What is the most difficult TV drama theme to shoot in China?
Pigo thinks it's a criminal drama.
If you think about it, the best criminal investigation dramas in the past 30 years, almost in a bunch, appeared around 2000.
A "12.1 Shooting Case" made Wang Shuangbao famous in China, and then "China Criminal Investigation No. 1 Case", Ding Yongdai's Bai Baoshan was named "Gangster".
Of course, the "Six Groups of Serious Cases" and "Plum Blossom Files" that are familiar to post-80s and post-90s audiences also appeared in that era.
Looking further back, the only one who can break the wrist with these criminal investigation dramas is 2017's "White Night Pursuit".
Why is it difficult to make a criminal investigation drama? From these "divine dramas", it is not difficult to see the clues.
First of all, the main thing about criminal investigation dramas is truth.
Only if it is real enough, the audience will have a sense of substitution.
Whether it is "12.1 Shooting Case" or "China Criminal Investigation Case No. 1", there are basically real prototypes as the basis for shooting.
In particular, the documentary technique used in the filming process gives the audience the impression of watching a documentary, which is impressive.
Secondly, in the 80s and 90s, because the sky eye was not yet popularized, and the technical means of investigation were not advanced enough, a large number of criminal investigation dramas were filmed, and there were also warnings and education for ordinary people and deterring criminals.
Today, with the popularization of education, the demand for using film and television means to popularize the law has obviously weakened.
Finally, criminal investigation dramas all involve the "scale" problem, and these excellent criminal investigation dramas have a common feature, that is, "dare to shoot".
All kinds of real crime shots are unabashedly displayed, the story itself is logically complete, the characters are vivid, there is no logic bug, and there will be no suspension problem.
These will also face some adjustments in the present.
However, good criminal investigation dramas have not disappeared.
No, just after August began, there was an excellent criminal investigation drama on the horse - "Dividing Line".
The two actors on the poster have covered the bottom of this criminal investigation drama.
He Bing + Zhang Guoqiang are neither a two-male drama nor a strong dialogue, but a rival who is secretly competing.
Director Pan Jun, who has directed high-scoring suspense dramas such as "Agent Five" and "Shocking Conspiracy", is called hardcore in the field of criminal investigation suspense.
What is even more tempting is that "Dividing Line" is not only about criminal investigation, about suspense, but also in the form of a case within a case, integrated into the anti-gang crime, anti-corruption and anti-corruption.
The pattern, in an instant, went up to a level, and the scale was also invisibly enlarged.
Pig brushed four episodes in one breath, and it can be clearly felt that this "Dividing Line" is different from all the previous criminal investigation dramas.
Its theme, its narrative style, its sincerity, people can't help but chase down.
So, will "Dividing Line" create another milestone in criminal investigation drama like "White Night Pursuit"? Can we set the tone for China's criminal investigation dramas in a new form?
No hurry, let's take a look at it slowly —
1. Crime and life reality are combined into one, criminal investigation, suspense, anti-black, nested layer by layer, and the opening expectation value is full
Coastal, downtown, Jinxin pawn shop.
One second the general manager was still answering the phone casually, and the next second, the gun was on the door of his head.
The gun bearer was a masked man wearing a motorcycle helmet, leather gloves on his hands and shoe covers on his feet.
A set of equipment, which can not leave any traces of crime, is carefully planned at a glance.
The gunman asks the manager to open the safe, and the manager pushes back: don't know the password.
The gunman calmly unbuttoned his coat, and a row of loud detonators leaked out.
The manager was instantly frightened and her legs were weak, and the female secretary on the side could not stand up.
At this juncture, the manager still wants to play a little clever, but the alarm under the table has long been discovered by the robbers.
"Believe it or not I'll kill you now!"
No way, the safe opened, and the 370,000 yuan inside was emptied by the robbers.
After the robbery, the robber skillfully packed up the cash and woven bags and fled.
The whole process took less than 5 minutes.
