This article is written by Chuan Meimei
As a senior Zhang fan, I have loved Zhang Ailing and her works for many years, this time "First Incense" did not rush to the first time, can only be counted as the second time, only to find a home and a theater for release. The studio in front of the house has been removed from the shelves, and I am afraid to go to the downtown area to punch the clock. Well, it didn't disappoint me.
Xu Anhua is one of the directors who have adapted zhang Ailing's works the most, as early as 1984's "Love in the City" and 1997's "Half Life", I have seen and liked it very much. This time," "First Incense" also has a novelist Wang Anyi wrote the screenplay, it should be said that the main creative staff is very effective. This story in Hong Kong, directed by a native Hong Konger, Hui Anhua, seems logical. Look at the starring (supporting roles): Ma Sichun, Yu Feihong, Peng Yuyan, Fan Wei, Zhang Junning, Liang Luoshi, hehe are all famous.
"I don't want the audience to see a lot of profound truth after watching it. I think the reason why Zhang Ailing is good is that she is both very profound and clear. Her work is 'Ah! Say (I)' instead of making logical proofs in it..." Xu Dao said.
Yes, it's on my heart.
Zhang Ailing's original work "The First Incense" I read many years ago, this time after watching the movie I read it again, marvel at Wang Anyi's novelist's kung fu as a screenwriter? The novel is more than 36,000 words, the essence of which is all condensed in a period of 2 hours and 15 minutes, almost the lines have not changed, which can be described as very faithful to the original work, which is one; the second is that the original work was completed in April 1943, and Director Hui set the background of the era in Hong Kong in the 1940s and the identity of Liang Tai (Yu Feihong) as the widow of a wealthy businessman in the play. The lavish wealth of her mansion exudes the atmosphere of a family that has been left behind and left behind, the degeneration and miscellaneousness of her network of relationships, the layout of the open and secret struggles of her maids, and the infiltration of Chinese and Western culture into the Qiao family, etc., which are quite accurate.
The character drama is mainly performed in Liang Mansion, the deep mansion compound with carved fences and jade masonry, the long and winding stone steps, and the eerie and dark poking undertones, which give people a sense of oppression and despair. But in Hong Kong, which has been a British colony for more than fifty years, the westerly wind is gradually blowing, and the social dance party held by Leung Tai in the garden and the fundraising of the dignitaries and nobles are very Western-style.
Director Xu is not the first time to present Hong Kong in front of the camera, in the "Golden Age" to tell Xiao Hong, in the adaptation of Zhang Ailing's other 2 novels, as well as Hong Kong's city films and so on. But the artist is a mille-hearted man. This time, in order to present the background of the story, "The First Incense" also did relevant information collection. On one side are a lot of trees and white colonial buildings, on the other side are all brown, such as the docks, Wan Chai and other slums, very contemporary.
Zhang Ailing was born in the early 1920s, her grandfather Zhang Peilun, and her maternal great-grandfather Li Hongzhang were not only big figures in the main history but also important characters in the history of the wild. Such a prominent family lineage, but it is ready to taste the loneliness and coldness of the world. After the mother and father divorced, they traveled to Europe out of nowhere. The opium-sucking aunt had vowed to beat her father to death, and when she became an adult, they broke off contact. Her masterpieces Legend, Rumors, and The First Incense were all written before the age of twenty-five. At that time, she had a unique and stable grasp of human nature, her skills were quite mature, and her writing was more perfect, such a precocious and precocious wisdom, seeking modern literary history, there was no second person.
The story of her aunt Liang Tai and niece Wei Long written in "The First Burning Incense" is, I think to a large extent, is her own story, but not all. Zhang Ailing herself said, "It is common for people to write novels and occasionally use their own experience. As for the details of applying facts, it is often this kind of place that shows the author's familiarity with the background and increases the sense of reality. It is almost inevitable that the author's personality will infiltrate the protagonist in the book, because the author mostly needs to identify with the protagonist. ”
Yes, the aunt has the shadow of Aunt Zhang Ailing, well educated, born rich, single and rich. As for Wei Long, going from Shanghai to Hong Kong to study, that is, she herself Luo. Unable to bear the indifference of her biological father and stepmother, she ran away from home to run to her mother, and she was also very close to her aunt, and this experience is also a reproduction of the writer's own life.
Those who were left behind, the brothers and sisters of the Qiao family of mixed blood, and the college students of the choir were often accompanied by Zhang Ailing in order to avoid the chaos of war and study in Hong Kong. Her most abundant period of creation is nothing more than Hong Kong and Shanghai. The colonial charm of this novel is soaked in the pen, and it is especially interesting to read.
The strong cooperation between director Xu Anhua and Wang Anyi and the screenwriter 2 to put it on the screen further highlights the unique and irreproducible artistic charm of this classic novel.
