Sorry, Wei Xiang! Before it was released, I thought it was a "bad movie" to cut leeks

This year's National Day, we ushered in the long-awaited 8-day long holiday, and the mainland film market of the Mid-Autumn Festival + National Day file was also completely detonated!

Carefully calculated, as many as 11 movies chose to be released on time during this holiday.

The two directors with the strongest box office appeal in the mainland, Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou, chose to have the ultimate PK on National Day!

If you like historical war films, then "Volunteer Army 1: Heroic Attack" directed by Chen Kaige is your best choice; If you are more inclined to crime themes, "Rock Solid" directed by Zhang Yimou is your first choice.

Hong Kong-style action movie die-hard fans don't miss "93 International Train Robbery: Operation Moscow" directed by Qiu Litao; Female audiences may prefer Han Geng's romance film "Ex 4: Marriage Young".

There are also 6 cartoons such as "Beacon Bear: Mission to Mars" and "Team Woof Movie 2: Super Adventure", which are suitable for parents who want to take their children to the cinema.

The only one that opened before the holiday was a comedy - "It Doesn't Seem to Be So Hot" (hereinafter referred to as "Not So Hot").

The film is directed by Gao Hu and starring Wei Xiang and Wang Zhi, and is a remake of the 2018 Spanish film "Basketball Champion".

To be honest, before watching this movie, Pico had no expectations for it at all.

The films produced under the creative mode of "localized remake of foreign scripts" over the years have uneven quality, which has long worn out the patience and interest of the audience.

Wei Xiang's last starring movie "This Killer Is Not Too Calm" is a remake of the Japanese film "Magic Hour". Although the film won a high box office of 2.627 billion yuan in the Spring Festival last year, its localized story is not better than the original; Wei Xiang's performance is also too hard, and the traces of drama stage plays are too strong.

So when it came to "Not So Hot-Blooded", Pico not only had no expectations, but even just wanted to see if it would "rot" again.

But after watching it, Pico was really surprised, and the texture presented by the movie was richer than the original "Basketball Champion".

At this point, netizens will definitely ask, the movie has not yet been scored, it is so good to praise, what is the good? And what are the advantages?

Today, Pico will take you to find out.

One

The same movie, the "foreign version" and the "domestic version" are compared, and the difference comes out

First of all, it is necessary to understand the "Basketball Champion" in 2018, this Spanish film was actually introduced to our mainland in 2019, but the popularity is not high, and the reputation on Douban is only average, only more than 6,000 people scored 7.2 points.

The reason is that although it focuses on people with disabilities playing basketball, it lacks respect for people with disabilities, and even consumes this special group.

How to say it? The movie tells the story of a basketball coach in the Spanish professional basketball league, who is sentenced to a month and a half of community service for drunk driving and is sent to coach a team called "Los Amigos" made up of people with intellectual disabilities.

In the beginning, the coach was very resistant to the job and discriminated against the group of people with intellectual disabilities.

But as the relationship between the two sides deepened, the team's basketball became better and better, and the coach also found another meaning in life from this experience.

Although this is an inspirational theme story and is guiding the audience to pay attention to special people, the whole film is shrouded in a witty and humorous tone, and does not expose and involve deep real problems, which is very cheap.

Especially at the end of the movie, the treatment of the results of the competition even more exposed the creator's contempt for the group of people with intellectual disabilities.

At the climax of the movie, the coach worked hard to bring the team to the finals, and with only 13 seconds left in the game, the team still trailed by 2 points 64:66.

At this crucial moment, one of the big players on the team suddenly dropped the chain, took the ball in the opposite direction, and threw a triple far from the basket.

In this way, the coach led the team to work hard for a month and a half, but wasted the opportunity to win the final victory in the end.

Although they lost the game in this very helpless way, this group of people with intellectual disabilities was still elated, because they enjoyed the process of the game and were satisfied.

The movie ends with such an ending, instilling in us the theme of "playing basketball is for fun".

But subconsciously, the creators think that this group of people can be forgiven for losing the game in this way, because they are intellectually disabled.

Our "care" for special groups often takes this condescending attitude, and while caring and caring, we often ignore their efforts, thinking that they can live well and do not need to prove anything.

In fact, those who are physically different from ordinary people, they are often more sensitive and stubborn than normal people, and many times, what they need is not sympathy and pity, but respect from those around them.

The adaptation of the original work by the main creator of "Not So Hot-Blooded" saw this essential problem and made a substantial adaptation of the original script.

The role of basketball coach has more characters than the original.

Wei Guozheng (played by Wei Xiang) in the film was originally a college men's basketball coach, because of his humble origin and short stature, in order to be able to play basketball, he has worked harder than others since he was a child, and he is more competitive than others, and the team he coaches has also maintained an undefeated record.

Due to a physical altercation with his old rival Coach Ma on the field, Wei Guozheng was dealt with by the school and sent to the "Renai Home" welfare home to train a team of people with intellectual disabilities.