Who would dare to rob at gunpoint in the heart of the city in broad daylight?
Judging from the modus operandi, this person should be a habitual offender, will he still be doing the same unknown case in other places?
Things are far less simple than we see.
This masked robber, named Ma Dongsheng (Zhang Guoqiang), is a laid-off worker who makes a living delivering water.
Ma Dong's life was bitter, and when he was young, his wife ran away with other men, leaving him and his daughter Ma Jin to rely on each other.
The life of a father and daughter, though poor, is also happy.
However, three accidents befell this small family one after another.
First of all, the wife who has been away from home for eight years suddenly returned, not only bringing her daughter 20,000 yuan of living expenses, but also making sure to look at her.
There was no trace for eight years, and in the face of her mother's sudden return home, Ma Jin's mentality fluctuated a lot.
This small home, also because of the visit of this "uninvited guest", was overshadowed.
Secondly, 16-year-old Ma Jin was in the critical stage of the college entrance examination, but accidentally fainted while reading a textbook one day.
I went to the hospital, did a complete physical examination, and found a liver tumor.
Hospitalization, physical examination, plus tumor treatment, whether the disease can be cured or not, just treating the disease is a large cost.
The huge medical expenses are unaffordable for Ma Dongsheng, who delivers water for a living.
In the end, Ma Dongsheng is not without savings, he once had assets of 100,000 yuan, put in the apprentice to do investment and financial management.
As a result, when I used the money, I found that the phone could not be called.
When the home was found, the owner had long since been replaced, the house had been sold, and the neighbor said he had been detained.
Obviously, Ma Dongsheng was deceived, and he could only say sadly: It's too muddy.
At this point, Ma Dongsheng was completely forced to a dead end.
He thought of all the ways he could think of, but he still couldn't raise money. The hospital urged the payment every day, and the daughter's life was at stake.
Therefore, the desperate Ma Dongsheng remembered that he had seen a large amount of cash in the safe when he delivered water, which made him think of robbery.
Ma Dongsheng's bleak life was in stark contrast to his criminal behavior.
Such an honest person has forced a serious illness into the road of crime, and it also makes people sigh.
However, "Dividing Line" is more than that. The criminal investigation is only the first step in the story.
The second step in sweeping away the black syndicate and fighting corruption has just emerged.
The manager of the pawn shop is not a good bird, two years ago, he passed Ma Dongsheng's female apprentice unconscious and sexually assaulted, who knows sentenced to 4 years, locked up for 2 years and came out.
Therefore, choosing him as the target of robbery, Ma Dongsheng also wanted to export evil qi to his apprentice.
But Ma Dongsheng also did not expect that when he grabbed the money, the secretary made a mistake and put a black notebook in the safe.
This notebook is key evidence that the manager of the pawn shop bribes local officials to participate in the production and trafficking of drugs.
Ma Dongsheng, who got the notebook, was doomed to a dilemma, but the protective umbrella behind him had long since become an ant on the hot pot.
The clues of criminal investigation and anti-corruption are thus linked to the robbery of an honest man.
As the leader of the special case team, Yu Chao (He Bing), the criminal police captain who can't rub the sand in his eyes, is responsible for pulling out the third step of "Dividing Line": reasoning suspense.
"There is no case that cannot be solved", this is Yu Chao's creed.
But in the face of this case, Yu Chao was not completely sure.
Judging from the preview, the old friend took the initiative to surrender, the big fish has not yet surfaced, and under the nested case relationship network, the black hand is eager to move, and the undercurrent is coming one after another.
The life of Ma Dong's daughter was threatened, and key witnesses were also targeted.
The big hands behind the scenes seem to want to control everything.
Nested cases in cases, super fast story rhythms, climactic plot content and unexpected reversals are the biggest advantages of "Dividing Line".
How, haven't you seen such a criminal investigation drama for a long time?
