http://www.bjreview.com FEBRUARY 13, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 45CULTURE
Copyedited by Madhusudan Chaubey
Comments to [email protected]online dramas remain the main
content.
“The current video industry
has experienced 10 years of
exploration to establish its cur-
rent business model with TV
dramas as the top priority,” said
Li Xingwen, a movie critic.Ways to reconcile
Lost in Russia focuses on
the traditional mother-son
topic: The train from Beijing
to Moscow witnesses a caring
mother and a rebellious son.
The middle-aged son Xu Yiwan
is trying to save his marriage
but has to go with his mother
Lu Xiaohua, who is set to take
part in a performance in a city
some 8,000 km away.
Lu still takes care of Xu
as if he was still a child. She
keeps offering him cherry
tomatoes which he doesn’t
want and is busy talking on
the phone. Only when Lu talks
about her dream of singing,
does she come out as not just
a mother but an independent
person with dreams.
Audiences may have em-
pathy with that because in
many Chinese families moth-
ers spend much more time
taking care of children than
fathers do. Mothers get used
to focusing on raising the children. The
gradual lack of balance between love and
interference makes both mothers and chil-
dren frustrated.
“It’s a Spring Festival-tailored movie
in terms of its topic and content. Topics
about mothers and children or family are
always popular during this period,” said
a commentary in the lifestyle magazine
Lifeweek. “If the epidemic was not there,
this movie would have aroused more dis-
cussion.”“The real problem for the
relationship is that both sides are
not sure how to reconcile,” said
Sir Movie, a popular movie opinion
leader on WeChat, adding that the
movie presents the contradiction
between two generations with rich
details but has little guidance on
real reconciliation.
The reconciliation happens
when Xu saves his mother from
a bear attack in a snowy forest
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suffered from domestic violence
and understands his mistake in
blaming her for the lack of fa-
ther’s love in his life.
But the question is, what is
the real problem between the
mother and son? Is it the way
they treat each other, or the fa-
ther? The movie doesn’t make it
clear.
However, it shows how
much we want to control the
people we love though. Xu tells
his mother, “You have a fake im-
age of son in your mind.”
Xu Zheng, the director, gave
his explanation in an interview.
“How does one side apologize
to or thank the other is the most
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mother-son relationship. It’s
not because Chinese people
don’t want to express themselves
but because they prefer a more
subtle way to express their emotions.”QFIL
ELost in Russia LVWKHWKLUGĶOPLQWKHLost in franchise that started in 2012