Xiao Zhan: Li Qin's drama is on fire? "The Sea of Dreams" interprets the youth of a generation

This drama interprets the youth of a generation.

Recently, "The Sea of Dreams" starring Xiao Zhan, Li Qin and other actors was broadcast on Tencent Video, CCTV8 and Oriental Satellite TV, showing young people the group portraits of those people before and after the reform and opening up.

And this is also the collective memory of a generation.

The scene in the play begins at the Shichahai Ice Rink, to the hutong, the barracks, and the battlefield; The characters in the play, from being a soldier, college entrance examination, medicine, politics... In terms of major events, from reform and opening up to going to the sea to do business, the story of thirty or forty years ago was completely restored.

The details of the play are in the past, and although they are in the past, there is room for discussion and positive impact in the present of 2023.

The resonance between young people and their parents is born from this.

-Reinventing the characters of the times-

"The Sea of Dreams" was officially announced on the sixth day of the first lunar month of 2022, completed in early June, and broadcast on June 1 this year, a whole year, making the audience wait too long.

However, the online data lived up to expectations -

Continuously ranked first in the popularity lists of multiple platforms such as Maoyan, Yunhe, and Detaven; Breaking the peak of Kuyun ratings (up to 2.0797%);

The popularity of Tencent's station exceeded 29,000, not only entering the "must-see club", but also breaking records to become the TV series with the highest popularity value on the station in 2023;

On satellite TV, "The Sea of Dreams" also ranked first in the same schedule with an average rating of 1.481% in the first week.

This drama has inexplicable similarities in appearance and perception to "Days Related to Youth" 17 years ago, for a simple reason - Ye Jing became the chief planner.

Who is Ye Jing?

He is the youngest of writer Wang Shuo, and in 2006 his "Days Related to Youth" was named a "divine drama". In the play, the scene where Fang Yan and Li Bailing (a name often used in Wang Shuo's novels) kiss and make love at the Shichahai Ice Rink is impressive.

No wonder, the Shichahai ice rink that appeared at the beginning of "The Sea of Dreams" has a feeling of "book picking up".

Ye Jing's works do not compromise to please audiences in other regions, but achieve the classicity of "Days Related to Youth".

Therefore, "The Sea in the Dream" is sat by Ye Jing, and in terms of quality, it can be said to be "stable in ten and nine".

The title "That Sea" refers to the Shicha Sea, which covers an area of 336,000 square meters, and is divided into an ice cart area and a skating area.

Old Beijing was formerly known as "Four Nine Cities", which generally refers to the four gates of Tiananmen, Di'anmen, Dong'anmen and Xi'anmen of the imperial city, and the nine gates of the inner city, Chongwenmen, Xuanwumen, Chaoyangmen, Fuchengmen, Dongzhimen, Xizhimen, Andingmen and Deshengmen.

"The Sea of Dreams", although it is still the old formula, the face has changed - Xiao Zhan, Li Qin and other young actors have both restored and reshaped the characters of that era.

-Different personalities-

"The Sea of Dreams" takes Xiao Chunsheng, played by Xiao Zhan, as the backbone, and pulls the curtain from the mid-70s. 

Xiao Chunsheng is a character with great personality. 

On martial arts, he threw himself into the military camp and served the motherland; thesis, he draws well, likes to go to the old book library to read, only then did he help Tong Xiaomei (played by Li Qin) who he had never met; In terms of family, he took care of his father and did his duty; In terms of love, he and his brother Ye Guohua boldly pursue the girl they like... 

This is a "heroic" character who does not hesitate to be in trouble, and has a responsibility. 

Tong Xiaomei, played by the heroine Li Qin, met Xiao Chunsheng in the old book library while reading the nursing classic "Nursing Notes" written by modern nursing pioneer and statistician Nightingale in 1859. 

Tong Xiaomei set herself a life goal of becoming a doctor early on. Starting as a nurse, I worked my way up for exams, on the front lines of war, and eventually as a doctor. 

Xiao Chunsheng's hair, Ye Guohua, knows how to respect others, is very gentlemanly, and because of family reasons, so he is rooted in the red and Xiao Chunsheng has the dream of joining the army. After enlisting, he achieved excellent results and was promoted to platoon leader, but due to emotional reasons, the two gradually drifted apart. Telling the truth of the matter, the stone that pressed on his heart could finally be put down.

Ye Guohua said that this was not only to put things back on track, but also to prove to He Hongling that he was not a person who was greedy for honor and treacherous. 

Although He Hongling and her mother depend on each other in the small courtyard, she will move cabbage and do odd jobs in order to supplement the family, and the things Ye Guohua sent to her home, she converts them into money and returns, unwilling to accept the actual financial support of men. 