2. Nine powerful actors sit in line, with superb performances, delicate emotions and a sense of immersion
Found that no, the biggest difference between "Dividing Line" and other criminal investigation dramas lies in two words -
Epiphany.
It does not release a shocking case from the beginning, nor does it have a headless and tailless crime scene presentation and the realism of the criminal process of the unknown murderer.
If you only watch the first two episodes, you will even feel that you have gone to the wrong threshold: Isn't this a life ethics drama?
But this design is precisely the advantage of "Dividing Line".
Although its pace is fast, it gives the audience enough time to accept the plot. In particular, a bunch of good actors get together, after the first two episodes of the preparation, once the back soars into the drama, the audience will be difficult to extricate themselves.
From the behind-the-scenes point of view, "Dividing Line" is not bad, but from the front of the stage, it has more explosive potential. Because the casting of this drama is all powerful actors who are not popular.
First, He Bing.
He Bing, graduated from Chinese opera, national first-class actor, best male protagonist of Magnolia, two Chinese Drama Plum Blossom Awards, once the Golden Lion Award for Chinese Drama, and once the Feitian Award.
The awards that can be won in the TV series, He Bing has taken.
Thirty years from the art, He Bing's classic screen image is too much.
He is Lu Zilin in "White Deer Plain", a silly pillar in "Love Man Courtyard", and a Song Ci in "The Great Song Ti Criminal Officer".
In 2020, a speech of "Houlang" made He Bing the top stream of the young audience of the whole network.
Playing a small person, He Bing has a natural city well fireworks gas, playing a criminal officer, he immediately changed his temperament, and he was not allowed to enter with a righteous temperament.
This time, he played the captain of the criminal police, and he stood up as soon as he appeared.
He Bing, who was wearing a police uniform, was not the first to interrogate the "prisoner", but his own son who fought by himself.
That spit word and frown, live out of the occupational disease.
In the face of the leader's questioning, he is not humble, and when he encounters something that is wrong, he is afraid, and when he encounters something that is not right, he scolds.
A "rough" criminal policeman with his own sharp edge and not afraid of power came out.
Note that it is precisely because of this "roughness" that he can become the vanguard of anti-corruption, anti-corruption, and anti-gang crime and evil in the future.
Even the umbrella of the underworld is likely to be his boss.
Second place, Zhang Guoqiang.
Zhang Guoqiang debuted in 1990, because of the military drama hit, from "Soldier Assault" to "My Regiment Leader My Regiment", from "My Brother Is Called Shun slip" to "Our Team To the Sun", Zhang Guoqiang's military image is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Acting well as a soldier is Zhang Guoqiang's greatest advantage.
But that doesn't mean his other plays are weak.
In "Dividing Line", Zhang Guoqiang used two performances to break Pi Ge's defense.
In the first scene, he discussed the condition with the doctor in the hospital and learned that his daughter was going to the tumor ward, which he could not accept for a while.
With tears in his eyes and trembling voice, he delicately presents the collapse of a father.
In particular, the action of grabbing the trouser leg in the back is real and grounded, and it is the habitual action of the working people at the bottom.
This conversation was overheard by the daughter next to him, and the moment he turned his head to see her daughter, the emotions he gushed out suddenly tensed up.
After his daughter turned and left, he immediately exploded with emotion.
Two words, absolutely!
In the second scene, after he grabbed the money, he stared at a bag of stolen money and stared at his daughter's life-saving money, and the sense of guilt rose from the heart.
In the eyes, there is the fear of honest people, and the complexity of not believing in reality.
Notice the trembling of this hand covering his face, and the inner contradiction of the character at this moment, all on this micro-action.
Zhang Guoqiang's performance is real and touching, injecting real strength into this criminal investigation drama, and the scene of him and He Bingbiao's drama has been called out.
Third place, Huo Qing.
That's right, it's you, Lu Su.
In the past two years, Huo Qing's villain role has gradually increased, and compared with the loyal and honest Lu Su, one is worse than the other.
