At the end of 2023, in the anticipation of everyone, "Flowers", which was produced and directed by Wong Kar-wai, is finally here.
4 episodes were updated last night, and everyone received mixed reviews after watching it.
Some netizens said that the show lived up to expectations and filmed Wong Kar-wai's unique tune. The cinematic quality and composition are very pleasantly surprised.
But some netizens expressed disappointment. thinks that Wong Kar-wai is going farther and farther on the road of "Guo Jingming", and made "Flowers" "Little Times 5". The picture is delicate and beautiful, good-looking is good-looking, but the messy rhythm, sparse editing, and heavy filters are confusing, and the form is greater than the content.
After this drama was launched on the online platform, Yaqing chased all 4 episodes in one go.
I don't think the show is as "rotten as some netizens said". At least more sincere than many illogical "divine dramas". Through the blurred light and shadow and the flickering neon, he creates a rich atmosphere, vividly portraying the living beings gathered in Shanghai under the background of the era of reform and opening up.
Its plot is not weak, because I still see the presentation of the characters, and the various open and secret battles staged on the Yellow River Road in Shanghai in the 90s. However, Wong Kar-wai adopts a fragmented narrative method to present the relationship between the characters and introduce the background of the story. This practice of "not playing cards according to the rules" has indeed broken people's appreciation Xi. Coupled with his overly particular photographic composition, and the slow upgrading of close-ups from time to time, it is inevitable to give people a "sense of exaggeration" of "if you don't pretend, you will die".
In addition, the performances of the actors are also amazing. Hu Ge's character modeling is handsome to a new height, every action and every look are full of style. Ma Yili continued the performance style she is good at, crisp and generous. Tang Yan seems to have finally stopped taking the "vase" route, and began to work portraying characters. Xin Zhilei was photographed beautifully by the photographer, and her demeanor was in all directions, revealing coquettishness and boldness.
But in comparison, the interpretation of a group of supporting roles seems to be more intriguing.
Basically, all of them don't have many roles and limited appearances, but they can show the characters' personalities in a few scenes that flash in a hurry.
Among them, there are 5 old drama bones, which supported the biggest "pomp" in the first 4 episodes of "Flowers".
I remember that in the first episode, the old mage "Uncle" played by Mr. You Benchang said something like this to Bao:
"Wear a suit to be dressed, not to wear clothes, to look far and close. It looks good when you stand, but it doesn't look good when you walk, no. The shirt should be freshly ironed and worn to be shaved enough. When wearing shoes, you should first take the shoehorn, and you would rather have crappy clothes, and you should pay attention to leather shoes no matter what. Visitors must be well-dressed, cigarette boxes, lighters and wallets, and be generous. ”
And Ah Bao, it was only after his uncle's appropriation that he became "Mr. Bao".
But look, what "Grandpa" said is all about details.
Because only the details can reflect a person's taste and level.
It's the same with acting.
I found that the biggest difference between the performance of an old actor and an ordinary actor is the attention to detail.
If you don't believe me, let's take a look.
1. Zhang Zhihua (65 years old this year): played the wife of the root in "Flowers".
Zhang Zhihua almost never disappoints. She plays the kind of Shanghai woman who lives at the bottom, which is really a must.
In "Flowers", Zhang Zhihua played the role of Fagen's wife. There are so few scenes that it feels very unenjoyable.
Many audiences, if they don't pay attention, may miss her wonderful performance.
Zhang Zhihua appears at the beginning of the third episode.
After Fa Gen's death, his son Ah Si came to seek revenge on Ah Po and knocked Ah Po into a disability. But Ah Bao did not retaliate, but remembered the brotherhood with Fagen, not only forgave Ah Si's reckless behavior, but also sent a large pension to Fagen's wife.
In order to express her repentance and gratitude to Bao, Fagen's wife specially brought her son Ah Si to make amends to Bao.
A scene, a few shots, and most of the shots are still back, but Zhang Zhihua's performance made us break our hearts.
Fagen's wife has just lost her husband, and the family is still burdened with huge debts, and she is in a situation of internal and external difficulties. But what kind of methods and abilities does she have to face all this?
