Many people say that Yuan Quan seems to have a fairy breath, she often pops up when people are about to forget, catches a glimpse, and then disappears into the fog. Some actors often expose their lives to the public eye in various ways in order to gain exposure. However, Yuan Quan seems to prefer to live quietly and quietly, and rarely finds information about her in various gossip headlines.
This quietness has achieved Yuan Quan's unique and tense performance style.
Art is not only an imitation of reality, but also a discovery of reality. We often advocate the realism of the actor's portrayal of the character, and often ignore the role of the actor's own charm on the role. A successful character not only has a charisma, but also a strong imprint injected into the role by the actor himself.
The 19th-century French master of Expressionism, Gögland, proposed two theories of the self: "I do not believe in art that violates nature, but I also do not want to see in the theater nature that lacks art." The charm of the performance lies in the play of the actor's first self and the creation of the second self. "Actors have different creative styles, some actors will put themselves in the dust and cover up their "first self" with different roles; some actors have their personal charm that cannot be ignored, each role portrayed has its own deep imprint, and the role is precisely because of the actor's own charm and becomes a classic that cannot be copied and replaced.
Yuan Quan's performance is like her name, like a gushing spring, clear, quiet, and self-conscious. Her own agility and elegance cannot be hidden by the character, she is a pure and beautiful Cloud Fan ("Crush on Peach Blossom Garden"), and it is Yuan Quan's Cloud Fan. Perhaps this quiet and restrained style is due to the role she encountered, not her intention. But for the audience, they have probably accepted the label of Yuan Quan's performance and have been impressed by her charm.
Either style will produce a different tension. Yuan Quan's quiet but controlling performance always produces a tension, it is not to achieve a hoarse catharsis, to conquer the audience from the senses; but to stir up the audience's inner surging heart, let them sit quietly in the seat, but the heart is tightly pulled; just like a string with elasticity, when it is tightened to the maximum but not to be broken, the resulting tone is the most beautiful.
Show yourself on the screen
Yuan Quan won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Supporting Actress that year with her film debut "Rhapsody of Spring" when she was in college, and people remember her lively and talented performance; later Su Ying in "Little Fish and Flowers", who is still beautiful and agile; and then in "Great Shanghai" and "History of the Demise of Romanticism", she impressed the audience with her elegant cheongsam and beautiful red lips. Perhaps Ye Zhiqiu ("Great Shanghai") and Miss Wu ("The History of the Demise of Romanticism") are themselves the white lotus in the male protagonist's heart in the movie, which gives the audience a glimpse of it and does not give Yuan Quan more creative space. In recent years, her outstanding performance in a series of film and television dramas such as "My First Half of Life", "Captain China", "Chinese Doctor" and so on has gradually formed her own performance style, so that Yuan Quan's acting skills cannot be ignored.
In "Captain China", due to the needs of the plot, the characters are wearing oxygen masks, and the actors rely on their eyes to express the emotional struggle of the characters in extreme situations. When The purser Bi Nan, played by Yuan Quan, tried his best to stabilize the emotions of the passengers after the sudden release of pressure in the cabin, trying to determine the safety of the crew, from the uneasiness and anxiety of finding zhou Yawen, played by Li Qin, who fainted by the impact of the air current, to the steadfastness and relief that Zhou Yawen finally returned to work, these complex emotions were completely interpreted by her beautiful, exotic eyes: full of tears and strong restraint, and then comforted the panicked passengers with firm eyes and stable voice.
Yuan Quan in Captain China (2019).
Yuan Quan's quiet and tense performance was played more vividly in the later "Chinese Doctor". "Chinese Doctor" depicts the situation in which medical workers in Wuhan struggled to fight at the beginning of the new crown epidemic, so most of the scenes of the actors who played the medical staff wore protective clothing, protective goggles and masks. Wen Ting, the director of the Department of Critical Care Medicine played by Yuan Quan, only shows a pair of eyes in 80% of the scenes in the play, in which the audience understands Dr. Wenting's anxiety, fear, determination, and relief, and also feels the professional quality of Dr. Wenting in a desperate situation and stoicism.
