24th Floor Cinema Star "★ Oh~
Along the river avenue, bus No. 45, gentle driving.
The girl sitting in the back row was awakened by the colored bell of unknown origin and was about to open her sleepy eyes and look around.
Suddenly, the glare was deafening
- The bus exploded, and the whole car was buried in the fire.
When the girl woke up again, she heard the familiar bell again and saw the familiar scene inside the car.
It turned out that this was not a dream, but that she had fallen into the cycle of time.
The bus will explode repeatedly, and if no action is taken, the whole person will die repeatedly, and she will continue to die and come back to life.
This is the Tencent Video opening drama "The Beginning" of The Beginning, which was scored by 180,000 people on Douban.
01 Time loop
Time loop, we have seen many times in foreign movies: such as "Happy Death Day", "Edge of Tomorrow", "Source Code", "Lola Run", "Groundhog Day" and so on. When time loops are mixed and matched with different genres, the film also presents different meanings.
However, this high-concept setting is relatively rare in domestic dramas, so when the Noonday Sun Company was preparing to shoot "The Beginning", it attracted the attention of many audiences.
"Beginning" is based on the two modes of time loop + detection and murder, it constantly throws out large and small suspense points, such as why the car exploded, who entered the loop, how to force the driver to stop, etc., the final puzzle points to - who detonated the bomb in the car? Why does he do this?
In the initial cycle, there is only one heroine Li Shiqing (Zhao Jinmai). After two cycles in a daze, she suddenly realized her situation.
In the 6th cycle, she framed her neighbor Xiao Heyun (Bai Jingting) for sexual harassment, threatening to arrest him and take him to the police station. This time, the driver let them get out of the car early.
Although the explosion still happened, Li Shiqing inadvertently dragged Xiao Heyun into the loop.
The two quickly agreed that if they wanted to end the loop, they must prevent explosions. In a cycle of repeated cycles, the entire vehicle is carefully screened for, trying to find the terrorists hiding in it. But trial and error requires a cost, and this cost is the death and resurrection of the two people and the reversal of the fall.
There are also many elements that echo the "cycle" in the play: such as the ring sky bridge and buildings that the protagonist passes by, the pattern spray painted on the bus, the Möbius ring on the hat of the person in the play, and so on.
The rhythm of "Beginning" is relaxed, and most of the plot is shrouded in the tension of the infinite cycle.
On the one hand, Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun repeatedly experienced explosions and attacks, physiologically overwhelmed, and woke up several times remembering the last sensory pain. On the other hand, the psychology of the two has also come to the brink of collapse. They don't understand the root of the cycle, and they experience the fear of the unknown again and again, each time not sure what will happen in the next second.
For the audience, whether it is a bus and a tanker truck colliding, or a bomb detonated in the car, it is a thrilling scene. The close-quarters hand-to-hand combat between the protagonist and the gangster is also a strong visual impact. The fear of the fate of the characters, the exploration of the root cause of the explosion, like two thin lines that appear from time to time, affect our nervousness.
In order to mediate this tense atmosphere, the series deliberately set up some witty bridges to buffer the perception.
Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun's initial idea was: let the bus driver stop in advance.
As a result, the two did their best to open the drama moment in the car: sometimes abdominal pain, sometimes heart attack, sometimes sudden menstruation, sometimes false accusations of salty pig hands, sometimes pretending to be lovers to mix mouths, and sometimes accusing passers-by of stealing.
At this moment, the audience's expression is as follows:
Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun repeatedly entered the bureau and were interrogated by the police about the details of the crime.
In the last second, the two were passionate and talked about circulation: @#amp; %@#amp; %
……
The next second, the police officer looked calm and calmly instructed his subordinates: Prepare for the drug test
。
After several cycles, Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun were also numb, and responded to changes in the interrogation room with no change.
02 Ordinary people
Super ability, personal risk is often our impression of the male and female protagonists should have the person.
And the "Chosen Son" in "Beginning" does not look like such a highlight character.
Li Shiqing is like the most ordinary female college student around us, she will eat fruit to fill her hunger in order to maintain her body shape, she will greet the teacher warmly, and she will also say hello to the familiar driver. She takes a bus to the city to buy books, takes pictures along the road when she is bored, and falls asleep when she is tired.
Xiao Heyun is like the most common social animal around us, with a pair of dark circles per capita 007er, and the computer USB stick does not leave the body. He took the bus back to the game company for a meeting and took the opportunity to catch up on sleep on the commute.
Therefore, the protagonist setting of the plot is actually anti-traditional. Just as they were forced into the time loop, Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun were also chosen as saviors. When the rest of the car is an outsider, and only they are in the bureau, then the search for the murderer also becomes the responsibility.
