Two people live with a group of people in a shabby little yard. They have to queue up to wash, go to the toilet and go to the public toilet. What is even more exasperating is that after her husband came to Beijing, instead of learning anything good, he learned to play with a group of people who don't know how to play with money.
For three years, my husband supported himself by selling pirated VCDs in Gui Xiang. But this is not a long-term solution. Gui Xiang is often chased by urban management. Gui Xiang thought of a way. Every time she walks out of the booth, she holds her neighbor's child in her arms. Once caught by the chengguan, Gui Xiang pretended to be pitiful with her child in her arms.
It is not easy for urban management to see her with children. Generally, they turn a blind eye. I thought life could go on like this, but two things happened one after another, crushing Gui Xiang.
First of all, Gui Xiang's husband had an argument with someone while playing cards, which blinded his card friend and left Gui Xiang with a large sum of medical expenses to repay.
Then Gui Xiang's neighbors ran away in a hurry and owed foreign debts. When Gui Xiang came back with the baby in her arms, her neighbor had disappeared. Gui Xiang wanted to send the hungry children back to their neighbors' hometown, only to find that the neighbors were afraid to go home. Also dare not take over such a hot potato villagers, can't, Gui Xiang can only drag a child who is not related to himself, but also to find a way to pay off debts.
Without culture and skills, she can't live in Gui Xiang, a metropolis like Beijing, and she can only go back to her hometown. But after returning home, Gui Xiang couldn't find a suitable job. On this day, the creditor came to collect debts. Gui Xiang had no money, so he pretended to be crazy and sang silly songs, and temporarily coaxed the creditors away. Old man Xiao Ming heard Gui Xiang cry loudly and sing beautifully, so he suggested that she cry for others.
What is the occupation of mourning? Now people in society are indifferent to Mo Mo. After the old man died, their children were either busy collecting money for the funeral or couldn't cry in Momo.
But at the funeral, it is unreasonable not to be sad or cry. No one wants to lose the reputation of being unfilial, so a "funeral" industry has emerged, which specializes in mourning for relatives at funerals.
And uninformed outsiders will think that this family is very filial and safe. Gui Xiang used to be a member of the county song and dance troupe, with a nice voice and some dancing skills. In addition, she carefully studied the local funeral regulations and soon got used to it.
I saw her waving her sleeves, graceful figure, novel lyrics and crying, which was very interesting. The host family is satisfied with this sad way.
From then on, Gui Xiang was responsible for crying and Xiaoming was responsible for taking care of his life. They gradually became famous in the local funeral industry. Xiaoming opened a funeral home in the county, and now he is married. The relationship between him and Gui Xiang is not innocent. They often work together in harmony, but this does not affect their cooperative relationship.
Gui Xiang, whose economy improved, went to visit her husband in prison. Her husband was in tears and begged Gui Xiang to atone. Gui Xiang and her husband still have feelings, and saving her husband has become her motivation.
In order to earn money, Gui Xiang set different price levels according to the degree of crying, including 200 yuan for Disturbing Neighbors, 300 yuan for Three Days of Wrapping Beams, 400 yuan for Pouring Rain, and 500 yuan for The Sky is Falling ... Employers can choose by themselves.
Gui Xiang used to beg others to find a job, but now others are vying for Gui Xiang to do it. Gui Xiang is very busy and often cries from door to door. "Sad Lady" has become the nickname of Gui Xiang, and who can go to Gui Xiang to offer condolences has become one of the criteria to measure whether this person is filial and has power.
Xiao Ming has a clever mind and doesn't want to do sad work with his strength. He is going to start a company to handle the funeral. After that, the living are in the charge of the public security bureau, and the dead are in his charge.
Later, not only did the deceased ask Gui Xiang for condolences, but the rich also asked Gui Xiang for condolences when they died. The price is twice the normal condolence. Ironically, Gui Xiang can sing and dance at the dog's funeral as long as he makes money to cry.
