I was attracted by a line from the trailer: "Life is like hawthorn fruit, the taste is a little sour, and it is sweet with a little white sugar". That's life.
This drama will appear on CCTV eight tonight.
In domestic dramas, there is a classification with a strong genre label - urban life dramas, which have emerged in large numbers and are favored by the common people.
In 1990, the TV series "Longing", as the first standard urban life drama in the mainland, set an astonishing rating, and even the crime rate declined. Zhang Kaili, who plays the heroine Liu Huifang, also became popular with this drama.
The play also created the first generation of screen CPs in domestic dramas: Liu Huifang and Wang Husheng.
Since then, TV dramas reflecting the daily lives of ordinary people have sprung up, and while reaping good ratings, they have also won a good reputation.
The post-70s audience, the urban life dramas they remember may be "Holding Hands", "Beijinger in New York" and "Coming and Going".
Post-80s audiences may remember "The Happy Life of Poor Mouth Zhang Damin", "Ten Years of Marriage", "Chinese Divorce", "Snail House", "The Beautiful Times of Daughter-in-Law", "Naked Marriage Era" and so on after 2000.
But the last urban life drama that has strong Beijing characteristics and makes the audience like to see, which work do you think of?
I think the most popular answer would be: "Empty Mirror".
The play starring Tao Hong, Niu Li, Jiang Wu, Xu Yajun and He Bing, tells the story of two sisters.
This story is not only different from the popular criminal investigation dramas of that year, but even different from most urban life dramas, its dramatic conflict comes from the lives of ordinary people, shooting the warm veins of trivial life, and sometimes revealing a trace of cruelty.
The series became a hit on the screen as soon as it aired, even setting a record for the highest rated TV drama in Beijing, and its unique image and narrative style was even considered by Japanese critics to be "the beginning of Chinese TV dramas".
But around 2010, with the rise of IP dramas and the dominance of traffic, the booms of crossing, fantasy, fairy tales, palace fights and other booms have been scraped round after round, and urban life dramas began to enter a low tide period, and people once thought that the short life dramas in parents had been abandoned by young audiences.
Until recent years, traffic dramas have successively rushed to the street to the point that their parents do not recognize it, and urban life dramas that tell the lives of ordinary people have regained momentum. But when will the audience be able to see another urban life drama that both men and women of all ages love to watch?
"Wishful Thinking", which will be broadcast on CCTV eight tonight, appeared at the right time.
It is a sister story to Empty Mirror, which spans two decades.
Filmed in 2001, 20 years later, "Empty Mirror" is set in contemporary Beijing, using a new way to unlock the growth history of Beijing's hutong sisters. The starring actors this time are Mao Xiaotong and Zhang Li.
And one of the trump cards of the series is: Zhang Kaili and Sun Song, the national CP, finally reunited after 31 years.
Like "Longing" and "Empty Mirror", the play also takes an ordinary and warm civilian route.
This is the most scarce perspective in current domestic dramas.
The audience is not afraid that there is no life drama in life drama.
After "Crazy", in fact, no national drama can inherit its momentum, but if this one can really get close to the people, go deep into life, and find the meaning of ordinary people to their own lives.
Then it not only has the possibility of continuing the popularity of "Crazy", but also really has the potential to become the king of urban life dramas this year.
First, can urban life dramas still be a hit? This time the win is a bit big
For many drama fans, the last time they got a perfect urban life drama viewing experience was to return to the beginning of this century, when a number of urban life dramas that told about civilian life, such as "The Happy Life of Poor Mouth Zhang Damin", "Empty Mirror" and "Romantic Things", emerged.
Just like "Empty Mirror" director Yang Yaya once said: others shoot stories that are rare in life and more on the screen, but we shoot stories that are more common in life and rare on the screen.
But for this audience, such a viewing experience is too far away.
Most of the popular urban dramas in Chinese dramas in recent years are urban idol dramas with bright and beautiful costumes, or idol dramas dressed in life dramas.
