01-16-2022, 06:13 PM
Best Classic IDU Film
The Way of the Zongong
Country: Zongongia
Year: 1998
Language: English
Runtime: 142 mins
Director: Ingrid Sorensdatter
Synopsis:
When a trade caravan is waylaid by a volcanic eruption and must stop in a small village overnight. While camping outside, as the inn has only one room, which is currently occupied, five heavily-armed men run into the village, terrified by something that chases them. The noise rouses the entire village, and the leader of the armed men informs the gathered masses that the lava from the volcano suddenly changed direction to chase them.
The guest at the inn reveals himself to be a tax collector for one of the kings who claims this territory. The armed men are forces of another nearby king who had initially been travelling to conquer this territory. The tension is dispelled by the village elder and the head of the trade caravan, who both encourage the others to put aside their territorial dispute in order to find out if the lava was really acting strangely or if it had only been the men fearing it in the unlit darkness of the cloudy night.
An expedition consisting of five of the men from the small militia, five from the village and five from the caravan agree to set off at first light, along with the tax collector. Though all the militia are men, the village is from a culture where women are in charge of village security while men work in agriculture and hunting, so their five are all female. The caravan sends two women and three men, while the tax collector is male. There are further disputes around gender but these are resolved when the village elder announces that all of their men are away on an annual hunt for an animal that hibernates most of the year but provides good, long-lasting meat.
In the morning, the group of sixteen sets out on foot as there are not enough horses, walking until they find where the lava has covered the track. There is no sign of the dead horses or men that the surviving militia claimed would be there, which makes the group nervous. They decide to make their way through the woods towards the volcano, while keeping back from the river of lava, to see if they can see anything which would explain the strange occurrence of the previous night. After hours of walking, they stumble across a perfectly-round pool of lava, in the middle of which appears to be an island, with a stone post in the middle of it.
Surrounding the post, sitting up and clearly alive, but with vacant stares, are the missing militia members. Their comrades call to them but they do not react. After the commander agrees not to attack the village if they help rescue his men, the group set about trying to find a way to cross the lava pool. Though they try many different things, nothing is successful, and the lava immediately disintegrates anything that touches it, faster than would be natural. As night falls they decide to set up camp and try again in the morning, but once the sun dips behind the horizon the lava starts to creep towards them.
Suddenly, a figure appears behind the group, telling them to follow, and quickly. Knowing what happened the last time the lava moved, they decide to follow the strange figure, who leads them into a brightly-lit cave. The figure, a humanoid being of indeterminate gender, tells them that the balance of the universe is failing, as an ancient force of destruction has escaped, and that they need help to defeat it. The figure introduces themselves as one of the Forces of Creation, one of the essences that created the universe. They are not a being but rather thought and will made corporeal, and they have taken this form only to communicate this message.
Unfortunately, the figure explains, the universe needs to be kept in balance and for Creation to exist, Destruction must also. In order to create life, the Forces of Creation had to trap the Forces of Destruction, but now one has escaped. And as long as any Force walks among the mortal world, there will be great creation, but also great destruction. If the group wants to save their civilization they will have to lock all the Forces - Destruction and Creation alike - behind a barrier to limit their interaction with our world. They must take the orb from the stone pillar in the island and throw it into the volcano.
They are given a magic boat which will enable them to cross the lava, but they must beware the other militia members as they have been possessed by Destruction and will stop at nothing to prevent the party gaining the orb. They return to the lava lake as the sun rises and set out on the boat, but the lava is trying to stop them and they must row very hard to get through it. Then they are attacked by the possessed men, who can walk through lava. The men manage to drag several of the group off the boat and into the lava, where they are also possessed.
They continue to fight, and some of the group decide to sacrifice themselves, jumping onto the defenders of the pillar so that some of the others manage to get onto the island and grab the orb. Once the orb is removed from the pillar, all the possessed humans fall dead and disintegrate into the lava the way objects had before. There are only four left: the commander of the militia Morcant, the village elder’s granddaughter Sollemnia, the wife of the caravan master Archippe, and the tax collector Ramessu. They make their way back on the boat, the lava now subdued and head to the volcano.
