Chapter 12 Part Two Watching Movies

The theater that Bazi and I went to was called "Jiaodaokou Cinema".When I was young, there was only one movie theater within a radius of five or six miles near my home.Most of the movies I've seen in my life have been watched there. "Where are you going?" "Jiaodaokou." Or: "Why are you going?" We all know that the person being asked went to the movies.Therefore, in my childhood impression, Jiaodaokou and cinema were synonymous.I remember one time on the street, a person asked me: "Child, how to get to the crossing?" I pointed to him: "Go forward and turn right, there is a gray building." "Grey building?"I said: "It's written, and you can see it from a long distance——Jiaodaokou Cinema." The man smiled: "What is the theater for? I'm going to Jiaodaokou! Jiaodaokou, do you know?" Now it's my turn to be confused.The man was in a hurry: "Okay, okay, Jiaodaokou Cinema, how to get there?" I pointed it out to him again; I said this is not over, do you know or I know?But at this moment, I suddenly realized that the movie theater got its name because it was located at the intersection.

The cinema was demolished in the late 1980s.This can almost be regarded as the end of an era. Since then, I seldom watch movies. First, the ticket price is suddenly expensive, and second, there are videos and CDs. The sweet word is "home theater". But I still miss "Jiaodaokou", which was my film enlightenment place.The first movie I ever saw was "Mysterious Traveling Companion," the title of which my mother told me later.I just remember a beautiful woman who was always bumping on the screen, looking flustered, her figure was sometimes so big that it appeared on the screen, and sometimes it was so small that her face could not be seen clearly.The rest is just broken lights and shadows, a few moving, ugly faces.I looked up tired, probably because I was too close to the screen.At the end of the show, my mother saw that my eyes were still open, and she hugged me with a proud expression on her face.When she got home, she said to her grandma: "This child can watch movies, and he hasn't slept at all." But I deeply regretted: Can I sleep there, why didn't I say it earlier?Grandma asked me: "What did you see?" I turned to my mother and asked, "Is someone going to arrest that girl?" My mother was overjoyed: "Yes! The bad guys are going to kill Xiao Liying." I said, "Little Liying looks really good." Looks good." The grandma clapped her palms and laughed loudly, "I'm afraid that this child will have nothing to do when he grows up."

The road leading to the intersection is always a happy road.At that time, the blue sky and white clouds in Beijing, half of the long and narrow streets were dark and scattered shadows of houses, and half of them were peaceful and clear sunshine.Having a ticket in hand is like a festival. Several friends meet together to play pinball and "war on horseback".You can also use chalk to draw a continuous wave on the old wall and courtyard gate along the way. When the courtyard gate is open, stand on the stone pier next to the gate and tiptoe to let the wave pass over the lintel, so that it will not stop .If there had been no roar and subsequent pursuit in the open courtyard doors, the wave could have been drawn all the way to the steps of the theater.

Sit on the steps and wait for the theater to open. If you have more money, you can even buy a popsicle and suck it proudly.Everyone stared at him and his popsicle, seeing the popsicle shrinking rapidly, someone must be unbearable and say: "Hey, let's take a bite." If the opener sucks, you have to suck him.Someone continued to say: "Let's give us a bite too." Of course you still have to give, and you can't be too stingy when you are happy.Everyone sat in a row under the bright sun, waiting comfortably and sucking carefully—at such a moment, everyone seemed to have a sense of responsibility, and no one could bear to suck too much in one gulp.

There is an anti-specialty film, "The Case of Xu Qiuying", which is very unforgettable.That was the first time I watched an outdoor movie, on the playground of our elementary school.The fare is two cents, so all children are sponsored by their parents.Before sunset, the children set off in groups, carrying a small bench, or picking up two bricks along the way, hoping to get a good seat early.When it gets dark, the white screen rises and hangs in the middle of the playground, under the moon.There were people sitting in front of and behind the scenes.There is a popular song nostalgic for such a scene, and one of the lines is that there is no movie behind the screen anymore.

That movie was really eerie and terrifying, the music was creepy at first glance, and the black and white light and shadow always seemed to hide murderous intentions.Especially a beautiful woman (I later found out that she was a secret agent), with a gentle demeanor, but why does she always look hesitant and vigilant when she frowns and smiles?Halfway through the film, the night wind suddenly blew up, making the screen fluttering and trembling, making it even more unpredictable.I felt cold for a while, wanted to see but was afraid to see, afraid to see but still watched.The shadows of the trees rustled all around, and the clouds moved and the moon moved beside the curtain. The danger in the play merged into the night sky, as if the sky was full of danger, and the wind was full of conspiracies.

