Red romance + black humor, "Huan Yan" has a unique style and is highly popular

Beijing Daily Client | Reporter Qiu Wei

Following the hit of "The Long Season" at the beginning of the year, Tencent Video X Theater recently launched its second boutique short drama "Huan Yan". This drama combines the character growth history of the protagonist Xu Tian in the long road with the twists and turns of the plot into a romantic narrative mode of road adventure, and presents a unique stylization and drama with the ultimate romance that integrates a large number of black humor elements.

At the heart of the story is the growth of a teenager

"Huan Yan" tells the legendary story of the era when Xu Tian, an enthusiastic young man, adhered to the beliefs and instructions of his father's generation, set out from Nanyang to Guangdong, passed through Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and finally arrived in Shanghai, successfully delivering the materials that funded the revolution to the organization and completing his life tempering and mission delivery.

"Huan Yan" is written and directed by Xu Bing, who has many high-reputation works such as "Red" and "New World". Xu Bing once said that the biggest intention of creating this play is to talk about the growth of a teenager. "Growing up, you will meet different people, you will continue to meet people who make him grow, there is pain and fear in the process, but when I remember them, the most that emerges is 'joy'."

"Huan Yan" takes the growth of the protagonist Xu Tian as the main story line. Xu Tian was born in China and grew up in Nanyang, a completely unfamiliar hometown for Xu Tian. At the beginning of the story, Xu Tian thinks he is ready to put his ideals into practice to build a new world. In fact, Xu Tian, who returned to his hometown, knew nothing about China's social reality. This character is simple, simple, and stubborn, and he appears in a white suit, which is a bit out of place with his surroundings.

Leading Xu Tian into the mountains and rivers and all living beings are Lao Sun (played by Liao Fan), Yu Yixiu (played by Zhang Luyi), Zhang Jiayi (played by Zhang Yi) and others on the way, all of whom are small people in the big time. The whole play clearly shows Xu Tian's psychological changes and growth in stages in the form of unit paragraphs, and each unit has a person who accompanies Xu Tian's growth, and their words and deeds light up the flame of faith in Xu Tian's heart.

In the view of Zhang Yiwu, a professor of Chinese Department of Peking University, life is through continuous walking and growth, in order to constantly create its own world, "Huan Yan" This drama integrates revolutionary stories into a person's growth, speaks of a higher ideal spirit in chaotic times, and has a strong stylization and uniqueness.

Red romance, black humor, distinctive features

When many viewers summarize the viewing experience of "Huan Yan", they all use the word "strange", and the wonderfulness of this drama is summarized as the plot, details, shots, and lines are somewhat stylized "strange". Different from previous period dramas, "Huan Yan" has the distinctive characteristics of red romance + black humor.

Chen Xuguang, director of the Peking University Film and Television Drama Research Center, summarized "Huan Yan", there are many traditional cultural infiltration, Xu Tian met along the way these "bodyguard" people have strange personalities, perverse behavior but all have a simple original intention, all have a promise of chivalry spirit, they are saving and helping Xu Tian while surpassing themselves, their actions promote Xu Tian's growth, which is a process of mutual enlightenment and mutual growth. The dialogue language in the play is very exciting, often puns, off-the-strings, sometimes witty and humorous, sometimes hearty.

"You can vaguely see a lot of classic works from 'Huan Yan', but you can't define it by a certain genre." Tang Jinnan, an associate professor at Peking University's School of Journalism and Communication, believes that "Huan Yan" is a very personal work, which is also the very successful place of the play, seeing that the creative team is very ambitious in creation, and they strive to leave a unique work with historical significance.

Dai Qing, a professor at the School of Drama, Film and Television at the Communication University of China, positioned Huan Yan as a "romantic and thrilling road drama", which she believes shows different architectural styles and geomorphological scenes in southeast coastal China in the 1930s, and constructs the distinctive aesthetic characteristics of regional space in the work. The work has an aesthetic pursuit of metaphorical symbolism, and tells the story of faith with a stylized high aesthetic, which will have a strong appeal to the audience.

Top actors present wonderful performances

"Huan Yan" brings together Dong Zijian, Zhang Yi, Zhang Luyi, Liao Fan, Tong Liya, Tian Yu, Wu Xiaoliang and many other top actors, the series presents the growth and transformation of the protagonist Xu Tian along the way through the plot of relay gold protection, delicately sketching ordinary and great characters, expressing the little people's inner adherence to faith, and also bringing a unique group portrait scroll.

After the first unit paragraph of the first 5 episodes of "Huan Yan" was broadcast, the audience highly recognized the performance of actors such as Liao Fan. Tang Jinnan said that many actors are full of explosiveness, making people overwhelmed and endless, and this new theme creation and exploration is eye-catching.

In contrast, the acting skills of the protagonist Xu Tian's actor Dong Zijian are slightly controversial. Dong Zijian wants to go through with Liao Fan, Zhang Luyi, Zhang Yi and others one by one, in the face of these acting schools with different styles, whether Dong Zijian can "catch" more topics and highlights.

In addition, the layering of Xu Tian's character is also very rich, and every "bodyguard" person in the play will leave a mark on Xu Tian's growth. For example, Lao Sun is like a father to Xu Tian, and like the first mentor on the road of life; Yu Yixiu made Xu Tian begin to have the courage to keep his promises and take responsibility. Xu Tian's character line should grow from the initial ignorance, grow into calm and mature, and also know how to protect others. Whether Dong Zijian can accurately interpret the layering of the arc of the characters at different stages determines the completion of this protagonist character.