They enter the cave the Force of Creation told them to go to, and as they do the others blink away into darkness so each of them is in their own dark cavern. As they walk further, they see visions of the past, of deeds they have done both bad and good. Ramessu must confront his greed, Morcant must confront his violence; Sollemnia must confront her ambition, Archippe must confront her jealousy through what they see. Each passes their test and reappears at the end of the cave, where they can see down into the lava. Above them, they see visions of their greatest desires if only they turn back, but each of them keep their resolve and throw the orb into the volcano.
A primordial scream echoes around the cave and there is a bright dazzling light, and then all the lava solidifies into rock, before shooting upwards and disappearing. Four palm-sized rocks appear in front of the four, a glow fading from them. The figure of the Force of Creation appears, faded slightly, and tells them they have succeeded, and that the Forces will soon fade from the mortal world to watch from afar. The figure tells the four to keep the rocks as a reminder of the need for balance in the universe, even now, and to think on it every time they see rocks, for stone is the foundation of human civilization, and should never be taken for granted. The figure then fades away, and the four are left to walk back to the village with their rocks.
Starring:
Maritta Bengtsson as Sollemnia
Katarina Pilkvist as Archippe
Tobias Mathiasen as Ramessu
Julius Lange as Morcant
Saundra Espensson as Elder Candida
Gunnhild Gunnarsson as The Figure
Why This Is A Classic:
The Way of the Zongong is a religious fiction film following the story of the initial Disciples of the Zongong in antiquity (historians estimate between the 16th and 12th centuries B.C.). This foundational tale of Zongongism has been retold through the ages, but the 1998 version has won numerous awards and is considered an undisputed classic in Zongongia, from believers and non-believers alike. The depiction of the origins of the Zongongist religion was seen as respectful by those of other faiths, more so than other pieces of media depicting the same thing, which is seen as more in-line with the actual teachings of Zongongism. It was also one of the first Zongongist films to be produced and directed solely by followers of the religion, and cleared up a great number of misconceptions around the religion.
The Way of the Zongong
Country: Zongongia
Year: 1998
Language: English
Runtime: 142 mins
Director: Ingrid Sorensdatter
Synopsis:
When a trade caravan is waylaid by a volcanic eruption and must stop in a small village overnight. While camping outside, as the inn has only one room, which is currently occupied, five heavily-armed men run into the village, terrified by something that chases them. The noise rouses the entire village, and the leader of the armed men informs the gathered masses that the lava from the volcano suddenly changed direction to chase them.
The guest at the inn reveals himself to be a tax collector for one of the kings who claims this territory. The armed men are forces of another nearby king who had initially been travelling to conquer this territory. The tension is dispelled by the village elder and the head of the trade caravan, who both encourage the others to put aside their territorial dispute in order to find out if the lava was really acting strangely or if it had only been the men fearing it in the unlit darkness of the cloudy night.
An expedition consisting of five of the men from the small militia, five from the village and five from the caravan agree to set off at first light, along with the tax collector. Though all the militia are men, the village is from a culture where women are in charge of village security while men work in agriculture and hunting, so their five are all female. The caravan sends two women and three men, while the tax collector is male. There are further disputes around gender but these are resolved when the village elder announces that all of their men are away on an annual hunt for an animal that hibernates most of the year but provides good, long-lasting meat.
In the morning, the group of sixteen sets out on foot as there are not enough horses, walking until they find where the lava has covered the track. There is no sign of the dead horses or men that the surviving militia claimed would be there, which makes the group nervous. They decide to make their way through the woods towards the volcano, while keeping back from the river of lava, to see if they can see anything which would explain the strange occurrence of the previous night. After hours of walking, they stumble across a perfectly-round pool of lava, in the middle of which appears to be an island, with a stone post in the middle of it.
Surrounding the post, sitting up and clearly alive, but with vacant stares, are the missing militia members. Their comrades call to them but they do not react. After the commander agrees not to attack the village if they help rescue his men, the group set about trying to find a way to cross the lava pool. Though they try many different things, nothing is successful, and the lava immediately disintegrates anything that touches it, faster than would be natural. As night falls they decide to set up camp and try again in the morning, but once the sun dips behind the horizon the lava starts to creep towards them.
