Eternal Moment refreshes memory of China's young generation
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A poster of Eternal Moment. [China.org.cn] |
To many Chinese in their 20s or 30s, blockbuster Eternal Moment, which aired on Saturday (two days before Valentine' s Day), is far more than just a movie. Rather, as the sequel to a hit TV show from 12 years ago, it is a renewal of the teenage memory of viewers.
The theme song once again resonated in the streets. "At the corner where we met, people still come and go...mourning for our adolescence..." the song goes.
"In this movie, we tried to show to our audiences some possibilities of what could happen to a pair of young lovers after 12 years," said Zhang Yibai, director of the movie during an exclusive interview with Xinhua.
At the corner where we met
In 1998, a 20-episode TV series called "Cherish Our Love Forever" caused a stir across China. It was the first youth drama in the Chinese mainland. The show featured two college students, Yang Zheng and Wen Hui, who fell in love on campus but broke up at the end.
Zhang Yibai, a director of the show, said that when the series were first aired, his expectations were not high at all. "Later, when people told me that the teleplay was welcomed and even shaped the view of love of many youngsters, I thought they were flattering," he said.
Over the past 12 years, Zhang said more and more people advised him to make a movie from that original story, but the director refused until finally Xu Jinglei, the main actress in the show, joined the advisory team. The movie includes three stories for the possible sequel: Yang and Wen got married but found love fading between them, the pair met after separating 12 years ago, and Yang received a phone call from Wen and falls in love with her again.
"I want to convey to our audience that whatever happens and no matter if you are 18 or 31, the persistence to those you love should never be missing," Zhang told Xinhua. At the age of 48, Zhang met his girlfriend in 1998 when they were making the TV series. "To cherish our love, means to preserve the ability of loving, despite twists and turns," he said.
People still come and go
The light was off in a cinema in Shijiazhuang, capital city of north China's Hebei Province. The old theme song started, signaling the beginning of the movie. Wang Juwei, 28, covered her mouth with her hand and fought back her tears.
"I was 16 when I first watched the teleplay," she said. "After that I began to realize 'wow, that's love'." Wang noted that it was the TV series that gave her the dream of romance on campus.
"As soon as the song started, I knew that I could no longer control my emotions," said 29-year-old Gou Zhe. "It was a complex sentiment. We have reached the age of being reminiscent." In fact, as early as last year when Zhang Yibai announced that he would make the movie, Internet users voiced their excitement.
"After watching the TV series, I swore to myself that I would go to the seaside with my boyfriend in the future," said a comment from a user named Tangtangxiaowei. In the TV series, the heroin, Wen Hui, held a cell phone by the sea to let her boyfriend listen to the sound of the tide.
"That's the age of innocence. There were no skyrocketing housing prices, and college students could easily find a job. I longed for the life like those in the TV series, to strive for a better future," she wrote on douban.com, a website for film and book reviews.
Another comment, which came from a user named Chen, believed it was the memory of their teenage years that gave them a special affinity for the movie. "After we grow up, things are no longer as simple as we saw when we were young, like love," he said. "Some of our dreams were realized, some were not... We, the generation born in the 1980s, felt the burden of life increasingly heavier with the passing of time...The movie, Eternal Moment, was a wish that beautiful things could last forever."
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