Looking left and right, after a long time, the first TV series "Flowers" filmed by the legendary director Wong Kar-wai in the film industry has finally started!
As the most anticipated finale drama at the end of 2023, the audience's expectations for "Flowers" can be said to be fully full.
How exaggerated is the data?
In just 9 minutes after the series started, the ratings broke 2 in a straight line, and netizens counted that there were 9 inserts in the first episode alone, directly breaking the highest 8 wide record on the platform.
Good guys, this is for the title of Drama King of the Year, right?
Of course, the drama is not discussed first, Wong Kar-wai, as the director of the play, bears the brunt, after all, when Wong Kar-wai is mentioned, the audience also wonders why the outside world always "canons him"?
In terms of awards, he has won all the mainstream awards in China, and he is also the winner of the Best Director at Cannes.
But in terms of box office results, he is a well-known box office poison, and the reputation of the movie is not bad, but it is not a blockbuster.
We won't look for the specific reason.
To put it simply, his postmodernist style is destined to make him at the forefront of the industry, especially his non-linear narrative structure and fragmented editing techniques, which have created his own "Wong Kar-wai style".
But in the same way, TV series are not Wong Kar-wai's comfort zone after all, and whether the "King of Sunglasses" can continue to write legends in this field still needs to be proved by subsequent word-of-mouth.
As for us, let's take a look at the first 4 episodes of the trial, and let's take a look at what kind of medicine Wong Kar-wai sells in this gourd!
1. Editing, composition, atmosphere, all the Wong Kar-wai style you know is here.
As soon as "Flowers" began, the camera brought the audience into the picture of Lao Shanghai Beach through the beautiful scenery of the lights.
The male protagonist A Bao (played by Hu Ge) is also known as Mr. Bao in the mouth of outsiders, a legendary figure who has gone from a small person in the market to an elite in the business world.
The story revolves around Mr. Bao's experience of making a fortune, but before the story begins, in the next second of the picture, a taxi comes speeding and hits Mr. Bao who is about to get into the car.
One end is the ringing of the New Year's bell, and the other end is the uncertainty of Mr. Bao's life and death.
Was it an accident, or was it an elaborate conspiracy?
Don't worry, with Mr. Bao being admitted to the hospital, another important figure appeared.
Uncle, the leader of the road of the business community of Baozong.
The next second of the camera unfolds slowly from 6 years ago.
At that time, Hu Ge, who was still called Bao, found his uncle who had just come out of prison, what was the purpose?
- Learn to do business.
Why did you find your grandfather, and what kind of ability did your grandfather have? A few words and a few shots will tell you.
In the face of the olive branch thrown by Bao, my uncle didn't say a good word, and scolded me in front of the screen to embarrass Hu Ge.
If you really want to learn? in three steps.
Step 1: Find a family to borrow money to open a suite at the best Peace Hotel in Shanghai for $80 and two bags of Zhonghua.
Step 2: Find your best buddy, borrow 6,000 yuan from your wife's capital and speculate in stocks and immediately lose half.
Step 3: Continue to borrow money to 10,000, earn a little money, and wait on the street for a day with the money to let your uncle see your credit.
Seeing this, the beginning of Bao's fortune is clear, but the question is, who is this old guy who is so mysterious?
In fact, as I told you at the beginning, Po spent $80 and two packs of Zhonghua rented a suite in the first step, which used to be a long-term rental house for his uncle.
And so far, in just half an episode, Wong Kar-wai's style has been vividly reflected in "Flowers".
is really worthy of being a legendary director, the best multi-line narrative will firmly grasp the rhythm, should I say it or not, he really knows how to hang people's appetites.
Second, with the blessing of the super cast, Old Man You Benchang is too strong.
Wong Kar-wai is famous for his ability to save games, and the all-star lineup formed by the movie "East Evil and West Poison" 30 years ago has not been replicated in the entertainment industry so far.
is filming a TV series for the first time, and the ranking obviously can't be too low.
Ma Yili, Tang Yan, Xin Zhilei starring, not enough?
Then plus Tang Yan, You Benchang, Zheng Kai, Chen Long, Wu Yue, Dong Yong, Huang Jue, Fan Xiangyan, Lin Xilei, Yu Entai and other acting schools, is it enough?
Especially in the scene of a police interrogation after Mr. Bao's car accident.
The characters who appeared one after another, the look and feel, but it was really smooth.
Oh, by the way, I have to say that Tang Yan's style is really completely subverted.
It seems that Tang Yan sacrificed a lot for this drama, and she also participated in the show with the idea of exploding.
Of course, at present, the acting skills shown by several leading actors still need to be referenced.
But the uncle played by Mr. You Benchang can only be described in three words
- It's too strong.
In the play, when Uncle and Po first started to cooperate, they specially invited a professional old Shanghai tailor to tailor a suit for him.
The tailor wanted to fool his uncle at first, but his uncle jumped out of his mouth with a few professional terms, and with a glance he scareled the tailor to the point of almost incontinence.
This is the aura, the most professional performance of an old actor in front of the character.
Moreover, the old man You Benchang gave the role of Uncle himself a sense of mystery.
Looking at Ah Bao's straight appearance when he put on the suit, his uncle's deep eyes were full of emotion, he seemed to see his previous appearance, high-spirited, unstoppable, but now he is dying, this is not unwilling to his fate, but also reluctant.
It can only be said that the old man You Benchang joined this drama, which definitely played a role in ensuring the lower limit.
It is foreseeable that no matter how bad "Flowers" is, the acting skills of the old man You Benchang are enough to be a god!
3. Good news: Wong Kar Wai style, bad news: nothing else.
From the beginning of the project, "Flowers" was directed by/produced by Wong Kar-wai as the overall main promotion.
Judging from the content of the first 4 episodes, Wong Kar-wai's style is obvious, and various shooting techniques belong to his dessert area, and it can even be said that he alone really made the TV series into a movie texture.
Formalistly, this is a good thing.
But Wong Kar-wai is still Wong Kar-wai after all, he can shoot more than 100-minute movie stories that people can't understand, and he can still shoot 30-episode TV series like this.
At present, the audience's evaluation of "Flowers" has always been polarized and mixed.
As many people praise Wong Kar-wai's obvious style, how many people scold this TV series for not being able to understand it.
Wong Kar-wai filmed "Flowers" very suspended and ungrounded.
Whether it is the words and deeds of the protagonist or the supporting characters in the play, they are very fake and empty in a practical sense.
Perhaps, this is Wong Kar-wai's most unique blank shooting technique, but for the audience, this is also a very bad experience for watching dramas.
From the perspective of watching the drama, "Flowers" does not have the so-called main plot and side plot.
The series is always moving towards a single key, and the first second and the next second may be completely different story directions, and there may not even be a parallel of characters.
To put it nicely, this kind of shooting technique is a sense of luxury, and if it is not good, it is just a casual shooting, and Wong Kar-wai can shoot wherever he wants.
As for the rest, it can only be said that apart from Wong Kar-wai, there is nothing else in sight.
In general, I briefly judged the first 4 episodes of "Flowers", and said that it was a good drama, I don't know what to know about the plot or editing, but let's say it's a bad drama, and it does shoot something that other dramas don't have.
Perhaps, Wong Kar-wai is such a double-edged sword, as for whether the audience buys it, we will wait and see.