Since the beginning of this year, the popularity of the movie Above the Cliff and the TV series Top Secret Mission, Rebel and Wind has made the underground workers on the hidden front once again become the focus of the audience’s attention, and the film and television works on spy war, which have been silent for a long time, have once again been welcomed by the audience, attracting more viewers to pay attention to revolutionary history and pursue red memories.

At present, the cumulative box office of the film "Above the Cliff" exceeds 1.1 billion yuan; Recently, the popular TV series "Rebel" has a high rating and topic discussion, with a douban score of 8.4. It can be seen that after a period of precipitation, the mainstream spy war film and television works are getting rid of routines and moving towards innovation.

The great story of the spy war theme blooming in an all-round way and uncovering the hidden front

Under the crisis of the times, some people seek truth and strengthen their faith in the dark. For the benefit of the country and the nation, they advance wave after wave, grope their way forward in the dark, and light the fire of dawn at the expense of their lives. In the complex environment of the confrontation between the enemy and ourselves, the complexity of human nature and the greatness of faith can be highlighted. With their stories as the theme, spy war movies and TV works have innate narrative appeal.

Since China’s first feature-length TV series "Eighteen Years of Enemy Camp", the theme of spy war has always been a type of excellent works in domestic film and television works, which is deeply loved by the audience. Yu Zecheng and Cuiping, who can never meet again in the TV series "Latent", still touch the hearts of the audience; The three chapters of the TV series plot against the wind, listening to the wind, watching the wind and catching the wind are interlocking and impressive. The TV series "Before Dawn" has a prominent style, and the suspense is rising again and again, which is fascinating … … These classic spy war movies and TV works, with wonderful stories and exquisite interpretation, have become the benchmark of spy war themes. Since the beginning of this year, films such as Above the Cliff, TV series Top Secret Mission and Rebel have presented many new highlights, which have made spy war movies and TV works blossom again.

The film On the Cliff is set in Harbin in 1930s, and tells the story of four communist party agents who performed secret missions, fought bravely with the enemy without fear of sacrifice when they were in a desperate situation, and finally completed their mission. The film has a distinctive style, a solid and delicate plot and a tense and lively narrative rhythm. The TV series "Top Secret Mission", which revolves around a secret traffic line of our party, relies on the real history and deeds of real people, focusing on how our personnel transmit information, and portrays the heroic deeds of the traffic policemen on the 3,000-kilometer traffic line. The TV series "Rebel", represented by Lin Nansheng and Zhu Yizhen, shows the psychological course of patriotic youth who experienced growth and transformation and joined the road of saving the country under the baptism of war and human nature in this specific historical period. "This story spans three major historical periods, and through a detailed description of a person’s transformation process, it outlines the historical group images of many underground workers in different periods from long-term The Infiltrator to new agents on the hidden front. On the whole, this is a story of forbearing sadness, but the hero’s heart is full of hope and true feelings, and he tries his best to find the light. " Zhou You, director of the TV series "Rebel", said.

These stories, which happened before dawn, are secret, intense and shocking, revealing the twists and turns of the revolutionary history, showing the sense of mission and fearless sacrifice of communist party people for the country and the people, and showing that the Communist Party of China (CPC) is the inevitable historical choice.

Ingeniously create silent heroes and draw spiritual maps of underground workers.

Underground work is a lonely front. In the whirlpool of struggle, underground workers are treading on thin ice, but it is difficult to distinguish between friends and enemies in the crowd. Besides themselves, only faith can be trusted and relied on. Under the special narrative situation of spy war theme, a person’s inner struggle, wandering thoughts and sharpening beliefs will be amplified, forming an extreme psychological activity space, which will lead to the discussion of profound topics such as fate, ideals and beliefs, and create a group of growth figures with extraordinary wisdom and great personality, which is also the highlight of many spy war theme film and television works.

