The author of this article is @Ghost Foot Seven of the Xiaowan family
The only purpose of movies is to make life more interesting than movies
Among the new films in the Spring Festival file, there may not be any one that makes most audiences feel as curious as "Manjiang Red".
72-year-old Zhang Yimou's another comedy attempt, Shen Teng + Yi Yangqianxi's collocation, historical suspense + time-limited case solving, which is full of highlights.
Therefore, Zhang Yimou, who is becoming more and more creative, what is "Manjiang Red" talking about this time?
And look at today's preview of the third part of the [2023 Spring Festival Movie Feature] series.
First of all, the biggest attraction and curiosity of "Manjiang Hong" is naturally the combination of actors.
The film gathers Shen Teng, Yue Yunpeng, Wei Xiang and other popular comedians in recent years, and from the beginning of the project exposure, the audience feels the strong intervention of comedy factors.
But at the same time, what is difficult for everyone to imagine is what the suspense comedy that Zhang Yimou and these actors cooperate with looks like?
The story is set in the Southern Song Dynasty, after killing Yue Fei, the traitor Qin Hui (played by Lei Jiayin) began to actively promote the policy of "shaking hands and making peace" with Jin Guo, and personally set off to the border to talk with Jin Guo.
At this time, a Jin envoy was assassinated, and the important token he carried with him disappeared.
Zhang Da (played by Shen Teng), a soldier who was accidentally involved in the incident, and Sun Jun (played by Yi Yangqianxi), the deputy commander of the pro-military camp, were ordered to investigate the case, and at this time, there was still an hour before Qin Hui and Jin Guo negotiated peace.
Within this hour, two pawns who could lose their lives at any time began a race to find a way to live for themselves.
This similar story mode of small people influencing big events is actually not uncommon, and it is through the contrast between the little people from their words and deeds to their way of thinking that they are incompatible with the severity of the events they participate in, that the film creates jokes.
Zhang Da, played by Shen Teng, is a low-level unknown pawn, and hippie smiley gags are his way of survival, while Sun Jun, played by Yi Yangqianxi, is a stereotypical and serious soldier who moves cautiously in discipline and obedience.
Such "partners" will naturally clash over their different approaches and plans.
More importantly, as the plot unfolds, behind the seemingly simple case, there is a larger conspiracy, and the identities of Zhang Da and Sun Jun are not as simple as they seem...
In addition to the two leading actors, we also saw the appearance of the entire cast in the trailer.
Zhang Yi and Yue Yunpeng's Xiangfu chief is in charge of a calculus, a smile hides a knife, they are not only the knife in Qin Huan's hands hanging over Zhang Da and Sun Jun's head at all times, but also a key step for them to reverse their fate.
"Manjiang Hong" arranges almost the entire story in Qin Hui's Xiangfu, with a limited time, a limited location, and a strong stage style that allows the story to shape characters and spread the plot in a more stylized and exaggerated way.
Among the many stories of the same theme, to a considerable extent, it is necessary to rely on meticulous design and carefully arranged traps to provoke the audience's nerves, and Zhang Yimou brings many unexpected reversals of the audience under the "routine", which is worth looking forward to.
The second point of view, Xiao Wan wants to remind everyone that the film is called "Manjiang Hong", what about Yue Fei?
When it comes to "Manjiang Hong", the first thing that comes to mind is, of course, Yue Fei's famous "angry hair rushing to the crown on the railing", and the story background of the film is indeed inextricably related to Yue Fei.
In the story of "Manjiang Hong", Qin Hui personally negotiated peace with Jin Guo, and suddenly encountered a case on the way, naturally someone secretly designed, and everything came towards Qin Juniper.
After Yue Fei's death, who will continue to be the enemy of Qin Huan, and what role Yue Fei's famous song "Manjiang Hong" will play in the story, this is actually the biggest suspense of "Manjiang Hong".
Statue of Yue Fei in the Yue King Temple in Hangzhou
Director Zhang Yimou is very good at reflecting the feelings of home and country and the changes of the times from the fate of small people.
In recent years, "One Second" is a father and daughter connected by a frame of film film; the unsung hero lurking behind enemy lines in Above the Cliff; "Sniper" is always "cold guns and cold guns" in passion and blood.
When it comes to "Man Jiang Hong", in the inconspicuous soldiers Zhang Da and Sun Jun, what kind of family and country love does Zhang Yimou want to write, will Yue Fei, who did not appear, be the most "burning" character in the story?
This is left to the friends to go to the theater to discover.
"Manjiang Hong" is Director Zhang's fifth new film since 2020, and at the same time as such vigorous creativity, there is also a new attempt by Zhang Yimou, who is over 70 years old, to almost completely subvert his previous style.
Suspense genre, war theme, main theme core, Zhang Yimou in continuous trial and exploration of the audiovisual technique with his own logo with the hottest keywords in today's film market.
For a director who is over 70 years old and has achieved fame, it undoubtedly takes great courage to accept the test of young audiences and the market from scratch.
This is not just to please the market and the audience, nor to repeat the old tune of repeating the old self, but a new growth of sincere try and learning.
Zhang Yimou work photo
In "Manjiang Hong", we can see the very familiar "Zhang Yimou elements":
The deep mansion courtyard of "Big Red Lantern Hangs High", the thick and strong shadow tone of "Shadow", the relationship between people and history full of tension...
But you can also see more things that are not so Zhang Yimou, and it is even difficult to imagine what will appear in Zhang Yimou's films, such as dramatic soundtracks, self-complaining jokes, and un"serious" performances.
For Zhang Yimou, such a change is not easy, and for the audience, it is even more fortunate to see Zhang Yimou still rewriting his directorial resume with new works in the ancient years.
"Manjiang Hong" is the second consecutive year since last year's "Sniper", Zhang Yimou's work has entered the Spring Festival file, and this year's new film is obviously more suitable for the atmosphere of watching movies at home during the Spring Festival than last year.
For a great director who has already achieved fame, such a transformation is not common, and we can also feel in such a transformation that a true love of film continues to challenge new possibilities and unquench creative enthusiasm.
It is precisely because of this that we expect "Manjiang Red" to become another new starting point for Zhang Yimou, this Spring Festival file, looking forward to director Zhang Yimou's "popularity" again.