The upcoming domestic film "Love Myth" has a very interesting story behind it.
In 2020, before going to first venture capital, shao Yihui, a post-90s female director, was ready to change careers as a female anchor with goods.
The plan was in vain. Her work "Love Myth" won two awards at first venture capital, and final jury member Ma Yili also decided to participate on the spot.
Then Xu Zheng also read the script, chatted with Shao Yihui twice, and decided to join and star as a producer.
For a newcomer director, the final team of "Love Myth" is a dream: Xu Zheng, Ma Yili, Wu Yue, Ni Hongjie, Zhou Yemang and other powerful actors have joined.
It is worth noting that in recent years, Xu Zheng has indeed cooperated with many newcomer directors as a producer. But the post-90s female director is obviously the first time.
At the venture capital conference, Ma Yili commented on "Love Myth":
"Middle-aged women are concerned as a 'woman', their desires, interests, and interactions and relationships with men, rather than stories that have been written about their children and livelihoods."
Obviously, female creators, female perspectives, will be a big attraction of this movie.
However, at first glance, the story told in "Love Myth" revolves around the male protagonist Lao Bai, played by Xu Zheng.
Lao Bai is a Shanghai grandfather, who calls himself a miscellaneous family, seems to be idle, and teaches the elderly to draw every day.
But in fact, he has money and leisure, divorced for many years, lives in a bungalow in the alley, and lives a decent and worry-free life.
He has developed emotional entanglements with three women.
Miss Li, played by Ma Yili, is the Shanghai working woman he is pursuing.
She has a capable and rational personality, and has a sense of pride and distance of a Shanghai girl.
Bei Bei, played by Wu Yue, is his ex-wife.
She is very confident that although she has divorced her ex-husband, she still thinks that the other party has some kind of connection with her. She couldn't tell the difference between love and affection.
Gloria, played by Ni Hongjie, is a female student who learns to draw from Lao Bai.
Her personality is simpler, more free-spirited, more yearning for love.
At the same time, she is also a mysterious rich woman who is "rich and idle, and her husband is missing".
Three Shanghainese women with different personalities, one is ice, one is warm boiling water, and the other is fire.
One is a new love, one is an old love, and one is a red face.
In this way, Lao Bai seems to be blessed.
But will "Love Myth" be so cheesy?
Of course not.
Even from the trailer, you will find that the story is not so simple.
Lao Bai painted a painting and gave it to Miss Li.
Miss Li said that when she saw this painting, she was still a little sad in her heart, and when I was young, I ate this set the most.
Lao Bai asked her, now?
Miss Li smiled, you said.
Ex-wife Bei Bei taught Lao Bai, what is wrong with cooking for me at home? I am very principled, and I still put my family first.
And Gloria said to the old white with a smile on her face that a woman would not be with a man because he was a good person.
Yes, believe see here. You can already feel the "anti-routine" of "Love Myth" in the shaping of female characters.
In traditional romance films, there are usually only two definitions of female characters: either red roses or white moonlight.
But in "Love Myth", it is difficult for us to really use such simple and crude words to define these three women.
They are independent women living in the modern city of Shanghai.
They are very mature, very free, have a sound self, and see the relationship between the sexes more thoroughly.
On this level, the affirmation of "Love Myth" is that it not only allows us to see the charm of middle-aged women, but also finally allows these attractive middle-aged actresses to have the opportunity to shine on the big screen.
After all, whoever looks at Ma Yili, Wu Yue and Ni Hongjie will not shout:
Sister, I can!!
In this way, the story of these three female characters and Lao Bai is unlikely to fall into the trap of "three women fighting for a man".
Rather, The old white played by Xu Zheng is like a thread, stringing together this series of roles.
Each woman represents a side of the contemporary group of women, and through these roles we see a contemporary cosmopolitan picture.
The confrontation between them reflects the collision between different outlooks on life, love and survival wisdom.
After all, Shanghai is a modern city full of tolerance. The stories that take place in this city will, of course, have a more open and complex space for interpretation.
Another great attraction of "Love Myth" is that this story is rooted in Shanghai.
This is a very local, full of Shanghai style romantic comedy.
Most of the actors are natives of Shanghai, and most of the lines in the film are in the Shanghai dialect.
The film is not set in the bustling high-rise buildings, but instead goes deep into the alleys, attics, rooftops and street corner cafes and small shops.
This not only depicts a de-landscaped Shanghai, but also gives the film a more unique and lighter living atmosphere.
As Xu Zheng said: "I think it is rare to encounter a play with such a real texture of life." It has a lot of details and scenes of life, and it is very close to the urban temperament. ”
In this movie, Shanghai is finally no longer the "magic capital" that stands tall.
We see a different side of Shanghai: it is both modern and urban, very alive and has a unique vitality.