In short, this domestic drama seems to no longer know how to film life?
However, as a key support project of the Beijing Radio and Television Bureau, "Dreams Come True" is also a sister chapter of "Empty Mirror", which should continue its realistic pyrotechnics and tell the stories of ordinary people's joys, sorrows and sorrows in the new era.
In a word, avoid levitation and keep your feet on the ground.
How exactly is this achieved? Look at the story first.
The play mainly takes a pair of sisters in Beijing as the main line, telling the struggle story of Sun Xin (played by Zhang Li) and Sun Xiang (played by Mao Xiaotong), two sisters with different personalities.
Sister Sun Xin (played by Zhang Li) is a modern woman who is dedicated to "success" and has become popular in Internet companies;
Younger sister Sun Xiang (played by Mao Xiaotong) is innocent, loves to talk and laugh, is a food blogger, and has a dull life.
Combined with the trailer, it is not difficult to see several characteristics:
First, the show retains the structure of "Empty Mirror", but it is not a remake at all.
The script retains the character relationships of the original play: two women and four men. It is still a pair of sisters who tell about life in the alley, each with two pairs of CPs. The water in their lives is long, sweet and sour.
But the story has completely changed, and the plot spans 2012 to 2020, which is a standard contemporary life story.
The second is that this is still the standard little character story.
The protagonists of the story are ordinary people, and there is no one.
At the beginning of the story, Sun Xiang's monthly salary was about three or four thousand yuan, and Sun Xin was an ordinary white-collar worker, a little higher, that is, seven or eight thousand. Chu Xiaoyu (played by Li Zefeng) is a real estate agent in the old city, and Yu Fei (played by Wang Ziyi) started as a ground push salesman on an online platform, and later delivered takeaways, which is not a particularly tall profession.
Life is also ordinary and simple, and what is shown and depicted is also ordinary love, friendship and family affection in ordinary family life.
Third, the style of the series is still realism.
In the play, the younger sister just wants to live a good life and shouts "lie flat" all day; The older sister advocates success and struggle. A pair of sisters with very different temperaments, walking out of two very different life trajectories. But they will all face the test of life, such as the trailer can see that money has become a huge obstacle on their emotional path.
And the originally kind and down-to-earth Chu Xiaoyu (played by Li Zefeng) seems to have been imprisoned again because of money.
Although times have changed, the story is still written about confusion, a dilemma, and a choice between people.
Compared with other types of TV dramas, the creation of contemporary life dramas is both easy and difficult. It's easy because the shooting is urban, the exterior is ready-made, and the interior scene is often indoors, and the difficulty of serving the road is not so great.
But the difficult thing is to capture the taste of life.
The whole drama is written on the typical image of Sun Xin and Sun Xiang's two sisters, filming ordinary and small things in life, the core is actually "living a life", so it is the most difficult to fool, any plot that is out of life is difficult to escape the audience's fire eyes.
In particular, the entire time span of this story is only 10 years, and how to achieve that the audience of each generation has a sense of substitution, which is a difficult problem.
How to use the frivolities of contemporary life, parents are short, and the still water in the years is even more difficult.
Second, the period drama Liu Yizhi + Wan Fang mother and son screenwriter, the behind-the-scenes lineup is stable enough
To solve the problem, the first step is to find the right director and screenwriter, and preferably have relevant experience.
Su Peng, the screenwriter of "Wishful Work", has TV series such as "Strange You Are Too Beautiful" and "Blood Walking", with scores of 7.7 and 6.8 points respectively, which can be seen that the standard is not low.
But he also has an identity: the son of Wan Fang, the screenwriter of "Empty Mirror".
And Wan Fang's father is the famous playwright Cao Yu, representing the play "Thunderstorm".
This time, Wan Fang also still served as the literary director of the play.
The story is really one, it is a typical mother and son soldier who does not leave the battle, and it should be the maximum guarantee at the script level.
