Call of the Wild

“According to Tibetan legend, the day the world’s first ray of sunlight struck Mount Kailash in Ngari Prefecture of China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, was the day the first yak (牦牛)was born. Kailash’s ridges are the yak’s backs. Yaks are the herd of the mountain god.” The narration is accompanied by shots of picturesque (优美的) plateaus and snow-capped mountains, taking viewers right into the vast wilderness of Tibet.

This is the opening scene of the documentary The Land of Spirits. It tells the tale of four “holy” animals-the wild yak, white dolphin, Asian elephant and Amur tiger. They were used as totems (图腾) in ancient times but today, they are the species that best reflect the region’s ecological status.

Principal director Zeng Hairuo set out to document the relationship between humans and these animals. But why are they “holy”? In ancient times, human power alone was not strong enough to accomplish big things and so huge wild animals were honored as gods; but with the development of modernization, mankind began to disappoint nature.

The film illustrates the land through the creatures living on it; it’s also not a purely animal-focused story because it contains the interaction between these creatures, ancient people and contemporary people as well as presents the prehistory of the land and the source of local culture through the stories of animals and humans alike. “We want to help rebuild mankind’s reverence (敬畏) for life, for animals, and restore our ability to communicate with nature, ” Zeng said.

“This is the difference between Eastern and Western thinking,” Zeng said. “The Western documentary style prefers more sub-disciplines and a subdivision of research.” Zeng brings the audience a typical Chinese way of recording the scene: nature and humanity as one, in other words, one story mixing animals, mankind and nature.

As far as Zeng is concerned, one cannot mention these four animals without bringing in the human factor. Observing these animals is like looking in a mirror for humans, which makes this documentary stand out from many other nature documentaries, he said.

2023 British Arrows

Directed by Various Directors; UK, 2023, 74 minutes; On October 22

With excellent creativity, humorous wisdom, and changing feelings, the British Arrows Awards celebrate the latest creative trends (趋势) in moving-image advertisements. This year’s program finds Daniel Craig walking through a luxury Paris hotel, Miley Cyrus attending a Gucci party, and Matthew Macfadyen (Succession) and John Boyega (Star Wars) giving amazing performances.

Conversations in Vermont

Directed by Robert Frank; USA, 1969, 26 minutes, in English; On August 8

Robert Frank’s relationship with his children Pablo and Andrea is explored in his first openly autobiographical (自传的) film. He visits them at a free school in rural Vermont, where he interviews them about their feelings, their upbringing, and what it was like to grow up in a carefree world with parents who are artists.

The Right Stuff

Directed by Philip Kaufman; USA, 1983, 193 minutes, in English; On December 29

The American Air Force test pilots (Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, and Sam Shepard) are the bravest and the most daring men. Suddenly, these men become the first to ride a spaceship as the United States races to put the first man on the moon in this true story of the spacemen.

Life Dances On

Directed by Robert Frank; USA, 1980, 30 minutes, in English; On September 12

Life Dances On brings together Frank’s memories of two very close people and others who shared his life, including his family and people on the streets of New York City. This moving and personal film honors his daughter Andrea and his friend and collaborator Danny Seymour.

The 94th Academy Awards were held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday night. Let’s look at who won what at the 2022 Oscars.

Will Smith won his first Academy Award. Smith received the best actor honor for his playing the part of Richard Williams, the determined father who raised the famous tennis world champions Venus and Serena Williams, in King Richard.

Jessica Chastain won the Academy Award for best lead actress for her role as the on-air preaching (布道) partner and wife of Christian Jim Bakker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, recording the religious couple’s rise and fall.

Jane Campion received the Academy Award for best director for The Power of the Dog, becoming the third woman in the Oscars’ 94-year-old history to take home a prize in a field still dominated by men in Hollywood. The movie tells about two brothers having a tense but not distant relationship; George looks to the future while Phil seems stuck in the past.

Troy Kotsur became the first deaf man to win an Oscar, taking the Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role as a fisherman and father in family drama CODA. Kotsur, 53, has worked for over three decades in theater, television and film for both deaf and hearing audiences.

CODA wins best picture. Adapted from the 2014 French-language film La Famille Bélier, it is about a deaf family with a hearing daughter. 17-year-old Ruby, CODA (Child of Deaf Family), is encouraged to pursue her love of music and go on a path of her own. It is the first time a streaming service has taken home the film industry’s biggest prize.