"The Wandering Earth 2" hits theaters, Chinese sci-fi movie "Rising Wind and Clouds"

　　China News Agency, Shanghai, February 2. Title: "The Wandering Earth 2" hits theaters, and the Chinese science fiction movie "Rising Wind and Clouds"

　　Author Wang Ji

　　Space elevators, drone melee, lunar nuclear explosions, digital life... In the Spring Festival of 2023, the domestic sci-fi movie "The Wandering Earth 2" will be released in China with its "hardcore" sci-fi expression, magnificent cosmic imagination, and moving story of human destiny. It triggered an upsurge in watching dramas and heated discussions across the Internet.

As of press time, the cumulative box office of the film has exceeded 2.9 billion yuan (RMB, the same below), and the amount of crowdfunding around the officially authorized model has exceeded 120 million yuan.

　　Why is "The Wandering Earth 2" so popular?

Where will the Chinese sci-fi movies of "Surging Wind and Clouds" go?

　　The hard core and warmth of "Wandering"

　　Industry insiders regard "The Wandering Earth 2" as another "breaking" of Chinese science fiction films in the new era.

The "hard core" sci-fi expression in the film and the "warmth" of the Chinese-style program have become the focus of many comments.

　　Li Jianqiang, vice president of the China Film Critics Society, said in an interview with a reporter from China News Agency that the hard-core technological performance of "The Wandering Earth 2" is very exciting, and the gorgeous and magnificent visual texture and the strange space for imagination of the universe are breathtaking.

In terms of the level of technological expression, it represents the highest level of Chinese technological films, and also marks that the Chinese film industry has entered a new stage.

"Even my friends in North America praised that the technological industry and artistic level achieved by "The Wandering Earth 2" are already comparable to those of Marvel and DC."

　　What is more noteworthy is that in these high-tech scenes of "opening and closing", there is also the family and country feelings of small people and the "Chinese wisdom" of a community with a shared future for mankind, which embodies the creator's deep thoughts, emotions and positive thoughts. The value of life is ideal.

"The combination of video images and emotional fullness has reached the height of philosophical speculation on human existence. It not only produces a huge artistic vector, but also gives the work itself a strong emotional and logical support." Li Jianqiang said.

　　""The Wandering Earth 2" further interprets and deepens the theme in the openness of absorbing the nutrition of world science fiction movies, the so-called 'Chinese-style plan'." Cheng Bo, deputy dean of the Shanghai Film Academy of Shanghai University, believes that why science fiction can be hardcore, The characters and stories of the film must first stand up; secondly, the audio-visual reality and spectacle must be sufficient, and it would be even better if new technologies and platforms can be used; Discussions at the ideological and philosophical levels are embedded in audiovisuals and stories, inspiring questioning and reflection.

　　Chinese sci-fi film twists and turns "out of the circle"

　　Released in 1980, the domestic sci-fi film "Dead Light on Coral Island" tells the story of Chinese scientists using laser weapons to defend human peace, opening the door for Chinese films to explore sci-fi genres in the new era.

However, for a long time thereafter, due to the constraints of economic and technological development, domestic sci-fi films only moved forward slowly, and there were few works that had a major impact at home and abroad.

　　Until the Spring Festival of 2019, "The Wandering Earth" "emerged suddenly", injecting a "stimulant" into Chinese sci-fi movies; Ten policies and measures to strengthen support and guidance for science fiction film creation and production, distribution and screening, special effects technology, and talent training are called the "Ten Science Fiction Articles."

　　Du Liang, an assistant researcher at the Institute of Literature of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out that from a global perspective, science fiction culture had a great impact in the 1970s and 1980s, and top IPs such as "Star Wars" were all related to science fiction.

"In recent years, China has vigorously promoted the construction of a strong cultural country and a powerful film country. This requires the Chinese people's understanding, imagination and solutions to global cultural hotspots. Today we are constantly filling in the gaps in this field."

　　In Du Liang's view, science fiction movies are not only a cultural and entertaining interpretation of the imagination of the human brain, but also have a certain value in predicting the future and previewing the future.

Some of the imaginations in early sci-fi films have now become reality, and sci-fi has therefore become an important place for people to interpret future fantasies.

"When the first part of "The Wandering Earth" was released, foreigners couldn't understand why they had to push the whole earth away, and why the Chinese people had such a deep attachment to their homeland, while the common practice in Western movies was to look for a new existence. Space, such as "Avatar". But the Chinese choose to take away their homes and all related memories, which is a Chinese-style imagination and plan."

　　The wave has arrived, "accelerate" to the future

　　Objectively speaking, Chinese sci-fi films at the current stage do have shortcomings. Li Jianqiang believes that the problems mainly focus on the overall standard and ability.

Although domestic sci-fi works such as "Lonely Walking on the Moon" have come one after another in recent years, the number fluctuates and the quality varies. There is still insufficient awareness of genres and genres, and both conceptual focus and breadth of vision are lacking.

"How to consciously rely on the most cutting-edge technological development and strength to help imagination successfully land, and at the same time make great efforts to cultivate a large number of team talents with both ambition and extraordinary practical ability has become a problem before us."

　　Challenges and opportunities coexist.

It is undeniable that, driven by the upsurge of "The Wandering Earth 2", Chinese science fiction films are ushering in new opportunities for development.

When Chinese science fiction films "accelerate" towards the future, how can we push the "wave" further?

Serialization and IP may become a breakthrough.

　　Du Liang pointed out that "Star Wars" and superhero movies are serial creations, which are easier to form a collective effect and naturally attract more audience attention, but domestic science fiction films are at a disadvantage in this regard.

"We have seen that many domestic science fiction films can only form temporary hot spots, and cannot produce long-term cultural upsurge. In the future, we still need to strengthen serialization and IP creation, not only in movies, but also in literature, animation, TV dramas, Games are combined to form a diverse network of science fiction works." (End)