January 12, 2023 issue | Issue 3114
After the 21st episode of "Daybreak Orient" was broadcast, the plot-related topic #Self-service practice banquet in Daybreak Oriental # rushed to the top 1 of the Weibo rising list and the top 2 of the Weibo entertainment list.
In the play, Mayor Chen Yi, played by Zhang Jiayi, wants to see off Deng Xiaoping (played by Lu Qi) political commissar, but because his family is "poor and white", he has to use the clever plan of Staff Officer Ji (played by Liu Tao) and ask everyone who participates to bring their own dish, forming this self-service practice banquet that makes the audience quite sad.
This scene allowed the audience to see a very different Chen Yi, a Chen Yi who was close to ordinary people. The series has been updated to the middle and late stages, and the audience has seen that Zhang Jiayi's version of Chen Yi is a more comprehensive and multi-faceted Chen Yi. Our past impression of "Mr. Chen" is only one side of Zhang Jiayi's version of Chen Yi.
As one of the founders and leaders of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Chen Yi is rarely absent in many revolutionary historical dramas. However, so far, Chen Yi in most film and television works is only a part of the group portrait portrayal. Chen Yi, who has such a heavy scene in "Breaking Dawn East", is the first time he has appeared.
Experts who have studied Chen Yi said that Chen Yi on the screen and on the screen has only restored 10% of the brilliant life of this great man. Although it is difficult to present all of Chen Yi's other 90% in "Dawn East", it can be seen from actor Zhang Jiayi's in-depth digging into details that his shaping direction this time is to present Chen Yi beyond 10%.
Chen Yi's eldest son, Chen Haosu, said in an interview with the media: "He (Zhang Jiayi) is an excellent actor, and he took the risk of a big difference in his image to play the role of Chen Yi and made great efforts, and I am very grateful." The real Chen Yi is a Confucian general. He never loses his temper with the staff around him, and he is by no means a big old and rough figure. Perhaps the film and television works of the past for a long time have formed a fixed situation, and it seems that informality is Chen Yi's personality trait outside of the battle-hardened field, but in fact, he is more talented, sincere and romantic. ”
Perhaps it is precisely in consideration of presenting deeper content in the character that director Gao Xixi did not choose a special actor to play Chen Yi in "Breaking Dawn East", but chose Zhang Jiayi, an acting strength recognized in the industry.
It can be seen from the episodes that have been broadcast that Zhang Jiayi has a good grasp of Chen Yi's ratio of three different identities of general, "candidate" and mayor in different periods before and after the liberation of Shanghai, as well as the psychological state under different identities, and the audience finally saw a Chen Yi who got rid of the fixed situation.
The "general" identity grabs one word: fast
Chen Yi's identity as a "general" is the most familiar to the audience. In order to get closer to the historical image of the character, Zhang Jiayi not only specialized in gaining weight and shaving his head, but also learned Sichuanese dialect and used Sichuanese throughout the filming process. Although the broadcast was eventually changed to Mandarin dubbing, it can still be seen that Zhang Jiayi has worked hard to master Sichuanese through the occasional Sichuanese words in the play.
As a non-special actor, Zhang Jiayi has a natural disadvantage when shaping a fixed identity. When Tang Guoqiang took over Mao Zedong for the first time, and Wang Jinsong encountered the same dilemma when he took over Chiang Kai-shek for the first time. Their experience in breaking through difficulties provides a reference for Zhang Jiayi.
Zhang Jiayi's performance of the identity of the "general" first focused on the "acute child". When speaking lines, the audience can hear that Zhang Jiayi often puts emphasis on words such as "right away", "immediately", "now", "sooner" and other words that can reflect Chen Yi's eagerness.
In addition, when he played some opponent scenes, he also deliberately accelerated some of the answers. The response lines are also as short as possible, two words on two words, and one word on one word. Especially those sonorous and powerful "good", with the shortest reaction time, laid the foundation of Chen Yi's character.
Second, even though his social status was changed from commander of the East China Field Army to mayor of Shanghai, Zhang Jiayi still retained Chen Yi's "general" color. In the work of rectifying Shanghai's economic order, Chen Yi successively organized and implemented two large-scale economic battles, the "Silver Dollar War" and the "Rice Cotton War." Zhang Jiayi applied the sharp eyes and neutral tone on the battlefield to these economic wars, which left a deep impression on the audience.
Zhang Jiayi is very sensitive to lines such as "Only when we take a two-pronged approach can we have the appearance of a battlefield" and "we fight a war with these speculators", he can always brew the fullest passion to interpret the momentum contained in them. There is also the inauguration ceremony and the martyr's remembrance meeting, Zhang Jiayi's expression of scorn at the possible attacks and assassinations of enemy elements, all of which accurately interpret the fighting genes in Chen Yi's bones in Rong Ma's life.
Finally, Zhang Jiayi's version of Chen Yi reflects the characteristics of the "Confucian general" mentioned by Chen Yi's eldest son, Chen Haosu, in many details. The listing ceremony is about to be held, and Chen Yi specially instructed the secretary to find a "Heroic Symphony"; For the first time he met with representatives of Shanghai's literary and art circles, Chen Yi changed the format to a ball; After seeing that there was only wine, peppers, and peanuts left at home, he blurted out the verse "Two jugs of wine between flowers, chili peppers for seven" to laugh at himself...
Previous film and television works rarely involved such scenes. Through studying historical materials and Chen Yi's works, Zhang Jiayi deeply analyzed the characters, and for the first time presented Chen Yi's "Confucian general" style on the screen.