Yuan Quan is very good at infiltrating subtle tremors into not only the eyes and expressions, but also all parts of the limbs. Her body as an actress sensitively accepts the inner impulses of the character and conveys them expressively. The realm of this kind of performance is inseparable from the self-discipline of the actor and the discipline of his own body.
The famous monarch of the Roman Empire, Marco Aurelius, said that the actor's body could be his best friend, or his greatest enemy. Yuan Quan's limbs express pure fire. Yuan Quan has mentioned in many interviews that she has a small habit before performing a stage play: brushing her teeth, washing her hands, and spraying perfume. This series of small habits is probably Yuan Quan's reminder of his body, reminding himself from various senses, igniting his own creative imagination, and entering the play. This is what Chekhov advocated for "closely combining atmosphere and texture", using external stimuli to help actors reach their subconscious. The discipline of the outside of the body is a little different from the fact that many actors pay attention to the script when preparing for the role, and study the inner part of the character. After years of opera training, Yuan Quan believes in the actor's control over the body. Acting on the inside by controlling the body allows the actor to enter the role on the level of consciousness. Lai Shengchuan's evaluation of Yuan Quan's performance in the re-rehearsal "Crush on Peach Blossom Garden" can be seen: As soon as I watched Yuan Quan's body movements, I knew that this play was something that could not be shaken off in her bones.
In "Chinese Doctor", Yuan Quan wore protective clothing for a long time at the shooting site without taking it off, and a reporter at the scene calculated that she wore protective clothing for more than 8 hours at the shooting scene. Some people will also ask her if she is tired, but she proposes that she needs to feel about wearing protective clothing for a long time to stimulate herself to find or get infinitely closer to the role she plays. So the audience sees a tired, waist and back is always uncomfortable, but the head, neck and shoulders are always firm in the posture of a doctor. At the same time of filming, Yuan Quan put forward the requirement of plain face, coupled with wearing a protective mask for a long time, when Dr. Wenting took off the mask to face the camera, the face was full of the strangles and marks of the protective shield, plus a pair of eyes full of drama, no need for more tears and large passionate lines, the audience has been completely conquered.
After watching Yuan Quan's performance in "Captain China", you can understand that the successful portrayal of Dr. Wenting is not accidental. The establishment of the image of purser Bi Nan not only relies on her eyes with rich emotions mentioned above, but also on her overall portrayal of the role. Bi Nan immediately presented the professional posture of the flight attendant when facing the passengers, the relaxed posture when returning to the operation room and complaining with colleagues, and the sudden release of pressure in the cabin, her clothes and makeup were messy due to the huge air current impact, but her expression and body quickly returned to a professional posture to calm and calm the passengers. Once and again, in order to verify the safety of colleagues and comfort passengers, Bi Nan risked his life to take off his oxygen mask, try to restrain his fears, and try to maintain a professional state. Yuan Quan's expressions, micro-expressions, and body postures all convey the character's extreme nervousness, subtle hesitation but rapid and calm inner changes. The performance of the characters in this series of situational changes completely follows the narrative of the film, which seems to be flowing, but it is the embodiment of the actor's perennial self-discipline and diligence.
Yuan Quan in Shanghai Rumba (2006).
At this time, looking back at Yuan Quan's screen debut "Rhapsody of Spring", you can feel that in the past twenty years, as an actress, she has grown from aura and talent to mature and formed her own performance style, which reveals her twenty years of diligence, self-discipline and quiet heart. Silence is a powerful force, it must come from a poetic soul, coming and going quietly, and by the time people realize it, they have been conquered.
