After three years of "Flying Life" on the big screen, Han Han finally returned to the Spring Festival file with the new film "Four Seas".
Since the beginning of "Ride the Wind and Waves", Han Han seems to have full confidence (or obsession) in his film's spring festival, although the stories told in his films are often different from the festive themes of the Spring Festival - and because he has a strong authorship attribute as a director, the "routine" of the film's moves often forms a strong evil personal style.
After Han Han's four works, the constantly renovated box office figures seem to continue to show that the audience still maintains interest in the classic elements of Han Han's films.
So let's take a look at this "Four Seas", what kind of "cold film tradition" continues.
1. Introduce yourself to the opening
Since his debut film "After Forever", Han Han likes to let the protagonist or the main story line character introduce himself in the voiceover, and open the story of the film in this straightforward way - straight forward, clean and clean, which is the personal style that the creator Han Han has cultivated since he was a child.
Just like Hu Sheng of "After The End" and Zhang Chi of "Flying Life", Wu Renyao, the protagonist of "Four Seas", also introduced his identity, background, skills, hobbies and other information in the first minute of the film.
He even talked about the lyrics of his favorite songs, setting a record for the longest self-introduction in the opening chapter of Han Han's movie, which played a key role in understanding the characters.
2. The protagonist of the young man in the town/island
Perhaps out of his early personal experience, or perhaps because he has an inexplicable sense of identification with such roles since he wrote the novel, the protagonists in Han Han's films are mostly young men in a small place.
They usually live in a relatively distant town or island, and have a sense of belonging to the homeland in which they grew up; but driven by a series of accidental events, they have ambitions or ideals and must begin to face the cruelty of life and the impermanence of fate.
How, looking at this description, do you remember more than one Han Han movie?
Although this time's "Four Seas" also did not jump out of this framework, but like the previous Han Han works, "Four Seas" still tells its own novelty; the protagonist Ah Yao, played by Liu Haoran, has also become another unique Han Han movie protagonist.
3. Keywords: love car
Directors, writers, screenwriters, singers, even actors... No matter how many identities Han Han has, the one that is deepest engraved in his genes must still be a racing driver. A natural love of speed and engine, he did not miss an opportunity to inject his love of cars into his film productions.
From the road trip of "After Forever", to the rally car of "Riding the Wind and Waves" and "Flying Life", to the motorcycle stunts of "Four Seas", Han Han has always used his lens to chase the feeling of embracing speed and freedom on the motorized vehicle. His love for racing has become the iconic background of his film stories.
4. Idealistic brotherhood
"A man is a teenager until death", some of Han Han's inner self must have agreed with this sentence quite well. The evidence is written in every one of his films.
Whether it is the "westbound" trio of Haohan Jianghe Husheng in "After Forever", the "Zhengtai Gang" of Xu Zhengtai Xu Tailang Xiaoma Liuyi in "Riding the Wind and Waves", the track partner of Zhang Chiyuqiang in "Flying Life", or the "Undefeated Legend" team of "Four Seas" Song, Ah Yao, Moving Rabbit and Red Dust.
The central role that Han Han focuses on in each film is a group of small people who come together because of idealism and brotherhood. And often, there will be a simple and stupid person in the team, but people have to feel good and pity.
They wield sticks and flashlights, trying to leave the brightest memories of their youth; they question the starry sky, even if the starry sky does not give them answers; their stories are very different but different, but in the end they can make the audience have a strong resonance, which is Han Han's poetry.
5. Father and Son
As if it is impossible to get around, each of Han Han's films must contain an intriguing father-son relationship. This kind of paternity relationship is often abnormal and flawed, but when you look closely, this abnormality seems to become a normal again.
The father who did not appear in "After Forever" but was regarded as a hero by Haohan from childhood was originally a smoker who survived half a lifetime in the illegitimate daughter's family; the old father who was twittering and thinking rigidly in "Riding the Wind and Waves" was once a flowing teenager who was happy to take revenge; the forbidden racing driver who fried for five years in "Flying Life" held up the racing suit of the year to try to maintain his image in his son's heart; and Wu Renteng, who returned home after many years in "Four Seas", bought a cottage Ultraman for his twenty-year-old son.
In these movies, you can see the embarrassment and helplessness of middle-aged or even elderly fathers; but at the same time, Han Han can always provide a way out of reconciliation for this embarrassment and helplessness between father and son in the story, and the bigger he is, the warmer he is.
6. Flowing water movie iron hit acquaintances
No matter what time and space the movie is in, no matter where the story takes place, there are always some faces that will continue to appear in Han Han's movie.
Gao Huayang, who has already lived in Han Han's movie, starred in "Four Seas" as the main driver of the team who has defeated the "undefeated myth" every time. The big turban is matched with O-hu, and the station is a fierce role, changing the silly image in "After Forever" and "Riding the Wind and Waves", and is no longer the success master of silent diving in "Flying Life".
Since starring in "After Forever", Feng Shaofeng has formed a deep friendship with Han Han. Although he missed the cameo appearance of "Riding the Wind and Waves" (starring his ex-wife Zhao Liying), he contributed his toe screen debut in "Flying Life" for free, and used his bare feet to compete with Shen Teng on the track.
This time, he played the captain of the police brigade in "Four Seas", and then rode on a motorcycle and Liu Haoran to stage a road chase. After chasing Lao Tzu and chasing his son, Feng Shaofeng was on the bar with the protagonist of Han Han's movie.
7. Meaningful English title
Unlike most domestic films that are oversimplified or flattened and directly translated into English titles, the English titles of Han Han's film works are always ingenious; these titles are not direct translations of the titles, but are taken from the soul of the story itself to express a temperament that fits with them - in this regard, it is very similar to the style of Jia Zhangke, who is very close to Han Han.
For example, the English name of "After the Endless Period" is "The Continent", which is the trajectory of Haohan and the river throughout the story; the English name of "Riding the Wind and Waves" is "Duckseed", which is a metaphor for those beautiful and fragile youths; the English name of "Flying Life" is "Pegasus (Pegasus)", which is a reflection of Han Han's use of his childhood idol Pegasus Constellation Star Ya metaphor zhang Chi never gives up; and the English name of "Four Seas" is "Only Fools Rush In". , taken from a line in the film: "A fool will fall into it."
However, even so, there are still young people like Ah Yao and Huan Song who have dreams and love, and constantly rush forward and continue to fall into it. Han Han's use of this as an English title is also a tribute to this young spirit - after all, the original title of "Four Seas" is called "Young Story".
In "Riding the Wind and Waves", Han Han let the protagonists shout at the night sky: "This world will not change!" For Han Han, his own understanding and appeal to the film may not change, and he will continue to follow such a "routine". I hope that in the future Spring Festival stalls, we can still see Han Han as before, riding the wind and waves in the four seas, and leaping over the indefinite life after that.