Text | Zhongshi Warner
Edit | Zhongshi Warner
Chen Kaige's "Volunteers" has not only failed to replicate the box office myth of "Changjin Lake" since its release, but also is far less than the expected box office of 10 billion, and only obtained 800 million box office, which can be said to be quite a failure.
Why did a movie with such a good theme become the biggest grossing Waterloo of the year?
01
The first wave of word of mouth of "Volunteers" is out!
Recently, Chen Kaige's new film "Volunteers" was released, which has received extensive attention from moviegoers and critics, and this large-scale film with the theme of Chinese and civilian volunteers has been highly anticipated since the beginning of exposure.
After all, this is not only Chen Kaige's second choice of historical themes after many years, but also the first commercial film in the Chinese film industry to systematically tell the history of the volunteers, however, in the high expectations, the premiere of "Volunteers" has received a polarized response.
The highlights of the film certainly exist, Zhang Songwen plays a senior general of the North Korean military in the film, although his role is short, but the performance is impressive, and the addition of powerful actors such as Chen Feiyu and Huang Xiaoming is also expected.
In addition, the production scale of the movie war scenes is good, and the burning arms present a shocking picture on the screen, but on the contrary, many moviegoers have raised sharp questions about the movie.
Some commentators believe that some of the actors in the film are obviously exaggerated, the shouting acting skills make people look awkward, and the realism of the war scenes is also questioned, whether it is arms or battle shots, they all reveal a contrived atmosphere.
Especially compared with the production level of other war-themed films in recent years, "Volunteers" is not outstanding in this regard, and some moviegoers bluntly said that the film's creative handling of historical events is too casual, sacrificing historical rigor.
Film critics also noticed that compared with the character shaping and plot setting in Chen Kaige's early representative works, "Volunteers" performed mediocre in these aspects, the connection of film clips was not smooth enough, the story telling was also incoherent, and the design of some bridges was even more puzzling, had little to do with the main line of the movie, and the overall sense of rhythm was not strong, which also affected the viewing experience.
Despite these doubts, the film received some positive reviews, with some viewers saying that "Volunteers" successfully evoked memories of important historical events and paid tribute to the martyrs who participated in the war.
Some critics believe that the film may not be able to impress young audiences because of its conservative approach, but it still has great merit as a work that celebrates the history of Acura, after all, this is the first attempt by the Chinese film industry to systematically tell this historical theme.
Based on the response of all parties, it can be said that the premiere of the main theme commercial blockbuster "Volunteers" has polarized repercussions, and whether it can rely on word of mouth to obtain a better box office in subsequent releases remains to be tested.
02
What is the difference between "Volunteers" and "Changjin Lake"?
"Changjin Lake" is touching with personalized characters and compact battle scenes, and "Volunteers" records the entire process of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea from a macro perspective
"Changjin Lake" and "Volunteers" are both excellent films with the theme of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea, but there are obvious differences between the two in terms of creative ideas and content selection.
"Changjin Lake" focuses on the 7th Company of Steel in the Battle of Changjin Lake, through the growth of recruit Wu Wanli to describe personalized heroes such as Mei Sheng and Yu Congrong, the battle scenes are meticulous, and "Volunteers" depicts the historical process of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea from 1950 to 1953, and more than 200 historical figures are completing their legendary stories.
"Changjin Lake" is adapted from Lan Xiaolong's "Winter and Lion", "Volunteers" is adapted from Lan Xiaolong's other unpublished work "War and Worship", the materials of the Changjin Lake Battle in "Winter and Lion" were taken out for a separate adaptation, and the Western Front materials in "War and Worship" became the blueprint for the creation of "Volunteers".
"Changjin Lake" focuses on meticulous character portrayals and coherent battle scenes, while "Volunteers" focuses on presenting a macroscopic picture of history, both have their own merits, and the two films are comparable in quality.
"Volunteers" presents many little-known historical details, such as Peng Dehuai taking the lead in crossing the river, Wu Xiuquan's rebuttal of the United States at the United Nations General Assembly, etc., it depicts both military and diplomatic battlefields, echoing the scenes of United Nations meetings that alternate with the battle of Songkufeng, showing the wisdom and courage of Chinese diplomats.
The two films have their own emphasis, "Changjin Lake" is deeply touching, "Volunteers" is grand and wonderful, both praise the history of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea in their own way, no matter which style they prefer, the audience can draw strength from it and enhance national pride.
Further, most of the characters appearing in "Changjin Lake" have undergone careful portrayal and shaping, all of which are impressive, Mei Sheng's character is optimistic and knows his destiny, Yu Congrong is warm and calm, Lei Sui is smart and funny, and Ping Hanoi is wise and wise, and each character can remain in the audience's memory for a long time.
The characters in the movie "Volunteers" are closer to real history, and the images of the older generation of proletarian revolutionaries such as Peng Dehuai, Deng Yingchao, and Zhou Enlai have been accurately restored.
In the performance of war scenes, the two also have their own characteristics, "Changjin Lake" through a large number of special effects to increase the impact and substitution of the picture, the audience seems to be immersive, and the steel 7th company experienced the gunfire together, while "Volunteers" pays more attention to the historical restoration of the scene, maximizing the restoration of the battlefield environment of the year.
Of course, both films avoid the over-rendering of bloody pictures, maintain a solemn film language, do not appear low-grade funny elements, whether it is describing characters or grand scenes, they follow the respect for history.
03
"Volunteers" Zhang Songwen's acting skills are remarkable
The movie "Volunteers: Heroic Attack" takes the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea as the background, telling the story of the heroic resistance of the Chinese Volunteers against the US army.
