"Snap!"
Mr. Ho's leather shoes played by Tony Leung hit the ground with a crisp sound, and then he turned his head and stared at the camera.
In less than a minute of the opening, I seemed to have fallen into the magic of director Cheng Er and fell deeply into "Nameless". Moreover, he did not "come out" for the next 2 hours.
For "Nameless", for Cheng Er, for all the actors, there are expectations before watching the film.
But the screen lit up, and under the veil were surprises that had never been expected.
The good-looking of "Nameless" belongs to the surface and inside, and it is immersed in the moment and has a long aftertaste.
Through the big screen, I not only saw a delicate story and touched the blood and texture of a group of people, but also finally deeply felt again: watching movies is such a thing to enjoy.
gun
It has been 7 years since Cheng Er's last film "The History of the Demise of Romance" was released.
In the past 7 years, Cheng Er has rarely appeared in front of the public, but fans have paid no less attention to him, especially after the establishment of "Nameless".
Underground spy war stories, Chinese movies with top casts, Cheng Er's personal imprint - the three in one, full of expectations.
The materials released after the film were finalized also made people curious and triggered discussions one after another, such as Shanghainese in the trailer and the "super commercial film" stamped by Cheng Er himself.
Director, I understand your dark humor
The most extreme is a teaser released a few days ago.
Within 60 seconds, without saying a word, the undercurrent was turbulent, revealing the deterrent and mystery of listening to thunder in silence.
At the same time, it also arouses people's imagination, is it possible that everyone in the movie cherishes words like gold?
Good fellow, "slap in the face" came so quickly.
Walking into the feature film, not long after the opening, there was a 5-minute conversation between Tony Leung and Huang Lei.
Pay attention, listen carefully -
The two went from opening the door to the code, to taking out a pen and paper to fill in the information of "abandoning the dark and turning to the light", to Mr. Zhang (played by Huang Lei) from the Chen family history and analyzing the state of mind...
Until Mr. Zhang took out a gun, a gun that did not belong to him.
Mr. He (played by Tony Leung) was stunned, laughed again, and then continued to ask questions.
End of conversation.
5 minutes, not a single nonsense, not a single superfluous expression.
Soon, you'll even want to have a progress bar in your head that you can pull back and savor the dialogue and confrontation between the two.
This is the unique ingenuity of "Nameless" in terms of narrative, and it is also Cheng Er's overall trust in the audience.
He buried a lot of information in this dialogue, which helps the audience tease out the background of the story, guess the relationship between the characters, and ignite a suspenseful lead.
At that time, Shanghai was an "island" under the minions of the Japanese army, and it was also the front line of positions coveted by various forces.
As a vital route for intelligence exchange, although it rarely roars with artillery fire, the confrontation of hidden fronts is far-reaching.
With the outbreak of the All-Out War of Resistance, the CPC Techco under the leadership of the Communist Party of China maneuvered and fought with Japan, Wang Qiao, Chongqing and other forces here, and made irreplaceable contributions.
The long night will be bright.
And before dawn falls, everyone is covered with a layer of fog, wandering in multiple identities.
Just like He and Zhang's first acquaintance, it seems that the latter is overwhelmed, and the former takes the opportunity to plan.
But, what are the two people suing true? Trust each other or have each other's ghosts? What happened after pulling out the gun?
These puzzles are present throughout, and the answers are not revealed until the end.
In this process, characters who are both good and evil continue to appear, and suspense is thrown one after another.
Mr. Ho, wandering between the Wang puppet government and the Japanese. He always had a smile on his face during interrogation, but was it a knife or honey in the smile?
Mr. Ye (played by Wang Yibo), a thug with bright clothes and bloody hands. What kind of wit does his calmness and cruelty hide?
Captain Wang (played by Wang Chuanjun), who works with him in the secret service, pins the gun to his waist every day, out of a desire for power or self-protection?
Mr. Tang (played by Dapeng), relying on calculation and negotiation step by step, how many chips does he hold in his hand, and when will he throw it?
The unknown character played by Zhou Xun runs through the main line, and his identity is not hidden at first glance, but the imagination space has not shrunk at all.
Unlike most spy war works, "Nameless" is more restrained and more thrilling.
There are no clear distinctions between good guys and bad guys in the film, and you can't even determine the character's hole card until the last minute.
Cheng Er is carefully laid out in detail in the film for the audience to dig into.
And his signature flashback narrative and jumping timeline make the battles on the hidden front seem treacherous.
Play within a play, spy against spy.
People on multiple narrative lines constantly intersect and bloom in turn.
Parallel to this is a thrilling flow of fate.
I couldn't help but sigh when I saw the epilogue, this story is too interesting and chewy.
Dare to guess who is a CCP intelligence officer, but may not be sure; I see a cigarette, a lighter, a tie, but I can't immediately understand its meaning.
There are suspense, reversals, and there is no lack of Cheng Er's strong personal expression.
Remember the gun mentioned in the dialogue between He and Zhang at the beginning?
"Bang"!
It will have a shock response soon.
food
Cheng Er's works, the friendliness of obsessive-compulsive patients is clear at a glance.
There is a scene in "The History of the Demise of Romance" that impressed me deeply: a moving car that cuts the sky and the earth, light and darkness, life and death.
Not only visual enjoyment, but also strong expression.
This extreme pursuit of symmetrical composition continues to be perfectly displayed in Nameless.
From the roads of the mountains to the swaying reeds, from the windows of the dim sum shop to the grates of the prison.
Symmetry does more than beauty.
The switch between cold and warm tones shows through the circle of people's hearts.
The conflict between environment and behavior churns out biting cruelty.
At the last moment, young Japanese soldiers walked through the green onions, becoming a scene outside the "window";
The next moment, the ignorant and numb people looked up at the sky and were heavily sealed by the "coffin" in all directions.
