A Movie Review of “And the Spring Comes” and “Mona Lisa Smile”

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Wang Wenjing

And the Spring Comes is a movie directed by Gu Changwei and starred by Jiang Wenli. It was showed on April 11, 2008. The movie tells the story of Wang Cailing and other young artists struggling in the contradiction between dream and reality in a small county in the 1980s.

Mona Lisa Smile is a movie directed by Mike Newell, written by Lawrence Konnor and Mark Rosenthal, and starred by Julia Roberts. It was first showed in the United States on December 19, 2003. The film tells the story of America in 1953. The time was changing. Catherine (Julia Roberts), who graduated from the University of Berkeley which advocated open-minded education, went to Wellesley College to teach art history and challenged the old teaching system boldly.

The backgrounds of these two films are similar. We will analyze them in two aspects: the conflict between ideal and reality and the social definition of women.

The Conflict between Ideal and Reality

The time background of And the Spring Comes is from the end of 1980s to the end of 1990s. During the ten years, there occurred ideological convergence and rapid economic development between the East and the West. In the 1980s, China set off an artistic trend. Some people began to yearn for western forms of artistic expression. During that era, many artists had the thought that art as a pure and noble spiritual concept, was closely connected with ideal. In And the Spring Comes, Wang Cailing' s appearance was ugly, but she had the talent of singing opera. Together with the amateur painter Huang Sibao (Li Guangming) and ballet teacher Hu Jinquan (Jiao Gang), they recklessly pursued great ideals, but they didn't imagine whether their ideals matched the environment or not. When they perform their art in front of the public, the audience are only puzzled, which means young artists are doomed to not be recognized by most people. Romaine Rolland said: “he ideal of being divorced from reality is no life.” In the 1980s, people in Chinese northern towns were generally plain which was different from those who publicized art. The artists pursued their dreams which caused the consequence that they were irreconcilable from the reality, and this is doomed to their final tragic fate. On the contrary, although Zhou Yu (Wu Guohua) had a dream of recitation, he quickly gave up his great dream because of love frustration and yielded to reality.

The story of Mona Lisa Smile happened in 1953. At that time, the United States was in the cold war period, there were many national democratic movements in America, and the times were changing. Some advanced molecules produce advanced ideas. Catherine (Julia Roberts) graduated from the Open University of Berkeley. Influenced by the liberalism and rebellious spirit of Berkeley University, she was full of ideals and enthusiasm and determined to make a career in Wellesley College. However, her dream of spreading freedom met many troubles here because the school's stereotypes had reached intolerable levels, such as encouraging students to get married and become housewives while they were in school; the students are proud of their love at school. Moreover, at that time, the whole American society was also committed to persuading the women who went out of their homes and became independent in the World War II to be housewives again. Catherine's ideal was to promote woman's freedom and innovate educational ideas, which was contrary to the reality of the United States, so it was doomed to fail. At last she chose to leave school.

The Social Definition of Women

Whether in And the Spring Comes or Mona Lisa Smile, the social definition of women is still very narrow. This also indicates that no matter in the eastern or western countries, the traditional culture is dominated by male chauvinism, which has formed a pattern of thinking. In both films, the definition of women is immobilized, requiring women to marry and have children.

In the 1980s, Chinese women were brought up to behave conservatively, but the spread of western ideas allowed them to keep an open mind. But it is not hard to see that most Chinese people held the view that the primary duty of women is assist her husband and bring up children. For example, Miss Zhang (Dong Xuan) in And the Spring Comes looks really pretty, but she is void of independent thinking and ideals. And she was preoccupied with the pursuit of sweet love and a happy marriage. Not only that, the reason why Wang Cailing's parents persuade her to get married quickly, was that she would be gossiped about by her neighbors if did not marry. Therefore we can find that the Chinese society restricts women to the framework of marriage and birth in that era.

