To many who have been director Zhang Yimou's loyal followers for decades, this film must feel like home coming. While I enjoyed and appreciated his earlier films from Red Sorghum (1987) on, I am no loyal follower, and therefore said "to hell with him" when he degenerated to making trash after trash, culminating in "The curse of the golden flower" (2006) in his vain and naïve hope for Oscar fame. On the other hand, I do welcome the return of Zhang in "Under the hawthorn tree", to pre-5th-generation directors' simplicity and honesty.
While adapted from a true story, what this movie shows us is certainly not something unique. More likely, there would have been countless such stories (consider the population of China) in the post-Cultural-Revolution era of the 70s, albeit perhaps with variations in details. Billed as "the cleanest romance in history", "Hawthorn" depicts how two "zhiqings" (young city-born "intellectuals") meet in a customary "sent down" (temporary deployment by school and government to the village to learn from peasants). The romance that budded in the idyllic setting continues back in the city. One obstacle is the girl's "rightist" background which means that she must be particularly careful to avoid being expelled from school (and subsequent teaching career) on any smallest excuse. With this the young lovers can cope, as they can afford to wait. But then, not unlike in some of the contrived and formulaic Korean romances in the 80s, terminal illness sets in. This is basically the simply plot.
This movie stands out in its refreshingly simple narration, with sequences preceded by quotations from the original book in a fashion similar to the silent movies. The quotations however give you the sense of actually reading the book. It is moving in the most natural way, without any of the sappy tear-jerking devises that swarm the Korean romances. Cinematography is almost mesmerising. Zhou Dongyu, the 17-year old girl who won the part over thousands of contestants, is without question absolutely deserving – fresh, intelligent and innocent both, and unspoilt by professional training. Shawn Dou is also good, but his character is less developed – pure perfection to the extent of being almost angelic.
While adapted from a true story, what this movie shows us is certainly not something unique. More likely, there would have been countless such stories (consider the population of China) in the post-Cultural-Revolution era of the 70s, albeit perhaps with variations in details. Billed as "the cleanest romance in history", "Hawthorn" depicts how two "zhiqings" (young city-born "intellectuals") meet in a customary "sent down" (temporary deployment by school and government to the village to learn from peasants). The romance that budded in the idyllic setting continues back in the city. One obstacle is the girl's "rightist" background which means that she must be particularly careful to avoid being expelled from school (and subsequent teaching career) on any smallest excuse. With this the young lovers can cope, as they can afford to wait. But then, not unlike in some of the contrived and formulaic Korean romances in the 80s, terminal illness sets in. This is basically the simply plot.
This movie stands out in its refreshingly simple narration, with sequences preceded by quotations from the original book in a fashion similar to the silent movies. The quotations however give you the sense of actually reading the book. It is moving in the most natural way, without any of the sappy tear-jerking devises that swarm the Korean romances. Cinematography is almost mesmerising. Zhou Dongyu, the 17-year old girl who won the part over thousands of contestants, is without question absolutely deserving – fresh, intelligent and innocent both, and unspoilt by professional training. Shawn Dou is also good, but his character is less developed – pure perfection to the extent of being almost angelic.