As for Liu Yizhi, he is best at period dramas, with two 8-point works, "Summer and Winter in Short" and "Come on" that will be launched in 2022! Mom" was broadcast on satellite TV and CCTV respectively, and the latter created a good rating.
For "Wishful Thinking", he said, "I hope that this drama can show the changes of time and years, and can reflect a warm atmosphere."
This choreographer-director combination is not gorgeous, but it works.
Third, Mao Xiaotong and Zhang Li starring, "Longing" CP crushing the formation, the acting skills are eye-catching
Because of the unique characteristics of this play, two points should be considered in casting.
First, young actors are needed to recreate the classic roles of Tao Hong, Niu Li, Jiang Wu, Xu Yajun, and He Bing.
Second, it is best to have the older generation of actors to perform the taste of classic urban life dramas.
So, what about the cast of "Wishes"?
The first one, Mao Xiaotong.
became famous with "The Legend of Zhen Huan", but was really seen by the audience, relying on Zhong Xiaoqin's brilliant performance in "Thirty Only", after winning the Magnolia Best Supporting Actress, "Children of the Qiao Family" took her further.
Coupled with her outstanding performance at the CCTV gala and the red carpet, she soon became one of the fastest rising acting flowers in this session.
Although the past period has performed well, to truly prove himself, Mao Xiaotong must also create his own classic protagonist role.
This time is her best chance.
This time, she played her younger sister Sun Xiang, similar to Tao Hong's role back then, and is also the most popular character in "Empty Mirror".
However, the character identity became a food blogger.
Compared with the depression of Tao Hong's character, this character is more sunny and naïve.
It looks easy to act, but the innocence and cuteness are actually the most difficult to act, either not flexible enough, or overly pompous.
And Mao Xiaotong is best at acting that cuteness naturally, especially her smile, which is too beautiful.
In general, it is not difficult for Mao Xiaotong to complete the role, the difficult thing is how to act as likable as Tao Hong back then.
The second place, Zhang Li.
This beautiful actress who has been up and down for many years, the most out-of-the-loop role should be the fair lady in "The Wind Rises in Luoyang".
The beautiful female killer for sixteen nights, but died for love.
Zhang Li played Sun Xin this time, targeting the most unflattering role of Niu Li in "Empty Mirror".
This time, her character is a pragmatist, she must be strong in life, strive for the first place in everything, constantly strengthen herself, protect herself, protect her family, and play the role of a big parent.
It can be seen that the character's personality has changed a lot, and it is no longer as annoying as last time. But it may not be as brilliant as it is.
It is not difficult for the tall and beautiful Zhang Li to play the "aggressiveness" of the role, but the difficult thing is how to break through the interpretation of Niu Li back then.
The third place, Li Zefeng.
Li Zefeng plays Chu Xiaoyu and is Sun Xin's official match.
Since Xu Fengshan, he has been labeled as a "scumbag" professional. This time I finally played a good person, a typical Beijing hutong brother, pleasing and affectionate. Although he bragged all day long, he had a sincere energy, for the sake of his favorite people, regardless of it.
But it was also this kind of disregard that eventually sent him to prison, and there is a scene in the trailer where Sun Xin comes to visit, inexplicably reminiscent of "Thirty Only".
Li Zefeng actually has good acting skills, but he has not found the right role after "Thirty Only", I hope this time.
The fourth place, the fifth place must be said together, Zhang Kaili, Sun Song.
Zhang Kaili's last surprise was as Secretary Qu in "The World", but her famous work is definitely "Longing", in which her and Sun Song's interpretation impressed the older generation of audiences too deeply.
This time, the main creator let the two form a parent CP again, which must be a brilliant stroke for casting.
In the trailer, Sun Song also showed off to the hutong neighbors: if she didn't look like Liu Huifang, he wouldn't really marry her.
It's not like that's the same person.
But last time, Wang Hu vividly bullied Liu Huifang; This time it was adjusted, and it became a strong woman and a weak man.