In the spy drama "The Forerunner", he is Pei Ruhai, who does no evil;
Just broadcast "Out of court", he is the ultimate BOSS Kuang Beiping;
In this "Dividing Line", he has become the director of the umbrella of evil forces.
Huo Qing plays a villain very well, especially his smiling expression and silent hints, which can always make the audience feel that this role is not simple.
In "Dividing Line", Director Tan contradicts Yu Chao everywhere.
Judging from the performance of Lao Tan in the trailer, this villain is not just a "protective umbrella".
"I'm not going to lose the face of the police."
Could he have a more complex identity?
Under Huo Qing's vivid performance, this suspense can only be revealed by everyone themselves.
Fourth place, Liang Rim.
Speaking of this name, everyone may be a little unfamiliar, but her screen image should be fresh in the minds of the audience.
The first to be well known to the audience was in the revolutionary historical drama "Mao Zedong" directed by Gao Xixi, and then in the suspense drama "White Night Pursuit", she played the intern Zhou Shutong, so she began to become popular.
At present, in "Dividing Line", Liang Yuan's role has not yet appeared, but in the stills, her eyes are red and her eyes are fierce, playing the role of a key witness.
She has already had acting experience in criminal investigation dramas, which may surprise us.
In addition to these powerful actors who are well known to the audience, there are also Liu Yifei and Jiang Yiyan's classmate Ma Jinghan, zhang Tong, the sharp and mean grandmother Zhang Tong in "Rouge Snow", Zhao Qian, who became popular with heavy rain in "The Happy Life of Poor Mouth Zhang Damin", Tong Fan, who played Dong Fan's father in "Dear Child", and Zhang Xingzhe, who had a good performance in "Legendary Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang"...
Don't look at them as no traffic actors, but acting is a good hand.
This is also the very good base of "Dividing Line".
3. Focus on social reality, depict the faces of sentient beings, the premiere rating breaks 1, and it is another criminal investigation drama "Wang Bomb"
"Dividing Line" is obviously not a suspended drama, and the core of its intention to show is not just the thrill of detective and the thrill of reasoning.
We often say that the hemp rope is always broken from the small place, and the bad luck is specially chosen to kill the bitter person.
Ma Dongsheng, an honest man, is actually a bitter man.
Every day, I travel to the city to provide for my daughter to go to college.
The money is cheated away, the apprentice is bullied, he is penniless, and if he does not steal or rob, he will watch his daughter lose her life.
From the life of this "robber", we can obviously read that the main creator of the series cares about the lives of the people at the bottom, as well as the speculation on human feelings and crime problems.
The boss who committed the crime of rape, through various joint dredging relationships, was released from prison in 2 years, which is not an injustice to the victim?
Look at Ma Dongsheng again.
Being forced by life to go to a dead end and robbing is still a rapist involved in criminal syndicates and drugs, which seems to be a good thing worth clapping.
But, because the other party is a bad person, can you do it at will?
Between law and human feelings, morality can push us to be biased.
But as we often say, is there any point in adhering to procedural justice in this kind of bottom-level people who are cornered and face life and death choices?
Behind the fast-paced plot, there are many things that are enough to cause the audience to think.
The eyes of the masses are shining.
On the first day of the launch of "Dividing Line", the ratings broke 1, approaching the first place "Young Pie 2", ranking second.
In terms of the popularity of the whole network, three days after the launch, the popularity of "Dividing Line" was as high as 4900, which also ranked second.
Criminal investigation dramas themselves are relatively niche, but this does not mean that criminal investigation dramas cannot produce explosive models and fine products.
The confrontation between He Bing and Zhang Guoqiang has just begun, and the curtain of crime and anti-blackness is slowly opening.
In the face of the stolen evidence, what choice will Ma Dongsheng make? Between law and human feelings, will Yu Chao make concessions and compromises?
Everything, let's go to "Dividing Line" to find the answer!
Text/Pippi Film Editorial Department: Ephemera
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