In 1953, the woman's liberation movement was raging in the United States. Although woman's social status has improved a lot, their self-consciousness has not been awakened. We can see it in Mona Lisa Smile: various advertisements praising women as housewives; Wesleyan college, an elite school, teaches its students how to be a good wife rather than knowledge; the students, led by Betty, believed that women were born to get married and have children; Betty is required smile when she was indulged in the throes of her husband's betrayal, like Mona Lisa... Catherine advocates that girls should value their independence and freedom, and step out of the narrow space between husband and family. Love and career can coexist. There is no doubt that it is very difficult to such ideas in a campus that has been poisoned by traditional dross. Fortunately, Catherine eventually won the respect and affection of her students. And girls have learned that women can do what they want.

These two films reflect the tragic reality that the feudal thoughts of China and the United States in the old era bound human beings to the depth, and that the advanced people with avant-garde thoughts were regarded as alien and could only yield to reality. Western society only restricts the pursuit of woman's ideals but not man's. However, the society's rejection of artistic ideals is gender-neutral in China in the 1980s. Besides, the awakening of female consciousness in Mona Lisa Smile was much earlier than And the Spring Comes. After all, western thinking was always more advanced than China during that period.

Fortunately, in modern society, the pursuit of art and ideals has become an accepted and popular thing. It turns out that women who lose themselves in the pursuit of love are likely to be betrayed. Thus female consciousness is wakened and feminist thought also flourished. As Catherine said, modern women can choose their own life and should work harder for their dreams.

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This article briefly introduces And the Spring Comes and Mona Lisa Smile at first and then finds out their common point on the background. Then it analyzes the conflict between ideals and reality and the social definition of women in the two films. By combining the background and characters of the film, it makes a detailed analysis of the films, expressing that the dream and women's rights are restricted by the time. Finally, different from the old era, people can pursue their dreams and feminism is booming in modern society. I think the author has a very deep understanding of the two films and a thorough analysis of the characters. The theme and the structure of the article is clear, and the words and sentences are also very careful. However, I think it is not good for the whole article to focus on the common ground between the two films, so it would be better to make an appropriate analysis of their differences and compare them.

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Dear Ji Ziyan,Li Yan
I know that you have realized our review' s general structure, and thanks to your approval of our review. You didn't find the differences between the two films. Actually, we have some details about differences in the review. For example, we mentioned that' In the 1980s, Chinese women were brought up to behave conservatively, but the spread of western ideas allowed them to keep an open mind. ' I think it is the difference according to the social background of the two films. And we mentioned the different results in the two films. The result in Mona Lisa Smile is more positive than that in And the Spring Comes. Moreover, the penultimate paragraph also mentions the views of China and the United States on men and women: Western society only restricts the pursuit of woman's ideals but not man's. However, the society's rejection of artistic ideals is gender-neutral in China in the 1980s. I hope you can understand my meaning.
From Fan Kaiyi

[cmf5895]

Hello -

First off, you gave a really good amount of background information that helped set the scene and context of your essay. You pointed out the time periods the movies took place in and explored the social and cultural aspects of those eras. You explain the concepts of an open mind and liberalism well and how those ideas contributed to the feminism of the main characters. You addressed the main themes of the movies in a well written and clear way. You could add a contrasting section of the essay to give it more of an analysis of the two movies and not necessarily a study of the time periods. Overall, it was a good piece of writing.
- Chris

[kcy5041]

I think your essay touched upon some very interesting points. I think your analysis of the time periods of both films was useful in understanding the contextual situation of the movies, and the cultures that influenced them. Your discussion on the views of women in society during these times was also well supported through historical examples.

