Even watching Wang Baoqiang and Chen Sicheng's new film, 4 questions about them, it's time to solve

In an interview, the well-known scholar Xu Zhiyuan once commented on Wang Baoqiang:

You look humble, but you actually have a clear heart.

Such a sentence broke a major illusion in the entertainment industry.

In the nearly 20 years of entering the industry, Wang Baoqiang has always given people a simple and simple external impression.

But in the hearts of people in the circle, Baoqiang is not a character like a fool, but a smart person with great ideas.

Whether it is various attempts at new theatrical paths over the years, or the exploration of his directorial career, his pursuit has been shown.

For Baoqiang, who has zero negative news and sincerely expresses his thoughts for many years, the outside world is always willing to listen.

And this year, the idea of Baoqiang is here again.

6 years after winning the golden broom in the previous work "Big Trouble", he rushed to the theater with the new film "In the Octagon Cage".

In the same period, he ran into another "smart person" in the circle.

With the release of "In the Octagon Cage" and the suspense film "Disappearing Her", he and his friend Chen Sicheng came to a theater competition.

Chen Sicheng, who has an excellent grasp of the market context, has repeatedly made explosive achievements in his directorial career and has been regarded as a commercial film director with great ideas.

So, when these two "smart people" meet head-on, who will be better?

Here, this article mainly talks about the following 3 questions based on these two movies:

First, Wang Baoqiang's "In the Octagon Cage" and Chen Sicheng's "Disappearing Her", who has the better lineup?

Second, why is there such a difference in audience reaction between the two films?

Third, why are there so big differences in the advantages of the two movies?

Fourth, Wang Baoqiang and Chen Sicheng as directors, who is more popular?

Let's take these four questions with a good discussion.

01, Wang Baoqiang's "In the Octagon Cage" and Chen Sicheng's "Disappearing Her", who has the better chance of winning?

From the perspective of the lineup, the gap between the two works is actually obvious.

Compared with the cast, Wang Baoqiang's "In the Octagon Cage" has no advantage.

The young actors who play the protagonist "Fighting Orphans" have no acting experience before, and they are all amateurs from poor mountainous areas.

The use of a large number of original ecological actors certainly restores the "simplicity and innocence" of the character, but the market appeal is really not enough.

Although the "fighting orphan" after growing up was played by two young actors, Shi Pengyuan and Chen Yongsheng, there were also celebrities such as Wang Xun and Xiao Yang in the supporting cast,

But except for Wang Xun who participated in the whole scene, the rest of the actors played relatively few roles, and the impact on the entire film's box office was not great.

Therefore, the pressure of carrying the box office also fell on Wang Baoqiang, who also starred.

In contrast, the lineup of "Disappearing Him" is obviously more market-savvy.

The male protagonist of the film, Zhu Yilong, himself has a large fan base, and the title of Xinke Golden Rooster actor raises expectations.

Coupled with the help of Ni Ni and Wen Yongshan, two first-line actresses, the beauty of different styles attracts people to run to the cinema.

On one side are handsome men and beautiful women, on the other side are a large number of amateurs, and the lineup expectations are indeed much worse.

Judging from the director's resume, Wang Baoqiang's disadvantages are also obvious.

After receiving a series of bad reviews for his debut work "Big Trouble", Baoqiang, who was awarded the Golden Broom, was held the title of "bad film director" for many years.

The previous experience of bad films also made the outside world have reservations before the release of "In the Octagon Cage".

Compared with Chen Sicheng, who single-handedly created high-grossing movies such as Tang Detective and Manslaughter, Baoqiang, who played with the unpleasant theme of "In the Octagon Cage", the expectation of the opening is indeed lower.

02. Why is there such a big difference in the audience's reaction to these two movies?

The lineup is one thing, but the actual performance is another.

Judging from the market response after the screening, Baoqiang's "In the Octagonal Cage" does not fall behind.

Looking at the box office data, the data of both movies is amazing.

"Disappearing Her" is even more savage growth in the theater market.

The film, which hit the 3 billion mark at the box office 20 days after its release, is currently the third in the annual box office list, with an estimated box office of 3.4 billion.

Although the data of "In the Octagon Cage" is relatively low, its performance is also remarkable.

After breaking the domestic box office record of 235 million, the film's box office exceeded 1 billion in one week of release.

