【電影簡介】

改編自同名文學(xué)巨著的電影《白鹿原》是一次立足于人與土地的民族史詩。在白鹿原這片古老的黃土地上，清帝退位帶來的不僅是剪辮子、放大腳和中華民國，還有漫天風(fēng)雪中抗?fàn)庍^重納糧如同火龍一般的隊伍，在軍閥混戰(zhàn)的暴力征糧下，白鹿原人寧可將已經(jīng)成熟的麥海付之一炬，將一年的收成還給老天，而當(dāng)共產(chǎn)黨人在白鹿原上掀起一場場農(nóng)會風(fēng)攪雪時，被鍘掉的不僅僅是貪官劣紳的頭顱，還有人們對祠堂族規(guī)的敬畏之心?？谷談倮?，在解放軍的前進(jìn)炮火中，白鹿原將迎來一次翻天覆地的新生。

《白鹿原》是一次透析國人心靈與欲望裂變的精神史詩。它是白鹿村族長白嘉軒困頓磨難中秉承一生的仁義守己，是族長繼承人白孝文被教化壓抑后的放浪形骸，是長工鹿三的錚錚鐵骨和卑微認(rèn)命，是其子黑娃對低賤人生的憤怒不甘，是鄉(xiāng)紳鹿子霖追逐權(quán)益的放縱奉迎，是其子鹿兆鵬把握命運的自覺革命，而讓天下所有男人亂性的田小娥，既勇敢地追求天下所有女人最基本的幸福，又不得不在生存的壓迫下委身于一個又一個男人，直至悲劇的來臨。

【音頻文本】

White Deer Plain is a controversial movie.

No doubt part of the controversy is inherited from the original novel written by Chen Zhongshi in 1993. The 1990s is an age when Chinese writers were testing the extent of the country's reform and opening-up in literature, and realist writer Chen, along with other writers who were equally bold with erotic descriptions, were believed to have pushed the limit.

But there is more to Chen's work than lonely village wenches. In his voluminous novel the Shaanxi writer offered an elaborate description of a Chinese village in the early 20th century, a period of time when China witnessed dramatic changes. The story is so complex and insightful that many famous directors have fancied adapting it, yet none of them came up with a script that does justice to the original work. Well, none but one, director Wang Quan'an, who spent seven years rendering the novel into a film and in the end started more controversy regarding his creative output.

At least one other critic did an in-depth analysis on all the possible focuses that a film director could have used in the adaptation, and argued for what he believed would have been the best approach. However, Ishall invoke my privilege as a viewer who's never read the original novel, and assess the movie for what it is.

But before that, there are still odds to be settled. To please different audiences, the director has fathered multiple versions: a 220 minute version to realize his artistic aspiration and make every cent of the 100 million yuan investment count; a 188 minute version for the Berlin International Film Festival; and a 156 minute version for the movie approval authority and moviegoers. This puts me in a rather difficult situation because if I fail to identify the version that I'm evaluating, some resourceful viewer might argue that another version is not exactly like this piece.

Well then, with all the controversies specified, let's have a look at the 156 minute version that is available to most ordinary viewers. I think almost all viewers could agree that the film is visually fantastic.Wang Quan'an studied painting as well, so the director of White Deer Plain is just as skillful at delivering breath-taking spectacles, making each shot a well organized picture, portrait or landscape.

Story-wise, it is really hard to get the message because the narrative is broken and inconsistent, but through reasoning and code-breaking, I guess the director intents to highlight the traditional values in rural China under the threat of a rapidly changing society. In this sense, he gives excellent presentation of Shaanxi local music, enough to impress the judges at Berlin. But when it comes to characterization, the 156 minute version creates too many loose ends, as leading characters are left unaccounted for by the closing credits.

Nonetheless, the director's effort is commendable, once you sit in the cinema looking at the remarkable spectacle, you won't even notice that you are struggling to make sense of the broken story. Despite all the controversies and inconveniences, I give White Deer Plain a six out of 10.

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