One Second (film)
{{Short description|2020 film}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox film
| name = One Second
| image = One Second (film).jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| native_name = {{Infobox Chinese/Chinese|child=yes|hide=no|header=none
|t = | s =一秒钟
| p = Yī miǎo zhōng
|l =
}}
| director = Zhang Yimou
| producer = Ping Dong
William Kong
Liwei Pang
Shaokun Xiang
| screenplay = Zhang Yimou
Zou Jingzhi
| based_on = {{Based on|One Second|Geling Yan}}
| starring = Zhang Yi
Liu Haocun
Fan Wei
| music = Loudboy
| cinematography = Zhao Xiaoding
| editing = Yuan Du
| studio = Huanxi Media Group
Edko Films
| distributor = Edko Films
| released = {{film date|2020|11|27|df=yes}}
| runtime = 104 minutes
| country = China
| language = Mandarin
| budget =
| gross = US$20.3 million{{Cite web|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Yi-miao-zhong-(2020-China)#tab=summary|title=Yi miao zhong (2020) - Financial Information}}
}}
One Second ({{zh|s=一秒钟}}) is a 2020 Chinese drama film directed by Zhang Yimou, about a man who escapes from a prison farm during the Cultural Revolution.{{cite web|author=Wang Zhicheng|title=Zhang Yimou film on the Cultural Revolution withdrawn (by Beijing) from Berlin Film Festival|url=http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Zhang-Yimou-film-on-the-Cultural-Revolution-withdrawn-(by-Beijing)-from-Berlin-Film-Festival-46241.html|access-date=14 February 2019}} The film is based on the novel The Criminal Lu Yanshi, by author Geling Yan. Yan is not credited in the film, which has led to controversy.{{Cite news |last=Ives |first=Mike |date=2022-07-23 |title=A Novelist Says a Movie Fails to Credit Her. The Film World Shrugs. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/23/movies/zhang-yimou-movie.html |access-date=2022-07-23 |issn=0362-4331}}
Plot
In 1969, during China's Cultural Revolution, a man known only as "the fugitive" is sent to a remote labor reform camp in northwestern China after clashing with a rebel faction leader. His wife divorces him, and his daughter severs ties. In 1975, he learns that his 14-year-old daughter died in an accident while participating in a school labor activity, her efforts captured in Issue No. 22 of the News Bulletin. Desperate to see her one last time, he escapes the camp in hopes of catching the reel at a rural screening.
At the second farm division, an orphan named Liu and her younger brother struggle to survive after their mother dies and their father abandons them. In a bid to replace a burned lampshade made from film, Liu steals a reel of {{ill|Heroic Sons and Daughters|zh|英雄儿女}}. The fugitive witnesses the theft and retrieves the reel, but it is stolen again. Their paths continue to cross as both become entangled in the pursuit of the lost News Bulletin reel.
The projectionist Fan, who holds power through control of film screenings, learns the reel has been damaged and secretly blames the deliveryman. He mobilizes villagers to clean and dry the film using improvised methods. The fugitive confronts Fan at knifepoint, demanding to see the reel. Eventually, the film is screened, and in a fleeting second, he spots his daughter. Overcome with emotion, he asks for the clip to be replayed.
Meanwhile, security officers arrive after being tipped off. Mistaking Liu for the fugitive's accomplice, they beat and detain her. Realizing the error, the fugitive returns to defend her, and the two are tied up together. Fan screens Heroic Sons and Daughters again for them. Moved by the film's father-daughter reunion, the guards are brought to tears. Liu, tearfully, confesses she misses her own father.
The next morning, as the fugitive is escorted back to the camp, Fan discreetly slips him two frames of film featuring his daughter. Liu waves to him from afar, holding a film-lamp he left her. When the guards find the hidden frames, they discard them in the sand. The fugitive shouts in anguish as Liu retrieves them.
Cast
- Zhang Yi as Fugitive
- Liu Haocun as Orphan Liu
- Fan Wei as Fan
- Yu Ailei as Cui
- Li Yan as Yang He
- Zhang Shaobo as Liu's brother
Release
One Second was released in Chinese theatres on 27 November 2020 (with previews on 26 November 2020).
It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival,{{cite web |url=https://www.berlinale.de/media/nrwd/pdf-word/pd/69-ifb/69_ifb_filmliste_wettbewerb.pdf |title=Selection for Competition and Berlinale Special Completed |work=berlinale |access-date=12 June 2021}} but was withdrawn shortly before the screening.{{Cite web|title=69th Berlin International Film Festival February 07- 17, 2019|url=https://www.berlinale.de/en/archive/jahresarchive/2019/01_jahresblatt_2019/01_jahresblatt_2019.html|access-date=12 June 2021|website=www.berlinale.de|language=en}} The official explanation for the withdrawal is "technical difficulties encountered during post-production",{{cite web |url=https://www.berlinale.de/en/presse/pressemitteilungen/alle/Alle-Detail_51476.html|title=Programme Change in Competition 2019 |work=berlinale |access-date=13 February 2019}} but critics suspected politically motivated censorship.{{cite news|work=Variety|title=Banned in Berlin: Why China Said No Go to Zhang Yimou |author=Patrick Frater|date=11 February 2019|access-date=16 February 2019|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/asia/banned-in-berlin-why-china-no-go-zhang-yimou-1203135788/}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/13/world/asia/zhang-yimou-berlin-film-festival.html|title=Film Set in China's Cultural Revolution Is Pulled From Berlin Festival|work=New York Times|date=13 February 2019|author=Amy Qin}}
It would later screen as a gala presentation at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, with Neon acquiring the film's US distribution rights prior to the festival.{{Cite web|last=Rubin|first=Rebecca|date=2021-07-20|title=Toronto Film Festival Lineup Adds 'Dear Evan Hansen,' 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye' and 'Clifford the Big Red Dog'|url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/toronto-film-festival-dear-evan-hansen-1235023598/|access-date=2021-07-20|website=Variety|language=en-US}} After also screening at the 2021 Sydney Film Festival, the film was released in Australia by Rialto Distribution on 20 January 2022.
Reception
=Critical response=
{{RT data|prose}}{{cite Rotten Tomatoes|title=One Second|id={{RT data|rtid|noprefix=y}}|type=m|access-date= {{RT data|access date}}}} Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 79 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".{{cite web | url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/one-second?ftag=MCD-06-10aaa1c | title=One Second | website=Metacritic }}
=Awards and nominations=
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|8959680|One Second}}
- {{douban|30257787}}
- {{Mtime|258548}}
{{Zhang Yimou}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:One Second}}
Category:2020s Mandarin-language films
Category:Films about the Cultural Revolution