Li Huilan, played by Zhang Kaili, runs the whole family, loves to worry and is capable, is a primary school teacher, not only manages the family, but also manages the school, and even the children in the entire hutong are taught by her.
Sun Song plays a "strict wife".
The noisy but inseparable pair is undoubtedly a tribute to the characters in "Longing".
This "longing couple" united, carrying the youth memories of several generations, is undoubtedly the biggest attraction of this show for old audiences.
In addition, there are actors such as Wang Ziyi, Yu Jinze, Ning Xin, Wang Xiaochen, Jin Jia, and Bloomberg to join and help.
The cast, like the choreographer, is not flashy, but interesting and interesting.
Fourth, can the urban life drama with the "old and new" faces be completed? This drama may be able to give an answer
As mentioned at the beginning, most of the word-of-mouth masterpieces in domestic urban life dramas are concentrated in the 80s and 90s of the last century to the 10s of this century.
And the last urban life drama that satisfies the audience may have been "Empty Mirror" 20 years ago.
Looking back at the previous urban life dramas, most of them were picked by senior actors, and their own experiences were closer to the attributes of the era and precipitated a unique charm of life.
Just like Liang Guanhua in "Poor Mouth Zhang Damin", as soon as he appears, the civilian atmosphere does not need to be performed.
Needless to say, Tao Hongniuli's performance in "Empty Mirror" is that even Jiang Wu, Xu Yajun, and He Bing, who gave them wedding clothes, are all acting masters, and they play ordinary people with shortcomings deeply in the hearts of the people.
But with the development of the times, urban life dramas also need to move forward with the development of the times.
The urban life drama with the combination of "old and new" faces, how to make every age group of audiences like it, "Wishful Thinking" may be able to make a sample.
Looking at the trailer, the biggest feature is a return to the ordinary.
Times have changed, and the original taste of life dramas cannot change.
Therefore, I don't see any "total" in the play, there are not many luxury cars and villa luxuries, and the protagonist does not talk about tens of millions of business a minute, but is close to ordinary people.
The heroine made a food public account by herself. The crew hired the famous food blogger Tian Luo girl to serve as the food consultant of the show. Every dish in the play, from chopping vegetables, chopping meat to steaming, is made in a real way.
The whole drama is also filmed on the spot in the real Beijing hutongs, and some viewers may even wonder: It's 2023, why is life in the hutongs still so "dirty"?
But in reality, many ordinary people in Beijing have such a life, and the audience takes it for granted that Beijingers are rich. Any yard, old worth money.
But in fact, ordinary people are the main force of Beijingers.
While shooting a sense of life, you can see that the series is still trying to shoot a sense of reality.
The plight of one generation and one generation is not the same.
In reality, no one's life is as easy as it seems. Only by photographing the details of the lives of contemporary hutong sisters and creating their real life in Beijing little by little, can the audience feel as if they are examining their own way when they came when they touch them.
In order to create a common feeling.
Most of the reasons why the audience does not like to watch most contemporary life dramas is that they have committed the problem of "topic first", and the screenwriter has already found the answer to the character's life in advance, and then stuffed the plot into the character to wrap the topic.
The result affirms that the characters are one-dimensional, the plot is shriveled, and these dramas have the shell of life dramas, but in fact have nothing to do with "life".
The key to "Wishful Thinking" is to shoot real life, so that each character seems to enter the audience's life and have a sense of existence like real friends around him.
When a life drama can transmit the warm core of life to the audience, it can be regarded as consistent with the true meaning of moisturizing and silent.
Finally, let's talk about the four words "what you want to do".
These four words are a blessing on the surface, but the main creator said that in fact, there is a lot of emotion behind it. It is precisely because there are so many losses and so many unsatisfactory things in life that we wish each other what they want.
As the times roll on, the lives of the people will not be easy. The so-called "wishful thinking" is actually a bitter sweetness.
Then, I wish you who watch the drama or do not watch the drama, all have the same wishes.