At first, Wei Guozheng also lacked respect for this special team, but when he saw the innate potential of those people, he decided to pour his enthusiasm and patience into this team.

In daily training, Wei Guozheng racked his brains, tried his best, and coaxed the players to run, teaching them to pass and shoot.

On the field, Wei Guozheng strictly demanded and reprimanded every player of the "Renai Team" with the standard of an ordinary player, so that they could maintain a high degree of concentration at all times and play every game well.

In order to give strength to this group of special players, Wei Guozheng also found the college basketball team he coached before to play friendly matches with the "Renai Team" and let them face "cruel special training".

When seeing these people with intellectual disabilities, facing healthy players who can't grab rebounds and can't shoot basketball, the indifferent audience inside and outside the play is inevitably sad.

We have to ask, is it appropriate to demand a person born with flaws by the standards of a normal person?

The movie actually gives the answer, and the dean of the "House of Benevolence" Leguang (played by Wang Zhi) quarreled with Wei Guozheng precisely over this.

Le Guang felt that Wei Guozheng's approach was to impose his desire to win on the players, using this group of disabled people to satisfy his self-esteem.

Wei Guozheng's answer pointed out the essence of the question: "In my eyes, they are not disabled, they are just people." ”

This is the best answer, no one wants to be treated differently, those autistic people and physically handicapped people, they also have love and pursuit, and also need to be recognized and affirmed by society.

What we need to do is not to be tolerant and special, but to treat them equally, giving them the space to develop and realize their self-worth, and with enough respect.

"Not So Hot" can sublimate such a theme on the basis of the original work, and express it in a non-frivolous way, allowing people to be inspired by it, and the concept is already much higher than the original.

Two

Without Jay Chou's "Basketball Fire" and other flying escapes, the finale scene was "shocking" and sublimated

Pigo's best impression of the movie, in addition to the theme, is that the film is based on a light comedy atmosphere, and the story is told in a "realistic version of realism".

Because the "Happy Twist" team started with drama creation, the films they created also have a distinct stage style, which is exaggerated, flattering and unreal.

Although "Not So Hot-Blooded" is not produced by "Happy Twist", it has gathered Wei Xiang, Allen and Zhou Dayong as three "twist generals", and uninformed fans will still regard it as a "twist movie".

In fact, although "Not So Hot" is also a comedy movie, its expression is completely different from "twist movie", and it is a film that takes the realistic route.

From the casting, we can see the sincerity of the main creator, half of the actors in the starring list, in reality are indeed disabled.

For example, the actor Yue Liang, who plays Dean Leguang's younger brother Leliang, and Liu Sibo, who plays the "handsome guy" Jianguo, are both autistic people; And Liu Muqi, who plays the right one, is a child with Down syndrome.

These selected actors have not received professional acting training, and due to physical defects, they have great difficulties in memorizing lines and acting.

In order to shoot each scene well, the director and staff had to tell them repeatedly so that they could memorize every line and make every action they needed.

In an interview behind the scenes, director Gao Hu mentioned:

"There are more than 80 million disabled people and more than 26 million mentally disabled people in China, but we don't see much in our lives."

"Because our buses are not allowed to use wheelchairs, and blind lanes are often occupied by shared bicycles or cars, Chinese society has not yet given the disabled and vulnerable groups space to live and work."

The parents of the three actors who played roles in the film overcame all kinds of psychological pressures to get them to participate in the audition.

This is the first job and salary that Yue Liang, Liu Sibo and Liu Muqi have received since they were born, and for them, this shooting may be the most unforgettable experience of their lives.

Zhang Hengrui, who plays Dabai in the film, Jiankang, who plays Li Yu, Yu Baishui, Han Xiao, and Liu Xuetao, who plays Ren Zhen, are all professional actors.

With their superb acting skills, they mixed with the above three special actors, which made it difficult for the audience to distinguish between true and false, and it was completely impossible to see who was an ordinary actor and who was mentally disabled.

This is a movie with the theme of people with disabilities playing basketball, and it is natural to present the fierce basketball game scene.

Basketball-themed movies in our country are very rare, because basketball games are not easy to shoot, in addition to the actors must have a certain level of basketball, but also have high requirements for on-site photography, lens scheduling, and presentation of the game process.

Opening previous records, the Hong Kong film "Boys as Bottles" starring Ekin Cheng in 1994, "Slam Dunk" starring Jay Chou in 2008, and the divine drama "Basketball Fire" all turned basketball games into flying martial arts films.

These film and television works, even if they are turned out now, can still make us scorched and tender.

To Pigo's surprise, the basketball game drawn in this comedy movie is presented in a completely realistic way.

The actors have obviously undergone professional basketball training, and every offensive and defensive switch in the film is well understood, and the close-ups of the actions, the expressions on the faces of the characters, and the display of the scoreboard are also clearly explained.

