A Movie Review on And the Spring Comes and Mona Lisa Smile

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He Xinyu

“No female wants to live alone”, is it true? Maybe today it seems ridiculous because women, as a dependent social group, have reached their deserved position. But in the last century, a majority of women considered it as a truth that women’s job is to serve both the husband and the child. From the perspectives of challenging the feudal ideology and pursing women’s empowerment, I will analyze two movies named “And the Spring Comes” and “Mona Lisa Smile.”

The movie, “And the Spring Comes” was directed by Gu Changwei, which was released in China in 2008. It tells a story of a group of art youths represented by Wang Tsai-ling, an ordinary music teacher in a small country, were struggling against the fate in the conflict between the dream and the reality. Comparatively, “Mona Lisa Smile” presents a story of Katherine Watson, who just a new art history teacher in Wellesley, broke the traditional thought that the final goal of students’ study was to marry a good husband, successfully encouraging all students to procure knowledge of the subjects they preferred to and pursue their own hobbies.

Undoubtedly, the women’s empowerment is expressed clearly in the two movies. Both the leading roles are art teacher, and both of them have the same pursuit. In the last century, whether in China or in America, the status of women was not valued, and the the secular conviction took it for granted that women should get married early and their sole responsibility will be taking care of their husband and children. Either Wang or Katherine, they all experience the same dilemma-being discussed that they are old enough to find a husband. However, women also have the right to choose their own life and live in the way they like, rather than blindly put their fate in the hands of others, for instance, their husband. As shown in Gu’s movie, the neighbor of Wang thought she had married a husband who loved her, but to her surprise, it was such a husband that finally betrayed and left her. Different from the ordinary people, both two heroines shown above never yield to the feudal ideology; instead they are always in the long pursuit of their dreams, ignoring how tough and arduous it will be. Under the heavy blow of reality, Wang didn’t give up the opportunity to go to Beijing, always persisting in her dream of singing despite the fact that the masses, with a conservative thinking, had no interests in literature and art. Even in the end of the story, she dreamed of performing an opera at the Central Opera house as a formal actor. Just like the lyrics mention, “Why be so cruel to me”. Wang’s ending is quite helpless, and it is a compromise to live in the present and it is a concentrated reflection of the world’s unjust treatment of literary and artistic youth.

In the indomitable struggle, apparently, women always take on the tragic color in the process of resisting the social orthodox values and the powerful mainstream consciously or unconsciously. This kind of struggle is reflected in the alienation, departure, even subversion of mainstream values like “the social relations are determined by male”, “the women’s job is to serve both the husband and the child”, etc. In “Mona Lisa Smile”, Katherine never compromised to encourage students to forge ahead regardless of difficulties to adhere to her ideals. There is nothing more admirable than her persistence. She represents perseverance under pressure and the female spirit of never giving up.

Then the non-verbal strategies used in two movies also give them great credit. Both two stories present a picture of life in the last century, so the costumes, architectural style, and language features are very close to the environment and atmosphere of that era. “And the Spring Comes” begins the story with a dialect monologue, which easily bring the audience into the context of that time. Later, every scene and spot appearing as the plot progress, like steel mills and trains, is quite full of memories for the old. Take makeup for example, dressed plainly, Jiang Wenli lends Wang Tsai-ling, with an ugly look, a sense of reality and pity. And in “Mona Lisa Smile”, Katherine’s exquisite makeup very accords with the artistic female teacher image. In addition, the background music, vehicles, and costumes all feature the characteristics of the 1950s in America, giving people an immersive feeling. Lastly, the application of close-ups in the films shows the real thoughts and feelings of the actresses, thus framing and highlighting the main role of them. For example, when Betty insisted on a divorce on account of her husband’s deception and refused to do in accordance with her mother’s suggestion-“what counts most is keeping it to yourself instead of being happy”, the film gave the mother a long close-up after Betty left. In that shot, the lady’s profile is clearly-defined in light and shade, while it couldn’t conceal the shocked silence on her face. Maybe it suddenly occurred her that she had lived most of her life for the sake of her husband and family, not her own.

