The most disappointing domestic film of the year is none other than it.
"The First Incense".
Before the fire is fired.
The first is the starring Ma Sichun's reading of the original novel.
Very shallow, the famous passage is interpreted as youth pain literature.
The second reason is because of the actor's image and appearance.
Ma Sichun is too strong, and Peng Yuyan is too generous.
No, no, no.
This is Ge Weilong and Ge Qiqiqiao, this is clearly Tiger Girl and Xiangzi.
Take another look at the lineup, there is always some expectation -
Director Xu Anhua, the first female director in Chinese;
Screenwriter Wang Anyi, a leading figure in contemporary Chinese women writers;
Photographer Du Kefeng, Wong Kar-wai Royal Use, representative works "Chongqing Forest", "Spring Break", "Fancy Years"...
Soundtrackist Ryuichi Sakamoto, winner of the Oscar for Best Original Score.
The Great Demon King presented Xu Anhua with the Venice Lifetime Achievement Award
But after watching the film, Pai Ye's psychological defense line was still broken: it was too bad!
At the end of the scene, Pai Ye even heard the complaint: "Why did it take me two hours to suffer this sin?!" ”
so.
How did this good hand get broken?
"The First Incense"
From Paiye's point of view, "The First Burning Incense" is a "complete disaster film".
It seems that everyone in the main creator is working hard, but the direction is wrong.
The consequences?
Heavy fists swing wildly, in the opposite direction.
As a film adaptation of a famous novel, the first important thing is the audience's sense of identification with the characters.
But the casting of "The First Incense" can be described as a rout.
Let's start with Ge Weilong.
Zhang Ailing's description is—
Her face was plain and beautiful, and now, this type of "puff face" is outdated. Her eyes were long and beautiful, and the deep marks on her eyelids swept straight into her sideburns. Slender nose, small fat mouth. Perhaps her facial expression is slightly lacking, but only because of this sluggishness, it shows the gentle and thick ancient Chinese atmosphere. She was sorry for her white skin, bent on tanning it and making it fit the standards of healthy beauty in the new era.
To sum up, the facial features are small.
But what about Ma Sichun?
The eyes are large and round, which is simply the opposite of the fictional characters.
The point of Ma Sichun's resemblance to the character is "expression retardation".
But she is not only a facial expression, but also a blunt body movement.
Also, Ma Sichun's body is too fat, and the shape is old.)
Rhubarb skirt + green shawl + green grape hair ornament, looking very festive on Arbor Day.
Speaking of Qiao Qiqiao, Zhang Ailing's text is——
He was even bloodlessr than Zhou Jijie, and even his lips were pale, like plaster casts. Under the black pressed eyebrows and eyelashes, the eyes were like the wind blowing through the Waseda field, sometimes revealing the blue light of the water under the rice, flashing and darkening again. Man is tall and well born, but his clothes are so obedient and casual that people forget the existence of his body. Compared with him, Lu Zhaolin looked much more stupid.
What does it feel like?
Thin, somewhat languishing.
Who is the best fit?
When he was young, Wu Qihua was the best candidate.
But Peng Yuyan, who often exposes the muscle lines of the body, is very healthy.
Coupled with dark skin and bright eyes, there is always a surge of vitality.
Such a physique.
Born in the past, he was a rickshaw driver.
Born in the present, it is a fitness instructor.
Another example is Situ Xie (Fan Wei), who is much fatter than the original.
The most important thing is that he is all northerners and has no southern accent.
Even if Teacher Fan Wei's acting skills are very good, but one side of the water and soil to support the other side, the charm is ultimately irreparable.
Another important character, the aunt Mrs. Liang, is played by Yu Feihong.
She's incredibly beautiful.
But the problem is that she is so beautiful, beautiful and dazzling, that she has suppressed Ge Weilong's "young beauty".
Is beauty still wrong?
That brings us to the story.
"The First Burning Incense" tells that The Shanghai female student Ge Weilong's family fell in the middle of the road, and in order to study in Hong Kong, she had no choice but to turn to her aunt Mrs. Liang.
Later, she was used as bait by Mrs. Leung to attract men. Ge Weilong also gradually lost in materialism and Georgie Joe's lust.
In order to continue the life of a drunken fan, she constantly sold her soul and married Georgie Joe. Eventually, he became a tool for his aunt Mrs. Liang and Qiao Qiao to collect money.
Zhang Ailing's tone is concise and clear, she writes about Xiaobailou as a miniature society, depicting the gorgeous but ugly money and color transactions inside, outlining Ge Weilong's fate of step-by-step degeneration.
In the novel, her aunt is old and fading, so she takes in Ge Weilong because she wants to use her posture to win over the golden lord Situ Xie and hook up with young men.
In the movie, the aunt is too dazzling.
She hooked up with fresh meat and pinched it in her hand.
