Chinese drama 2M&1F
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2022 9:12 am
Saw this scene, but it appears edited. Not sure what the title is, but features 2 guys and 1 girl
https://youtu.be/23CLzlyKv-0
https://youtu.be/23CLzlyKv-0
The full movie, specifically the scene, can be found here:
https://youtu.be/1RjV5A2sK94?t=5884
The scene is interrupted by a flashback/flashforward sequence. It continues here:
https://youtu.be/1RjV5A2sK94?t=6522
The film's title is in A20's link: 海的尽头是草原 , translated as "Grassland at the end of the sea".
This is perhaps one of the best dramatic quicksand scenes ever. It features an excellent, immersive set; great cinematography, excellent acting, and the scene alone carries the emotional climax of the film.
The gist of the scene is that a pair of lovers are eloping, fleeing their traditional nomadic home to Shanghai. Riders are looking for them. They abandon their horses to mislead their pursuers and run across an expanse of desert sand and dunes. They stop, look down and see their feet sinking into the liquefying sand. They look at each other, realising that they have wandered into an inescapable trap. They very slowly turn around as they are knee-deep and manage to reposition themselves without sinking. The girl whispers "Don't be afraid", but as soon as she does so, they sink to their thighs. They drop their packs to reduce weight.
The scene cuts to the girl's brother spotting their horse. He follows to the sand dunes and sees the lovers struggling up to their waists. The sand is now an undulating mush. The girl, waist-deep and covered in sandy mud, waves and calls out to her brother for help. The brother leaps off his horse, dashes to the quicksand uses his stick to prod the sand. Finding it too far, he yells at his sister not to move. His sister looks at the sand rippling around her chest. He passes the stick to the lover, also chest-deep, who extends it to the girl. The brother tells her to hold it with both hands. However, she slips, falling back and sinking to her armpits. She reaches out and cries out helplessly. Her lover sinks his armpits but can't do anything. She sinks to her shoulders and neck. She then sinks to her chin, tilts her head up, reaches up, and submerges.
The story cuts back to the modern day characters reflecting on their experiences as children to come full circle as the scene cuts back to the quicksand encounter. The lover is digging into the sand to try to reach the girl. Suddenly, she surges up, breaking out of the crusty, wet sand and reaches out for her lover. Her brother wades up to her waist into the quicksand as her lover pulls her out. The siblings struggle waist-deep backwards out of the wet sand into they finally reach solid ground. Meanwhile, the lover realises he is now stranded and sinking up to his chest. He tries to reach forward. The girl tries to reach out, but her brother stops her from going back in. He wades back himself, reaches the lovers arms and pulls him back out, switching places. The lover reaches solid ground, but they turn back to see the brother stranded by himself. In a tense moment, the brother manages to stand up and is about to walk out, but immediately sinks to her shoulders. Just before he submerges, he tells his sister to look after their family.
This scene is incredible. The desert quicksand set is flawless. The long shots show what looks like an endless expanse of desert. The sand is completely dry, but the sand is saturated by water pumps as the actors are lowered into it. The actors sell the thickness of the sand incredibly well, moving with convincing slow actions that convey the desperation. The sand is far from watery - the mixture of sand and mud sticks to their robes and bodies and moves like thick oatmeal. The best part is actually how there's no clear line between solid ground and quicksand. The entire set moves like a deadly pit, and the camera angles show how out of reach the characters are. The musical score creates an emotional climax, as this is the climax of the film.