In conclusion, through an excellent usage and application of formal techniques, both movies reflect vividly that in last century, women with an ambitious dream never just live in the present. Conversely, they want to make a difference on their own to live a better life, instead of becoming men’s appendage. At that time, this advanced idea was a support of feminism. Up to now, it also has its instructive meaning.

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Dear He Xinyu and Dong Shijia

Hi!
It's my pleasure to have the opportunity to appreciate your article. I think the beginning of your movie review is great, the question makes me to think about the theme of the movie. First, you briefly introduced the stories about the two protagonists of the two films, and then focused on analyzing the similarities and differences between the two films. From the historical background, we know that in the last century, the status of women is relatively low. However, in the face of dilemma, the two protagonists have different endings.
You have analyzed two Chinese and foreign films from the perspective of women challenging feudal ideas and pursuing women's empowerment. The female prowess is expressed by comparing the career, character and pursuit of one's ideals of Wang Cailing and Katherine. In these two films, your two have pointed out that women are often at a disadvantage in the process of fighting for women's rights and resisting orthodox social values, but they face the unfair treatment of reality and they show the pioneers never give up the spirit. By comparing the heroines of the two Chinese and American films in different periods, we see the same type of female images. Ambitious women never live in the moment, but hope that they can succeed in their own strengths instead of blindly becoming men ’s subordinates goods. With regard to the idea of ​​the work, you accurately grasp and think about the difference between feminism in the East and the West. Furthermore, your essay also inspired me to think about what kind of life we ​​should pursue as a woman of the new era and how we should correctly understand the role of women in the family.
In conclusion, I quite agree with you about the nonverbal strategies of two movies. For instance, the dialect makes the audience have a kind of affinity to the movie. Also, makeup and background music in the two films, which let the audience have the feeling of being on the scene. Finally, the film review also caught the supporting role of the character in Mona Lisa Smile. A mother who was also a pity for The Times.
Looking forward to your reply！

Yours
Xiaoyi Lu, Ying Zhou.

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Dear Zhou Ying and Lu Xiaoyi,
We are glad to receive your comment on our movie review and it is also a pleasure for us that our article give you a good impression and get your appreciation and approval. Admittedly, just as you say above, we analyze the two films from the perspective of women challenging feudal ideas and pursing women’s empowerment. In the last century, we can see a lot of women with a spirit of fighting against orthodox social values, seeking for their equality and independence on their own in spite of what kind of difficulties they will be confronted with. It is indeed an admirable and remarkable quality at that time, which still can be touted and cheered until today. Nowadays, we should also think about the way we live and the life we pursue as a woman of new era. Therefore, we are totally agree with your comment on our article. Lastly, thanks again for your compliments and praises and we are also looking forward to receiving your reply！
Yours,
He Xinyu, Dong Shijia

[amb8013]

Dear He Xinyu and Dong Shijia,

This is a really great article, well done! I think you've described the distinct difference between the tones of the two films very eloquently, painting a very clear picture of it in my mind. I think there is something very compelling about the fact that And the Spring Comes depicted a more bleak, gritty and realistic outlook on life in the face of struggle. Where, despite the main character trying extremely hard in the face of adversity, in the end, life doesn't always tip in one's favor, and while Wang didn't achieve her dreams, she was ultimately able to find some solace in adopting a child. In the film Mona Lisa Smile, I think it is equally interesting that the main character also faces adversity, but pushes right through it and succeeds. I just think there is something very peculiar in the classic depiction of American idealism, which may not always be the case, juxtaposed with gritty realism. I perhaps would like to see more analysis regarding this, but overall, great job!