It doesn't take any effort at all.
In contrast, Pai Ye really couldn't figure it out.
What man would give up his graceful and feminine aunt and covet the silly and robust Ge Weilong?
Such an aunt wants to subdue a man, and really needs a fool to act as bait?
Even more deadly.
The script of the movie has too many dog blood elements, which washes away the fatalism of the original work and becomes a sloppy youth pain literature, just like Ma Sichun's feeling after reading.
What is the difference between the two?
To put it simply.
In the novel, Ge Weilong is a forced participant and conspirator.
In the movie, Ge Weilong is completely like an innocent victim.
One of these problems arises is that the script is mishandled.
Screenwriter Wang Anyi portrayed Ge Weilong as a pure and ignorant person.
It's hard for you to believe.
How could such a person capture her aunt's trust with a single letter and let her live as a sojourner.
The main line of the story is the process of Ge Weilong being hurt by Ge Qiqiqiao.
From plucking, to winning.
Then Qiao Qiqiao got involved with Qiao Er (Zhang Junning) that night.
Later, Ge Weilong thought of managing to marry Georgie Joe.
These plots are also found in the novel.
But the movie also cleverly added a lot of scenes of married life.
For example, the young couple is on their honeymoon, and Ge Weilong suddenly finds Georgie Jo and a swimsuit girl swimming out of the sea.
For another example, the film also specifically tells ge Weilong's insistence on going to Shanghai with Situ Xie, working as a translator and selling himself to raise a husband.
Georgie Joe wouldn't let him go, what method did Ge Weilong use to coax?
"Bring you something delicious."
"Next time take you to Shanghai."
The look of a living mother coaxing her three-year-old son.
Ge Weilong's self-deprecating personality is fully revealed in the final scene.
She asked Georgie Joe to lie and say she loved him.
Georgie Joe refused, and she shouted out herself: "I love you, you have no conscience!" ”
When Pai Ye saw this scene, he couldn't laugh enough.
To say so plain and vulgar, it is better to directly shoot a campus idol drama.
Perhaps, the appearance of such lines in "The Summer Solstice Has Not Arrived" or "The Year of Hurry" is not contrary to harmony.
In the original work, what kind of person is Ge Weilong?
She went to her aunt's house and saw that there were all the clothes in the closet, all of which were her size, and she felt the beauty of the material.
Situ Xie put a bracelet on her, and the action was like putting on handcuffs.
She was content with such a material cage.
And to Joanna.
She was very obsessed, and she couldn't forget the warmth of the night.
She slept there, motionless, but her body seemed to be sitting on a high-speed car, and the summer wind was blowing on her cheeks. But it wasn't the wind, it was Georgie's kiss. Wei Long didn't know how many hours had passed while lying like this, but suddenly he sat up, put on his slippers, put on his dressing gown, and walked to the small balcony.
She is willing to indulge in love like arsenic.
Zhang Ailing is dissecting human nature, and Ge Weilong is resistant but difficult to escape at every step.
Ge Weilong can be each and every one of us.
Such a person will not pour out bitter blood and tears at will.
She would only say, "I love you, and I can't blame you for anything." ”
Look at the prostitutes all over the street.
She would only say, "They are a last resort, I am voluntary." ”
Point to the end.
A person with many holes will only use such cold and resolute words to create steel armor for himself.
Keep selling.
Continue to delude yourself.
Continue to maintain self-righteous happiness and sweetness.
On the other hand.
The actor's performance is also problematic.
Peng Yuyan has only two states, a greasy fitness instructor, and a naïve ignorant boy.
Even more tragic was Ma Sichun.
Her performance was too deliberate.
You can simply imagine what the set is like—
The director made her shy, she squeezed hard; the director made her angry, she was immediately angry; the director made her hysterical, she simply played a madman...
Peng Yuyan: "Swim fitness to know? ”
She didn't understand what it was to be too late.
Many times, you may even feel that Ma Sichun seems to be in a state of insanity.
She simply doesn't have the ability to interpret a complex character.
So, face such stories and characters.
Even with a world-class team, what can you do?
Fine art is good.
Zhao Hai led a group of people, stunned to build the furnishings and style of the 40s.
Photography is good.
Du Kefeng strives to seize the blooming moment of the actor's image.
The soundtrack is also good.
Pai Ye noticed that there were several scenes where the emotions of the characters were pushed up by Ryuichi Sakamoto's soundtrack.
It can be said that "The First Incense" is the biggest tragedy of Chinese films in 2021.
But it's not all meaningless.
It at least reveals.
For a film and television work, the first task is to choose the right person and do the right thing.
If the actor is wrong, the audience will not be able to replace the role.
The story and characters collapsed, and the best costumes could only be done in fine decoration.
No matter how gorgeous the hollow, after all, it is only empty.