After finally getting to the end of the show, Hachiko made another suggestion: "Let's play catching spies." I wanted to go home.Bazi said no, how to play when there are fewer people?The moonlight was clear and bright, and only a few moviegoers were left on the playground, putting away their screens.Who will be the spy?During the day, there will be rushing to be it, but no one is fighting for it at the moment.The secret agent had to go alone, and it was so dark that he was still afraid of being alone.The mouse first had an idea: "Look, that old man!" Bazi followed her finger and looked: "The old man? All right, that's him!" The little one said: "That's right, I've paid attention to him a long time ago, what will he do after the movie is over?" Why don’t you go?” The innocent old man was squatting in the shadows beside the grove, smoking, his face was unclear, and the fireworks were on and off.Huzi said: "The old man is sending out a signal!" Bazi lowered his voice: "Look, who is the one who received the signal?" A group of people sneaked into the grove.Bazi said: "Where is this going? Spread out!" So they spread out, some walked against the base of the wall, some crawled on the ground, and some hid behind trees; whistled or imitated crickets to keep in touch.There are many lights around, it is hard to say which one is related to the old man, so let's surround him first.Surrounded on all sides, tightened together, approaching the "old thing".The little boy had sharp eyes, and was the first to chuckle: "Huzi, that's your grandpa!"

Decades later, I accidentally read in a newspaper that "The Case of Xu Qiuying" was based on a true story, but "Xu Qiuying" was an unjust case just like what happened to Huzi's grandfather that night. Imitating actions in movies is a must for all childhood pleasures.For example, in today's movies, there are many fist fights, and the children learn each move one by one, and they all look like a gang leader.Movies from decades ago were nothing more than fighting, anti-special, sneaking into enemy camps for reconnaissance; hail of bullets, risking life and death, torture, death rather than surrender, and finally a victorious counterattack, our artillery fire was angry and fierce, and wiped out countless enemies .Therefore, there was a generation of teenagers who sincerely yearned for such a war. ("Chief, let's go to the front line, we are almost suffocating people!" "What, are you in a hurry? Don't worry, you will fight the battle.") Yes, you are a hero when you kill the enemy, and you are killed by the enemy. It's worth it to be a hero!Therefore, when the charge was sounded, and gunfire flew across the screen—a group of young people knocked down another group of young people, some missed lovers wiped out other missed lovers—the audience immediately burst into jubilation.Well, why do boys and girls spend money to buy tickets?Happy, excited, shouting freely, bursting with passion.This got me thinking about today's "groupies."Juvenile fanaticism is the same in ancient and modern times. Give him an idol and he will have a fever. It is hard to say where the fever will eventually go.For example, our generation was suddenly caught up in the Cultural Revolution.

There was a cultural revolution, there was a rebellion, there was mass criticism, there were no movies to watch, all movie theaters were closed, and there were problems with all movies.The film studio is no longer mysterious, and the door is open. Please help us to rebel.Once I went back to Beiying to read the big-character posters, and found that all the idols of the past had become "gangsters". It seemed strange to look at them. "Huang Shiren" and "Mu Renzhi" are fine, but what about "Hong Changqing" and "Xu Yunfeng" and so on?Once bent on the stage to fight, but still so righteous?I understand, I have to choose the actor and the role, but I understand it, and I still feel weird.

The cinema had been closed for a few years, and suddenly there was good news: "Lenin in October" and "Lenin in 1918" were going to be played.The Aurora's guns fired again, what did they bring us this time?People watch it over and over again (otherwise what to watch), review the lines in it over and over again (jiushu humor), appreciate the ballet fragments in it over and over again (what a short skirt and what a beautiful other), watch the Vasily couple kissing over and over again with breathless concentration ( These two are really brave).In my impression, from this time on, Chinese people's aesthetic stance has been shaken, trying their best to pick up warmth in the smoke of gunfire, yearning for love in an era that insists on not forgetting hatred.

