"Knife Line in the Snow" was broadcast simultaneously on CCTV 8 and Tencent Video on December 15.
The drama is based on the novel of the same name by online writer Beacon Theatre Princes, written by Wang Wei and directed by Song Xiaofei, starring Zhang Ruoyun, Li Gengxi, Hu Jun, Gao Weiguang, Zhang Tianai and so on.
The original novel of "Knife Line in the Snow" is more than 4.5 million words, with many characters and a unique structure and plot, which is a work with many fans on the Chinese Internet, and is also considered to be a story that is not easy to adapt.
After Xinli Media owned the right to adapt the novel, it invested a lot of talent and financial resources and launched a drama version first.
The opening shows retroism, and the adaptation seeks greater resonance
As far as the content just broadcast is concerned, the perception given by "Knife Line in the Snow" is quite unexpected.
The opening story does not use the technique of large-density output, allowing too many characters to appear, which allows the audience to enter the story with a relaxed and leisurely mentality.
General film and television dramas are popular to use short shots, quick editing and supplemented by a tight soundtrack to attract the attention of the audience, while the opening narrative of "Knife Row in the Snow" is calm, calm, and has a retroist creative color.
Xu Fengnian (Zhang Ruoyun) and Jian Jiu Huang (Yang Haoyu) beg for sweet potatoes to eat, because they have no money to pay the bill, they are chased by old farmers stepping on the field. This very life-like little plot has become an incision into the grand story of "Knife Row in the Snow".
Because there is no rush to show the full picture of the story, the play can use enough space to shape the character. Xu Fengnian, known as "the world's first cunning", laid the foundation for the growth of the character in a relatively short period of time, and had a place with which the audience could establish empathy.
The first appearance of the duo of Xu Fengnian and Jian Jiu Huang will have a sense of intimacy for readers who are familiar with martial arts novels such as Jin Yong and Gu Long.
The ink elements of the play's picture and the soundtrack up to the point can be seen that the creators try to use the precious heritage of traditional martial arts to integrate the imagination of online novels and realize the true landing of characters and stories.
Xu Fengnian's "cunning" on his body has more "innocence", less negative evaluations such as "idleness", and added a touch of "cuteness".
Xu Fengnian is a love species in the original work, and the drama version "compresses" Xu Fengnian's amorous part. In the play, when Xu Fengnian handles the relationship with the white-clad Nangong servant (Zhang Tianai) and the elf cute Jiang Ni (Li Gengxi), although there are ridicules and jokes, it is not frivolous.
Such an adaptation is not entirely a pandering to the public aesthetic and public order and good customs, or for some security reasons. The adaptation is based on the characteristics of the TV series. As a popular entertainment product, the audience of TV dramas is larger, and the expectations carried by the plot and characters are much higher than those of novels, highlighting the social attributes of the main characters, which is conducive to better building a character panorama for different audience groups to find resonance.
Jianjiu Huang has a distinct personality, and his personality characteristics are closer to Zhou Botong in "The Legend of the Archery Hero". As a martial arts master, he is good at hiding, and the city is obvious. Behind the crazy appearance, there is loyalty and affection.
The duo of Jian Jiu Huang and Xu Fengnian frequently appear in the early stories, and one cannot help but think of Don Quixote and his servant Sancho in Don Quixote.
They wandered in the rivers and lakes, the contact with their families was temporarily severed, they encountered dangers, and there were always noble people to help each other. If their story continues like this, "Knife In the Snow" would be a good light comedy.
Distinct light comedy style, subversive modern personality
The light comedy style of "Knife Row in the Snow" is not known whether it will continue in the later plot. As far as the plot of the front is concerned, the creators' intention to carry out a light narrative is obvious, and the most representative plot is the funny father-son relationship between Xu Fengnian and his father Xu Xiao (Hu Jun), the king of the Northern Starlings, after returning home after three years of "exile".
The relationship between the two completely reverses the traditional positioning of fathers and sons, Xu Xiao, who is brave and good at war, becomes cautious in front of his son, while Xu Fengnian, who fights his father without a word, is very much like an unreasonable "father".
Xu Fengnian had just returned home and was unconscious and could not go out. Xu Xiao dressed neatly and came to see his son with trepidation, not only asking the maid to help him sort out his clothes to show his attention, but also preaching the "family rules" again: No matter how he saw his son beat his father, no one was allowed to dissuade or interfere...
This subversive "father-son relationship" setting is bound to be echoed in the plot later. As far as the current plot is concerned, the modern personality given by the drama as a character will undoubtedly win the love of many young audiences.
The relationship between Xu Fengnian and Jiang Ni is also full of light comedy, while expressing the way modern young people interact.
Xu Fengnian is the little master of the family, and Jiang Ni is the maid. Why did the maid try to assassinate the little master with a knife while he was tired and sleepy? Leave enough suspense. When Xu Xiao was about to enter the room, Xu Fengnian hid the ginger mud, and there were many more ambiguous hints.
The suspense has yet to be revealed, but the "sense of equality" embodied by these two young people in the confrontation is valued and pursued by modern people.
From this point of view, Xu Fengnian's relationship with his father Xu Xiao, with the old servant Jian Jiuhuang (he also has fatherly feelings for Xu Fengnian), and with everyone he encounters when wandering in the rivers and lakes, you can see the "sense of equality" in between. This is not a deliberate expression of equality in the pursuit of drama, but an attitude that comes from the heart and is engraved in the bones.
For viewers who have watched more costume TV dramas, such expressions will continue to bring shock and new feelings, because it shakes the inherent cognition that is deeply rooted in the concepts of most people.
Film and television dramas have the role of edutainment. If the play has strong, scrutinized modern values, then the story involves cruel wars, power struggles and many other plots, which will give way to values. If "Knife In the Snow" can grasp this and continue until the end of the series, then what it is worth digging into will continue to be discovered by the audience.
When it comes to oriental aesthetics, people always think of subtlety and elegance, situation and charm for the first time. The use of oriental aesthetic elements in "Knife Row in the Snow" is also reflected in the control of rhythm.
The unhurried pace of narration provides enough space for the integrity of the character's personality and the brewing of dramatic tension.
I believe that after more characters and denser plots enter this space, each character and drama conflict point can find the right position, and finally form a complete work with unique standards and self-style.
【Text/Han Haoyue】