On the occasion of the National Day Holiday, My Country, My Parents co-directed by Wu Jing, Zhang Ziyi, Xu Zheng and Shenteng was already released on September 30. Today, Riding the Wind, the soundtrack album unit directed by Wu Jing, is already released on the Internet. All original scores under this unit have been produced by the Dolby Atmos standard, setting a precedent for its employment in China’s film music and unfolding an immersive heroic epic.
The awe-inspiring album Riding the Wind carries with it an ever-lasting national spirit
As the third film of the National Day trilogy, My Country, My Parents fall under the same category as My People, My Country and My People, My Homeland. That is, a collective creation mode has been carried forward and family love is pivotal to supporting the portrayal of the unyielding backbone of the Chinese people. The Riding the Wind unit directed by Wu Jing represents the opening of the entire film, depicting how the Mounted Regime of Central Hebei resisted foreign invaders and escorted the relocation of villagers in 1942. The unit features a father and son in the revolutionary period acted by Wu Jing and Wu Lei, and a number of other stars like Li Guangjie, Wei Chen, Yu Ailei and Zhang Tianai also participated in the film.
Wu Lei, who acts a tough guy, has achieved a major breakthrough in the film. Getting started as a child actor, he has shown a steady trajectory of career growth through different characters. This time, the character Cheng Feng played by him demonstrates not only the juvenile rebellion but also the quality of toughness and high sense of responsibility. Given the special genre of the film directed by Wu Jing mainly focusing on a mounted regime, the actors had to personally ride horses during the shooting of the film, which was a very difficult thing to do. However, the scene where Wu Lei appears from the cornfield and gallops across the enemy is more awe-inspiring than worrisome. In fact, there are many scenes in the film capable of taking the audience’s breath away: the scene of actors falling off the horses is agonizingly hurtful to see! Despite the difficulties arising from the shooting period, all actors have shown their devotion with an aim to reproduce the battles in history as authentically as possible. Undoubtedly, the audience is bound to perceive a sense of heart-warming pride for our predecessors who fought to defend the nation, and gain a sense of responsibility as the modern generation.
The film’s inspirational soundtrack highlights the seeds of patriotism and peace
As the saying goes, “a great ship asks deep waters”. The same is also true when it comes to the significance of scores for a film. Good scores not only “add flowers to the brocade”, but also promote empathy among people. In this regard, Riding the Wind directed by Wu Jing is the best example. Wu Jing commissioned music of the entire film to the renowned music producer Yu Fei, who used to contribute to the production of multiple top-notch films like The Eight Hundred, The Sacrifice and A Writer’s Odyssey. She has extremely high recognition and competitiveness in the field of TV and film music production. In this project, she partnered with prominent composer Gordy Haab (“Star Wars: original scores for The Old Republic and Fengshen Trilogy), in combination with the performance of more than one hundred musicians, to bring out a stunning audio feast. The entire soundtrack consists of 14 scores. Notably, a Dolby Atmos edition aiming to bring superb aural enjoyment has been produced, making it the first album of its kind in China.
The year 2020 is of great significance for the party and the masses as it marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Communist Party of China. Leveraging the occasion, My Country, My Parents unfolds a grand history from the arduous revolutionary times, the reform and opening up and the new era. The film is scheduled to open on September 30 across nationwide cinemas, where the audience are expected to truly perceive the strength of China!
