New film丨 "Burning Winter": Dew marriage, deep love

The romance film "Burning Winter" was released in the Qixi file. The film tells the story of Haofeng (played by Liu Haoran) who is engaged in financial work in Shanghai, and he came to Yanji to attend a friend's wedding, where he met the tour guide Nana (played by Zhou Dongyu) and the chef Han Xiao (played by Qu Chuxiao). The three began an emotional story that was cut and messed up.

The film is directed by Chen Zheyi, a director from Singapore who previously won the Golden Horse Award for Best Picture for the feature film "Mom and Dad Are Not Home".

"Burning Winter" takes the route of "anti-genre film" and does not deliberately mobilize the audience's emotions, which belongs to a typical stream-of-consciousness movie. Some viewers said that the plot could not be understood, is the film really obscure?

Love triangle and dew marriage

The romance films that the audience often sees mostly tell a lingering and unforgettable emotional story of the hero and heroine. "Burning Winter" does the opposite, the relationship between men and women revolves around a dewy marriage, both parties do not ask about the past, do not want the future, only look at the present. Such a straightforward character relationship will cause a psychological gap for the audience who originally wanted to watch pure love stories.

The tour guide Nana and the financial man Haofeng are people from two worlds, and Nana said to Han Xiao: "The watch he (Haofeng) wears, we can't afford it in the next life." ”

Both Haofeng and Han Xiao have a good impression of Nana. However, Nana took the initiative to throw herself into Haofeng's arms, and she would rather develop a fruitless love than become Han Xiao's girlfriend.

The emotions of the three people are like the frozen lake in Yanji in winter, hard and quiet on the surface, but undercurrents under the ice. The fiery emotions correspond to the title of "Burning Winter".

"Burning Winter" has a certain viewing threshold. This type of work pays attention to the director's personal expression, and the audience needs to understand the connotation of the work and understand the director's narrative style in order to resonate with the characters and the story at the same frequency.

The relationship between the characters in the film is very similar to the French movie "Jules and Jim", which is a love triangle story, which is an emotional portrayal of French and German young people during World War I.

"Jules and Jim"

Through the short-lived emotional intersection of three young people, Haofeng, Nana and Han Xiao, "Burning Winter" reflects the emotional outlook of contemporary Chinese young people. Although the three young people have different backgrounds and different knowledge, they are bound by life. They are all dissatisfied with the status quo of life, but they lack the courage and direction to escape from it.

Haofeng is an enviable Shanghai financier, but he has repeatedly received calls from psychological clinics informing him to return to the clinic on time. He was plagued by mental illness, and before he met Nana, he was dead in the face.

Nana was a figure skater before becoming a tour guide and retired at the age of 18 with an ankle injury. She was also dissatisfied with her busy and mediocre life, and the appearance of Hao Feng tugged at her heartstrings. She didn't want to leave Yanji through Haofeng, she just wanted to add a touch of brightness and a little memory to her life.

Han Xiao was not satisfied with his job as a chef, he wanted to leave Yanji, but he couldn't let Nana go. However, Nana did not like him, and Han Xiao always had illusions until Haofeng's appearance broke the deadlock.

It can be seen that the surface of the film is written about the emotional entanglement of the three people, but the core is to express the contradictory mentality of young people facing life. Three people from different backgrounds had an emotional intersection that changed their outlook on life.

The three protagonists finally parted ways and chose their own life paths, and the film did not clearly explain their final ending. The audience may think, shouldn't romance films have a lover and eventually become a dependent?

The content of "Burning Winter" is like a fragment of life. What the film wants to express is that everyone is a traveler in the world, life is a journey, and everyone will rush to different destinations at different stages.

Most movies tell a story with a beginning and an end, and "Burning Winter" depicts a life. The movie is over and life goes on.

Why do celebrities love to act in literary films?

"Burning Winter" is a typical literary film. The starring cast composed of Zhou Dongyu, Liu Haoran and Qu Chuxiao made this movie get enough attention.

From the production level, the film belongs to a medium-sized cost scale, with no big scenes and no overly complicated construction scenes. The story takes place in Yanji, and the director took advantage of the natural beauty of Changbai Mountain View to shoot a lot of pleasant clips. The spectacular aerial footage of Tianchi at the end of the movie makes people feel the urge to go to Changbai Mountain.

Why can such a movie, which focuses on the director's personal expression of thought, attract three stars to join?

The films of directors Wong Kar-wai and Hui Anhua are also mostly literary films, which can also attract stars such as Lin Qingxia, Andy Lau, and Chow Yun-fat. Why do celebrities love to act in literary films?

"Burning Winter" can give the answer. This type of film rooted in reality gives actors great space to perform. "Burning Winter" is a film that downplays the storyline and weakens the conflict between the characters, and the actors need to focus on presenting the emotions and emotional changes of the characters.

For example, Han Xiao went to find Nana one morning, but it was Haofeng who opened the door. There was an instantaneous look of shock, loss, and panic in his expression, and although his heart turned upside down, he was calm on the surface. Such a delicate character's inner performance abounds in the film.

Qu Chuxiao previously starred in the romantic film "I Want Us Together", the emotions of the characters are outward-looking. Qu Chuxiao in "Burning Winter" has the opportunity to portray the sensitive inner world of the characters.

For example, Haofeng is standing on the edge of the cliff, his unloveable expression, and the action of wanting to jump, all show that he is seeking his own short-sightedness. Such a one-man show, without a single line, makes the audience feel the mentality of the characters in ashes. Liu Haoran's painful and struggling performance is difficult to see in commercial films.

Nana, played by Zhou Dongyu, is the most complicated in the film. She didn't like Han Xiao, but due to work relations, she had to agree to dinner after being invited "100 times". She seems to be cautious about her life, but presumptuously pursuing love without an ending.

Nana, played by Zhou Dongyu, is sometimes cheerful and sometimes melancholy. Nana may seem complex and changeable, but she is also authentic. Her work as a tour guide has honed her two-faced character, so she can navigate between two male friends. Zhou Dongyu's performance is natural and appropriate, full of contemporary feminine atmosphere.

Actors have the opportunity to interpret the complex psychological changes of characters, and this is the charm of literary films.

【Text/Cui Ting】