Seeing episode 10, many viewers silently sniffed the kind and lonely female college student x logic strict game architect. Although love is not the main line of this drama, the anti-bombing CP of "a crane in a clear sky and a crane on the clouds, it leads poetry to the blue sky" is unexpectedly good.
The two have complementary personalities and sparks.
Li Shiqing is a perceptual idealist, who has not yet suffered the beating of society, and has the simple heart of an ivory tower student; Xiao Heyun is a rational realist, has experienced more social human feelings, and is accustomed to looking at things with a cautious eye. In other words, Li Shiqing will be a little reckless under the enthusiasm of a heart, and Xiao Heyun, who thinks too much, will also have his own selfish intentions.
That's why, in the beginning of the cycle, the two had a heated argument over whether to call the police. Li Shiqing called the police with enthusiasm, hoping to save the lives of all the people in the car. Xiao Heyun, who has just experienced "rescue- ineffectiveness - death", believes that "kindness is not a cheap virtue, it must be matched with ability." ”
But the two always have one thing in common: a kind heart and a sense of social responsibility. Xiao Heyun quickly gave up the idea of self-preservation, returned to the car without hesitation, and fought side by side with Li Shiqing. The apocalypse rehearsed repeatedly, and they hugged each other as if they had grasped a thin straw in drowning.
Episode 8's double kill and counter kill cycles push the plot to a climax. When Xiao Heyun and Li Shiqing first locked on to the murderer, they were caught off guard by the murderer, one was scarred and the other was dying, but the eyes still met in one place.
When they restarted again, the two had palpitations in their hearts and embraced each other without words. Xiao Heyun persuaded Li Shiqing to get off the bus at the station, but Li Shiqing wanted to work hard again for the whole car. This time, Xiao Heyun blocked the knife for her, grabbed the gangster's dagger and killed him.
In full view of everyone, Xiao Heyun led Li Shiqing, and the two of them got out of the car and fled like outlaw mandarin ducks, one did not squint, and the other looked left and right.
(Who rattled?) Oh, it turned out to be me)
At this moment, I remembered the classic bgm: "Love you walking alone in the dark alley, love the way you don't kneel, love you have faced despair, and refuse to cry." Love your tattered clothes, but dare to block the gun of fate, love you so much like me, the gap is the same. ”
I have to sigh, CP sense this thing, one point depends on fate, nine points rely on acting. The interpretation of Bai Jingting and Zhao Jinmai is impressive. From the initial distrust to the later mutual dependence, the distance is gradually reduced physically, verbally, and mentally.
In the face of the murderous gangsters, although the two were afraid, they still bravely moved forward. The first time they were killed twice, they seemed to be choked by the throat of fate, and the insensible pain turned into a visual impact.
After the counter-killing was successful and the outlaw mandarin duck mode was turned on, they deduced the helplessness of fate. The police chased after each other, and the two fled all the way, dropping their mobile phones and changing into anime costumes.
At night, the two hid by the beach, and Xiao Heyun planned to wait for Li Shiqing to fall asleep before turning himself in. They feared that this was the last cycle, their eyes filled with frustration and helplessness, and their unwillingness at the outcome of manslaughter.
Although there are not many words, every time the eyes are intertwined, they know what the other person is thinking. Eventually, they soaked in the cold waters, hugging each other tightly, cherishing the moment of silence and tranquility.
03 Human nature is good and evil
"The Beginning" narrative, lyrical, but also writes group portraits of characters.
After all, what Noonday Sun was best at before was to copy small people and reproduce the veins of realism.
Through the perspectives of Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun, we examine the lives of the passengers in the car one by one. With half a lifetime of history and half a month of mourning, they boarded the bus and began a short journey together. What is revealed is an ordinary face, and what is hidden is sores and hidden diseases.
The mask brother is dressed in black and has a black hat, carries a huge backpack, and behaves sneakily, he is the first object of suspicion of the anti-bombing CP.
But when they forcibly pulled open his backpack, they found that it was a stray cat they had picked up. The little brother is rescuing the surrounding kittens every day, because he can't take it home to raise, so he specially rents a room to feed the cats.
The little brother loves anime, is obsessed with the two-dimensional world, and does not communicate much with the outside world due to infirmity and illness, often giving people the first impression of poor communication. But he is the only person in the three-dimensional world who believes in counter-bombing CP, and even wants to enter the cycle with them to save the lives of all the people in the car.
The brother also instructed cp to blow up, if he did not enter the loop, as long as the bus called his secret number, he would help.
