Rescuing Flying Tiger Love is separated by mountains and seas, no one knows my sorrow
The story of the background of World War II is always a critique of the war, reflection on human nature, the emotional attachment. However, where the final landing point is, the tone of the whole film is there. Fortunately, I did not know too much about the plot before watching the film, forming a solidified mind, but I was able to feel more comfortable with the director’s mind and the actors’ performances. After watching the whole film, I still want to tell you sincerely that “Beacon of Fire” is a sincere work.
The film’s familiar cool tones, calm camera work and concise character dialogue at the beginning of the film can easily evoke memories of the director’s work. The company’s main business is to provide a wide range of products and services. In the film a military dress and slightly locked frown, can quickly bring the audience into the anxious state of the war background. As the background of the war ends, the scene quickly shifts to the familiar rural environment of southern China, where the brutal war and the peaceful rural life form the backdrop of the film.
The narrator of the story is Jack, played by Emile Hirsch, but there is no off-screen introduction for Yingzi, played by Liu Yifei, instead, some details are used for side-splitting. She is a widow, spinning silk, living alone with her daughter, facing the village gossip alone, her in-laws’ cynical and merciless exploitation, an old relationship with the village chief, and a secret desire to save money to get out of the village and start over. So in the first half of the film, the general audience may have to spend some time following Liu Yifei into the role. The good thing is that Liu Yifei’s completion is still good, the timid in front of people, in front of the daughter’s bravado, are quite delicate. Even in order to highlight the poverty of the character and reduce the beauty of the actor, the director only gave her a coarse cloth dress in the first half, which I think has never been the case before.
The plot is not really ups and downs, but the overall view is very neat. The plane crash, the discovery of the American soldier, the death of the village chief, the private American soldier, the intrusion of the major, the rescue of the American soldier and a series of plot points, rhythmically and logically laid out, although the overall slightly flat, but relaxed, not lack of comedic elements, but also not lack of tension in the story twists and turns. In my personal opinion, the overall story nodes are two, one is Yingzi found herself to Jack should not have feelings, the second is Jack shot the Major. Especially to mention the former, the director’s filming style is really a master style, Liu Yifei’s performance can also be a point. The first is a quarrel with Jack for some reason (this scene Liu Yifei acted very well), at this time Yingzi’s emotions on the one hand is the face of the village and Japanese soldiers tight, on the other hand she vaguely found herself for Jack’s care. After that, in the home of her parents-in-law, she was exposed to her past affair with the village headman, and after she left the house in anger, Liu Yifei performed a trace of hesitation and remorse in the close-up of her expression outside the house, which is quite intriguing. The company’s newest product is a new product that is designed to be used in the marketplace. Until the final goodbye kiss, the emotional line of padding to this climax.
Some viewers may have some questions about the film’s emotional line, but I speculate that the screenwriter and director’s intentions, the relationship still has a lot of ambiguity. For example, Yingzi’s desire for a free life, Yingzi’s dead ex-husband was a soldier, and Yingzi has been using a perfume that no other woman in the village has ever used, which was left to her by Yingzi’s ex-husband. The two of them are in fact in love with each other. In the midst of this, Jack and Yingzi’s daughter relationship from hostile to good, also has a great impact on Yingzi’s psyche. Overall, the emotional line in the film does not carry much weight, but it is quite interesting. As I said above, for war themes, the tone of the film is where it ultimately ends up. In the end, the story ends with Jack’s remembrance of Eiko, which shows that the director is very attentive to this relationship. Jack’s feelings for Yingzi are also hidden in the dense mountains and forests of southern China, as in the opening credits. He flew a plane across the Pacific Ocean for public service, met with Yingzi on this side, spent some time together, truly loved this woman, and since then 50 years dare not forget. This kind of love, I think is the most precious in the director’s mind.
In addition, the end credits record historical facts, not to say not heavy. However, in retrospect, the director did not give too much war color to the characters in the film, but focused on an unknown village in the war, a widow who did not even know her surname in the war, presenting the warmth and hope of the human world in the midst of warmth and affection. This kind of small but big approach has always been the strength of Billy’s direction. The soothing and quiet soundtrack, the cold and occasionally warm tones, the close-ups of the characters often hidden in the darkness, the light and shadow are all the director’s understanding of each character.
For such a sincere work, I think it is still worth going to the theater to see.
