How to evaluate the film The Eight Hundred?

The Eight Hundred is a war film produced by Huayi Brothers Film Co., Ltd. and Beijing Seven Impression Culture Media Co., Ltd., directed by Guan Hu and starring Huang Zhizhong, Oho Ou, Wang Qianyuan, Zhang Yi, Du Chun, and Yu.

Based on 1937 Battle of Songhu, the film tells the story that a reinforced battalion of the 524th Regiment of the 88th Division of the Third Theater of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army, known as the "eight hundred heroes", stuck to the four-row warehouse along the Suzhou Creek and stopped the Japanese army. The film was released in China on August 2, 20201.

On February 28th, 2002/KLOC-0, he won the best film of the year in Weibo on 2020 Sina Weibo Night.

abstract

1937 At the end of the Battle of Songhu, the fierce fighting between China and Japan had lasted for three months, and Shanghai was on the verge of falling. Xie Jinyuan (Du Chun), deputy head of the 524th regiment of the 262nd Brigade of the 88th Division, led more than 420 people, who stood alone in the last line of defense and stayed in the Shanghai Fourth Line Warehouse. It is separated from the concession by a river, creating a rare war to be watched. In order to build a strong momentum, the actual number is 400, and it is called 800. The "eight hundred heroes" were ordered to stay in Zhabei, Shanghai, and fought for four days in the four-row warehouse along the Suzhou River. It was not until June 30th of 10 that he was ordered to withdraw to the British Concession.

Film evaluation

Creating three-dimensional people is the idea and ambition of 800 people. In the past, the protagonist in war movies was either a soldier who confronted the enemy head-on or an undercover agent who went deep into the enemy camp. However, this film is based on a group of deserters. The Eight Hundred can stand out from the domestic war films precisely because it "dares to shoot the truth and even ugliness of human nature". This film broadens our understanding of heroes. Before risking their lives to fight for justice, heroes also have ordinary or even unwilling cowardice and struggle. The Eight Hundred's characterization adopts the technique of group portraits, and there are about 20 main characters alone, but this will also lead to the situation that "I tried to remember everyone's names at first, but later I got mixed up". (Interface News Review)

Different from the previous films of the same type, there are no male or female protagonists in The Eight Hundred, but everyone is the protagonist and everyone is a supporting role. From the title of the film, the director focused on "people". "In ancient times, five people marched, ten people were useless, and a hundred people were worth a hundred." People are the most important. Starting from human nature, this film not only depicts brave soldiers who are engaged in war, but also depicts ordinary people who are afraid of death and war. (Xinhuanet Review)

War is cold and cruel, and the silence in The Eight Hundred highlights such cold and cruelty. At the beginning of the film, the "quietness" on the north bank of Suzhou River is outlined in the swaying panorama. This is a devastated place, with no residents, only ruin and desolation. "Quiet" is the side of "eight hundred", and the transition from "quiet" to "dynamic" is more important. It is not only the "dynamic" of war confrontation and wrestling, but also the arc of characters' change and growth, and it is also the process and posture of the main theme spirit rising. In the tragic sound of gunfire and bayonets, the film focuses on several paragraphs and sides of the "800 heroes" blocking the Japanese invaders. The cruelty of war is first conveyed, and it is intertwined with the sublimity of pain. As a commercial film of war type, the film faces up to the cruelty of war. At the same time, it no longer adopts the strategy of highlighting the wisdom and courage of commanders in previous war films, and even downplays Xie Jinyuan's leadership. On the contrary, it creates a collective force composed of "meaningful ordinary individuals" in the form of group image. (Comments by Cheng Bo, vice president and professor of Shanghai Film Academy of Shanghai University)