Gui Xiang finally has enough money to "redeem" her husband, but money alone is not enough. The man who promised to work for her closed the door. After a long time, the door slowly opened and disheveled Gui Xiang came out ... With the hope of life, it seems that my husband will be released from prison soon. Gui Xiang was in a good mood and had a big meal with the children.
For so long, the kind Gui Xiang has never left the poor child. However, on the way home, Xiao Ming's wife stopped Gui Xiang and said that Gui Xiang was shameless and seduced her man. Although Gui Xiang was wrong, the loser didn't lose. He swore at each other. It was not until Xiao Ming appeared and took his wife away that Gui Xiang left angrily. But Gui Xiang thought, fortunately, her husband will be released from prison soon, and she can live a good life with her husband.
However, this hope was soon dashed. Her husband didn't know Gui Xiang's efforts to save him. He just felt that he couldn't stand the pain in prison any longer, so he chose to run away. As a result, he was shot and killed by the police during the pursuit. The police sent a death notice to Gui Xiang's family. Xiao Ming helped to entertain him, and Gui Xiang signed it.
After the police left, Gui Xiang stopped Xiao Ming and forced him to ask if it was possible between them. With her husband gone, Gui Xiang re-examined her relationship with Xiaoming, and it would be a good choice if she could marry Xiaoming. Besides, they are married. Xiao Ming lowered his head and said nothing. Gui Xiang suddenly realized that she and Xiao Ming always have their own needs, so there is no true love at all.
Xiaoming cheated, and so did his wife and husband. A male thief and a female prostitute, no one is nobler than others, and no one is inferior to others. When the truth came out, Gui Xiang rushed to the next sad scene. People have passed away and Gui Xiang is still alive, but in this weeping work, Gui Xiang is crying with true feelings.
The host family has never seen such a dedicated mourner and has been stuffing her with red envelopes. But the master didn't know that Gui Xiang was crying not for the dead behind him, but for the hope of life.
Behind the unified and fluent realism, the whole movie "The Crying Woman" buried bitter and cunning black humor and extremely tragic local tragedy.
Wang Guixiang, a strong-willed woman, did not lose to this city. In a big city like Beijing, she rents children to sell porn, and even can support her husband who can't gamble, which shows her super survival ability.
She was sent back to her hometown because her husband hurt people. In this native land where she was born and raised (not a foreign land), she must continue to face all kinds of hypocrisy and ancient rules of life in the countryside. Really not much purer than the city. She is ugly and sad, and the final commemoration is not only her personal failure, but also the director's regret and tears for the collapse of the whole rural era.
Bingjian Liu's Weeping Woman, Li Yang's Blind Well, Jia Renxiaoyao and Wang Xiaoshuai's Second Brother, the works of these four young directors, although with different story styles, remote geographical background and limited realistic criticism, together constitute a complete similar context: the rural dilemma caused by the changes of the times.
In the pre-Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige era, the excessive romanticization of rural life in movies, the aesthetic description of rural life represented by Jianqi Huo, and more contemporary directors' indifference to real rural life extended here with completely different creative mentality and perspectives.
In their films, the boring daily life replaces the fierce drama conflict, and the boring life pervades the countryside. The real helplessness is far greater than the empty desire, and the cruelty of rural life is also shown without hesitation.
In The Weeping Woman, Wang Guixiang's old lover cannot be entrusted, her husband dies mysteriously, and the villagers despise and hate her. These ubiquitous setbacks make people more and more desperate, and sometimes people feel more desperate than in greedy cities. The root of the so-called land that China people value most is broken here.
Why do the dead at home invite people to play mahjong? Why do they invite outsiders to mourn? Are people sticking to and maintaining the local traditional civilization? This so-called local culture has long been shaped into an empty shell, just a farce maintained by inertia, but the biggest tragedy is that no one can escape. The city refused their integration, and the countryside refused them, so crying became meaningless.