"Manjiang Red" received a full house, three surprises, and achieved the first hit in the opening year

In the 2023 Spring Festival file, "Manjiang Red" has become the first hit in the opening year.

Two days after its release, the film sat in the position of the Japanese box office champion, and the proportion of films in the same schedule was also the highest. After a few days of word-of-mouth fermentation, the audience made a choice with movie tickets.

For Zhang Yimou, "Manjiang Red" will also become the highest-grossing number of all his films. The national teacher has been constantly breaking through himself, which is a value in itself.

Zhang Yimou also put this breakthrough spirit in the movie "Manjiang Hong", which can be said to have its own author characteristics and completed the upgrade of "Zhang's aesthetics".

Surprise one: "out-of-print lineup" is just right

The trailer of "Manjiang Red" directly played the slogan of the "out-of-print lineup". Zhang Yimou is indeed playing a very new actor combination: a large wave of comedians led by Shen Teng and Yue Yunpeng, the flow of hard work towards powerful actors represented by Yi Yangqianxi, coupled with dramas like Zhang Yi throwing face powerful actors, and Lei Jiayin, who can be positive and harmonic, to play the villain, it is difficult to imagine what kind of effect it will have.

In the movie roadshow, Zhang Yimou even revealed that he originally wanted to make the movie a cool suspense style, and he temporarily decided to replace the starring actor with a higher configuration of comedians, and made a sharp turn in a short time. Changing formations before battle is a completely dangerous move.

But "Manjiang Red" strikes a balance between joy and tragedy.

The core of "Manjiang Hong" is, in a well-known historical situation, what are ordinary little people doing?

In 1142, Emperor Gaozong of Song and Prime Minister Qin Hui targeted Yue Fei for advocating peace with Jin. In the process of Song Jin's peace discussion, Qin Huan, Zhang Jun and others framed Yue Fei on trumped-up charges, and were eventually killed.

The film tells the story of a series of suspense events that occurred in Prime Minister Qin Huan's mansion five years after Yue Fei's death. The protagonists are not all well-known historical figures, but ordinary people who live and work in the prime minister's house. With their own methods, they composed the most simple patriotic feelings and national spirit.

It is fitting to use down-to-earth comedians to portray ordinary people. From the shape to the performance style, there is no need to deliberately look for what is life, they can naturally integrate into this atmosphere when they are used to playing small characters. The contrast between humility and spiritual greatness can substitute for the greatness of ordinary people in every era.

Non-comedians such as Yi Yangqianxi and Zhang Yi have become a kind of reconciliation, the teenager is responsible for the blood, and the acting school is responsible for the power scheme, so that the film has both a sense of joy and does not depart from the framework of suspense.

Qin Jiayin, played by Lei Jiayin, is a supporting role and a protagonist, and there are not many scenes, but almost everyone has intersected with him. There is a hint of cowardice in the ruthlessness, a bit of humor in the gloom, and the style of suspense and comedy is blended in him, stabilizing the position of the drama.

The combination of Shen Teng and Yi Yangqianxi is also a combination of harmony and positivity. The unorthodox and timid nephew is still a small soldier, and the young and ruthless uncle is the commander of the army, and all aspects are contrasts, which also expresses the tone of the film in finding balance.

Someone is responsible for flying, someone is responsible for stabilizing, and this lineup is really perfect.

Surprise 2: True immersive suspense

A key clue is given in the film trailer: Qin Hui gave Zhang Da, played by Shen Teng, an hour to find a vital thing.

The length of the film happens to be more than two hours, so the audience's time and the time in the story form a similar flow speed.

This sense of synchronization allows the audience to immerse themselves in the story and feel what it is to breathe and share a common destiny.

This empathy is a plus for the completion of the story. The biggest suspense in the film is the reversal of each character, just like Zhang Da's line: "Big people are playing small calculations", in fact, Zhang Da and other small people are also playing their own calculations. What exactly is everyone calculating, and whose calculation will succeed? These need to be revealed step by step.

As an audience, feeling the layers of turns in a similar time flow has a more shocking effect.

For two hours, everyone was practicing their own schemes, and everyone was each other's pawns. It's like a high-end script kill, trying to hide yourself and complete the task, because time is limited, you have to make judgments in minutes, and a single thought will change the chess game.

This infinite reversal also continued until the end of the film, where there was a game in the game, a play within a play, and not seeing the last second was not considered a puzzle solved success.

The same speed of time also brings emotional turns. It's a dramatic experience to spend two hours with each character, feel their tension, exhaustion, collapse, blood, and then feel their lives change dramatically in a moment.

When the story reaches the end, the sky is getting brighter, the morning sun is rising, Yue Fei's "Manjiang Hong" can no longer be covered up by traitors, and it can be widely praised, and we have become complete witnesses of this miracle, continuing this family and country feeling. This is a work done by the audience and the film together.

Surprise 3: You can always believe in Zhang Yimou's Chinese romance

At last year's Beijing Winter Olympics, Zhang Yimou's words touched countless people: "Chinese is more romantic than we think." As a director who makes good use of imagery, Zhang Yimou's films never forget to leave a romantic imprint.

Visually, the ancient county town of Taiyuan is undoubtedly one of the representatives of Chinese beauty, and the nested courtyards are the best places for Chinese suspense.

Audibly, traditional opera is used extensively, and the lyrics tell the fate of each character, like an Easter egg embedded in it.

Structurally, it seems like a traditional script, legendary, thrilling, unexpected, as if some folklore, although it will not be written into the official history, but the story can always be passed on by mouth.

Of course, the biggest romantic image in the film is Yue Fei's famous "Manjiang Red, Angry Hair and Crown", and the feelings of home and country behind it.

During the anti-gold period of the Southern Song Dynasty where Yue Fei lived, during the difficult period of the War of Resistance and the moments of countless hardships in the country, "Manjiang Red" played a great role in boosting national confidence and patriotism. The film also arranges a passage of "Manjiang Hong" praised by 10,000 people, which concretizes how a spirit became the faith of everyone, and it can no longer be erased.

This romance is realized precisely through the efforts and sacrifices of unknown people. It is the belief and persistence of ordinary people that have brought Yue Fei's work "Manjiang Hong" not to be covered up by traitors and have the opportunity to see the day again. It is the integrity of ordinary people that allows the spirit of "Manjiang Red" to continue. Reflecting reality, all miracles are the efforts of countless ordinary individuals. So, this is also a movie made for every ordinary audience.

Ordinary people are the main producers of romance.

The movie "Manjiang Hong" is fiction, but the spiritual connotation is realistic. No matter how insignificant people are, they have their own choices and persistence. When humble people come together, great energy can be generated. This is exactly how everyone feels right now.

I believe that after watching "Manjiang Hong", everyone will be full of strength again.