The identity of the "candidate" captures two words: hard work
Zhang Jiayi is good at capturing the specific psychological state of characters in specific historical periods. In the historical passages intercepted by "Breaking Dawn East", Chen Yi has a very unique identity - an examinee. Different from the external identities of commanders and mayors, "candidates" are Chen Yi's self-perception at the current stage.
Zhang Jiayi's interpretation of the identity of the "candidate" is not in the table, but in it. He pinched a psychological state of Chen Yi and integrated this psychological state into the corresponding scene.
For example, when the series did not attack Shanghai at the beginning, Chen Yi knew that a big city like Shanghai had a very large economic influence. At this time, Zhang Jiayi showed a character state, like a college student who had not yet entered school, knowing that he did not understand a lot of things, but confused about how to learn and master.
Zhang Jiayi performed Chen Yi's brief lack of self-confidence in the early days of entering Shanghai - but whenever Chen Yi's conversation partner and the things he tells are related to economic construction or urban management, we can see in Zhang Jiayi's eyes the inner activities of listening carefully and pondering carefully.
In the play, Chen Yi's son once asked him: "What should you do if you have a question?" Chen Yi replied, "Then it depends on whether Dad works hard or not." Zhang Jiayi's successful shaping of Chen Yi's identity as a "candidate" is precisely to firmly grasp the word "hardworking".
Although he verbally said that "economic information can't be eaten thoroughly, his heart is upset, and he can't sleep", once someone talked to Chen Yi about economic construction or urban management, his mental state immediately rose, and he immediately said one, two, three seriously.
Chen Yi's study at the economic and management levels runs through the entire "Breaking Dawn East", but director Gao Xixi does not need to directly shoot him studying or lighting the lamp to read at night. Because Zhang Jiayi uses the way of integrating psychological state into detailed performances, the audience can see Chen Yi's inner candidate psychology, see that he accumulates his knowledge little by little in his work, and carefully answers every difficult problem.
Through the expression reaction when listening to others, the action response to emergencies, and the gradual familiarity with economic construction and urban management, Zhang Jiayi delicately presents the growth arc of Chen Yi's learning in battle.
The "mayor" identity captures three words: for the people
As the plot progressed to the middle and late stages, "Mayor Chen" became Chen Yi's main title in the play. In presenting himself as "mayor", Zhang Jiayi focuses on his working principle based on communist beliefs - serving the people everywhere. In the face of the provocations of various hostile elements, Chen Yi always gave priority to whether the interests of the people were protected while responding strongly. Zhang Jiayi also accurately shows Chen Yi's sincerity when he sends out such inquiries.
For example, when discussing the exchange ratio of renminbi and gold vouchers, renminbi and silver dollars, Counselor Ji's successive proposals were rejected by Chen Yi, because he insisted that the people be guaranteed first. Zhang Jiayi's performance here has a "sense of stubbornness", forming an oppressive force. Why is Zhang Jiayi's aura adjusted here? Because only in this way can it be demonstrated that "for the people" is Chen Yi's first principle as mayor.
The performances of good actors are often fluid. At the preparatory meeting before the July 7th military parade, Zhang Jiayi gave a look of disdain in the face of the bullet threat letter sent by the enemy; Two minutes later, when asked about the safety and security of the people participating in the march, Zhang Jiayi gave a look of concentration. The sharp contrast of expressions before and after allows the audience to intuitively understand the character's heart.
Zhang Jiayi's most delicate interpretation of the identity of "mayor" is Chen Yi and Chen Yun (played by He Gang) listening to the commentary together. Chen Yun asked Chen Yi, "Do you understand this commentary?" Chen Yi replied, "I don't understand it at all." Then, Zhang Jiayi quickly added the next line: "But as long as it is something in Shanghai, I have to understand." ”
After Chen Yun explained to Chen Yi that this commentary was singing that Xu Xian and Bai Niangzi were celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival together, Zhang Jiayi looked at the commentator, both as if responding to Chen Yun and saying to himself: "Mid-Autumn Reunion, I hope that at that time, the citizens of Shanghai can also have a comfortable Mid-Autumn Festival." ”
Although the lines are calm, Zhang Jiayi added rhythm control, gaze control, and tone control when reading the lines. It seems that Chen Yi is chatting with Chen Yun, but in fact, Chen Yi is talking to himself. The image of a "mayor" who has always put the people of Shanghai in his heart immediately became vivid and credible after such a few sentences of dialogue.
Compared with Chen Yi, who fought on the battlefield during the war years, Chen Yi, who served as mayor of Shanghai in this year, is closer to ordinary people and has more pyrotechnics. Zhang Jiayi has played many classic roles of ordinary people, which makes him more suitable for playing this side of Chen Yi than special actors. Life-like jokes like "I'll start saving money from now on" come out of his mouth very naturally.
Although "Dawn Oriental" excavates Chen Yi who is 10% more fixed, it is not "Chen Yi's Biography" after all. Although Chen Yi is the character with the most scenes in the play, the story does not revolve around him. The main story line of the play is the historical process, and the character shaping is also a group portrait technique.
Therefore, "Dawn East" is difficult to use a large number of external events to stimulate characters like Zhang Jiayi's previous works "Borrowing a Gun", "White Deer Plain" and "Loading the Stage", and set up a large number of emotional cathartic outlets for them. Chen Yi in this play cannot externalize the performance, but can only work hard to "inside".
"Breaking Dawn East" is a drama with new cuts, many details, and deep themes. Zhang Jiayi also stepped out of the comfort zone, challenged the high difficulty, and successfully broke through the dilemma of non-special actors playing historical greats by deeply grasping the inner world of the characters, attaching the inner psychological identity of the characters to the external words and deeds, and brought the audience this Chen Yi with richer layers, a more three-dimensional image and a more complete arc.
【Text/Full Hoard】