Sunny Days

Synopsis

"In the Heat of the Sun" is Jiang Wen's directorial debut in 1994, adapted from Wang Shuo's novel "Ferocious Animals," starring Xia Yu, Ning Jing, and Tao Hong. It tells the story of a group of teenagers in Beijing's hutongs during the 1970s, capturing their youthful restlessness and coming-of-age journey. With a Douban rating of 8.8, Xia Yu won the Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival for his performance, making it a classic of Chinese youth cinema.

Overview

In the Heat of the Sun is a 1994 Chinese film directed and written by Jiang Wen, adapted from Wang Shuo's novel Ferocious Animals. It stars Xia Yu and Jing Ning, with supporting roles by Tao Hong, Geng Le, Siqin Gaowa, and others. The film has a runtime of 134 minutes, holds a Douban rating of 8.8, and is listed in Douban's Top 250 films. This film marks Jiang Wen's directorial debut and caused a significant sensation upon its release, being hailed as a pinnacle of Chinese youth cinema.

Set in early 1970s Beijing, the film tells the story of a group of teenagers growing up freely in the hutongs while the adults are preoccupied with political movements. The film is filled with the restlessness and confusion of youth, along with a vague longing for the opposite sex. Those sun-drenched days are both beautiful memories and tinged with a bitter truth.

Plot

The story takes place in early 1970s Beijing. With adults engrossed in political movements, the entire city seems like a paradise for children. Teenager Ma Xiaojun (played by Xia Yu) is one of these kids, and his greatest hobby is sneaking into other people's homes. He possesses a master key that can open almost every household lock in his courtyard.

One day, while in someone's home, Ma Xiaojun sees a photograph of a girl. The girl's radiant smile in the photo captivates him at first sight. He later learns that the girl is named Milan (played by Jing Ning), a girl a few years older than him. Ma Xiaojun begins to obsessively try to get close to Milan, following her through the long hutongs and watching her from afar on rooftops.

Ma Xiaojun and his friends—Liu Yiku (played by Geng Le), Yu Beibei (played by Tao Hong), and others—spend their days idling in the hutongs, fighting, and chasing girls. Dressed in military overcoats and riding bicycles through Beijing's streets and alleys, they expend their restless youth in an almost absurd manner.

However, regarding those memories, the adult Ma Xiaojun himself cannot distinguish what was real from what he imagined. In his narration, he constantly contradicts his previous accounts, hinting at the unreliability of memory and the tendency to romanticize youthful recollections. Did those sun-drenched days truly exist, or do they only live on in the beautified realm of memory?

Cast

Cultural Impact

In the Heat of the Sun is regarded as one of the finest youth films in Chinese cinema history. Jiang Wen brought his own memories of growing up in a military compound to the screen in a highly personal way. The film neither simply glorifies nor criticizes that special era. Instead, through the perspective of a teenager, it presents an alternative, authentic life experience existing outside the grand historical narrative.

At just 16 years old, Xia Yu won the Best Actor award at the 51st Venice International Film Festival for his role as Ma Xiaojun, becoming the youngest Best Actor winner in the festival's history. Jing Ning's portrayal of Milan became one of the most unforgettable screen images in Chinese cinema. The shot of her, wearing a white shirt, looking back in the sunlight, became one of Chinese cinema's most iconic scenes.

The film's exploration of memory and reality has also influenced many subsequent Chinese films. Ma Xiaojun's narrative method of constantly revising his own memories suggests the complex relationship between collective and personal memory. Jiang Wen continued to deepen this narrative experimentation in later works like The Sun Also Rises.

References

1. Douban Movie: https://movie.douban.com/subject/1291875/
2. Baidu Baike: https://baike.baidu.com/item/阳光灿烂的日子
3. Wikipedia: https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-cn/阳光灿烂的日子