Suddenly, a figure appears behind the group, telling them to follow, and quickly. Knowing what happened the last time the lava moved, they decide to follow the strange figure, who leads them into a brightly-lit cave. The figure, a humanoid being of indeterminate gender, tells them that the balance of the universe is failing, as an ancient force of destruction has escaped, and that they need help to defeat it. The figure introduces themselves as one of the Forces of Creation, one of the essences that created the universe. They are not a being but rather thought and will made corporeal, and they have taken this form only to communicate this message.
Unfortunately, the figure explains, the universe needs to be kept in balance and for Creation to exist, Destruction must also. In order to create life, the Forces of Creation had to trap the Forces of Destruction, but now one has escaped. And as long as any Force walks among the mortal world, there will be great creation, but also great destruction. If the group wants to save their civilization they will have to lock all the Forces - Destruction and Creation alike - behind a barrier to limit their interaction with our world. They must take the orb from the stone pillar in the island and throw it into the volcano.
They are given a magic boat which will enable them to cross the lava, but they must beware the other militia members as they have been possessed by Destruction and will stop at nothing to prevent the party gaining the orb. They return to the lava lake as the sun rises and set out on the boat, but the lava is trying to stop them and they must row very hard to get through it. Then they are attacked by the possessed men, who can walk through lava. The men manage to drag several of the group off the boat and into the lava, where they are also possessed.
They continue to fight, and some of the group decide to sacrifice themselves, jumping onto the defenders of the pillar so that some of the others manage to get onto the island and grab the orb. Once the orb is removed from the pillar, all the possessed humans fall dead and disintegrate into the lava the way objects had before. There are only four left: the commander of the militia Morcant, the village elder’s granddaughter Sollemnia, the wife of the caravan master Archippe, and the tax collector Ramessu. They make their way back on the boat, the lava now subdued and head to the volcano.
They enter the cave the Force of Creation told them to go to, and as they do the others blink away into darkness so each of them is in their own dark cavern. As they walk further, they see visions of the past, of deeds they have done both bad and good. Ramessu must confront his greed, Morcant must confront his violence; Sollemnia must confront her ambition, Archippe must confront her jealousy through what they see. Each passes their test and reappears at the end of the cave, where they can see down into the lava. Above them, they see visions of their greatest desires if only they turn back, but each of them keep their resolve and throw the orb into the volcano.
A primordial scream echoes around the cave and there is a bright dazzling light, and then all the lava solidifies into rock, before shooting upwards and disappearing. Four palm-sized rocks appear in front of the four, a glow fading from them. The figure of the Force of Creation appears, faded slightly, and tells them they have succeeded, and that the Forces will soon fade from the mortal world to watch from afar. The figure tells the four to keep the rocks as a reminder of the need for balance in the universe, even now, and to think on it every time they see rocks, for stone is the foundation of human civilization, and should never be taken for granted. The figure then fades away, and the four are left to walk back to the village with their rocks.
Starring:
Maritta Bengtsson as Sollemnia
Katarina Pilkvist as Archippe
Tobias Mathiasen as Ramessu
Julius Lange as Morcant
Saundra Espensson as Elder Candida
Gunnhild Gunnarsson as The Figure
Why This Is A Classic:
The Way of the Zongong is a religious fiction film following the story of the initial Disciples of the Zongong in antiquity (historians estimate between the 16th and 12th centuries B.C.). This foundational tale of Zongongism has been retold through the ages, but the 1998 version has won numerous awards and is considered an undisputed classic in Zongongia, from believers and non-believers alike. The depiction of the origins of the Zongongist religion was seen as respectful by those of other faiths, more so than other pieces of media depicting the same thing, which is seen as more in-line with the actual teachings of Zongongism. It was also one of the first Zongongist films to be produced and directed solely by followers of the religion, and cleared up a great number of misconceptions around the religion.
LIDUN President 2024 | she/her | Puppets: Kerlile, Glanainn, Yesteria, Zongongia, Zargothrax