10 details to understand "Nameless", it conquered the Spring Festival file is the progress of Chinese films

"Nameless" is undoubtedly the most stylish film in this Spring Festival file, and after the film was released, it aroused great discussion among the audience about the narrative mode, character shaping, and historical details in the film.

Director Cheng Er, although there are not many works, but the departments have a strong topicality, and most importantly, his works have a distinct authorial style and unique personal expression.

Although Cheng Er's graduation short film "Criminals" is only half an hour long, Cheng Er's fascination with non-linear narrative has already been shown.

The first feature film "The Third Man" has a strong feeling of undercurrent, the dialogue is very exquisite, and the calm suspense is even more chilling.

6 years ago, the work "The History of the Demise of Romance" gathered a group of powerful actors such as Ge You and Zhang Ziyi, and Cheng Er portrayed the crowds of people on the beach in a chaotic world, which won high praise from the fan group.

In "Nameless", it can be regarded as a comprehensive upgrade of Cheng Er's personal creation, which not only integrates the strengths of the previous works, but also makes more valuable explorations and attempts.

It can be said that "Nameless" shows more possibilities and diversity of Cheng Er's abilities as a director. In this Spring Festival stall, although its atmosphere is not lively and festive, it is rich in philosophy and focuses on the choices and destinies of ordinary people.

Through the reproduction of the CCP Special Branch under the leadership of the Communist Party of China who began to struggle in Shanghai in the twenties of the last century, the CCP Special Branch fought with various forces on the hidden front, "Nameless" shows the irreplaceable contributions of those unsung heroes on the party's secret front that are indispensable in the process of victory.

After the outbreak of the All-Out War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the CPC Special Branch under the leadership of the Communist Party of China maneuvered between Chongqing, Wang Pseudo, and Japanese spy agencies in Shanghai, and through the intricate intelligence system behind enemy lines, plotted against the enemy, obtained intelligence, killed traitors, and established a broader united front until the eve of the victory of the War of Resistance...

With the improvement of the audience's aesthetic level, we need more such works to come to the big screen, which is the progress of Chinese films and the progress of the audience.

Next, we might as well walk into this work together through some details that you may not have found.

Interpretation of important characters in the film

Tony Leung's Mr. Ho, the main character in the movie, is a stoic idealist who survives the hail of bullets. In the movie, he has a line: "The Kuomintang you mentioned has been dead in the Republic of China for more than ten years, and what you see now is nothing more than a process of corpse corruption... I was lucky that someone was not killed in Guangdong that year. This line shows that Director He escaped from the extremely tragic bombing in Guangzhou that year, and there is also a special flashback in the movie, showing Director He's situation in Guangzhou that year: full of anger, but can only silently hide in the bomb shelter. His forbearance, in addition to character factors, was created by the times.

Secretary Ye, played by Wang Yibo, is the most complex character in the movie. He is in a relationship with Mr. Ho who is also friend and foe, and he has struggled and hesitated in the face of faith, and Miss Fang's death has made him more firm in his ideas to a certain extent, so his choice and transformation are traceable. The prototype of Secretary Ye, probably referring to Wang Jingwei's secretary, Wang Jinyuan, joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1936. In early 1938, he was ordered to break into the Secretariat of the puppet Shanghai Municipal Government. Because he was half of Japanese blood, proficient in Japanese, and serious and responsible, he soon became Wang Jingwei's entourage secretary and Japanese translator, obtained a lot of information about the Wang puppet regime, and sent it directly to Yan'an.

Zhang Ji, played by Huang Lei, is a cowardly and powerless compromiser who represents most people in troubled times. He said the same line twice when facing Tony Leung and Zhou Xun: "I am a weak person. This paragraph was parodied by netizens as an "unknown body". The real first scene of the entire movie is also the first appearance of Zhang Ji, who is very nervous, does not know what will happen, and does not know who he is facing. But at the same time, he still had a longing to end it all quickly, so the lines wrote that he wanted to return to his hometown, that his father had left him a piece of land and so on. Just as Huang Lei understands this character: although he is in a state of longing to be sympathetic, recognized, and saved, in fact he is not worthy of being treated like this, because his cowardice corresponds to the true bravery of that era, he is the person who should be eliminated by the torrent of the times, and the final era belongs to those who are truly nameless in the story, and he is a famous person.

The Japanese officer played by Hiroyuki Mori is not a face-painted character, and his trust in Secretary Ye also reflects his yearning for a stable life. In the movie, he and Secretary Ye have many rivalry scenes, and to some extent, he has high hopes for Secretary Ye. There is a line that mentions that he is the Ishihara faction, not the Tojo faction, and the Ishihara faction is firmly opposed to an expanded war against China, believing that it will lead Japan to its demise. It can be said that this officer is not afraid of sacrifice for the country, but he will grieve the loss of his important people. At the same time, he is also a very complex person full of loneliness.

Minister Tang, played by Dapeng, is defined as a "wall-riding faction" in the movie, but in the end he paid the price for the "golden mean", and such a concept is not allowed to exist in troubled times, and he is also a sad character. Minister Tang has a high position and a lot of power, and at the same time he is also very entangled. In that context, if he wants to survive, he needs to have his own specific ways and methods. It is difficult to define him as a positive or negative character, after Mr. He's identity was exposed in the film, Minister Tang did not immediately attack this "cousin", but let him go, and the duality and complexity of this character are well reflected.