In particular, the highlight of the climax part, the finals between Wei Guozheng's "Renai Team" and Coach Ma's "Good Friends Team".

The ups and downs of the game, the changes in the mood of the teams, the glue of the score, and the impact of unexpected situations all affect the hearts of the spectators at all times.

For the handling of the last ball, the design of this film is also more ingenious than the original "Basketball Champion".

Player Le Liang has always been stubbornly only willing to play singles, unwilling to cooperate, Wei Guozheng is afraid that he will affect the team, so he has been pressing him on the bench to prevent him from playing, but still seriously taught him the skills of turning jump shots and cultivated him into the team's "secret weapon".

When the game came to the last minute, the "Renai Team" was still three points behind the "Good Friends" team 62-65, and the tactic that had to be executed was to shoot three points from the outside in an attempt to drag the game into overtime.

Wei Guozheng suddenly realized that the only way for everyone to realize their self-worth is the meaning of the game, so he replaced Le Liang with a final throw.

Not surprisingly, Le Liang made a perfect two-point shot with a turnaround jumper, but time ran out at this time.

Even though they lost the game by 1 point, everyone on the team was able to participate and achieve their self-worth, and therefore they all got satisfaction from it.

"We all tried our best, even if we lose, we are the second best team to play in the finals!"

Such an ending treatment will not appear abrupt, which is respect for the special group of people with intellectual disabilities.

Three

As much as Wei Xiang "gave up", he "gained"

Wei Xiang is not a small type like Stephen Chow, his appearance is actually a bit like Chen Baixiang, and he is also suitable for playing a supporting role in comedy movies like Chen Baixiang, but he has shortcomings as the protagonist and cannot play a handsome guy.

Wei Xiang's most outstanding advantage is his acting skills, he has profound drama skills, but he is often prone to exerting too much force, and he can't contain it when he is "crazy".

In "This Killer Is Not Too Calm", Wei Xiang went crazy once and won the applause of many audiences.

But Pico doesn't like it very much, because it is exaggerated and lacks the tragic undertone of Stephen Chow's movies.

"Not So Hot-Blooded" is trying to eliminate the exaggeration and unreality of "twist movies", Wei Xiang also put down those performance skills, converged those deliberately funny means, returned to natural, true, true expression of feelings, joy and anger, smile, but made people feel comfortable.

The role of Coach Wei Guozheng is indeed tailor-made for Wei Xiang, he has the shrewdness and calculation of a small person, and he also has the persistence and enthusiasm to chase dreams and realize himself.

Although he came from a humble background and his congenital conditions were not good, he played basketball with redoubled his efforts and became a coach after retiring, and these life trajectories are very close to Wei Xiang's own history of struggle.

The most impressive scene in the film is Wei Guozheng walking alone across a flyover, surrounded by crowds of people walking busily.

Among them are young girls moving with luggage; There are lonely little takeaway brothers; There are students wearing school uniforms with school bags on their backs; There are beggars dressed as disabled people, and they are all running their own lives, just like you and me in front of the screen.

Everyone is on the road to self-realization and rushing for life, and Wei Guozheng is also one of these people, as are the audience in front of the screen.

These plot settings are easy for us to substitute into the characters, and they also resonate to a certain extent with Wei Guozheng's experience and encounters.

Dean Leguang, played by Wang Zhi, has a completely different life from Wei Guozheng's management, which can be said to be the "opposite" of Wei Guozheng.

Because she had a younger brother with intellectual disabilities, after her mother's death, in order to take care of her younger brother, she resolutely took over the "benevolent home" left by her mother, and spent her youth running this welfare home.

Wei Guozheng does not understand Leguang's attitude towards life, he feels that Leguang should try to live a different life, but Leguang feels that it is also meaningful to contribute his love to welfare.

What kind of life choices are normal, the movie does not give the answer, and may never be.

The movie just raises this question, thus triggering us to think about life, which can be remembered.

Wei Xiang gave up the "crazy" way of acting, but also obtained a classic role that can touch the soul.

"Third-rate movies talk about pomp and circumstance, second-rate movies talk about society, and first-class movies talk about life." Being able to involve the discussion of the meaning of life, Pico feels that "Not So Hot" has done a good job.

Four

Although the performance of "Not So Hot-Blooded" is very good, many netizens on Douban have scored 4 to 5 stars.

But this kind of theme that focuses on people with intellectual disabilities is relatively niche after all, under the "pinch" of several blockbusters in the National Day file, only 3.9% of the films have been scored so far, and the media predicts that the final box office will be about 212 million yuan.

Director Gao Hu has served as a photographer for more than 20 blockbusters such as "Journey to the West", "Outsmart Tiger Mountain", "Changjin Lake" and "Watergate Bridge".

But it is the first time he has directed a movie, and it is really not easy to make a good film like "Not So Hot", and Pico does not want this kind of intentional creation to be buried, hoping that its box office results can be better.

Text/Pippi Film Editorial Department: Blood Dan Xin

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