Chinese movie theaters are never running short on youth films. So Young, Fleet of Time and Yesterday Once More are just a few that hit the big screen in recent years.

中国影院从来都不乏青春片。《致我们终将逝去的青春》(2013)、《匆匆那年》(2014)以及《谁的青春不迷茫》(2016)都是近年来登陆大银幕的几部作品。

Here comes another one – Youth by director Feng Xiaogang, which was released on Dec 15. But this one is a bit different: It’s dedicated to the youth of our parents’ generation.

今年12月15日上映的冯小刚新片《芳华》也是一部青春题材的电影，但这部电影却有些不同：它讲述的是我们父母那代人的青春。

Set in the 1970s, the story begins in a military arts troupe, in which the soldiers’ duties are to sing, dance and promote culture. He Xiaoping is a newcomer and a talented dancer. With a painful childhood, she wants to make a fresh start in the troupe, yet her family’s background makes her the laughing stock among the other girls. The only person who’s nice to her is Liu Feng, a kind and selfless man.

电影的背景设定在上世纪70年代，故事在一个部队文工团中展开。在文工团中，唱歌跳舞、做文艺宣传工作是士兵们的职责。新来的何小萍是位极具才华的文艺女兵。她有着一段痛苦的童年经历，希望在文工团中开始新生活，但她的家庭背景却在女孩之中成为了笑柄。而善良无私的刘峰是唯一对她好的人。

In most youth films, the characters’ life paths are only influenced by their individual choices. However, the young people in Youth are also a part of “the whirlwind of historical change”, as film critic Justin Chang wrote in the Los Angeles Times. In a time span of more than 30 years, they have to experience the “cultural revolution” (1966-76) and the Sino-Vietnamese conflict (1978-79), during which Liu Feng loses an arm and He Xiaoping suffers from a mental illness. The disbandment of the troupe also tears them away from the life and people they’re so familiar with, throwing them into a new life they knew nothing about.

在大多数青春片中，角色的人生道路往往只受到个人选择的影响。然而，正如影评人Justin Chang在《洛杉矶时报》上所写的那样，《芳华》中的年轻人也处在“历史变迁的旋风”中。在30多年的时间中，他们经历了“文化大革命”(1966-1976)以及对越自卫反击战(1978-79)，在这期间，刘峰失去了一条胳膊，而何小萍饱受精神疾病的折磨。文工团的解散也令他们不得不离开自己熟悉的生活和人，投入到一无所知的新生活中去。

They all have to learn to “make peace with the past and [make] the most of the present”, wrote reporter Giovanna Fulvi on the website Tiff.net.

所有人都要学着“与过去和解，充分利用好现在，”记者Giovanna Fulvi在Tiff.net上写道。

But there’s still something that never changes about youth. No matter what time of history it is, people share the same longing for love and beauty. Sunshine, laughter and swimming pools – these typical images of youth are all well kept by Feng in his new film.

但青春中仍有些事物从未改变。不论何时，人们都对爱与美有着同样的追求。阳光、欢笑以及游泳池 —— 这些青春的经典影象都在冯导的这部新片中被完好无损地保存了下来。

According to iFeng News, Youth is actually a nostalgic and personal work that Feng dedicates to his own experiences of working in a troupe.

据凤凰新闻报道，《芳华》实际上是一部怀旧的个人作品，冯小刚将此片献给了自己在文工团工作的经历。

“When I look back in time, everything else in my life seems to be black and white,” he said. “The days in the troupe are the only part of my memory that always remains colorful.”

“现在回忆往事时，很多记忆都是黑白的，”他说道。“唯独部队文工团的生活是脑海里一个有色彩的记忆。”