"Sunny Sky" is China's first domestic film after a hiatus.I was in a wheelchair when the film came out and I was trying to write something.Tickets were hard to come by, and there were queues all night in front of the cinema.I asked someone, and finally bought a ticket. I remember clearly that it was after 5 o'clock in the morning, and there should be a stronger "back door" for other shows. It’s still Jiaodaokou, the same road, and there are still chalk-painted waves on the old walls along the way, which can be said to be passed down from generation to generation.It snowed heavily all night, and it was known in advance that handcarts were not allowed to enter the venue, so my mother pushed the homemade wheelchair to send me there.That was my first wheelchair. It was my father who bought and replaced some steel pipes and asked someone to weld it. The structure was not very reasonable, and the front wheels were not always flexible.Snowflakes are still flying one after another, like a group of moths under the dim street lamps.The snow on the road froze into icicles, and the mother pushed it heavily, but the mother was happy in her heart. (Because that is a road to eternal happiness?) My mother knew that I was planning to write something, and that I had a correspondence with a director of Changying, so she felt that it was very necessary to push me to watch this movie. big event.What kind of event?When we trekked on that happy snowy road together, no one was sure, but we all had hope vaguely.She wheeled me into the movie theater, got settled, and went home.Thank goodness she didn't have to wait for me outside, fate finally had a time to take pity on her—Jiaodaokou is not far from my house, she only needs to send me here, and only needs to pick me up again. In a few years, there will be so-called "internal movies".It is said that this kind of movie "Bang of Four" existed, but the interior is more strict.Slightly looser now.At the beginning, the common people didn't know it. They saw some big and small cars driving in the night, and they took their seats in front of the theater one after another. The people who jumped out looked solemn and entered the theater in a dense manner. The common people thought it was some important meeting.Insiders, that is, those who are high enough in rank, stable enough in position, strong in critical ability, and hard to be poisoned by all kinds of colors.Then there is the internal interior, such as a wife, or a friend.There are movies from both the East and the West, and it is said that if you are lucky, you may even bump into half-naked or fully-naked women.It is said that there are clean version and full version, which depends on the internal level.But there is no airtight wall—the ticket inspector has to be outside, and the projectionist has no choice but to be outside, but the outside inevitably has its inside, such as a wife, or a friend.In this way, the people of the whole country will have the opportunity to be insiders once or twice, and the news will not go away.When there are such screenings, the front of the theater is more boiling and hot, and I don’t know where so many inside and outside come out!The majority of young people especially think: Naked!Isn't it more effective for us to read than for you?For a short period of time, an internal movie ticket was proof of identity or ability. After the "inside movie" became popular for a while, I was also given a ticket. "What's the name?" "Maybe, anyway, it's an internal one." On a windless summer night, with the leaves not moving, I rolled my wheelchair to watch the first internal movie in my life.It took more than an hour to go from the Lama Temple to the inner auditorium, and there were crowds of people enjoying the cool along the street.I was in such good health then that I could do with another hour of shaking.However, the steps in the auditorium were high, with more than ten floors. Panting, I parked the car down the steps and looked up at the steps, knowing that there would be bad luck.But since I came, I dared to call the ticket inspector—ask him to come down from the steps, and beg him to help me find a way to let me in.The ticket inspector listened for a long time, then ran back and called a leader.The leader looked at me: "Can't you come down?" I said yes.The leader turned around and left, saying: "The Public Security Bureau has regulations that no vehicles are allowed to enter." It was the ticket inspector who gave me apologetic looks from time to time.I didn't do much fighting.I don't want to argue.This kind of thing has happened more than ten times, and people with normal intelligence like me have expected it.Just take a chance.If it weren't for the in-house movie, I wouldn't have traveled this far to try my luck.However, it's good to come here, the house is even more stuffy and unbearable.What's more, you can also watch the grand occasion of the internal movie, which was only heard in the past.Does this count as experiencing life?Is it going deep into reality?I retreated to the side of the road, bought a popsicle and sat in the shadow of a tree to watch.So I missed Jiaodaokou, the people there knew me, and when they saw me coming, they opened the fire door and let me drive straight in - there are no steps in front of the fire door.It's a pity there's no interior film there either, there's the exterior.There was a new boy named Xiang, and everyone there called him Xiao Xiang.It's strange why Xiaoxiang said to me the first time he saw me: "Hey buddy, let's write a movie too, let's see." Xiao Xiang doesn't know where he is now. Xiaoxiang guessed right.When Xiaoxiang said that, I was writing a movie script.It was all because of Liu Qing's encouragement.Liu Qing is the director of Changying.The first time she came to see me, she said to me: "Why don't you write something?" She hit my point, but can anyone write about movies?From then on, Liu Qing often came to see me and said to me over and over again: "Novels, or movies, I think you should really write something." Since a professional has such confidence in me, I quietly started writing.Since it was a director who had such confidence in me, I started with the screenplay.Especially at that time, I was putting all my enthusiasm into an impossible love affair, and I thought I must be a promising young man.Especially the person I was in love with had the same confidence in me—"Really, you can do it"—so my mind was full of scripts day and night.At that time, my mother was no longer there, and on the way to the intersection, there were often a pair of temporary lovers walking side by side (actually, footsteps and wheels).For the time being, it is clear, but for the time being, it is necessary to keep it hidden—don’t tell others, and avoid telling yourself.But for the time being, it only shows the time, not the quality. On the happy road in the sun, under the porch of the cinema in the rain and snow, love is more precious because of its temporary.They were close together in the dark theater, looking at the glorious screen, they reviewed the same dream: one day, there, on the screen, after the word screenwriter, "is your name" - she said; "Yeah if only" - I thought. However, when this day finally comes, the time has far exceeded the temporary.I read the three words behind the "screenwriter" alone, and I already understood: Promise and love are two fields that have nothing to do with each other.But temporarily, it can also be in the heart for a long time, but writing can never be unrelated to love.