March 11, 2023 | Total Issue 3172
In the information age, we will receive online rumors. Under the premise that the facts are not clear, should we carefully screen the rumors or fan the flames? An irresponsible rumor can ruin someone's life.
Wei's father and daughter "Washing Wrongs"
At the beginning of filming, "Keep You Safe" was called "Whitewashing", and the original title can better reflect the theme of the film. The film presents two acute real-life issues: online rumors and school violence. Around these two issues, two story lines of one main and one pair unfolded.
In the main story, Han Lu (played by Song Qian), a customer of cemetery salesman Wei Pingan (played by Dapeng), has entered the soil for safety, but some people on the Internet say that she used to be a lady sitting on the platform. This rumor not only poured dirty water on Han Lu, but the cemetery leaders were pressured to move her grave.
Wei Pingan thus began a road to refute rumors and defend rights.
In the side story, Wei Pingan's daughter Wei Motong (played by Wang Shengdi) saw her classmates being framed and cleared her classmates, but she was retaliated.
The two story lines are intertwined and jointly revolve around the theme of "washing away stigma".
In the main line of "Han Lu's innocence", Wei Pingan is a detective character. In order to find out the source of the rumors, he started with the pet groomer Tony (played by Yin Zheng) and gradually sorted out a complete chain of rumor transmission.
The process of overt inspection and covert visits is wonderful.
Seeking clues from his sister Wei Ruyi (played by Li Xueqin) in the immersive secret room, the audience followed Wei Pingan's footsteps to appreciate the terrifying scene of the secret room; and his sister pretend to master the handle of Chairman Jin (played by Jia Bing), and the guess-like conversation between the three at the dinner table is enduring. These twists and turns greatly enrich the comedic effect of the film.
Gain joy and feel how much effort it takes to clear up a rumor.
"Keep You Safe" is a film with critical overtones. The main story criticizes those blind rumor spreaders, and they only regard spreading rumors as a pastime - this is also a portrayal of some netizens in reality.
Every participant in the chain of Han Lu's rumor transmission bears a certain responsibility, but they themselves do not realize the seriousness of the rumor. The phrase "do not believe in rumors, do not spread rumors" should not be just a slogan, but should become a code of conduct for people on the Internet.
The film's side line, "Wei Motong Testifies", criticizes school violence and leads to another layer of thinking: Should Wei Motong stand up to defend the innocence of others?
If you are silent, you will be alone, and if you testify, you will be burned.
The human trials that Wei has experienced constitute an intertext with the situation of his father Wei Pingan.
She told the truth because of her father's personality; The father's insistence on proving Han Lu's innocence was encouraged by his daughter. The father and daughter become each other's spiritual pillars in the vortex of rumors and violence. This sub-story line enhances Wei Pingan's motivation for behavior and enriches his emotional world as a father.
"Keep You Safe" is a work with a sense of social responsibility. The film conveys two visions:
First, Wei Pingan's story line is to hope that everyone will not spread rumors, believe rumors, and spread rumors, and have the courage to fight back against online violence; Second, Wei's story line is that he hopes that people will help the victims of rumors, and those who watch and are silent are tantamount to recognizing the actions of the perpetrators.
Dapeng, director and actor are difficult to balance
Dapeng is a fast-growing director. His first feature film "Pancake Man" is a pure entertainment movie, the primary intention is to bring joy to the audience, and the plot is not strongly related to real life. The second directorial work "Sewing Machine Band", which focuses on the integration of genre elements, is a rare rock comedy in domestic films.
His feature film "Auspicious Ruyi" is an extension of a short film, with a bit of a "pseudo-documentary" style. The film does not have a hint of comedy and is created with a close grasp of reality. At this time, Dapeng paid more attention to realistic themes, and the director's consciousness began to mature.
"Keep You Safe" starts from reality and dramatizes the current social problems such as online rumors, online violence, and school violence. This marks that Dapeng's film has a depth of thought.
While exploring depth, Dapeng does not diminish the entertainment effect of the film. "Keep You Safe" under the big genre of comedy, incorporating suspense and action elements, showing the characteristics of bright rhythm and humorous style.
There are many action scenes in the film, including thrilling scenes such as fights, chases, and drag racing. Dapeng's creative idea is "literary opera and martial singing", and without these action scenes, this is still a comedy with a tight plot. These exciting action scenes enrich the highlights of the film, enhance the production scale of the film, and bring the audience the viewing experience of entertainment blockbusters.
As a director, Dapeng has done an excellent job. He has mastered the creative rules of commercial films, the laughter and tears are controlled properly, the thrilling scenes are created dangerously, and every entertainment attraction is considered accurately.
However, as an actor, his acting skills are still lacking.
Dapeng's Wei Pingan this time is an extremely challenging role. He was originally a street gangster who injured people and went to jail for fighting unevenly, and his wife divorced him for this. Wei Pingan tasted the warmth and coldness of people, sharp on the outside but soft on the inside.
However, Dapeng is not deep enough in performance, and his temperament and demeanor still lack a bit of social ruthlessness. Although he tries to make a violent temper, he is always close to explosiveness. Wei Pingan's body can still feel Dapeng's figure, he has not completely become a character, which is a slight regret.
The director also starring will bring about such problems, and it is easy to be distracted by multiple hats. The films "Big Winner" and "Beneficiary" in which he served as a full-time actor are significantly better than "Keep You Safe" in performance. It is not difficult to understand that after Stephen Chow and Mel Gibson successfully transformed into directors, they gradually stopped starring in the films they directed, and it was difficult to direct and act.
Li Xueqin performed brilliantly in "Keep You Safe", and the role of Wei Ruyi seems to be tailored for her. This is an optimistic, intelligent, humorous girl who can play this role with ease.
Excellent comedians and actresses in domestic films are in a scarce state. Li Xueqin in "Keep You Safe", the voice table shape contains strong humorous elements, she can bring natural and vivid laughter as soon as she appears. It is foreseeable that she will go wider and wider on the road of comedy performance.
【Text/Cui Ting】