The film has a strong cast, while brilliantly interpreting war heroes, it also creates the image of some diplomatic workers who support the front, and Zhang Songwen played the role of diplomat Wu Xiuquan.
Although Wu Xiuquan did not have many scenes, Zhang Songwen used his solid acting skills to portray the image of this calm and restrained and determined diplomat very vividly.
Zhang Songwen aptly restored Wu Xiuquan's demeanor and typhoon at important international conferences, and his manners and postures when entering the country had a sense of majesty that was neither humble nor arrogant, which was very consistent with Wu Xiuquan's mission of appearing on the international stage at that time and representing New China's firm international status.
When speaking, Zhang Songwen interpreted Wu Xiuquan's steadiness, firmness and inner confidence very well through the control of facial expressions and the mastery of his voice.
Especially the phrase "Chinese the people have stood up", Zhang Songwen spoke in a thick, warm and powerful voice, with a firm tone in his tone, sketching a calm and calm image of a new Chinese diplomat for the audience.
Zhang Songwen also appropriately portrayed the steady and introverted side of Wu Xiuquan's character, and when faced with the doubts or unfriendliness of representatives of Western countries, Wu Xiuquan did not directly confront the hard, but responded with a calm attitude, and refuted with rational arguments, reflecting the calm and calm demeanor of New China diplomats.
In some rival scenes with other Chinese diplomats, Zhang Songwen also shows Wu Xiuquan's low-key and steady personality, he is more listening to different opinions than rushing to express his position, this state of restraint and rational thinking deepens the audience's understanding of the diplomat's inner world.
It can be said that through his wonderful interpretation of Wu Xiuquan, a historical figure, Zhang Songwen has successfully created a typical image of a new Chinese diplomat who is indifferent and introverted and advocates rationality, and is strong and competent in the outside and has lofty aspirations.
In the limited scenes, he portrayed the hearts of the characters with delicate acting skills, showed excellent performance skills, and presented a three-dimensional and vivid character for the audience, which was recognized by the audience.
This also shows Zhang Songwen's excellent acting skills, he can quickly analyze the character of the character and express its spiritual core, Wu Xiuquan in the environment at that time, can adhere to a rational and pragmatic diplomatic style, establish the international status of New China, Zhang Songwen through expression, action, tone and other aspects of detailed portrayal, interpret this role full of historical sense.
Zhang Songwen has accumulated silently in the film and television industry for many years and constantly improved his acting skills, and he has shown his accurate grasp of the psychology and emotions of characters in many works, as well as mature and stable acting skills, and the role of Wu Xiuquan in "Volunteers" is a good proof.
04
Chen Feiyu wants to be red and crazy?
On the other hand, Chen Feiyu, as Chen Kaige's son, rose to prominence in the entertainment industry with his family background, but his performance in the latest movie "Volunteers" was controversial, and he was accused of acting blunt and strong.
In response to criticism from the outside world, Chen Feiyu confessed that he really wanted to take shortcuts to achieve his acting dream, but now he gradually realized that actors should sink their hearts to hone their acting skills, rather than relying on hot searches to attract attention.
Chen Feiyu was born in a famous family, was educated since childhood, and has a strong dream of acting, but he has been shrouded in his father's aura for a long time, not only wanting to prove himself, but also wanting to use his father's influence to gain resources and attention.
So in "Volunteers", Chen Feiyu chose to play an important role, hoping to take this opportunity to make a splash, but the result was counterproductive, his eyes and tone were criticized for not being natural enough and incompatible with the role setting.
In fact, Chen Feiyu has also suffered negative comments many times due to acting problems in his earlier works, such as in "Youth Fight", he played the male protagonist Cheng Qin, but was considered too stiff by the audience.
In "The Legend of the Demon Cat", he also failed to enter the role, but due to the benefits of the work itself, these flaws did not cause much controversy.
Chen Feiyu is eager to become famous, but lacks sufficient acting skills, so he chooses to continue to play hot searches to attract attention, attract attention through marketing, he talks about filming fun facts in road shows, or reveals the inside story of the set, but these topics that have nothing to do with the work can not cover up his shortcomings in performance in the end.
After this lesson, Chen Feiyu said that he should sink his heart to hone his acting skills, and he believes that actors should gradually improve their performances by constantly carefully experiencing different roles and deeply understanding the emotions of the characters.
This requires a long period of precipitation and accumulation, not overnight, and at the same time, he also said that he no longer deliberately creates gimmicks to attract attention, but returns to the essence of acting and speaks through works.
Chen Feiyu's experience is also enlightening for other actors, in this era that pays attention to traffic and popularity, many actors choose to attract attention and create gimmicks, but this often cures the symptoms but not the root cause, and cannot fundamentally improve their acting skills.
Actors still have to practice internal skills solidly, only with a solid performance foundation, can burst out dazzling, I believe that Chen Feiyu's revised attitude will also be recognized and supported by the audience, and there will be more wonderful works in the future.
However, Chen Feiyu's psychology of wanting to be red can also be understood, as a post-80s generation, he is in an era that advocates personality self-realization, success is everything, young people are eager to quickly become famous and start a family, realize self-worth, Chen Feiyu is no exception, he hopes to use family influence to get shortcuts.
In fact, Chen Feiyu has also made a lot of efforts, but the way may be a little misunderstood, he exercises his body for physical roles, crawls on the ground in order to perform, which shows that his professionalism is still worthy of recognition, but he cares too much about Internet exposure and popularity, and ignores the cultivation of acting skills.
Chen Feiyu's experience also reflects the chaos in the entertainment industry, capital operation is popular, the fan economy continues to heat up, so that artists have to rely on marketing to maintain popularity, how to adhere to the essence of acting in the context of entertainment and commercialization, is a problem that all actors need to think about.