The tension of the performance is presented in the theater
Yuan Quan's outstanding performance in the film is inseparable from the accumulation of many years in the theater, she graduated from chinese opera and entered the National Drama Theatre, and her professional quality began to mature from the theater. Compared with film and television dramas, stage performances cannot be stopped halfway through, and there is no post-editing. This means that once the performance begins, the actor must present a coherent, perfect performance. Therefore, the drama has extremely high requirements for the actor's lines and limbs, and it takes a lot of time to repeatedly ponder or even the limbs and movements of a small line. However, the attention brought by dramas to actors is far less than that of film and television dramas and even some online variety shows. Stage actors need to be able to endure loneliness, be quiet, and take root in the role.
Perhaps with a unique background in opera and drama education, Yuan Quan has a great dedication and reverence for the stage. She is undoubtedly one of the most active Mesozoic actresses on the Chinese drama stage, shaping one classic role after another: from the self-breakthrough of "Crazy Ride" to "Amber", "Crush on Peach Blossom Garden", "Jane Love", "Green Snake", "Alive", she has played different female roles in ancient and modern China and abroad. She has fulfilled her roles, and these diverse roles have nourished her.
In "Amber", Yuan Quan plays Xiao You, a girl who is obsessed with love, and her fiancé Lin Yichuan suddenly died in a car accident, facing the prodigal son Gao Yuan, who received a heart transplant from his lover in order to pursue the heart of his deceased lover. When Xiao You goes to the hospital to visit Gao Yuan for the first time, the desire for Gao Yuan's heart and the rejection of Gao Yuan himself are fully revealed through his limbs and eyes. Gao Yuan lay on her lap, the right half of her body, right hand and arm naturally placed on Gao Yuan's heart, eyes looking at the distant place: "It is snowing outside, it is another snowy day, and there will always be something going on a snowy day." But the left half of his body tensed up to keep a distance from Gao Yuan; when Gao Yuan found out that Xiao You loved his true purpose and questioned her, Xiao You did not forgive himself because he was in love with Gao Yuan. Xiao You suddenly pressed his face against Gao Yuan's chest, while his hands were dangling, and the rest of his body was trying to keep a distance from Gao Yuan, a series of rapid movements in one go. Yuan Quan's very strong but very restrained limbs express a woman's complex and contradictory feelings such as the pursuit of a deceased lover, the hesitation of new feelings, and the struggle to betray past love.
Yuan Quan in the drama "Jane Eyre"
On the contrary, Yuan Quan in the drama "Jane Eyre" reproduces Jane Eyre's calmness, bystanderism and caution. The male protagonist Rochester invites guests to hold a family banquet in the living room of the home, when the crowd is noisy, Jane Ai'an quietly teaches Adella to draw, without unnecessary body movements, only a look up, the eyes are full of pity for the magnates, between movement and stillness, Jane Ai's self-esteem and the arrogance of the magnates form a sharp contrast.
At the wedding, when Jane Ai learned that her fiancé had been married, she silently took off the veil and took off the wedding dress, the whole process did not shout hoarsely, but showed Jane Ai's inner hurt, the confrontation between sensual love and rational principles with firm and clear movements, bringing the audience inner shock and empathy in silence.
Yuan Quan played the heroine Jia Zhen in the drama "Alive", and there was a scene in which Jia Zhen sang the Peking Opera "Noble Concubine Drunk" to set off the plot. In order not to dominate and conform to the personality characteristics of Jia Zhen, Yuan Quan only performed in a light humming tune, but this light humming made a play very complete and harmonious, not abrupt. Therefore, producer Ge Dali commented on Yuan Quan: she can bring a factor of stability to the stage.
Compared with other drama actors, almost none of the stage roles created by Yuan Quan are open and closed, cathartic expression, even if the role is emotionally rich, she still maintains an introverted and restrained style to express the complex and ups and downs of the character, but it gives people a great shock, but also in line with the attributes of Yuan Quan's first self.
The determination and potential of career perseverance
Yuan Quan is this kind of actor, the role's first self is obviously higher than the second self, her own charm is enough to impress the audience, perhaps some viewers like Yuan Quan, is to like the ideal self she presents.
