Many films are not purely commercial
product. It can not only give you visual enjoyment but also give you the spiritual
enjoyment. A good film story’s behind has deeper connotation. It will tell us
about life philosophy. Maybe some films’ story is full of gloom and despair.
But it still wants to tell us some positive things. In a lot of films, we can
see some characters still keep invincible spirit in desperate environment. That
is film’s positive element. I have watched a lot of films. Some films have a
good story and I am deeply moved by them. I can comprehend spirits from these
films. In so many films, I really learn a lot from two films. They are ‘Beijing
Bicycle’ and ‘Aftershock’. They let me learn a lot about a philosophical
consideration about life. Even I have a new outlook on life.
The film named ‘Beijing Bicycle’ described
a story of bike between two boys. Gui came to Beijing from countryside. He
found a job in express company. The company gave him a sliver mountain bike. If
he worked enough time, he would own this bike. So he worked so hard every day.
However, his bike was stolen in the last day. After that day, Gui would own
that beautiful bike. He was so sad. And he also lost his job. He swore he will
find his bike. Jian was a student. He wanted to own a bike but his family is
poor. His father repeatedly promised to buy a bike for him but he never fulfilled
his promise. So Jian stole his father’s money to buy a cheap bike from someone.
But he didn’t know this bike is booty who stole it from Gui. He liked this
bike. And he hooked up with a girl who liked bike. One day, Gui’s uncle saw
that bike. He told Gui about this. Gui found Jian and asked him to give him his
bike back. Jian didn’t agree with this. So Gui took that bike privately from
Jian’s home. Jian felt so angry. He grabbed away the bike from Gui’s hand. Gui
told Jian’s father about this thing. Jian’s father was so angry that he knows
Jian steal his money to buy a bike. He asked Jian to give Gui his bike back.
But Jian still found Gui and wanted to get that bike back after that. Finally,
they decided to share that bike. It seems like a good result. But that bike was
broken by someone in the end because of Jian’s fault.
This film pays attention to people who in
lower degree. Gui and Jian is both 17 years old teenager. They are both poor.
That bike is very important for them. Gui worked so hard for that bike. It’s
also his main tool for living. He lost his job after his bike was stolen. Jian
really wanted to own a bike. He played with his friends after he bought that
bike. He also found a girlfriend. I think that girlfriend is his main reason
that he didn’t want to give up that bike. He always got that bike back after
Gui took back his bike. He thought his girlfriend left him because he lost his
bike. In the end, he knew his girlfriend will not come back. He let Gui take
back his bike. I admit Jian isn’t a very bad person and he is so sad. He bought
this bike in the market but he didn’t know it’s Gui’s bike. Jian went to find
Gui and wanted to get that bike in the last time. He decided to share that
bike. I think he has sympathy for Gui. They have same age. They are poor. So he
chose this way. In the end, he lost his bike and girlfriend. I think he is so
sad. However, he is not saddest person. Gui was innocent in the whole event.
His bike was stolen by thief and he lost his job. In the beginning, he was
really sad. When he found his bike, he was so happy. However, he was gotten
pummeled after he chose to rob his bike. He didn’t give up. In the film, we can
see him still try to get his bike back after Jian took his bike. It reminds me
a word ‘axis’ in the film. It’s an interesting thing. The manger of express
company uses axis to describe Gui. We know Axis is straight. It can’t get bent.
The manger thought he is stubborn. On the other side, it also shows he had
perseverance. He swore he will find his bike. He also found his bike and got
his job back. He never gave up easily. Maybe he is inflexible in other things.
But I still think it’s a good personality. There is a scene that impressed me.
In the end, Gui carried his broken bike and walked on the street. I notice the
look in his eyes. This scene really touched me. I can read fortitude in his
eyes. He was an innocent person in the story. He lost his favorite bike and
important job but he never gave up. Although he was stubborn, he had perseverance.
It’s a good personality. In fact, many people who worked in the city are losing
this kind of personality. I think this film use all of story to show Gui’s indomitable
spirit. Indomitable spirit is this film’s core. It’s a kind of attitude towards
life. The director wants us to learn this spirit.
Another
film called ‘Aftershock’. This film described a family’s life after earthquake.
This film shows two big earthquakes. They are Tangshan earthquake and Wenchuan earthquake.
Tangshan earthquake happened in 1976 and Wenchuan earthquake happened in 2008. It
shows the spans of time are immense in the film. In the beginning, it shows the
background of main characters. Fang Da and Fang Den are brother and sister. They
lived in Tangshan with their parents. And then the earthquake happened in a
night. Their father dead when he wanted to his children. Fang Da and Fang Deng were
both trapped in the two ends of a cement board. Rescuers only can save one of
them. Their mother Yuanni made a hard decision to save her son Fang Da. In
fact, Fang Deng didn’t die and she was adopted by Wang Deqing and Dong Guilan.
They are both soldiers. Fang Da lost an arm because of the earthquake. Although
his family is poor, his mother still raised him and let him go to school.
However, he didn’t like to study. So he decided to go to Hangzhou for making
money. His first job is riding a trishaw to take passengers to some places.
Although he was so sad in the beginning, he started his own company in the end.
Fang Deng lived in a good family. She went to university to study medicine.
When she studied in the college, she fell in love with a fellow student. However,
that man left her because she was pregnant. She dropped out of school. In the
end, she married with a Canadian and went to Canada to live with her husband
and daughter. That man treated her well. It can be a good result. After these,
Wenchuan earthquake happened in 2008, Fang Deng and Fang Da are both knew this
information. Fang Deng decided to go back country to help people in need. Fang
Da also went to that place to help people. They met each other again in that
place.
This film really moved me. There are too many
moving scene. When Yuanni need to make a decision to choose to save which one
of them, she looked like so sad. Although she chose Fang Da, she always felt
guilty about Fang Deng. Fang Da wanted to buy a house for her after he got
rich. He wanted to improve her life. However, she refused this. She felt guilty
about Fang Deng and her husband. She thought if she lived well, she will be
sorry for them. So she still chose to live in a small and old house. This thing
really moved me. Of course, it’s not the most moving scene. When earthquake
happened in Wenchuan, there was a mother’s daughter trapped in cement board. Her
feet were buried under the cement board. However, it’s very hard to help her
get out of ruins because if rescuers moved that cement board, rescuers would
get in trouble, even threatened his life. In the end, that mother decided to
let people cut off her daughter’s feet. This scene really moved me. She didn’t
want to let someone risk his life for her daughter’s feet. She is so selfless.
This film shows two kinds of spirits. First one
is indomitable spirit. Fang Deng lost his arm. However, he didn’t give up the
hope of life. So he earned a lot of money and his life was improved. Of course,
Fang Deng also got a good life after earthquake. There are many people who
experienced Tangshan Earthquake went to Wenchuan to help people in need. It
also can prove this point. Another one is the spirit of solidarity. When earthquake
happened in Wenchuan, there are a lot of people go to there to help people for
free. When she heard this message, she also chose to go back country. In the
film, we can see many people still keep saving people when they are hungry.
In fact, People who lived in China are
losing these two kinds of spirit. I think two directors took these two films is
to help people learn indomitable spirit and the spirit of solidarity. They are
really worth learning.