The impact of these two scenes is the degree to which my spine is chilled.
Whether it is a top-down or bird's-eye view, the "God's perspective" looks majestic, shocking, and ironic under Cheng Er's design.
In "Nameless", there are countless details like this "can only be understood".
Cheng Er shoots everything with its own unique "synaesthesia".
Photograph the great changes of the times, and the city dies.
Instead of shooting the ruins and devastation, you can see the gorgeous complex turned into matchboxes.
Shoot the cruelty of war, the alienation of human nature.
Don't shoot people, shoot dogs.
In 1938, the Japanese army bombed Guangzhou.
On the ground, stray dogs with broken legs were led out of bomb shelters and hobbled through torrential rain and debris.
Sky, on a Japanese plane, Shiba Inu, wearing windproof glasses and a "fur hat", traveled with its owner, named "Roosevelt".
Photograph people getting along day by day, but each has a ghost.
It was the lights flickering, the electricity humming, and everyone raised their eyes.
Shoot violent, dangerous.
In "The History of the Demise of Romance", the bigwigs peacefully eat small cages, discuss the strike, and in a blink of an eye, a bloody hand is brought to the table.
"Nameless" has corpses on the shoals, crazy dogs barking in prison, and blood all over the ground.
Oh, and.
What surprised me - a fierce battle between Tony Leung and Wang Yibo.
Gun-to-gun, sharp stabs, hugging, broken windows... It was so fierce that the pain penetrated the screen.
In other commercial blockbusters, this paragraph is enough to be the focus of publicity, and under Cheng Er's lens, violence not only creates a sense of refreshment, but also lays foreshadowing.
I like to watch Cheng Er shoot and eat the most.
The steamed pork ribs at the breakfast restaurant are the fireworks of the city, and they are also the lingering human feelings under the numbness of day after day.
The lamb in the boiling pan is steaming hot, and it is also tormented with unconscious cold blood.
Sashimi, drunken shrimp, coffee, appeared more than once, and the magic stacked.
There is also the exquisite Napoleon, who is said to have "defeated rice cakes, butterfly crisps and grape biscuits" and became an important prop in the movie. It is the affection complex, the embodiment of faith.
After watching the movie, I couldn't help but order takeout Congratulations to the director for bringing the goods
Cheng Er knows how important "eating" is to Chinese.
How many subtle emotions, major decisions, is completed in the push of cups and changing cups, chopsticks staggered.
This is Cheng Er's attention - audio-visual is not just an effect, imagery is not just a tool, and every overly crafted detail will eventually effectively advance the plot and complete the author's expression.
The same goes for dialects.
Tilanqiao Prison, bungalows hidden by sycamores, Japanese-style old li from the island period... The live action shooting in Shanghai is enough to bring back old memories.
But when dialects such as Mandarin, Shanghainese, and Cantonese ringing in the ears, the soul of a city becomes shaped.
Beauty, and more than beauty; Exquisite and wonderful. is the essence of Nameless.
person
The English name of "Nameless" is "Hidden Blade" - Hidden Blade.
It was the Assassins' signature weapon, used in assassination, representing loyalty and sacrifice.
One text and one martial arts, together is the fate of a group of people.
I have seen more spy war themes, but please search for it in your memory - find no, there are more heroes filmed, and fewer "unsung heroes".
Cheng Er is different.
He shoots spy wars, first change his perspective, and open up a world to you that you have never seen before.
Then push the era further and focus on specific people.
Although each person is unnamed, you can touch their rich texture.
Mr. Ho is different from "Mr. Yi". He smokes and laughs a lot, and it's hard to tell if he's honest or false, and sometimes you'll even be touched by his smile.
Mr. Ye didn't have much emotion. His hands were stained with blood, but he hated it. But sometimes, in the fierce fighting, he instead exudes the "human taste" under the mask of decency.
Suits, shirts, ties, and leather boots are their common "skins"; Peeling off this skin, is the heart dark or light, or stepping on a gray area?
All characters, regardless of the number of scenes, have their own charm.
What I particularly appreciate is that the vast majority of them do not want to fall short of the tide of the times, but try to break new ground in the entrenched forces.
Burn in the dark just to light up the long night.
I don't ask if I left my name in history.
Letting the "nameless" people shine in the sun is the value and meaning of the existence of "Nameless".
It must be emphasized that "Nameless" does not have the problem of not being able to read and understand.
It has wonderful stories, vivid characters.
Cheng Er did not write everything, but left blank space to make the characters stand up completely, and further enhanced the audience's sense of participation, even after watching the ending, I couldn't help but continue to ponder.
The unique and elaborate narrative is the icing on the cake and never distracts.
You must believe that under Cheng Er's lens, even light can "speak" for people.
There is loneliness, confusion, reluctance, and determination to break through the confinement of the times.
He made "light at the end of the tunnel" no longer an empty slogan, but a figurative faith.
Only after watching the movie can you really feel that the "super commercial film" he calls is not worth it - there are elements that make you cool, and there are aesthetics and expressions for you to chew.
I think this is the awe of the movie, the audience.
Only such a movie can awaken the touching experience of being hit by the soul of light and shadow magic at the beginning.
After the release of "The History of the Demise of Romance", the box office was not good, but it has become a "bead" that has been picked from time to time in recent years.
At that time, Cheng Er wrote an article called "Worthy of this bowl of white rice".
The last sentence is, "May creation always love symmetry." May the magic of the gods never die. ”
After watching "Nameless", I bought a movie ticket for the second brush.
There are too many details that I want to dig in, too many expressions that I want to understand.
Spring Festival file, "Nameless" must leave a name.
May the creator always have a desire and an indelible desire for expression.