Yuan Quan is like Jane Eyre, played by her, interpreting "I will use my own will to choose my destiny". In her body, there is less middle-aged actress anxiety about age, and the role she plays with her personal growth has become more and more prominent in the charm of middle-aged women, from naïve girls to mature and tough women, more and more with its unique brand, exuding gentleness and tenacity coexist temperament.
Yuan Quan in The First Half of My Life (2017).
Yuan Quan seems to be calm and relaxed at any time, quietly, not in a hurry for fame and fortune, calmly and restrainedly keeping a distance from the entertainment industry. In her, there is no anxiety about not getting the role, nor can she see the panic of breaking the file, Tang Jing in "The First Half of My Life", Dai Qian in "Flowing Golden Years" are not female number one, and even Yuan Quan's role in "Heart Flower Road Release" and "After The End" is very small, but she does not seem to care about the coffee position, nor does she stick to the number of scenes. "When there is a role, it is good to rehearse the play, and when there is no role, it is good to live." She can draw strength and nutrients from life, and she can play an old actor and get rid of the imprisonment of "actresses eating youth rice". Her state of being safe in the first self even dominates the second self, which is her acting charm.
Of course, actors are always compared, especially actresses. Among the Mesozoic actresses, Zhou Xun, like Yuan Quan, was evaluated as an actress with aura. But on the big screen, Xun Xun's performance is obviously better than Yuan Quan's, and he can move more freely between the character and the self, controlling the balance between the first self and the second self. The reason is that I think it is probably that the audience always maintains an objective distance when appreciating the drama, so the stage performance pays more attention to the overall performance of the actors, and the large performance makes the emotions of the characters run through from beginning to end, and the actors can immerse themselves in the role.
However, the characteristics of film and television shooting determine that actors need to have the ability to enter the role and withdraw from the role instantly, especially on the big screen, and the actor needs to express details such as eyes and micro-expressions. Perhaps Yuan Quan still lacks a mature masterpiece on the big screen, or a big director's point, just like Chen Kaige to Zhou Xun and Wong Kar Wai to Maggie Cheung.
Of course, the growth path of actresses will be disturbed by many factors outside the performance, and actresses Zhang Ziyi, Mei Ting, Hu Jing, Haiqing, Gao Yuanyuan, Ma Yili and other actresses who are at the same time as Yuan Quan, there are still active in the public eye, always keep up with the public aesthetic trend; there are also gradually reduced after marriage and children, and there are few new works. Yuan Quan is not the one who won the most awards or the most talented, but she let herself jump out of the strange circle of competing "red is not red" and "how red", taking the actor as a profession, step by step, down-to-earth to play each role, she quietly bloomed in the film world like Junzilan, exuding a gentle and humble charm. Yuan Quan's performance is like herself, quiet but stubborn, seemingly thin but full of strength.
Actresses often lament that they are young and yellow, and now post-90s actresses rarely have representative works, and the media seems to revolve around the topic of personal life far more than their professions and works. Of course, this is related to the current trend of the performing arts industry, but perhaps it is their own drive. They all grew up in the fragmented Internet age, and it is difficult to get rid of the magic of exposure and traffic. The shortening of the popularity and decline of actors has led to the fact that few young actors are willing to condense time and energy for a role to hone their acting skills. Once the "anxious" mentality is connected with ABC-style lines and routine acting skills, it is difficult to escape the labels of "traffic flowers" and "people are not red".
Actresses do have their own predicaments, but they do not have to pay too much attention to the audience's preferences and market needs, it is better to start from themselves and adhere to the original intention in the face of temptation to face the challenges brought by age. Just as Yuan Quan quietly draws nourishment from life and roles, precipitating the gifts brought by the years in himself, he gradually shows us the power of tranquility but beyond imagination.
Wen 丨 Shen Jiayi
Source: Wen Wei Po