Under the continuous fermentation of market reputation, the industry's prediction of "In the Octagon Cage" box office has also increased from the original 1.2 billion to 1.7 billion to 1.9 billion today.

From the perspective of word of mouth, "In the Octagon Cage" counterattacked.

Although the film has natural disadvantages such as average lineup and insufficient entertainment, Wang Baoqiang exchanged his usual sincerity for word of mouth.

In the comment area, more than 70% of netizens gave praise for the film.

Touched by the warmth of the core, they couldn't even believe that this was exported by Baoqiang, who filmed "Trouble in Heaven"...

As this netizen said, compared with the same period of films, the advantage of "In the Octagon Cage" lies in the deep thinking that hits the heart:

I can calmly look at her who disappeared, I can see with emotion that I love you,

But I can't look peacefully at the octagon, the helplessness and fatalism that is wrapped up in reality and trying to escape but will always be beaten back to its original form by seemingly insignificant words.

Sincerity is always the first must-have, and the truest and most sincere expression is often the most touching.

Both ordinary audiences and professionals in the circle were also moved by this sincerity.

After the release of "In the Octagon Cage", more than ten insiders such as Andy Lau, Stephen Chow, Ren Xianqi, Hao Lei and so on came forward to call Baoqiang.

Xing Ye, who has always been low-key, also posted a clip of crying off a few packs of tissues, praising Baoqiang's directing level.

Nobel laureate Mo Yan even left tears at the screening because of his empathy for the film.

Even Cheng Qingsong, a filmmaker who once awarded a golden broom to Wang Baoqiang, also said that he would "take back the golden broom" this year...

Compared with the mixed praise of "Disappearing Her", the sincerely expressed "In the Octagon" is obviously more recognized by the audience.

Comparing the market of the two works, Chen Sicheng won the box office, but Wang Baoqiang won the word of mouth.

03. Why is there such a big difference in the advantages of the two movies?

After comparing the box office and word of mouth, let's compare the difference in the perception of the two works.

I have to say that both Chen Sicheng and Wang Baoqiang have injected strong personal colors into their respective films.

The look and feel that Chen Sicheng brought to "Disappearing Her" is just two words - show off skills!

As a reasoning enthusiast, he showed his suspense reserves this time by stuffing various elements.

The most distinctive trick lies in the N-fold reversal of the plot setting.

From the early stage of the plot "except the male protagonist is a bad person", to the middle stage "except the female protagonist Ni Ni is a bad person", and then to the later stage "except the male protagonist is a good person", the entire "Disappearing Her" has undergone multi-layered personality changes, and each character's attributes are constantly changing.

Until the end of the film, the film still implements the purpose of "reverse and reverse and reverse again".

The male protagonist He Fei exposed his nature and smiled, and the female protagonist Ni Ni's final "tattoo" all brought the audience a sudden awakening experience at the end.

At the same time, Chen Sicheng, who has made many successful commercial films, also showed off his skills in the use of lenses.

The most typical is the scene where the heroine Li Muzi is trapped in a cage.

In the plot, Li Muzi, who originally wanted to surprise her husband, was betrayed by the scumbag and died in the sea.

In order to present this scumbag killing his wife, Chen Sicheng's design of this pair of perspectives is very ingenious.

From a third-party perspective, this is a contrasting scene.

In front is the scene of He Fei locking his wife and fleeing, and in the back is the picture of Li Muzi holding B ultrasound helplessly asking for help.

The intuitive contrast of a lifetime and a death makes this annual scumbag famous scene unforgettable.

Switching to Li Muzi's perspective, another taste was shot.

In the lens, looking at her husband's distant back, Li Muzi held the hand of the fetal photo hanging from high to scratching.

The character's emotions are going through a process from disappointment to despair, and the background of sadness strikes here.

And the many close-ups of He Fei's side face in Li Muzi's perspective leave the audience unlimited imagination space with He Fei's many sideways:

If he had looked back a little at this time, would the events have been different?

Under the too dazzling skills, Chen Sicheng also played off in some places.

In many plot details, there are also situations where logic is difficult to be consistent.

For example, Li Muzi, who is already pregnant, also chooses to dive, which is difficult to understand.

In the follow-up plot, Li Muzi's body was still lifelike after 15 days of soaking, and it didn't make sense logically.

In contrast, Wang Baoqiang's look and feel for "In the Octagon Cage" is also two words - real.