In the new loop of episode 10, the little brother who did not enter the loop still became Xiao Heyun's helper. Before he could even figure out the situation, he did not hesitate to believe their words and bravely fought the murderer.
The peasant uncle in the car was plainly dressed and had a huge snakeskin bag at his feet. The anti-bombing CP once suspected that the bag contained a bomb, but did not expect that it contained watermelons that he had carried from the countryside to his son in the city.
Years ago, he was imprisoned for a traffic accident, and even his wife was separated. After he was released from prison, he did not want to disturb the lives of his wife and children, but he still thought of them in his heart.
In one cycle, the farmer's uncle also took out one of his own watermelons and generously distributed them to the whole car. But the beauty of this beard still disappeared in the light of the fire.
The anti-bombing CP also suspected the migrant worker big brother carrying a huge suitcase, because the road did not lead to a railway station or an airport. They couldn't think of a way to forcibly open the box for inspection, and they didn't expect the big brother to open the suitcase himself.
He heard Li Shiqing "suddenly borrow sanitary napkins on menstrual holidays", so he took out a stack of bulk sanitary napkins from the bottom of the box, which was originally not wanted by the landlord, and he carefully stored it up and prepared to bring it to his daughter who was in middle school.
In addition to a few pieces of luggage in the suitcase, there was also his carefully preserved daughter's certificate. He did everything he could to stay in the city, live in the garage, and do odd jobs just to provide for his daughter to study with peace of mind.
The small space of the bus contains the joys and sorrows of all sentient beings. Everyone is an ordinary person, all working hard for their livelihood, with troubles and expectations. But the moment you board the bus, you're on the death countdown.
In addition to showing the shining points of small people, "Beginning" also depicts human nature with restrained brushstrokes.
When the murderer caught Li Shiqing, the passengers were frightened, and no one came forward to rescue them. This made Xiao Heyun feel a little chilled, after all, they wanted to save the lives of all the innocent people in the car.
Passengers had given warmth when Li Shiqing pretended to be embarrassed, and that was the help they extended within the safe range. In the loop of episode 10, when Li Xiao and li Xiao reveal their identity as "policemen", there are also people who are willing to help.
But human nature has a side of seeing righteousness and courage, and there is also a side of avoiding harm and profiting. When the passengers who do not open the perspective of God see the knives facing each other, they can't help but panic and choose to escape or ignore. It is precisely because it is human nature to seek profit and harm, so the stand-up of the anti-bombing CP is worthy of praise.
Look at the live bloggers in the car, it seems that everything is ancient and hot. He used his mobile phone to record the truth, goodness and beauty around him, but when Li Shiqing was stabbed, he was still busy shooting with his mobile phone. But it's hard to tell if he really cares about everything around him or just the traffic and business behind the livestream.
After the death of the live blogger on the car, the company's colleagues ate human blood steamed buns, and the live memorial service was held for profit. There were tears in his eyes, and all he was looking at was business.
This actually reflects the more deformed live performance, which is a private show and a public space, showing the cycle of seeing and being watched.
Another deep excavation of the network was during Xiao Heyun's escape. He was mistaken for a bomber, experienced an Internet storm, and netizens in the unknown malicious speculation and brainless follow-up.
As the saying goes: the whole picture is unknown, no comment. Netizens on the other end of the screen may feel that they are seeking justice, but they do not know that every sentence of verbal criticism directly hits the heart of the person concerned. And everyone outside the series, in the network events that have been disturbed, may unconsciously become the perpetrators.
Human nature is not black and white, good or evil, it has a gray area of ambiguity and ambiguity. In "The Beginning", the humanity of black and white and gray is at a glance, and it is possible to appear in the same person.
The complexity and change of human nature, softness and tenacity, are vividly presented on the screen. The series does not define the right and wrong of the characters, but only analyzes them objectively and gives the judgment to the audience.
And what can we, as ordinary people, see in "The Beginning"?
Maybe it's a different choice in parallel time and space, maybe it's a weak or lonely soul, maybe it's a tangled humanity.
But what is certain is that in the end we will all be moved by Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun, who insist on saving people. "Knowing that you can't do it" is their sincerity, "although thousands of people are looking forward to it" is their courage, and "nine deaths without regret" is their firmness.
The adult world has thorns and mud.
But they make us believe that the only thing that saves everything is kindness and love.
"Beginnings" is traced to episode 10, and the murderer has surfaced. The remaining 5 episodes will leave time for Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun, they are getting closer and closer to the truth and danger, how to shoot in order to avoid explosions and get out of the loop?
It is expected that "Beginning" can round up the follow-up plot and create a good start for this year's domestic dramas.