alfred, has no tombstone. Isn't Song Shijie worthy of his wife?
More importantly, why was Song Shijie killed? In any dynasty, there was no saying that a judge would be sentenced to death if he lost the case, unless the judge himself participated in the crime. Moreover, Song Shijie, a top litigator, has an unusual background, and many people know North Korean officials and dignitaries. Otherwise, he has no ability to oppose Gan Kun, and it is impossible to shout the slogan of "suing the court". County copied Song Shijie's home, the premise is to rehabilitate Song Shijie, and contempt for the court. This is legal punishment, not abuse of power. As for Yao's murder, it was a black-box operation, not an official act.
In this film, the theme is actually how Song Shijie changed from a despicable litigator to a lawyer with a sense of justice. At first, I was basically a sesame official like Fang. He only has money in his eyes. He used his identity and eloquence to reverse black and white and frame innocent people, and did a lot of immoral things. As a result, more than a dozen children will not live to be one year old.
And those officials are not villains in the traditional sense. He Ruda, a magistrate in Guangzhou, is not a corrupt official. At first, he just wanted to teach Song Shijie a lesson. As a result, his wife secretly accepted the money from Shanxi Chief Secretary and was forced to drag He Daren into the water.
The Chief Secretary of Shanxi wanted to personally bring her sister and brother-in-law to justice, but the old lady had no limit to protect her calf and had to take the road of bending the law.
The Governor of Bafu is a good official who is in charge of the people. He attaches great importance to procedural justice and takes the Qing law as the highest purpose. Song Shijie, a litigator who exploited legal loopholes, naturally resented the Eight Houses' patrolling, hoping to completely subdue him from the procedure and realize justice in his heart. As a result, Song Shijie was better than him. It was completely defeated by the law. Worried about the image of officialdom, Patrol Press had to put down his own principles and chose to reconcile with He Yang.
To sum up, this movie is darker and deeper than other movies of Master Xing, but it is not really dark enough to kill the whole family. Even if Du Qifeng has that artistic idea, he will definitely fail Master Xing.
People who have seen the drama version of King Song Shijie probably won't ask this question, because the drama version is an adaptation of the film version. In the film, the scene in the cemetery has appeared since the beginning of the film, and it is explained that Song Shijie has died 12 children (and then one died, one * * * 13 children), and at the end, the children and grandchildren are full of sacrifices for the children who died young before. The beginning and end of the article echo each other, and there is a strong contrast at the end, just like the comparison method commonly used in Chinese to show people.