In terms of shooting techniques, Wang Baoqiang is far less varied than Chen Sicheng.

But his sincerity is indeed in people's eyes.

Baoqiang, who came from the grassroots, injected a strong underlying atmosphere into the entire "Octagonal Cage".

In order to portray this bottom-level roughness, he selected a number of baseball teenagers from poor mountainous areas.

Although these people are not from martial arts, their simplicity of coming out of the depths of the mountain and their desire to climb from the bottom are consistent with the characters, and they don't need to be acted at all.

Compared with the fake poor people with exquisite makeup in domestic film and television dramas, the character modeling and the windy environment of "In the Octagon Cage" are also more realistic in appearance.

The plot of "In the Octagon Cage" is actually quite straight.

It tells the story of a martial arts champion played by Wang Baoqiang who trained a group of mountain children to practice martial arts, but was misunderstood by public opinion as "abusing child labor".

Although the plot rhythm is not as strong as "Disappearing Her", the film's portrayal of the people at the bottom touches people's hearts.

Here, Baoqiang does not use a large section of sensationalism, but a relatively restrained way to express.

To borrow a phrase from the character's sloppy behavior, he shows the little character's perception of his own destiny:

We are like that stone, no matter how hard you throw it, in the end we will sink, this is our destiny.

Borrowing a "suggestive" play, he expresses the saddest core in the most restrained way.

After the male protagonist found the young Su Mu's family to claim compensation, the reaction of Su Mu's sister lying on the bed was emotional.

Looking at the home of the four walls of the family, my sister helplessly responded that there was no money at home, but silently let go of the hand that originally grabbed the quilt.

Looking at the strange man in front of her, my sister's eyes kept drifting, and she had already revealed an indescribable hint of sadness inside.

Judging by her skillful coping, it is clear that she has experienced similar situations many times.

The quilt that has not been lifted on this bed seems to cover the last dignity of the poor, but in fact shakes out the sadness of the poor.

Borrowing a face-changing scene, he deeply conveys the helplessness of the protagonist;

When the male protagonist was raped online due to the fighting orphan incident and emptied in the car, the reflection of the changing face of the Sichuan opera outside the car window has become a portrayal of the protagonist's mixed psychology.

On the other hand, the face that constantly switches on the character's face also symbolizes the changing perception of the protagonist from the outside world.

One will be a treacherous white face, the other will be a righteous red face, and the switch of face shows the "complexity" of the male protagonist's public opinion image.

From this meaningful interpretation, it is also obvious that Wang Baoqiang's directorial skills have improved.

Moreover, borrowing the public opinion torture of "tainted heroes" at the end of the film, Baoqiang sent out thoughts on issues such as low-level life and online violence.

Through this thought-provoking line to Tenhui, the outside world also shifts its attention from the event itself to the underlying situation:

If you call me a liar, then I'm a liar.

I tricked them out of the ravine, I tricked them into martial arts, I tricked them into winning championships.

But they didn't have anyone to lie to them except me.

On the whole, Wang Baoqiang did not show off his skills, but this sincere background from the inside out is indeed moving.

04, Chen Sicheng and Wang Baoqiang as directors, who is more popular?

The last question, which is also the most central question:

Chen Sicheng and Wang Baoqiang, who is the better director?

In Qingshi's view, instead of evaluating the two with "advantages and disadvantages", it is better to use "direction" to distinguish the two.

On the path of directing, they take two completely different paths.

Chen Sicheng is more like a "businessman" who has made movies a best-selling product.

From his works, you can see a lot of tricks to cater to the market.

First, mixing the "advanced experience" of others;

As a suspense film lover, Chen Sicheng is good at gathering the strengths of hundreds of schools to quote and borrow from many popular IPs.

"Tang Detective 2" draws on the core concept of the movie "Double Eyes", and "Disappearing Her" is similar in plot design to suspense masterpieces such as "Murder on the Orient Express" and "Invisible Guest".

Although such an operation will be criticized as "insufficient innovation", stepping on the shoulder of a giant to pick apples, at least to ensure the quality of his works, Chen Sicheng is indeed a little clever.

Second, make accurate judgments and grasp the audience's psychology of watching movies;

I have to say that Chen Sicheng predicts the taste of the audience very accurately.

The more the audience in the market loves to watch and discuss something, Chen Sicheng's works will shoot anything.

