| In the Heat of the Sun | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Jiang Wen |
| Produced by | Guo Youliang Hsu An-chin Po Ki |
| Written by | Jiang Wen Novel: Wang Shuo |
| Starring | Xia Yu Ning Jing |
| Music by | Guo Wenjing |
| Cinematography | Gu Changwei |
| Editing by | Zhou Ying |
| Release date(s) | 1994 |
| Running time | 134 minutes |
| Country | China |
| Language | Mandarin |
In the Heat of the Sun (simplified Chinese: 阳光灿烂的日子; traditional Chinese: 陽光燦爛的日子; pinyin: Yángguāng cànlàn de rìzi; literally "Days of the bright and lush sunshine") is a 1994 movie directed by Jiang Wen. This was Jiang Wen's first foray into directing after years as a leading man. The film is based on author Wang Shuo's novel Wild Beast (动物凶猛).
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The film is set in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution. It is told from the perspective of Ma Xiaojun nicknamed Monkey (played by Xia Yu; some of Monkey's experiences mimic director Jiang's during the Revolution[1]), who is a teenage boy at the time. Monkey and his friends are free to roam the streets of Beijing day and night because the Cultural Revolution has caused their parents and most adults to be either busy or away. Most of the story happens during one summer, so the main characters are even more free because there is no school, and revolves around Monkey's dalliances with his roguish male friends and his subsequent angst-filled crush with one of the female characters, Mi Lan (Ning Jing).
This film is significant in its unique perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Far from the Cultural Revolution-set films of Chinese 5th-generation filmmakers (Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Tian Zhuangzhuang) which puts the era behind a larger historical backdrop, In The Heat Of the Sun is mellow and dream-like, portraying memories of that era with somewhat positive and personal resonances. It also acknowledges, as the narrator recalls, that he might have misremembered parts of his adolescence as stated in the prologue: "Change has wiped out my memories. I can't tell what's imagined from what's real"[2], as the director offers alternative or imagined versions to some events as people seek to romanticize their youthful memories.
The film was a co-production of three Chinese firms. Most of the budget, $2 million USD, was generated from Hong Kong. Derek Elley of Variety said that the film alters "some 70% of the original" novel and adds "a mass of personal memories."[3]
The Chinese version of the Soviet song "Moscow Nights" features prominently in the film.
Very well received in China and the Chinese-speaking world but very obscure in the United States, In The Heat Of The Sun is named by American director Quentin Tarantino as one of his favorite films to come out of East Asia. The film also won the Venice International Film Festival's Best Actor prize for its young lead actor Xia Yu as well as the Golden Horse Film Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. (Xia Yu was then the youngest recipient of the Best Actor award at Venice.)
It was the first People's Republic of China film to win Best Picture in the Golden Horse Film Awards, in the very year where a liberalization act allows Chinese-language films from the PRC to participate.
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