Black Humor in Black and White Films

The script follows a taciturn peasant, nicknamed Gou Sheng.

　　The theme of an innocent caught up in the madness of war is not a new one in either western or eastern cinema, but it is transformed into engaging cinema (with a dark twist at the end) in the black comedy Wang Mao. The biggest surprise is that the director is Zhao Xiaoxi, previously known for genre movies co-directed with his brother Zhao Xiao\'ou - the suspense drama Invisible Connection(2010) and last year\'s above-average horror-murder mystery The Deadly Strands- plus the horror movie Mysterious Face(2013), directed on his own. Wang Mao shows him striking out in a completely different direction: a satirical drama, set during the Sino-Japanese War and shot almost entirely in black-and-white.

　　Written by Li Haijiang, a member of the Chinese Film & Television Association, the script follows a taciturn peasant, nicknamed Gou Sheng, who returns to his wine-growing village in eastern Henan province after being away for 10 years to study martial arts at Shaolin Monastery. During a wine-fuelled welcome dinner by the villagers, it emerges that Gou Sheng spent the 10 years just carrying water at the monastery; everyone is less than impressed by his martial arts skills until he shatters the dinner table with one blow of his fist.

　　When the Nationalist Army comes recruiting soldiers for the war against the invading Japanese, Gou Sheng\'s adoptive father persuades him to take the place of his real son for a payment of 4 yuan and a promise that Gou Sheng can marry the pretty Xinger if he returns alive. Gou Sheng does return alive - and as a hero - but then ends up as a soldier in the Communist New Fourth Army, where he also distinguishes himself in battle. Meanwhile, however, he finds that the township office\'s director also has his eyes on marrying Xinger.

　　With its black-and-white photography, satirical tone and gruff northern types, the film recalls Jiang Wen\'s Devils on the Doorstep(2000); and with its allegorical theme of an innocent northern peasant caught up in the ebb and flow of a war, it also recalls Guan Hu\'s 2009 black comedy Cow. But Zhao, working with a smaller cast and budget, gives the movie its own distinct and intimate flavour, with actor Wang Dazhi (the village suitor in Bitter Love, 2014) especially good as the blank-faced hero who has martial arts powers beyond his own understanding. The film turns very dark in its final section, which feels as if it was tacked on to the script. But in its satirical tone - and especially its portrait of the military - it\'s an adventurous production for the PLA-owned August First Studio beyond its usual war movies.