In winter, his fingers that are frozen red without gloves can use the violin to casually pull out Monty's most famous "Chardash Dance", "Under the Silver Moonlight", under the cold and resolute exterior, He Hongling's inner enthusiasm and unrestrained. Attachment to loved ones, but more aware that life is not only about love. 

A more representative woman is Ye Guohua's sister Ye Fang (played by Zhao Xin) - sober, strong, independent, with all the beautiful qualities of women in the new era.

This group portrait is both avant-garde and slightly limited by the times, with different personalities.

But the drama's portrayal of several characters has a common feature: 

Human taste.

-The collision of love views-

Love has always been the eternal theme of young people.

However, "The Sea of Dreams" embodies and reflects on the collision of different views of love.

In the early stage, Xiao Chunsheng and He Hongling fell in love because of their handsome appearance, talent, and mutual attraction.

These appearances of love can still be spent together when Xiao Chunsheng reveals that his family situation is inferior to others and needs He Hongling to take care of his father together, but in the face of He Hongling's mother having a heart attack and needing surgery and expenses, it seems fragile and powerless.

When He Hongling needed money, Xiao Chunsheng took out his savings, borrowed by his comrades-in-arms, and his father's pension, and poured everything into a drop in the bucket; With just one phone call, Ye Guohua's family can send He Hongling 5,000 yuan in surgery and hospitalization fees.

He Mu said: "It is useless to have many heroes outside, who can earn money, go up, and give you a comfortable life, is a good man." Although He Hongling was silent on the surface, she listened in her heart.

For He Hongling, Ye Guohua is a piece of bread that can "save the emergency", and in the end, she did choose bread-style love.

Tong Xiaomei fell in love with Xiao Chunsheng, but her gesture of love is not necessarily possessive, but blessing and giving, and even assisting Xiao Chunsheng's love, giving up the interview place to He Hongling, hoping that they will become soldiers together. For Tong Xiaomei, love is not the whole of life, and realizing the dream of being a doctor is.

She is superficially introverted, and she understands Xiao Chunsheng better——

He Hongling "taught" Xiao Chunsheng that you should not always think of yourself as a "big brother"; And Tong Xiaomei encouraged Xiao Chunsheng: You are not a waste, you are a hero.

The acquaintance from the library shows that Xiao Chunsheng and Tong Xiaomei are a pair of soulmates (soul mates) based on the same frequency of spiritual beliefs.

"The Sea of Dreams" gives a very powerful positive portrayal to modern women, and none of the women in the play are "love brains" - putting love first. Every girl has their ideals: Tong Xiaomei wants to be a doctor, He Hongling wants to be a soldier and enter the literary troupe, and Ye Fang wants to go to college entrance examination.

They just chose different lovers based on different views of love.

In love, should a woman be strong by herself, or rely on her lover? The drama "The Sea of Dreams" completes the exploration and reflection on this female topic.

-The production is quite ingenious-

If you pay attention, you will find that the characters in the play have their costume colors that match their personalities.

The dazzling red beanie and red scarf represent He Hongling's cold appearance and fiery temperament inside; The down medical care based on white tones is taken on Tong Xiaomei, played by Li Qin, representing that this is a stubborn and persistent girl.

Many scenes and characters have been carefully scrutinized -

In order to restore the Shichahai ice rink, the team wrapped the entire perimeter with a straw mat circle;

A teacher who polished ice blades turned out to be personally starred by the inheritor of the "Beijing Ice Blade King";

The draft beer mug used by everyone to drink beer at the party, which can no longer be found in the museum, is 3D printed by the crew;

Professor Su, who performed heart disease surgery for He Hongling's mother in the play, is really a person - Professor Su Hongxi, the founder and pioneer of cardiac surgery in the mainland, is known as "Qian Xuesen in the medical field".

Twenty-eight bicycles, thunder hats, plush gloves, thick needle sweaters and other "clothing roads" suddenly pulled people back to the seventies.

"Vintage" and personalized art design have always played a substitute role with the plot.

There is no doubt that this is a living "textbook of aesthetic change of the times".

Xiao Zhan, Li Qin and other young protagonists have attracted many post-95 and post-00 audiences, but they often don't know much about their parents, thinking that they are old-fashioned and serious, but "The Sea of Dreams" tells the audience:

Fathers also boldly pursued their own lives, fell in love freely, and pursued careers.

This is no different from today's young people.

Therefore, the life between young people and their parents "resonated with the fingers" on the drama "The Sea of Dreams".

The audience can see the imprint of the times in the play, which not only restores the state of life in the past, but also shows the progressive significance of that era, so as to inspire the young people of today.