The Long Season

Every dust of the times falls on a person as a mountain.

I didn't really understand this sentence until I watched this TV series. This masterpiece, which I think is the best Chinese TV series I have seen, tells an absolute tragedy. A lost father, a frustrated husband and a retired policeman attempted to solve a mystery which had lasted for nearly 20 years. They were all trapped in the autumn in 1998. All the roles in it tried to fight against their fates, but found in vain eventually. When the mystery is solved, fate still remains in the Man chang de ji jie, which means a long season in English. This sense of powerlessness makes each of us relate it to ourselves.

I know many people like watching a nobody finally turn to a successful man through his hard-working and insistence. But most of the time it's not the reality. And most of us, the ordinary people, can't overcome this mountain of the times. We are trapped in this long autumn, until our faiths break down. However, we still see someone go forward.

Life is difficult. Sometimes it's like a elegy of fate. But never forget to sing a hymn to ordinary people. In the end of the series, a snow falls, declaring the approaching of winter. What a beautiful scene! We all like spring because it's the beginning of a new year, also the beginning of life. But not everyone is so fortunate to see it. So when the long autumn finally ends, when the first winter snow falls, why can't it be a new beginning for us? Eyes towards front, move forward, and do not look back. Sometimes the meaning of life is not break through our fates, but choose hope in the suffering of life.

We can all find ourselves in this TV series. It's more like a documentary about ordinary people, and also inspires them to move forward.

For the middle-aged people in the northeast of China, 1990s is an unforgettable era which is full of magic and trauma. The transformation and decline of industry deeply affected the society and every family's life. People lost their jobs and the crime rate became higher. All of them make the era an abundant source for Chinese literature, and the creation of this amazing tv drama.

Basically this is a crime drama, but this is more about the characters' personalities and life, which is familiar with true detective series. It's a brilliant and touching combination of 1990s China style and tough detective novel. The emotion and the connection between people in this drama are so powerful. If you are a fan of true detective, you may love this.

... about ordinary lives of ordinary people, which, due to its amazing details and filmography explains a lot, not only about China, but about the ex-USSR and the Eastern Europe.

This is the first humane look, without the hand-wringing so common among the Eastern European "independent" film-makers, at what and how the transformation of the 90ies really happened and what it meant (not much, either good or bad) for the ordinary people.

Overall, this is an excellent multi-decade multi-character character study, which, I am sure will be included in movie schools and anthropology curriculas for decades to come.

10/10.

It is not only the suspense story itself, but also the beautiful work that presents the truth of life with a mixture of joy and sorrow through the description of life and people. The suspense is part of the story, and the core is life and destiny.

At the first few episodes, it starts out a bit slow. I also confuse by the different time narratives. When it comes to build up more characters likes Wang Yang, Shen Mo and brother, as compared to the suspenseful dismemberment case, it is more attractive about the fate of these people. The more I feel empathy for the murder, the more I sense about impermanence of life.

The success of the TV drama is not only reflected in the restoration of the sense of time in the props and scenery, but also the character creation and the actors' subtle performance. Though I'm not a native Putonghua speaker, I can still understand their effort in picking up a perfect Northeastern Chinese accents. Wang Xiang and Gong Biao in the play, regardless of their accents or demeanor, are exactly like our uncles and fathers in real life! Plus, the lighting and music are exceptional good.

This TV show triggered self-compassion for my own midlife crisis.

Yes, you may not encounter the sad life in this series, but you will definitely get older. Even the most powerful people will get old, and when that time comes, how to live decently?

It does suck to have your wife and children die abnormally and your best friend die in a car accident like Wang Xiang in this title, but it's even worse to face your own old age. The good thing is that the screenwriter gives a more positive and optimistic attitude, which seems to encourage us viewers not to be afraid of getting old. But specifically for each individual, it may not always be that easy.

Frankly, I've started to have to face some of the signs of aging, my mind gets older sometimes, and trying to act young seems to make me cringe because appearances can't hide it.

Let's hope I get the same optimistic ending, like the ending line: look forward, don't look back!

Snapping my fingers once in a while, shattering the distance between the distant past and reality.