"The characterization of the spy war theme is a test of the skill of the playwright and interpreter." Zhao Cong, editor-in-chief of China Television Art Committee, said, "Underground workers are revolutionaries, combatants and even victims. The chaotic historical background and special working environment make the psychological expression and complexity of human nature of the characters show more levels, which adds to the attractiveness of the story and adds ideological depth and value weight." Looking at many excellent spy war movies and TV works, there are many characters, black-and-white confrontation and wonderful scenes, and group drama has become an important point of view.

The film "Above the Cliff" restores the times with the people’s historical view, and creates the special agent images of communist party in the film with their own characteristics and personalities. Their stories are affectionate and affectionate. "In order to create a wonderful heroic epic, we strive to break the traditional mode of creation, jump out of the routine with a single hero as the protagonist, and instead show the legendary spy war story from the perspective of the times. The group drama "Above the Cliff" not only increases the tension of the plot, but also enhances the audio-visual effect, which can better reflect the changes of that era and show the determined spiritual quality of communist party people. " Fu Ruoqing, the chief producer of the film "Above the Cliff", recalled the creative process.

The TV series "Top Secret Mission" highlights the outstanding red traffic policemen who are loyal to the party and the people on the hidden front that has been neglected, and have the courage to make self-sacrifice and self-sacrifice, and creates a group portrait of heroes on the hidden front, showing the red traffic policemen’s ardent feelings for home and country, and highlighting the epic spirit of the work. The characters in the TV series "Rebel" are diverse and vivid. Profound characters, complicated relationships and fate trends create a lonely, sad but hopeful aesthetic sentiment for The Rebel. It is worth mentioning that as the core figure of the story, Lin Nansheng did not wear the "protagonist aura", but experienced confusion, pain and struggle in the process of embarking on the right path, and finally got growth.

Different from the previous writing method focusing on a hero and the way of portraying the hero "Gao Daquan", the silent hero in the current spy war drama has changed from a single hero to a group expression. Heroes with the aura of leading role are transformed into ordinary people who are grounded, flesh and blood, meticulously describing ordinary people’s achievements in "extraordinary things" and carrying forward the fearless spirit of revolutionary ancestors.

Pass on the power of faith and provide rich materials for the study and education of party history.

At the important historical node of the centenary of the founding of the Party, this year’s films, such as Above the Cliff, TV series Rebel and Top Secret Mission, aim at revolutionary workers on the hidden front, draw us back to the historical scene with wonderful narration and meticulous artistic shaping, and feel the firmness of the revolutionary ancestors’ faith and the greatness of their personality on the hidden front.

In the movie "Above the Cliff", the underground workers are still indomitable in the face of difficulties. For the great cause of the nation, they even sacrifice their lives. They are firmly convinced of their beliefs and are full of loyalty. In the TV series "Top Secret Mission", ordinary little people walk through the central red traffic line, and in the white terror environment, they live up to their mission and defend the revolutionary achievements, relying on loyalty and faith. Yuan Jingui, the general planner of the drama, said: "The red traffic line itself is the work of the hidden front, and this theme was discovered by accident in the collection of wind. As a little-known revolutionary historical story, it has a strong sense of mystery. At the same time, the firm belief and loyalty of the traffic policemen themselves are worth learning. " In the TV series Rebel, Lin Nansheng was inspired by the sense of mission and fearless sacrifice of communist party people such as Gu Shenyan, Ji Zhongyuan, Zhu Yizhen and Zuo Qiuming, and his position changed and he found a correct path of faith. Today’s audience can also feel the road twists and turns and historical tests experienced by communist party people from the deep restoration of revolutionary history by these excellent works, and can establish emotional connection and spiritual resonance with those forgotten unsung heroes after entering the story, and feel the power of communist belief.

An inch of mountains and rivers, an inch of blood, a hot land and a soul. Looking back on the history of a hundred years, the touching stories of countless revolutionary martyrs who died heroically for lofty ideals have been passed down to this day. Today’s beautiful life is what they bought with blood and life. Such a red memory cannot be forgotten, and such a red spirit must be passed down from generation to generation. These excellent spy war themes are becoming vivid teaching materials for the audience to learn the history of the party and inherit the spirit.(Reporter: Niu Mengdi)


Guangming Daily (July 6, 2021, 09 edition)