In addition to watching Cheng Er's authorial expression this time, I actually paid special attention to how she filmed female characters.

The three female characters do not have much ink, do not have many scenes, and assume different roles, but they are outstanding in a limited time. To say the balance in my heart, I will slide to Miss Fang played by Zhang Jingyi, Miss Fang's scene is the most delicate, and the ending is also the most embarrassing, and to some extent she promotes Ye Mi and the role of the halfway of the plot. In the matter of shaping the character line, Cheng Er does not talk nonsense in this regard. For example, she is a dancer, but we can't see the appearance of scratching her head and laughing in traditional film and television works, she always stands there calmly, quietly bearing loneliness in the noisy dance floor. And the equally lonely Secretary Ye also looked at her, the distance between the two seemed to be very close, but there was actually an insurmountable gap in the middle.

The director's choice of Zhang Jingyi should be very simple, because she has a pair of clear and innocent eyes, these eyes are very special in this movie of "several people have hundreds of heart eyes", she is undistracted and firm, and she has not been defiled by the world, she has only one thought in her heart, that is, to remove the enemy, and she will not hesitate to pay the price of her life. Of course, in such a dangerous situation, she is not without hesitation, the bathroom to Secretary Ye's harsh questioning is the best proof, if you listen carefully, her voice is actually trembling, on the one hand, we don't know if she has ever loved Secretary Ye, what kind of past the two have had, and whether there will be heartache when she says this; On the other hand, when she said these words, she already knew that she was on this path that could not see the light and could never turn back.

But such a woman with a pure heart, but to do the most dangerous thing in the world, when the target assassin came to her, her body tightened, her eyes also panicked for a moment, but quickly calmed down. This paragraph Zhang Jingyi interpreted very accurately, including the confrontation with Wang Chuanjun later, the kind of fear and pretending to be calm, in fact, it is difficult to perform, if it goes too far, the audience will feel exaggerated, if it is too little tension and insufficient. In the end, she can only become a piece of fragrant news in the newspaper, put it in the most secret corner, and dissipate silently.

The name of the movie is "Nameless", but most people have obtained a good ending, including Miss Jiang, played by Jiang Shuying, thinking that she will die, and the director also let Mr. He let her live, giving this mysterious beauty a new ending. But if we go back in history, maybe most of these women will still be like Miss Fang, silently appearing, and silently disappearing, we have no way of knowing their joys, sorrows and sorrows, or even whether they have had fear and tension at certain moments, but this does not erase the meaning of their existence, Miss Fang, is also really for love and faith to exist and burn.

Lens language interpretation

 In the movie, there are many top-down scenes that Cheng Er loves to use, creating a sense of being an ant for all living beings, such as the Chinese waiting for death, the top-down shot when bombing Guangzhou, etc. Since "Border", Cheng Er has been very good at using this top-down lens, condescending, making the audience feel a strong sense of alienation, under the giant wheel of the times, we can only be bystanders, but unable to change anything.

Cheng Er is good at filming eating scenes, there are both beginnings and ends, each paragraph has hidden secrets, although it is an ordinary meal, but it can create a feeling of undercurrent. For example, at the beginning of the movie, Mr. Ye and the captain played by Wang Chuanjun have breakfast together, Secretary Ye is more anxious, and Captain Wang is unhurried, Secretary Ye is anxious to see the corpses of Japanese soldiers, and Captain Wang has long been commonplace, it can be seen that in this era of killing without blinking, they have long been accustomed to eating the lives of others. After that, in the car, the two discussed the steamed ribs they had just eaten, according to Captain Wang, the habit of Shanghai people, "Early snack is one for each person, whoever orders it eats, eats his own, does not eat others." And Secretary Ye just ate the steamed ribs in Captain Wang's plate, indicating that although Secretary Ye can speak Shanghainese, he may not be a pure Shanghainese, and Captain Wang may have long been suspicious of Secretary Ye's identity, and then various turns will occur.

The action scenes of "Nameless" are also outstanding. There are two action scenes in the whole film, the first is a long shot to the end, and the second is a ten-minute long fight scene, and some viewers have questions: Since Mr. He and Secretary Ye are allies, did they fight so badly? But if you look closely, you can find that the director has used a voyeuristic perspective many times in this fight scene, indicating that a third person is also paying attention to this life and death fight, so the two must do their best to make this scene more realistic and credible, and the introduction of voyeuristic perspective also enhances the suspense of the fight scene.

There are also a lot of metaphors about animals in the film, such as the dog wearing goggles on the Japanese plane, and the dog that left silently among the ruins of Guangzhou, the lamb that was seen by the Japanese soldiers and turned into a plate meal, the drunken shrimp that Captain Wang's restaurant was best at, and when Secretary Ye came to Hong Kong, he peeled and ate one drunk shrimp after another, these images are alluding to the powerlessness and struggle of ordinary people in the big time.

In general, "Nameless" conquest of the Spring Festival file is the progress of Chinese films. Although it is a non-linear narrative, it is very charming, and the audience feels as if they are playing a puzzle game, and after completing it will have a stronger sense of satisfaction than watching a simple "cool movie". At the same time, it is not deliberately sensational, paying tribute to heroes and martyrs from a small perspective, making us reflect on history. Creators like Cheng Er deserve respect, and "Nameless" also deserves to be seen by more people.