About "Yellow earth"

[gingersoup]

Hi, I found this interesting forum yesterday. As a pure Chinese, I am just curious about how you bunch of western guys view china and chinese culture. Hopefully, you guys will like this interloper.

Ok, back on the question. Last year, I took an Contemporary Chinses culture course in Canada. And my professor was an Italian guy(or French,I guess). His chinese is great! Well, during the course, he chose some chinese movies and novels as the course material. The movies he chose was something like Farewell my concubine, The story of Qiuju, Blush, The sent-down Girl, To live, etc. Those are great movies and I love them. But I really couldn't understand why he chose the movie " yellow earth". For me, this is the boredest movie I'v ever seem before. And yesterday, I saw somebody mentioned about this movie somewhere in the forum. I am just wondering, do you guys like "Yellow earth" ? Be honest, I'd never heared about this movie before I took that course. Maybe I am just ignorant. How do you guys know about this movie?

[Jack MacKelly]

I've never watched it, but a number of people told me it was good

[chengdude]

Well, it doesn't have much of a beat and you can't dance to it...but I think someone in another thread referred to YELLOW EARTH as a "statement," which is a pretty good descriptor as it was the first major release by Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou. I believe I also mentioned the film in my old "Best Films That Illuminate Chinese Culture" thread as the plot is circumstantially about the CCP's efforts to collect and record folk songs from rural China and the cinematography beautifully evokes the "yellow earth" loess plains of the title.

[confucius]

I enjoyed this movie very much (Yellow Earth) and have watched it twice.

The second time was on video tape and in the spirit of the film I tried to write down the lyrics to the funny folk song sung by the Shanxi boy.

(The film is about a military officer who ventures into Shanxi studying folk music lyrics to be used for political songs.)

时令已经叫初春呦

几个 野猫 唱 喽

我娘把 我 卖掉

我就不商量，哎嗨 呦

只想寻下个好女婿

谁料想嫁个尿床郎?

你也 尿！我也尿

咱俩 一起 就尿新房

嘿嘿，哎 嘿嘿

咱俩一起就尿 他个娘！

来年遍地都开花 啰

花儿 开了 露头

床底下那个 蛤蟆

就闹呀 嚷嚷，哎嗨 呦

一 尿 尿 到东海 去

尿 到 龙王 金殿 上

龙王听言哈哈笑

尿床人而是我同行

嘿嘿，哎 嘿嘿

尿床人而是我...同行！

I still sing this song occasionally on train rides or elsewhere in the countryside of China. By the time I get to the part about bedwetting folks usually understand what it's all about. In the old days (pre-liberation, of course) marriages were arranged between couples who were still very young. This song bemoans the fate of somebody who is betrothed to a bedwetter and complains humorously about the soggy plight.

[Ken]

If it is the movie I am thinking of, I regard it to be a tragedy. A young lady is forced into an unhappy (miserable, possibly abusive) marriage and presumably drowns in the river in the final scene.

Since I knew almost no mandarin when I viewed the movie, I did not appreciate the folk music. I deemed the soldier who was sent to the countryside to identify music for use by the army to be the girl's would-be "knight". Unfortunately, he did not return in time to rescue her from an existence which she felt intolerable.

Except for the fact that he needed authorization for her to relocate, I did not see the movie as a political statement. (In western culture, we take freedom of movement for granted.) The tragic feelings created by the movie are very, very enduring.

[confucius]

Thank you for your comments, Ken. It's interesting to read how different people react to the same Chinese film. When I recall this film the tragic ending almost escapes me. I was more enthralled with the cinematography and the depiction of traditional Chinese culture in the countryside.

Another one of my favorite scenes is at an outdoor wedding party where guests are served wooden fish. I remember this quote from the movie

when a farmer explains this phenomena to the intrigued PLA officer:

“是个木头儿的， 表示‘鱼’的意思。”

[Ken]

After I have learned more mandarin, I will revisit the movie. I hope that I will find appreciation for the aspects which you mention. I will certainly look for them.

[Ultimate_Phil]

I am very interested in watching this film. Does anyone know if an English DVD (RC 0 or 2) with English and Mandarin audio exists ??? And if it does, how is the quality ? Thank you for your help.

[Gary Soup]

I believe I've seen a VCD with English subtitles.

[skylee]

You mean like this one? -> http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1001812426/code-c/section-videos/

[Ultimate_Phil]

Thank you for your help !!! I expected that there is no DVD with English audio outthere but this VCD is a good choice. I am looking forward to watch this movie and I guess I will really enjoy it ! Thanks, again.