In the Heat of the Sun

In the Heat of the Sun
Traditional 陽光燦爛的日子
Simplified 阳光灿烂的日子
Mandarin Yángguāng cànlàn de rìzi
Literally Days of the Bright and Lush Sunshine
Directed by Jiang Wen
Produced by Guo Youliang
Hsu An-chin
Po Ki
Written by Jiang Wen
Based on Wild Beast
by Wang Shuo
Starring Xia Yu
Ning Jing
Geng Le
Tao Hong
Music by Guo Wenjing
Cinematography Gu Changwei
Edited by Zhou Ying
Release dates
 1994
Running time
 134 minutes
Country China
Language Mandarin

In the Heat of the Sun is a 1994 film directed and written by Jiang Wen. This was Jiang Wen's first foray into directing after years as a leading man. The film is based on author Wang Shuo's novel Wild Beast (动物凶猛).

Synopsis

The film is set in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution. It is told from the perspective of Ma Xiaojun nicknamed Monkey (played by Xia Yu; some of Monkey's experiences mimic director Jiang's during the Revolution[1]), who is a teenage boy at the time. Monkey and his friends are free to roam the streets of Beijing day and night because the Cultural Revolution has caused their parents and most adults to be either busy or away and school system was extremely nonfunctional during the Cultural Revolution. Jiang Wen cryptically suggested that famous movement during the Cultural revolution that most older young people were sent to the countryside. China was actively preparing for military due to the Vietnam War and claiming USSR to be revisionist. Since Monkey and his friends were military children, their parents were off for military purposes. Most of the story happens during one summer, so the main characters are even more free because there is no school. The events of that summer revolve around Monkey's dalliances with his roguish male friends, and his subsequent angst-filled crush on one of the female characters, Mi Lan (Ning Jing). However, Mi Lan falls in love with Monkey's friend, Liu Yiku.

This film is significant in its unique perspective on the Cultural Revolution. In contrast to the Cultural Revolution-set films of Chinese 5th-generation filmmakers (Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Tian Zhuangzhuang) which put the era into a larger historical setting, In The Heat Of the Sun is mellow and dream-like, portraying memories of that era with somewhat positive and personal resonances. It also acknowledges, as the narrator recalls, that he might have misremembered parts of his adolescence as stated in the prologue: "Change has wiped out my memories. I can't tell what's imagined from what's real",[2] as the director offers alternative or imagined versions to some events as people seek to romanticize their youthful memories. Critic Raymond Zhou talked about this ambiguity in Jiang Wen's movie: "Ambiguity is a major characteristic. Since two of his four features wax nostalgic about the 'cultural revolution' (1966-76), a period that evokes painful memories for many Chinese…" [3]Because of ambiguity of In the Heat of the Sun, Jiang Wen made his film politically acceptable to censors in 1990s. Though in many details, the movie reflects typical historical phenomenon of Cultural Revolution, Jiang Wen did not explicitly mention any specific event during the Cultural Revolution. That was why this movie was the one and only movie about the Cultural Revolution passed the censors during 1990s.

Development

The film was a co-production of three Chinese studios, and $2 million USD (about $3198473.28 when adjusted for inflation) of the budget was generated from Hong Kong. Derek Elley of Variety said that the film alters "some 70% of the original" novel and adds "a mass of personal memories."[4] Daniel Vukovich, author of China and Orientalism: Western Knowledge Production and the PRC, wrote that the film version makes its characters "a small group of male friends, plus one female "comrade"" instead of being "violent hooligans".[5]

The original title of film may be translated as "Bright Sunny Days". In the Heat of the Sun was chosen as its international English title for the film during a film festival in Taiwan as a less politicized name to avoid the original title's positive association of the period during the Cultural Revolution.[6]

Cast

Jiang Wen cast 3 youngsters with no acting experience but with notable athletic experience: Xia Yu was the skateboarding champion in his hometown Qingdao, Tao Hong was a synchronized swimmer on the Chinese national team, while Zuo Xiaoqing was a rhythmic gymnast also on the Chinese national team. All three enrolled in professional acting schools within a year of the film's release (Xia and Tao went to Jiang's alma mater Central Academy of Drama, while Zuo was accepted to Beijing Film Academy) and became successful actors.

Music

The Chinese version of the Soviet song "Moscow Nights" features prominently in the film, as does Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana.

Reception

The film was commercially successful in China. Vukovich wrote that the film however did cause some controversy in China for its perceived "nostalgic" and "positive" portrayal of the Cultural Revolution.[9]

According to Vukovich, the film "received much less attention than any fifth-generation classics" despite the "critical appreciation in festivals abroad".[9] Vukovich stated that in Western countries "the film has been subjected to an all too familiar coding as yet another secretly subversive, dissenting critique of Maoist and Cultural Revolution totalitarianism",[9] with the exceptions being the analyses of Chen Xiaoming from Mainland China and Wendy Larson.[9]

Awards and recognition

Very well received in China and the Chinese-speaking world but very obscure in the United States, the film won the 51st Venice Film Festival's Best Actor Award for its young lead actor Xia Yu (Xia was then the youngest recipient of the Best Actor award at Venice) as well as the Golden Horse Film Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. American director Quentin Tarantino also gave high praises to the film, calling it "really great."[10]

It was the first People's Republic of China film to win Best Picture in the Golden Horse Film Awards, in the very year where a liberalization act allows Chinese-language films from the mainland to participate.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "Interview with Jiang Wen." CNN. July 23, 2007. Retrieved on September 19, 2012.
  2. ↑ http://www.chinesecinemas.org/intheheat.html
  3. ↑ http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2011-02/23/content_12062593.htm
  4. 1 2 3 "In the Heat of the Sun." Variety. Sunday October 16, 1994. Retrieved on September 23, 2011.
  5. ↑ Vukovich, p. 149.
  6. ↑ Vukovich, page unstated (Google Books p. PT151).
  7. ↑ Larson, p. 174 (Google Books PT187).
  8. ↑ Larson, p. 177 (Google Books PT190).
  9. 1 2 3 4 Vukovich, page unstated (Google Books PT148).
  10. ↑ Quentin Tarantino Interview - KILL BILL And Others by New Cinema Magazine.

Further reading

External links

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