I think there are 2 heroines of the movie "First Incense", one is the aunt Liang Tai (Yu Feihong), who married a wealthy merchant in eastern Guangdong as a fourth aunt when she was young, and fell out with her brother at that time, that is, the father of her niece Wei Long; one is naturally from Shanghai and is now studying at Hong Kong Nan Ying Middle School Wei Long (Ma Sicong). The original novel describes the aunt as "after all, a few years old, slightly transparent in the white grease, and a touch of purple-black rouge on the lips, which is the new "mulberry red" in Paris this season." "Wei Long knew those sleepy eyes... The beauty is old, but the eyes are not old. ”
But no, Liang Tai, played by Yu Feihong, has the nobility and pride of the aristocratic widow's grandmother, and even has some flamboyant arrogance. Mei Yujian added some first-point of view memories, and a dozen eyes were women with status and status in large households. Seeing her niece splitting her head, she asked, "Is Ge Yukun dead?" Veron said, "My dad TOEFL is still there." "Did he know you came to me?" Wei Long couldn't answer at once. Liang Tai then grabbed the gun and the stick, "You please, let him know, there is a big fight!" I'm not here for you to walk around, but insult your good name and surname! ”
Wei Long was young and tender in the end, and could no longer perfunctory. It was a thick heap of smiles, and then the smile froze on the lips... The original is so wonderful! The embarrassed eyes of Wei Long, played by Ma Sicong, the expression of inferiority and overwhelmed, and even a pair of small hands do not know where to put it, and it is really a bit charming.
Zhang Ailing's Wei Long "is a plain and beautiful little convex face, with long and beautiful eyes, and deep marks on the double eyelids, sweeping straight into the sideburns." Slender nose, small fat mouth. The expression is slightly lacking, but the sluggishness shows the gentle and thick ancient Chinese atmosphere. Ma Sicong's performance I thought was basically passed, there is a little girlish cuteness and shyness, there is no willingness to show weakness in the heart, as if quietly shouting, my father does not want to see you, I prefer to rely on you. Direct compensation in the mouth is not, I have not come to Hong Kong for two years to ask for peace, it is a junior who should die.
Liang Tai still has something to say, thinking about this water spirit good "Shanghai tamales", joining his social circle, accompanying himself to this half-old Xu Niang, it is not bad. At the moment, He arranged the room and stayed.
This male protagonist, Qiao Qiqiao (Peng Yuyan), has a mixed-race face, is a gentleman and a clumsy boy, and drives an English-style beige and white convertible car, which stands out very well among The social male guests of Liang Tai. Liang Tai's friends were miscellaneous, there were old and decaying rich merchants and old lovers Situ Xie, there were neighbors Sir Qiao who combined Chinese and Western styles, there were young British officers, and there was Lu Zhaolin, a poor college student who had just debuted, but only Qiao Shao had entered Wei Long's eyes.
Avoiding the noisy crowds, they came to the path behind the garden and sat down and chatted on a thick, fallen branch. That Qiao Shao was a veteran of the Wind Moon Field, aiming at this fledgling gentle and beautiful girl, and deliberately teasing her in Portuguese. Wei Long smiled and said, I can't understand what you said, isn't it scolding me?
This one is a master of flirting, "translated into English to say and you listen, I dare not say." "Who wants to listen" Veron stood up and walked away.
Georgie Joe will never miss this good opportunity, "I want to see you, on a moonlit night..."
So a dry wood and a fire they had skin kiss that night. The hateful one is Joe, who has always been casual on the issue of men and women, and when he sees a handsome man, he is also intimate, and he happens to see it for Wei Long.
Wei Long caught Her eyes furious and beat her fiercely, and her aunt knew in her heart, only she came forward in such things, and she went to Sir Joe' house to propose to her.
But the problem comes, Georgie Joe is a new character, he does not want to get married, early to frame himself to death, he directly told Wei Long, before the age of 50 will not get married, "but I never lie, I will give you happiness." Wei Long was annoyed and shouted to his aunt to go back to Shanghai.
Wei Long really booked a ticket, and she was squeezed in a huff in the crowds of the docks, she hesitated and sad, she threw the box into the sea and returned to Liang Province. She decided to join her aunt's social circle, she was used to the glitz of life in Hong Kong, and why not work hard with her youth.
Situ Xie (Fan Wei), the aunt's old lover when she was young, her hair is bald, and she still surrounds Liang Tai, which shows her loyalty and close relationship, which is the Number 1 person in the supporting role. In the car, in front of Wei Long, he gave his aunt a diamond bracelet, "There was no light in the carriage, but the brilliant essence of the bracelet illuminated Mrs. Liang's red nails." Mrs. Liang laughed and said, "I have never seen such an anxious person wait for home to give a treasure like a treasure!" Without wanting to make a snap, Wei Long's wrist was also put on the same diamond bracelet by Situ Xie.
Wei Long was startled and wanted to take off the bracelet, Situ Xie said that this bracelet is a pair, I can't bear to break it up, sent your aunt one, the other will not give you to anyone. Saying, he shook her hand a few times. Looking at how much he could talk, Wei Long had no idea.
This No. 2 supporting role is Wei'er (Zhang Junning), who is her aunt's personal maid, her eyes are fast, and she is assigned by her aunt to stare at Wei Long, clever. She knew everything, she knew that her aunt wanted to fish for Lu Zhaolin, and she also knew that her aunt wanted Qiao Qiqiao but didn't bother Qiao Qiao.
