Fu Gui said behind Youqing that chickens grow into sheep, sheep grow into cows, and cows grow into productism. . . . . .
Such a funny explanation, such a lovely father-son dialogue, is simply permeated in Living, so it truly shows the special social culture and imprint of that special era.
In the process of Fu Gui's transformation from a son of the upper class to a poor peasant of the lower class, the hardships experienced by ordinary people are not unbearable. He watched his family leave him one by one until he was alone in the end.
I always feel that what the author wants to tell us is not only the brand of an era, but also a person's perception of life after experiencing unbearable hardships for ordinary people. How to treat the cruel reality and helpless life. As Yu Hua said in the preface of "Living", "Life belongs to everyone's own feelings, not to anyone's views." No matter how much pain and suffering life has given us, we should treat it with a calm heart, know how to enjoy life, cherish life and work hard.
The word "alive" is repeatedly mentioned in the film. It's good to be alive. As long as people are alive, they are comfort and support to family and friends. This film shows us a peasant family in turmoil. There is nothing to blame, nothing to resist, nothing to complain about. The most despised farmers in China silently endured everything in that era and tried to live their own lives.
Fu Gui can't tell what he is doing, what is revolution, what is capitalist roader and what is dignity. He doesn't even know. This man just wants to live. This man, ups and downs in the great changes of history, can't control his own destiny at all, and misfortune and bumps always haunt him. But he never gave up the belief of living, never complained about others, and expressed infinite hope for life and the future.
Forty years later, countless yellow-faced women, silent and tenacious China people continue to live in silence.
Life is just living, living quietly …
Living is like an epic, which tells the fate of individuals and families under the tide of red culture, revealing a trace of compassion and sadness, and reflecting the joys and sorrows of small people.
The ending of the film may not be as tragic as the novel, but it is also quite thought-provoking.
Fu Gui's life is a process of gradual evolution, just like the social changes in China. The sense of despair, helplessness and powerlessness in the film is slowly changing, and it has become the endurance of China people under difficult living conditions. To live is to endure, endure the responsibility given by life, endure the happiness and pain given by reality, boredom and mediocrity. Yu Hua once wrote in the preface of the novel: People live for themselves, not for anything other than living.
"Chickens grow up to be geese, geese grow up to be sheep, and sheep grow up to be cows." "Then I can ride a cow." "At that time, Shantou could get on the train and get on the plane." "At that time, our life will get better and better." When the steamed bread grows up, it will catch up with the good times. . . . . .