Best,
Ahaan Bagwe

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Dear Ahaan Bagwe,
We are happy to receive your reply so soon and thank you for your appreciation and approval for our essay. Through your brief comment, I can find that you indeed have a good understanding of the underlying meanings of both two films. Admittedly, in the struggle with their fate, the two protagonists always have to be confronted with varying adversities. But what counts most is their courage in the face of adversity. Whether they succeed in the end or not, Wang and Katherine both are the most courageous and respected women at that time. However, there is a problem that perhaps we can’t totally understand what you have said above concerning the American idealism and gritty realism, so we’d like to wait for your reply about those two conceptions.
Yours,
He Xinyu, Dong Shijia

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Dear He Xingyu and Dong Shijia
I quite agree with you, and I am also very interested in this part of the content, maybe we can have more communication about women’s empowerment. My review just briefly analyzes this aspect of the content, but your article is more specific, and also shows the the main idea of your article. This is what I think is the strength of your article and what needs to be improved in my review, which is to focus on the content rather than to carry out a single multi-faceted analysis. And I also learned from your article the transition method which made your article seemed to have the level and the depth. Looking forward to your reply
Yours,
Zhou Ying and Lu Xiaoyi

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Dear Zhou Ying and Lu Xiaoyi,
Thank you again for your appreciation towards our essay and it is always our pleasure to have a deep communication with you two. But ours, actually, is still not good enough to realize a better standard and we also have a long way to go later. Meanwhile, your essay gives us a lot of enlightenment, through which I believe we can improve a lot together. Hope the day when we all achieve a better level in the near future!
Yours,
He Xinyu, Dong Shijia.

[amb8013]

Dear He Xinyu, Dong Shijia,

Thank you for your reply. I completely agree with you on your point of courage. I think it is very important to show bravery, even if it means that you won't necessarily successful. Better to die trying than not live at all, right? As far as my point of American idealism and gritty realism, I think my point was to draw attention to how Hollywood movies tend to make things seem much nicer than they are. The setting is well kept, like a movie set, the actors and actresses are all conventionally beautiful people. Whereas what I see with many foreign films is that they don't necessarily try to make everything unnaturally beautiful and hopeful. The setting of And Spring COmes showed a realistic backwater town and the realities of the situation seemed a little more cynical. Does that clear things up?

Best,
Ahaan Bagwe

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Dear Ahaan Bagwe,

Thank you for your explanation about the American idealism and gritty realism and gladly, through your specific description, we have more understanding of those two conceptions. Truly, I agree with you that American idealism tend to make things better than they really are, just as you said in Hollywood movies. Via this kind of skill, the movie successfully satisfies people’s fantasies and dreams that they couldn’t get in real life, and that’s the point why it is so popular. As for gritty realism, like And the Spring Comes shows to us, it is closer to life by depicting the ups and downs in reality and therefore, resonates with people in this way. Your explanations make a lot of sense for us, so thank you again! May you best wish!!!

Yours,
He Xinyu, Dong Shijia

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Reflection

These days, we have been putting our energies in a transatlantic interaction with students across the Pacific to exchange ideas and thoughts in writing, which in our eyes, is indeed a helpful and instructive experience. Hence, I would like to share our reflection after finishing the activity for two weeks.

Prior to all the specific details I am going to talk about in the following content, I want to say that through this activity, I learned a lot. On the one hand, as the proverb goes “there are a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand eyes”, so it is easy to see that everyone has different opinions and feelings about these two movies. Thus the angle of analysis is also different. Originally, we just analyze the women empowerment and some common settings in both movies while having not make deep analysis about the settings, which is partly because we are not familiar with the historical background of that time so that we only know a little about American culture. Fortunately, after detailed discussion with American students, we successfully procure a constructive suggestion that the American idealism and gritty realism can be added in our essay to make it richer and fuller.

On the other hand, additional benefit gained from this activity is that we have a full impression of foreign students' idiomatic expression of English. For most of us Chinese students, due to the limited application of English in time and space, we are more likely to use this kind of foreign language in a way against the rules of idiomatic English, which is usually called “Chinglish”. Whereas, via this activity, we have a close approach to the local Americans’ essay, learning how they use their mother language in their own way, which actually plays an important role in our later writing career.

To sum up, we truly appreciate this valuable opportunity to have a deep discussion with Americans. Perhaps this is the first time that we feel so close to students in a totally different culture and also, we expect in the future, we can have more chances like this!