The author | Shuai Tong
Edited | Zhou
This is not the first time Xu Anhua has photographed Zhang Ailing.
1984's "Love in the City", 1997's "Half Life", and the 2009 drama version of "The Golden Lock". After 12 years, she once again directed Zhang Ailing's novel "The First Burning Incense".
Throughout the Chinese film circle, Xu Anhua is a well-known Zhang fan, and the director who has filmed the most adaptations of Zhang Ailing's novels.
In her autobiography, "Xu Anhua Says Xu Anhua," she said: "I can't explain why Zhang Ailing is popular with directors of our generation. This is the cultural phenomena. If you find a work particularly attractive, you should shoot it, because it must be that your own views resonate with the work. To photograph him is to photograph his own experience, and it is worth it. ”
Unfortunately, as of October 25, the Douban score of "First Burning Incense" is only 5.6. In terms of Xu Anhua's own works, this is the lowest rating of her film works.
From the announcement of filming in 2019, from casting to the end of the film, to the release of the first trailer in September 2020, "First Incense" has been controversial.
Among them, the casting controversy is the loudest. People who have read the original work may feel awkward about the "Ge Weilong" with a wide skeleton and the "Geqi Qiao" (hereinafter referred to as "Geqi") with a strong body.
Some netizens joked that watching Peng Yuyan and Ma Sichun acting is Camel Xiangzi and Tiger Girl, one with dark skin and one with rounded facial features. The scene of the trailer where the two sit on a tree trunk and talk is compared by netizens to "fitness coaches selling fitness cards to female college students", rather than Ge Qiqiqiao, who has "pale lips" and Ge Weilong, who has a "puff face".
Image source: Douban Movie
However, the "failure" of this movie cannot be crudely defined simply by the origin of "casting error".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" Data-track="11" should the actor carry the biggest pot >? </h1>
Xu Anhua said in an interview with "One Article" that Ma Sichun was chosen because of her performance in "July and Ansheng".
"She was stunned to see a boy, and [that's] the feeling of true love." Similar to Lin July, who fell in love, Ge Weilong also fell in love with a man, playboy Georgie Joe, in "The First Burning Incense".
In the original work, Ge Weilong is a very complex person, the character arc is too tortuous and looping, and the personality is hovering between sobriety and confusion.
On the one hand, facing the chinese clothes in the closet, she understood "what is the difference between this and the long three tangzi". On the other hand, she was intoxicated with the sound of dogs and horses, and danced waltzes in beautiful clothes.
Ge Weilong has her arrogance, wants too much, and can't look at the way her aunt courtes. And in love, her wishful thinking seems too contemptuous.
If you want to present it completely, the film needs to express too much information, even if the film is 144 minutes long, the final interpretation is only some important nodes. For example, wei long first came to her aunt's house, gradually adapted to the upper life, and became a celebrity circle social flower, in fact, the film did not explain it, only replaced it with "a year later".
The film begins with Ge Weilong's personality transformation, showing her relationship with Georgie, and her role change from accused to manipulator in love. But by the end of the story, she can't even get Georgie to tell a lie.
Source: Sina Weibo @ Movie First Incense Official Micro
And the process of her falling in love with Georgie is advanced by several important scenes.
One is the first sight of Georgie, the two sit side by side on a tree trunk, and Georgie reads a Portuguese love poem to Viron. One is when Viron inquires about Georgie's thoughts on the future, and Georgie says, "I plan not to get married for the rest of my life, but I can promise you happiness." She leaned into Georgie's arms and trembled, saying she must be crazy.
In another scene, Viron and Georgie meet, the camera first shows Georgie lying on the empty bed, thinking that Viron is not there, turning around to find her curled up in the corner, looking at him stupidly.
The film advances to the climax, Wei Long is determined to make money to raise Georgie, even if the two sides are not equal in the payment of love, they must jump and have no remorse.
If you talk about ma Sichun's most prominent performance in the movie, it is that she completely recognizes reality, loves and hates Georgie, and holds him before going to Shanghai. In the picture, the corners of her mouth began to smile, and then became sad. Wei Long's determination and sadness, exchanging his heart for Georgie's "momentary love", Ma Sichun gave a good interpretation.
Playing Ge Weilong is of course a challenge for Ma Sichun, not only to face the general audience, but also to the vast number of readers of Zhang Ailing's novels. Xu Anhua said, "Actually, it is very unfortunate, I don't care about myself, but this time it made Ma Sichun miserable, because she was scolded for two years." ”
In December 2018, Ma Sichun was overturned after reading the "First Burning Incense" on Weibo, and the blogger @ Yijin Night Walk's Yan Gongzi sarcastically said: "You can't say that Ma Sichun's feeling after reading is completely wrong, although there are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand readers, but some people also see Hamlet as Harry Potter." ”
During filming, Ma Sichun couldn't sleep because of public opinion, but he had to continue acting. Indeed, from the performance point of view, ma Sichun's role state is not deep enough, and his acting skills are criticized. But she should not bear all the attacks and accusations, not to mention that some criticisms are simply followed by the trend for no reason, and even carry malicious body humiliation.