It was also she who saw Joe leave Wei Long's room, half pushing and half from Georgie Joe, causing Wei Long to hit her with great fire. She knew that she had made a mistake and knelt in front of the young lady and vowed never to marry, and to stay in the Liang Mansion forever to serve her aunt and nephew. This inferior person with a bit of status, looking at the color, the eight-sided exquisite acting is full of wind and water.
Qiao Jijie (Liang Luoshi) No. 3 supporting role, Georgie Joe's half-sister, she is also of mixed race, if you count her pedigree there are N factors such as Portugal, India, Britain, etc., you can imagine how chaotic Sir Joe's private life is. In the film, he also said Mrs. Liang, "Your death is too late." "I heard it, and he and his aunt also had a leg.
She is a clear stream among the many characters in "The First Incense", and she and Wei Long are not close, often reminding Wei Long to stay away from my brother. Her mixed-race style is just right, versatile, playing a song and singing a song at will. That period of Indian solo dancing jade tree is windy, radiant, but retracted freely. In the final group photo, she is the nun, the only polish of this pickled story.
Some people say that "The First Burning Incense" borrowed the British colony of Hong Kong, a land of bullets, to interpret the dark carnal desires of human nature in that era, etc., and this statement has a certain truth. But I only agree with part of it. Let's say that Wei Long and Georgie Joe, young boys and girls are both not married, basically belong to the same social class, meet love, what can not?
Perhaps, as her aunt said, "He just saw that he was the only one in your eyes, and dared to treat you casually" In other words, Wei Long loved Joe, but Joe did not love her. Joe, the half-race brother, his father does not like it, the family property seems to have no hope of getting a big head, he is decadent "playing", he has the insecurity of a colonial mixed-race child, eating and enjoying himself all day, even if he eats soft rice, he is not rejected, just such a decadent master. My aunt's eyes were old and hot.
When she learned that her niece really liked Georgie Joe, she did the work of the 3 parties. To her niece, she said, "You will not be able to marry a decent family in the future"; to Georgie Jojo, she advised, "Viron will take care of you in the future, you are not willing to divorce, you are still free." She said to Sir Joe, "That boy has an iron heart to follow him and put it in front of our own family's eyes..." Lord Joe said, "Then Ming Media is marrying." "Dele, Veron is finally married to Georgie Joe.
Then the aunt taught her to recover the man's heart, don't chase so much on the pole, you have friends and socializing, you snub him, he naturally has vinegar but rare you.
But no, this soft rice eater saw that Wei Long wanted to accompany Situ Xie on a business trip to do translation, and he tricked Lai not to let him go, and Wei Long coaxed him to earn money to bring you good food. Haha, this trick worked, and her husband rarely picked her up.
So this pair of newly married young people was annoyed. Even if her husband is playing by the beach during the honeymoon, she can tolerate it, and she grows up in love and marriage.
At the end of the movie, in the New Year's festival, the young couple went shopping together, and the British sailors who came ashore saw Wei Long's youthful and beautiful appearance and went to provoke her, and Georgie dragged his wife and tucked her into the car. Don't you think, Veron turned his face and said, "They were forced, I was willing," and her eyes were full of tears.
Then in one shot, Veron mutters to her husband in Georgie Joe's car, "It's New Year's Day, you give me a gift, send me a lie" The husband said nothing, looking at her.
She suddenly shouted out the car window, "I love you, you have no conscience!" This sentence that was held in his heart finally came out on the night of the New Year's Pass, and Wei Long burst into tears.
The end of the play. I looked at the credits flashing on the screen and seemed unfinished. I remember the original novel Zhang Ailing wrote, "This Hong Kong story ends here... Wei Long's incense is almost burned out" This is the end of Zhang Ailing.
The last shot of the movie, I thought it was Wang Anyi's interpretation of this love story, Wei Long actually really loved Qiao Qiqiao, she first saw him, she held out her heart, without reservation or defense, just like a glance of ten thousand years. But there was no response from Georgie Joe. He grew up in such a family, his father married more than a dozen aunts and wives, walked around like a marquee among women, had no true love and no compassion, and taught him to play life. He never said "I love you" to any woman, including this one Veron. But he said "I'll give you joy".
Yes, Veron had not been loved in her native family, and when she met Georgie Jojo her soft loveless heart awakened, she thought he loved him too, but it turned out that he did not. If her later humility and means were all about loving him, it was better to conquer him, but in her bones she must have loved him. In the chaotic streets of this winter night, she finally released her heart out loud.
Therefore, I appreciate this ending treatment of Wang Anyi's writer, which is in line with Wei Long's true intentions at this moment.
Although the Douban score is 5.7, I think it is very good-looking, chewing slowly and swallowing has a taste, and I have the opportunity to brush it again.
* Chuan Meimei: Loves to read and like code words. Look for common sense in reading and illuminate the rest of your life in code words.
(Image from the Internet, copyright belongs to the original author)