In "Disappearing Her", after Wen Yongshan appeared in the straight male chopping style, Chen Sicheng, as the screenwriter, also designed a beach scene that hit the straight man's heart in time.

Wen Yongshan, who had flaming red lips, came from the night model, and after a very provocative operation, the visual perception was indeed eye-catching.

Third, it has the forward-looking thinking of a series of works and the desire to "make the cake bigger";

Chen Sicheng's works often appear in the form of series.

Including films such as "Tang Detective" and "Manslaughter", new works were derived and developed after the box office hit.

For the 3 billion "Disappearing Her", Chen Sicheng did not seem to let go of derivative ideas.

In the interview, he said that "there are new interpretations of other people's stories", which also caused speculation about the development of the sequel.

I have to say that Chen Sicheng is indeed a refined egoist.

In contrast, Wang Baoqiang's new film shows more like a "craftsman" whose mind is not selling well, but creating industry-recognized crafts.

This "In the Octagon Cage" shows his full sincerity.

Many passages that could have been handled more commercially, but Wang Baoqiang chose to give in for the plot.

For example, the downplay of Su Mu's sister's "sexually suggestive" scene.

Change many commercial film directors, this scene may attract attention with large-scale drama.

Even, other directors may make gimmicks on the relationship between Su Mu's sister and the male protagonist, and add elements to the film with romance.

But here Baoqiang gave up doing so.

Su Mu's sister's sexually suggestive drama is expressed in a short but obscure "quilt play", and the two characters do not rub the so-called emotional spark, everything only serves the plot.

Another example is the simplification of the action scenes that they are good at;

Baoqiang, who used to be a martial arts practitioner, has shown his fists and feet in many action scenes, look at "One Man's Martial Arts" and "Detective Chinatown" You will know that his action scenes can be harmonious.

As a director, he could have used his own specialties as a selling point in "In the Octagon".

But throughout the film, Wang Baoqiang did not let the action scenes "steal the scene", and did not use the action scenes of his biggest advantage as a gimmick, and most of the fight scenes were basically on point.

At the end of the film, Su Mu's boxing match with foreigners, Baoqiang used a lot of black and white shots to avoid the presentation of bloody shots.

Action dramas only focus on the result and not the process, and this design also ensures that the "core of the literary drama" is not disturbed.

In some other production details, Wang Baoqiang also has a similar operation.

In order to truly restore the prototype, Baoqiang insisted that the characters appear in the Sichuanese dialect.

Even himself, who is a native of Hebei, had to overcome the dialect barrier in the film and speak Sichuanese the whole time.

Such a design is difficult for the interpretation of the actors, and it is also a hindrance to the understanding of audiences in non-Sichuan-Chongqing areas.

But for the sake of the restoration of the work, Baoqiang still insisted on doing it, and had to admire his courage.

What is even more surprising is Baoqiang's "craftsman" attitude outside the play.

In the later stage of the filming of "In the Octagon Cage", the crew encountered insufficient funds due to various problems.

At this time, Wang Baoqiang did not choose to temporarily suspend the project, but borrowed money from his friend Chen Sicheng to maintain.

Chen Sicheng's righteous deeds are admirable, and Baoqiang's gesture that he would rather borrow money to film is equally moving.

In general, from the two young directors Chen Sicheng and Wang Baoqiang, we see two completely different values of filmmakers.

One is market-oriented, filling all kinds of technical skills to create a commercial blockbuster that sells amazingly;

The other is guided by the original intention of the film and proving itself, which may not be the best technically, but the sincere attitude must fill the core of the work.

This scene reminds me of the respective roles of the two in "Soldier Assault" - Xu Sanduo and Chengcai.

Wang Baoqiang is like a diligent Xu Sanduo.

Perhaps his talent is insufficient, but he relies on the acquired diligence to keep up with the team, and uses this sincerity to let himself live himself.

Chen Sicheng is like a very purposeful talent.

As a talented person in his field, he knows exactly what audiences like and what they should do to make movies sell.

Although the overly utilitarian painting style will make some people uncomfortable, people also have to affirm its achievements.

But just like the two "good soldiers" in the play, Wang Baoqiang and Chen Sicheng outside the play are also successful filmmakers who have a positive impact on Chinese films.

It's just that on the road to success, their ways are inconsistent.

Put them together, and they live as the opposite of each other:

One lived as a merchant, the other as a craftsman.

Bluestone Movies | Lele De

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