The city serves as the setting for a number of scenes, and some of the extras are locals with personal experience of the 1976 quake. A bigger payoff for Tangshan is the rise-from-ruins message at the center of the story, though Mr. Feng's style is just subtle enough that the pitch doesn't get in the way of narrative too much. Indeed, it underscores the magic of his movies—the way they resonate with popular culture and hold up a mirror to the aspirations and nostalgia of today's China.
电影中的很多镜头在唐山拍摄完成，一些群众演员也是曾经亲身经历过1976年大地震的人们。这部电影对唐山更大的回报是“唐山是一座浴火重生城市”的这一故事核心，虽然冯小刚的作风让这一主题恰到利益地嵌入但没有占太多的故事篇幅，但这也恰恰证明了他电影的神奇之处冯导的电影中风行文化和主流文化的联合是神奇惊人的，它也像一面镜子，反应了当今的中国的情感诉求和回归。
"Feng is energized by the rise of China," says the Hong Kong festival's Mr. Wong. "Obviously, he is enjoying the direction that the country is going in. He has the luxury of being nostalgic."
“冯小刚的成长是是伴随中国成长密切相干的，”香港国际电影节主席Jacob Wong 说，“很明显的，他对国家发展的方向充满乐观和气意，他也有着丰富的旧日情怀。”
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