Peng Yuyan was attacked relatively rarely. When Zhou Jijie said, "The mixed race is a bit gloomy, and there is also a little girl's temperament." The next second, when Peng Yuyan walked out with champagne, dark skin and a body of tendon meat, the theater emitted a cacophony of laughter.
Admittedly, Peng Yuyan could not satisfy Zhang Ailing's morbid characters, "the lips are pale, and the plaster is like". But if you look closely, his facial features are very deep, his nose is slightly pointed, and he has a mixed-race appearance similar to that of a foreigner. And Peng Yuyan did play The Wind Image of Qiao Qiqiao, a self-aware figure who cannot get ahead and concentrates on being a clumsy disciple.
Of course, Mrs. Liang, played by Yu Feihong, is the most undisputed one in this play. This image represents the hypocritical side of Hong Kong's high-end society before the war.
The crowd was talking beautifully in the midst of the gathering, and the sinking was packaged as completely decent, and his depravity seemed to be justified. Xu Anhua is good at photographing women, especially middle-aged women, and the once masterpiece "Woman Forty" is the best example. Therefore, in the handling of the role of Mrs. Liang, Xu Anhua is more comfortable.
The film spends more time on the image of Mrs. Leung. For example, when she woke up in the middle of the night, Mrs. Liang lit a cigarette, leaned against the wall, and felt lonely in front of the empty room. For example, recalling the funeral of her husband's death, Mrs. Liang wore high heels in the funeral queue, and the heels fell off, so she simply took off her shoes and turned around and walked back. Another was watching Wei Long get married, and she remembered that when she entered the door, she knelt down to serve tea to her former wife.
It is in this way that Mrs. Liang's image breaks through people's understanding of her in the original work and contrasts with Ge Weilong's character interpretation. Ge Weilong's story in the film is almost the same as the novel, even if the story line after marriage has been renewed, and there is no more specific enrichment, which may be the potential reason for the failure of Ge Weilong's character development.
Fitting into the original casting is indeed the most correct method, but it is not the only one. As an authorial film, director Xu Anhua should convince the audience that Qiao Qiqiao can be Peng Yuyan and Ge Weilong can also be Ma Sichun.
It does not fit the original work perfectly, and may not be the "pot" of the actors.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="38" > the "Waterloo" of the fantasy team</h1>
Director Xu Anhua, screenwriter Wang Anyi, cinematographer Du Kefeng, soundtrack Ryuichi Sakamoto... The production team of the first incense is a dream.
Xu Anhua said in the "First Incense Creation Special", "They have all won Oscars, and they are all for the specific needs of each scene, rather than thinking about their previous achievements, so they can do so well." ”
However, the super behind-the-scenes team did not bring protection to the box office of the movie. "The First Incense" was released for four days and only grossed more than 24 million. "Dune", which was released on the same day, has already exceeded 100 million at the box office.
Of course, one is a niche literary film, and the other is a science fiction blockbuster, and such a result is reasonable. But aside from the film form, from the perspective of film presentation, "The First Incense" is still not a success.
The director and screenwriter have great respect for the original work, presenting the classic plots in the original work one by one.
For example, the first scene of the group portrait. Ge Weilong visited Mrs. Liang and asked her to sponsor her to go to school, and Mrs. Liang said, "Miss, you think about it everywhere, but you just didn't think about it for me." Even if I'm willing to help you, I can't help you. Let your father know, and let me bite and abduct the good family woman. Compared with the original work, Wen Crepe's lines were almost unchanged and were spoken by the actors.
However, this is both an advantage and a disadvantage.
In order to fit the lines and plot in their entirety, the first half of the film is slightly faster-paced. At the same time, the film is too rigid to the original, and the storyline of the first half has always relied on lines to advance, and only relying on lines is easy to flow on the surface.
In the discussion of the big V review on Sina Weibo, the doctor of drama and film and television studies and film critic @OneMyRoad2010 commented: "If the film is depicting the continuous corruption and devouring of a person from the external to the spiritual level of the flashy and extravagant life, then the film only depicts the basic main line of the original novel at a shallow level. ”
Compared with the complete restoration of the lines, the original work has a large number of scene descriptions, but the film is difficult to bring intuitive feelings to the audience, such as "a layer of antique turquoise glazed tiles has been changed on the roof", "there is a carved iron fence on the window", "the emerald snuff bottle and ivory Guanyin statue are displayed on the stove, and the small screen of bamboo is surrounded in front of the sofa".