On your analysis comparing both films: I really appreciated the way you described dreams yielding to reality, how the aspirations of the characters and the cold, hard truths of reality were incompatible. However, I disagree with your notion that Katherine's ideas were "doomed to fail." Unlike how Wang is depicted in Spring, Katherine seems to be effective at enacting change, as she eventually convinces her students to follow her ideology. In this sense, Katherine isn't portrayed as wrong or incorrect in this movie to continue to follow her own path. While I think this is absolutely correct for Wang and Spring, I think the difference between the two films in the ending showcases the differences in cultural values and perspectives regarding who we should be and what role we should play within society.

Kevin Yu

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To Kevin Yu
After reading your reply, I discussed with other students about what you questioned. I said Katherine' s ideas were doomed to fail because I thought Joan' s reply to Katherine made Katherine realized although she made great efforts to specialize the students, she couldn't change the shackles of marriage on women because Joan finally chose to give up learning in Cambridge because of marriage, which was the direct cause of Katherine' s leaving Wellesley. So I define it as having some regrets according to the result. After discussion, I think your opinion is reasonable, actually, the story wasn't the pessimism I imagined. I should pay more attention to the positive effects.  Katherine successfully changed the students' thoughts which can be identified as a step closer to his dream, and the students also learn to follow themselves. As to Joan' s reply, it was just her own decision, maybe there wasn't any connections to the shackles of marriage. Thanks for your suggestions, and I will pay attention to those points in the revision.
Fan Kaiyi

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Hi, Chris
I'm glad to receive your suggestion. The other group also suggested that we add some difference between the two films in the essay. Is that what you mean? Indeed, we focused more on what the movies had in common and the difference is only mentioned at the end of the article. We will systematically explain the differences between the two movies. And could I get some methods of introduction or discussion from you? I am looking forward to talking to you again.
Wang Wenjing

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Hi, Fan Kaiyi
Thank you for your reply and your further explanation about your review. This also let me know that your analysis of the film is very thorough.
​In these two films, because of the different Chinese and western backgrounds, the main characters have different ideas. I also agree with you that in the 1980s, the western society only restricted the pursuit of women's ideals, while in our country, it was a restriction on the pursuit of ideals for all people. In the movie we also see how important the ideal is to a person, who can let Wang go to Beijing again and again.
​Can you talk a little bit about how the ideal shapes the protagonist? I am looking forward to your reply.
By Li Yan, Ji Ziyan

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Hi,Ji Ziyan,Li Yan
In And the Spring Comes, Wang had the dream of singing in Beijing and even The Paris Opera. She knew her talent in singing opera. In order to be able to sing in Beijing, Wang paid a lot of money asking someone to apply her Beijing residence. Although she met a lot of difficulties during the period, she didn't give up easily. From here, we can see her insistence and courage.
In Mona Lisa Smile, Catherine had the dream of challenging the old teaching system and strived to improve students' thoughts. Although her teaching system was ridiculed by all the students at first, she just made herself more adapted to them and try to persuade the students to change their ideas. We can see a woman who had open thoughts and are willing to help people.
From Fan Kaiyi

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Hi, Fan Kaiyi
Thank you very much for your reply. Indeed, in And the Spring Comes, the dream of going to Beijing to sing has always been the reason for her perseverance, despite many setbacks along the way. Wang is one of the most persistent. She eventually gave in to reality, but in her own way: adopted a girl with a cleft lip, taught her nursery rhyming lessons and took her to Tian'anmen square in Beijing. In the children's song that the little girl sings, we can still feel the breath of the Wang. The film ends with a fantasy scene in which Wang sings her favourite opera at the Beijing Opera house in a gorgeous dress. This ideal was not lost, but buried deep in her heart. This is the best way for ordinary people to accomplish their dreams
In Mona Lisa Smile, Catherine, she may not be the first person to germinate feminism, and it may not necessarily be the person who made the greatest contribution to the development of feminism. However, as we saw in the film, she uses her avant-garde thinking and independent character. Deeply influenced her students, so that the best women in this country have independent thoughts, independent pursuits, independent characters, and gradually students will also think about the status and role of women in society and family.
From Ji Ziyan&Li Yan