《蓝色大门》  Blue Gate Crossing

Learning Objectives

In this section, we will introduce a beautiful Taiwan film, 《蓝色大门》("Blue Gate Crossing").  We will use the Mandarin Chinese version of the film to study the following:

• how to describe the physical appearance of a person and talk about your personal impression of the person.

• learn the literary, poetic style of written Chinese--very different from spoken style!

• understand subtle ways that Chinese people interact with each other. 

• gain insights into the life of young people in Taiwan. 

• gain practice with natural, conversational Chinese at the discourse-level.

• practice speaking and listening, reading and writing at the advanced level. 

Anticipate the Film through Movie Posters

The film we are going to study is 《蓝色大门》 (English title: Blue Gate Crossing). It is a Taiwan film, directed by 易智言 Yì Zhìyán (Yee Chin-yen). Here are two posters for this movie. Please think about the following questions. 

Watch the Trailer in Mandarin Chinese

我们来看看电影的国话预告片 (yùgào piàn, movie trailer)。看预告片的时候，想一想：

1. 电影和你想象的一样吗？

2. 电影里的年轻人是同学吗？电影里谁喜欢谁？

3. 电影故事发生在什么季节？你喜欢预告片里的色彩和音乐吗？为什么？

4. 你觉得女主人公长得好看吗？你觉得她有什么样的性格？

5. 你觉得男主人公帅不帅？他平时会喜欢做什么？他有什么样的性格？

Getting to Know the Characters  (A Film Synopsis Example)

Component #1: The 2-min Youtube video below is a narrated PPT that I created to show you a synopsis of the film in Chinese. Practice your listening and reading along with these slides. Hope you find them helpful.

Component #2: If you would like to study the synopsis with Pinyin, below are a PDF file of the script with Pinyin, and a companion audio recording. 

Component #3: Now, time for some speaking practice. Given what you've practiced (new words learned, new information understood, etc.), practice speaking about the film and the characters using the image below. Some ideas to organize your speaking: 

1. 电影的名字叫什么？英文名字叫什么？导演是谁？主角是谁？什么时候上映的？

2. 电影的主题是什么？

3. 电影里的主要人物是谁，他们是什么关系？

4. 电影的主要故事是什么？

Watch Film and Think Critically 

Watch the Mandarin version of the film. Think about the following questions. Take notes and be ready to share your thoughts with others or in your class. Practice speaking about your thoughts in Chinese in response to these questions. 

Plot and presentation of the film:

1. 电影开始的时候，是谁在说话？说的是什么？

2. 林月珍什么时候开始喜欢张士豪？

3. 张士豪开始的时候对孟克柔有什么样的误会？

4. 林月珍后来为什么和克柔疏远了？克柔怎么知道月珍要和她疏远？

5. 克柔为什么说她不可以喜欢女生？

6. 克柔在墙上刻了什么字？为什么刻这些字？士豪刻了什么字？为什么刻这些字？

7. 电影的开头和电影的结尾有什么相同的地方，有什么不同的地方？

Your reactions:

1. 电影中你最喜欢的一个片段是什么? 为什么？

2. 电影中有没有你看不明白的地方？

3. 你觉得士豪的性格是怎么样的？克柔呢？月珍呢？你喜欢哪一个角色？为什么？

4. 为什么克柔最后说独白的时候，说， “我看不见自己，却可以看见你？” 

Study Speech Acts and Culture in the Film：Ordering Dumplings   

Another reason that a film is enjoyable is that it gives viewers glimpses of culturally specific ways of interacting. In this section, let's tease apart several language issues in a segment from this film in terms of the cultural undertones there. We will the few minutes where Shihao follows Kerou to her residence and orders dumplings from her mom's food stand. Provided below is a narration over the clip about the several cultural spots to notice, and also a script with Chinese characters, pinyin, word-for-word glossary and translation to aid your study.

Learn to Describe People's Physical Appearances and Personalities 

In creative writing or in everyday writing, we often find ourselves in situations where we have to describe someone to others. For example, if you are writing a film review, you need to describe the characters. If you are introducing friends and family, it would be good to introduce them vividly and expressing your affect. How do we do so? In this section, you will expand your linguistic repertoire by looking at how Chinese speakers have written and described about the three characters from the film. Provided below are a narrated PPT to explain the writing samples and then the actual writing samples with Pinyin to practice reading with.

Learn to Write in Poetic, Literary Style in Chinese

In this section, we will use the final scene of this beautifully written film to practice language, specifically, practice:

• reading in poetic, literary style of Chinese. 

• specific grammar and word choices that contribute to writing a poetic, literary style.

Below you will see the clip of the final voice-over by 克柔. The voice-over is in a creative, poetic style. This style is a combination of written register of Chinese and some spoken features, It is casual, friendly, but also beautiful and vivid in depicting scenes and emotions. Specifically, pay attention to these word choice and grammar patterns: 

• the durative marker V-zhe (看着 to be looking at...，听着 to be listening to...，想着 to be thinking...).

• conjunction words to show logical reasoning, comparison and contrast, expectation and counter-expectation, time lapses, etc. such as: 由于..., 于是..., 以后，甚至更远以后，是...还是...，虽然...仍，但却...

  • modal verbs/adverbs to show possibility, conjecture,  会..., 应该...,似乎...,可以... 

• special word choice--there is typically a more formal word-choice for the same idea in writing than in speaking: for example, 可是 (spoking) vs. 却 (writing); 还是(spoking) vs. 仍然 (writing); 所以(spoking) vs. 于是 (writing); 好像 (speaking) vs. 似乎 (writing). 

Practice: Writing Assignment 

Writing Prompt (写作文）

Write an essay in which you describe the characters in your favorite film/tv show/club/organization. Use specific instances to illustrate the personalities you described. In your essay, include these three main components: 

• 1) Use a literary, creative style to begin your essay. Think of the beginning of this film and how the narrator sets up a general tone of the film. In your case, choose a specific scene in the film or in your life to vividly depict your main characters and their setting. 

• 2) Describe the appearance and personality of your character (at least one character). This character could be from a movie/tv show/band or any such public figure, or a character in your own life. 

• 3)Give two instances to illustrate the personalties of your character (use narratives and incorporate your commentary). 

Creatively end your essay, with a poetic, literary style. 

Read the recommended sample reviews to get you started. 

The genre of your essay is a description/narrative piece. Do the best you can! Enjoy! 

Resources and Credits

Good reviews to read: 

• http://movie.douban.com/review/1048125/

• http://movie.douban.com/review/1196232/

• http://movie.douban.com/review/1396133/

  • http://movie.douban.com/review/1390232/

Sites to buy the film or to watch snippets: 

• Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Gate-Crossing-Gwei-Lun-Mei/dp/B0001GH7XQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386121937&sr=8-1&keywords=Blue+Gate+Crossing

• A montage of various self-introductions by Zhang Shihao: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G56M0rSWK-U

• An interview with actress Gui Lunmei where she talked about how she took up acting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLzzQV_iYi0&index=5&list=PLBA8DBFE2E3630F80

• Fan-made tribute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGpMUMwlJP4

• Final scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0eBTXzGiII

• Bicycle scene at beginning of film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw3siFw50Vs

Sites to learn about the film: 

• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Gate_Crossing 

• 豆瓣电影：http://movie.douban.com/subject/1308575/

• New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9805EFDB143BF932A15752C1A9659C8B63

Image Source:

• http://movie.douban.com/subject/1308575/