Why did "Nameless" win word of mouth?

On the one hand, the happy news that the box office of the Spring Festival file exceeded 6.7 billion yuan, and on the other hand, in the top three lists, the name of "Nameless", which once had bright box office results and expectations, was hung up with a very dazzling 6.7 points of an unsatisfactory score.

After all, after a long period of "no rating", the reputation of "Nameless" is still trapped in the "extreme pull", and Douban even marked the warning of "the current audience has a large difference of opinion, please refer to it carefully".

This "super commercial movie" with coexistence of superstars and traffic seems to have been "disenchanted" and thus weakened. For Cheng Er, a director whose works are not prolific, but has a strong personal style, "Nameless" is still a self-interpreting work. Multiple labels such as spy war, suspense, and literature also make it a strange flower in the Spring Festival file.

After its release, the discussion of "Nameless" gradually shifted from the starring role to the plot and technique, and its evaluation also showed a fierce polarization. On the one hand, I think that "Nameless" is right, has an attitude, art and pressure, and is unique when the comedy is piled up, brave enough; But on the other hand, some people think that "Nameless" is too literary and artistic, and the plot is unknown.

A plot maze of non-linear narratives

Cheng Er has an almost paranoid desire to control his works, often working for the director, screenwriter, editor, etc. to ensure that the works are under his overall control. Although it ensures the unity of style, it slides to another unbalanced extreme of A Honey B Arsenic Cream.

In Cheng Er's famous pre-work "The History of the Demise of Romance", not long after the opening, almost all the protagonists who could be named were "knifed" off, and under the audience's consternation, in the next scene, these dead characters were resurrected in turn. The audience then understands that this massacre, which seems to have taken place at the beginning, should actually be at the end of the narrative timeline.

A still from "The History of the Demise of Romance"

In "Nameless", Cheng Er concocted such a time trick again. The beginning of "Nameless" can be said to have almost no plot, but a group portrait of characters without a beginning and no end. Tony Leung waited endlessly where he could not see the spatial information; In the café, an unknown person ordered a cup of coffee for Zhou Xun; Wang Chuanjun and Wang Yibo eat ribs in a street shop...

There is no logical relationship or cross-picture information in several clips, so the audience seems to be "airdropped" into a completely unfamiliar scene, forced to understand some one-sided, symbolic, and specific presentation when understanding the background and the situation of each character, like a concrete and microscopic leaf in a lush forest.

Non-linear narrative is also a common technique used in many suspense films, but the narrative of many suspense films will still be "chaotic" and orderly. Although the story is not told according to the logic of inertia time, there are still traces to follow in large time chapters, frameworks, or showmanship half an hour later. But more than an hour after the story of "Nameless" is told, the audience may still be confused.

Although the audience has an understanding of the background of the times or the specific time nodes, because the identity, position and purpose of each character have not become clear cards, the integration of fragmented information will still make the audience still feel walking in the fog, but when the plot clues are finally clarified, it is found that the whole story is just that.

After all, the core essence of non-linear narrative is not only to break the boundaries of time, but to provide a more diversified narrative from the head and perspective, not only to add suspense to the story, but also to provide tension to the story, so that the connotation of the story is richer. If a movie relies too much on narrative tricks, then after fading all the gorgeous shells, only a pale story remains, and the characters' positions, motives, endings, and the direction of the story are still unclear.

Almost paranoid audiovisual beauty

As the most recognizable part of "Nameless", audiovisual language is naturally also a place that is extremely sought after by audiences who love this work. Of course, objectively speaking, the audiovisual language of "Nameless" is still extremely superior and remarkable.

"Well-dressed" is the most appropriate adjective in this film. The "nameless" lurkers targeted by the camera, whether in the execution of characters, fights or extremely rare personal space, are all dressed in suits, showing an elegant and calm "sense of relaxation", and this elegant and noble texture is also the tone and charm that Cheng Er strives to create in the "Shanghai Trilogy".

At the same time, the overall scheduling of the film will also present a "sense of distance", which is reflected in the common fixed camera position and small angle tilt shooting techniques in the film, so that the audience can "gaze" at the scene, and also add the ritualistic characteristics of the narrative. In addition, in the fight scene between Secretary Ye played by Wang Yibo and Director He played by Tony Leung, the third perspective of "peeping" that keeps appearing not only hints at the fate of Miss Chen played by Zhou Xun, but also enriches the audience's viewing experience.

Directors also often use empty lenses, which not only give poetry to the film, but also present a restrained beauty with symmetrical compositions, neat scenes and exquisite symbols. The capture of pictures, light and shadow also makes the film present a sense of superiority outside the narrative, restrained, solemn and somber.

In addition, movies also like to play with visual symbols. Continuous heavy rain, muddy ground, desperate and numb villagers in the cement; A lame dog collapses in the white rain in the next second; A pure little lamb becomes a plate meal in the next second, and these metaphors without lines and additional expressions are also the beauty of "white space" in everything.

The limits of the subject matter

Non-linear narrative is also an important expression of Cheng Er's personal characteristics, and this technique is also very modern, which will form a certain hedge with the slightly solemn and solemn background of the Anti-Japanese War. At the same time, the overall audiovisual language of the film presents a classical beauty, the narrative of modernity meets the classical beauty, beauty is beautiful, but there are always some hollows after being too refined and gorgeous.

Spy war films belong to a more special film genre, different from suspense films, the blessing of unique historical background makes this genre naturally with solemn and cruel blood romance, and the same is true, it requires strong dramatic tension. Compared with gangster movies and crime movies, exciting scenes such as action scenes and gunfights may not be lacking, but their background is a portrayal of human nature.

Therefore, the audience has an expectation for spy war movies, or a "stereotype", that spy war films should be like "Lurking" and "The Wind", or simpler, like the interactive game "Red Road" ("Invisible Guardian") ups and downs.

"Lurking" stills

Of course, it is not surprising that the audience, such a tense, ups and downs plot, can more clearly show the ups and downs of individual fate and human nature in the context of the big era and history, although the position is somewhat different, but the overall value orientation is still a binary opposition between the good and evil camps, and at the same time, revolutionaries tend to the narrative expression of sublime national feelings, which is one-dimensional.

The title of "Nameless" just shows that the film side wants to embrace the grandeur of this home-country isomorphism, but this high-context and grand narrative is precisely at odds with Cheng Er's delicate, restrained and complex narrative, resulting in the character portrayal of "Nameless" being superficial and flat, and the narrative is suspended, lacking a convincing narrative and diverse characters and strict narrative logic support.

In contrast, Jia Zhangke's English name Hidden Blade for "Nameless" - hidden in the sleeve, murderous and invisible and light and romantic sleeve arrow presents a microscopic, poetic tone, but more in line with this film.

Therefore, after abandoning the superficial tone and exquisite audiovisual language, "Nameless" is only left with a pale and empty shell that cannot withstand scrutiny, just like the plate of ribs eaten by Wang Yibo and Wang Chuanjun, you think that the next shot has deep meaning or a sudden turn like Wong Kar-wai, in fact, it is just a plate of ribs.