Guizi Laile

Just finished watching Jiang Wen's movie Guizi Laile. It is another example, which supports the theory of Mengzi that I have mentioned in my last post.
It hurts.
Originally, I thought that I could probably write something about it afterward. But when the movie reached the end, I feel speechless and have lost all the interests. The ending is shocking. The rolling head and the blood curtain which was spreading over the screen reminded me of the ending of Parmuk's Red. The face on the chopped head, which was sitting on the ground without neck, was smiling. But why smiling? That was the absolute defeat of human civilization. There was no triumph on the side of virtue other than merely mechanic discipline, as a result of the organized society and industrialization. Or was the smile representing the proud feeling of human dignity? Even if this was the case, the dignity was dead. Or, was it only an irony against the disordered human society? While the head was still rolling, I was not sure whose head that could be, because I was keep wishing that the feeling of guilt and gratefulness of the Japanese soldier would lead him to waving the long knife against himself. But sure, I am so naive. Neither Japanese, nor the Chinese soldiers could be the better ones comparing with the other.
The saddest and most horrible thing, is not the naivety of people. It is not the simple-minded nature, nor the ignorance caused by the fact of lacking education, but when people forgot their identity as human being. The Devil in here, is certainly not only pointing to the Japanese...

I have heard the title of this movie for a long time. But I didn't read any review, nor watch the movie before. So I couldn't know that it is a product made after You Fengwei's novel Shengzun as well. Is the ending of the film as same as the ending of the book?

Since my husband went out hiking with his friend, so I told him the story when he was back. I strongly recommend this movie to his friend, who is the member of a film club. The thematic ideas are not over-simplified, I said. But my husband feels that the themes cannot be more obvious. Probably, I am just a person who has got no talent for telling stories?