HI Mom, DIR. Ling Jia (2021)
Xiangyang(Hubei,China)
Jia Xiaoling and her mom ,riding on the road back home. Scenes from HI Mom, directed by Ling Jia.
“HI Mom” is a fantasy comedy film directed by Ling Jia , released in mainland China on February 12, 2021.The film tells the story of Jia Xiaoling, a girl who just entered college, accidentally traveled back to the 1980s and met her young mother Li Huanying, and many things happened because of that.The movie was shot in the chemical products factory of Xiangyang, Hubei.The film takes it as a representative of the 1980s China, when China has gradually developed and risen after reform and opening up.Architecture in the film symbolizes the transition between tradition and modernity, and lets us see the vitality and hope of society at that time.
All the buildings and decorations were preserved in the style of 1980s China.Those scenes included red brick houses hung with large old-fashioned signboards describing people’s life ,those signboards could be seen as the lighthouse leading people to be engaged in production and living at that time.Through red bricks of most buildings in the film, you can see the Chinese nativism of architecture, as red is the color of Chinese flag, and means passion and hope in Chinese culture.And it also shows the architecture design principal of practical and economical well, as bricks are very strong and easy to make.Seeing those architecture,I feel a bit touched when thinking of what the previous generation went through, why can they still dedicate all their enthusiasm in the face of the cold stone wall.Through the architecture,I can feel the great passion of the society at that time.
By observing the building complex at that time, we will find a mosaic-like structure, Farmland and residential buildings are inlaid.There are irregular paths in the structure ,making it more communicative.Retro is the main theme of HI Mom, there are alongside stores where customers had to shop with ration coupons because supplies were limited, staff canteen, public baths, a basketball court and old-fashioned cinema.Many people like taking pictures in the scene of the style of Chinese 1980s, and after being in that scene,I think it is mainly because the scene at that time lacked color, and was relatively plain and simple, which compares sharply with modern style of wearing.
All in all, the architecture style in 1980s which is shown in HI Mom is relatively lack of soul, mainly because people didn’t focus on architecture design at that time. However, there is a Chinese saying: “无心插柳柳成荫”,which means the style of Chinese 1980s actually formed and grew without any great wave or push, it just happened naturally and became a distinctive style of architecture.
— Pang Bowen,3035773163
- Red brick house and large signboard, Scenes from the Hi,Mom, 2021, directed by Ling Jia
. - Basketball court ,Scenes from the Hi,Mom, 2021, directed by Ling Jia
Simple stone house and small red theater.
It is hard to tell whether the photos you documented are the buildings in the movie still – was the movie filmed in movie sets that are inspired by the architectural style or was it filmed in the actual buildings that you visited? More carefully composed photos in comparison with the movie still would be helpful.
The red-brick buildings are certainly distinctive in the movie and i appreciate you attempted to describe Chinese Architecture of the 80s when the movie is set, especially the building complex where people are assigned to work as a unit/collective back then. It would be great to visually illustrate them better through movie stills. Do you think the “natural becoming” process to a distinctive style is due to the general extreme pragmatic and economic approach by the government? The slogans and propagada-style posters are perhaps also another defining element to reflect upon.