Exploring the reasons for this, on the one hand, there are differences in content and form between film and literature itself. On the other hand, Zhang Ailing's writing is too good to be luxurious. So that the presentation and decoration of the rooms in the film are exquisite, and how gorgeous the mid-levels mansion is, there is also a sense of unattainable. Of course, the camera jumps too fast, and the audience inevitably ignores some details, which is also a factor that needs to be considered.
For Zhang Ailing's fans, everyone has their own heart of Ge Weilong and Qiao Qiqiao, which the director can't satisfy no matter how he shoots.
For ordinary audiences, the original work is about the "familyization of the Qinglou", the depravity of beautiful women under the flashy city, and forced and voluntary dilemma and struggle. Therefore, it is time to put the things of that era in the current environment and film, to remove the barriers of literature and let it face the market. It is difficult for the general audience to empathize with the characters and will not be able to understand some of the characters' choices.
The story background of "The First Incense" is sad. It's not just a story of a woman falling in love with a scumbag, it's about the reality of pre-war Hong Kong.
Qinglou literature has the function of social criticism, and it is this part that the film weakens it, so it has strangely become the trend of "love and can't, youth pain literature, and occasionally seems to be a comedy movie".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="56" > books are difficult to understand and films are difficult to shoot</h1>
Zhang Ailing's works are difficult to shoot, but there are still a large number of film and television adaptations. Because the director is willing to shoot, the reader wants to see. Xu Anhua is the one who keeps trying and making mistakes.
At the 77th Venice Film Festival, Xu Anhua was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, which was awarded as the world's first female director. However, the biggest controversy she has suffered is that "Zhang Ailing can't shoot well", which is like a nightmare, surrounding her film career.
In the 1980s, when the filming of "Love in the City" began, Xu Anhua encountered public opinion confused by casting.
Zhou Runfa played Fan Liuyuan, and Miao Qianren played bai tassel, and was accused by fans of casting incompatibility with the original work. Even Xu Anhua mentioned in his later autobiography, "Miao Qianren's theatrical performance is very poor, and so is Hair Boy." Although both are good actors, they are film actors, not theater actors. In fact, the most attractive thing about "Love in the City" is the rivalry between the two protagonists, the dynamics of the two people are enough to control the whole play, and the actors have to do excellent theatrical roles, but the two of them are very low-key actors, the acting is very lifelike, and it will not work to do this play. ”
At that time, Xu Anhua had not yet left the Shaw brothers, so "Love in the City" had been interfered with by the company from casting to filming.
In 1997, she challenged "Half Life" for the second time, and the box office was more than 7.5 million Hong Kong dollars, ranking 26th at the box office of the film that year. Compared with the 8.13 million of "Love in the City", at least from the box office, it is not a turnaround for Xu Anhua.
Source: Sina Weibo @ 1905 Movie Network Official Blog
Therefore, it is conceivable that "The First Burning Incense" was not optimistic at the beginning, and the marketer even used sinking reverse marketing to create gimmicks.
Netizens have moved the vibrato publicity video of "First Burning Incense" to Weibo, complaining that "First Burning Incense" is youth pain literature, and explaining in the following comments, "This is really not a spoof, but the first incense officially issued." ”
In the movie, Mrs. Liang's home tea party, one of the two wealthy businessmen standing on the balcony, is a cameo by the famous Zhang Ailing research scholar Xu Zidong.
In past interviews, Xu Zidong said that Zhang Ailing's novels are difficult to film and television because critics and professional readers can read very complex information in their works. In short, this complex information is difficult to present through the film, and Zhang Ailing's work itself is not suitable for entertainment for the public.
Screenwriter Wang Anyi said in a recent interview with Southern Weekend that the biggest difficulty in adapting Zhang Ailing lies in the difference in the era of the two people, and there are also differences in their views on the world.
She mentioned: "There are too many things that are difficult to adapt Zhang Ailing, and I need to speculate, especially in the era. I grew up under the influence of left-wing ideas, and it is still a little difficult to understand her. ”
Zhang Ailing is good at leaving blank space in the article, and the narrative of "The First Burning Incense" is a detailed omission. In order to meet the needs of the film, the screenwriter must enrich the content. Wang Anyi confessed that she reserved most of the dialogue, and the unclear places were slightly derived. Such a conservative approach may also be another proof of the difficulty of Changing's works.
In 2018, Xu Anhua invited Wang Anyi to be the screenwriter of "The First Burning Incense", mentioning her original intention of making this film: "I just want to make a love film, I have reached this age, I have never loved well, you want me to love once." 」 ”
The English name of "First Incense" is "Love after love". The movie's character posters read the slogan "Do everything, love one person". From the very beginning, the director and the main creative team may have conceived this film, which may be just a pure love film, rather than the reproduction of Zhang Ailing's world that the audience expects.
And from the moment the lights go out in the auditorium, it is the beginning of a misreading.