We all know that crying scenes are very difficult to act. But from it, we see Zhang Zhihua's research, understanding and design of the character. Including the use of eyes, including the control of tears, she is precise and measured. Especially when he said the phrase "the money is gone, the people are gone", even the tone became silent. We who sat in front of the TV burst into tears because of our heartbreak.
She interprets the sadness, helplessness, pity and remaining strength of her wife in a touching and layered manner.
2. Chen Guoqing (70 years old this year): played Mr. Ge in "Flowers".
I am very happy to see Chen Guoqing in "Flowers".
Because in the years when I was in Suzhou, Jiangsu, I always saw him and Li Jiusong, Nen Niang, Liang Polo and other actors on TV starring in the drama "Uncle Lao Niang and His Children and Grandchildren". So when I saw the role of Mr. Ge in "Flowers", he played it, I felt very kind.
Mr. Ge is actually a background character, but because of Chen Guoqing's interpretation, this role immediately became vivid. I think this probably stems from the fact that Chen Guoqing is a native of Shanghai and is also a burlesque actor. His just right humorous performance adds a lot to the role of Mr. Ge.
I think Chen Guoqing's performance is good, slightly exaggerated, but it is by no means too popular, and every move is full of fireworks from the alleys of Shanghai. This makes the character of Mr. Ge more real and believable.
Chen Guoqing is obviously very familiar with a character like Mr. Ge. He vividly interpreted the image of Mr. Ge, a bit "sullen" and a bit nymphomaniac in Shanghai.
For example, in episode 4, he and Tao Tao played by Chen Long went together to help the little sister-in-law in Suzhou move, oh yo, the acting is really interesting, "glutinous is glutinous", that look, that "tone", is both funny and vivid, and it really makes people laugh so much. The cooperation between him and Chen Long can also be called complementary.
So a good actor, like a piece of gold, can shine brightly no matter how small the role is.
3. Zhang Jianya (72 years old this year): played Commander Cai in "Flowers".
Zhang Jianya is a director. In his career, he has directed film and television works such as "Red Elephant", "Sanmao in the Army", "Desperate Survival", "Emergency Landing", "Polar Rescue", "Zhenguan Zhizhi", "Love Call Transfer", and the new version of "Journey to the West", showing a certain creative talent.
But I didn't expect him to act so vividly.
Previously, he played the role of the poet Dong Xiechuan in the TV series "Siege" directed by Huang Shuqin, and he has appeared frequently in the past two years, playing Uncle Zhang in "My Motherland and Me", and Uncle Jiang in "Me and My Fathers", all of which left a deep impression on us.
This time in "Flowers", he showed more delicate and accurate acting skills.
The "Commander Cai" he played was originally a retired worker, but he has a brilliant mind. And in the wave of reform and opening up, we seized the opportunity and achieved "financial freedom" through "stock speculation". But people are always greedy. So after having money, he wanted to be richer, so he desperately wanted to enter the "big house". As a result, I didn't expect that "being smart was mistaken by being smart". He not only made himself suffer heavy losses, but also indirectly killed his hair roots, and also made his "friend" unable to continue to gain a foothold in Shanghai.
This "Commander Cai" is undoubtedly a very smart person, he made his own mistakes, but he unknowingly blamed Ah Bao, causing Ah Bao to suffer a car accident, causing the "Kirin Club" to hate Ah Bao to death.
I think Zhang Jianya's performance is really in place. Ah Bao was covered in blood after being hit by Ah Si and lay unconscious in the hospital. At this time, "Commander Cai" seemed to care more about Bao's injury than anyone else, and said to the person on the phone: Good doctor, you contact first, in case there is any situation here, we can take over as soon as possible.
In this scene, Zhang Jianya's tone was very calm, but his eyes revealed imperceptible cunning. He shows the character's selfish nature, as well as the guilt and anxiety hidden in his heart.
and the scene of breaking up with "Golden Phoenix", he also acted in a clear layer. In the face of the aggressive "Golden Phoenix", "Commander Cai" has been holding back the anger in his heart, which shows that in his heart, he has real feelings for the "lover" played by Huang Ling. Eventually, he even asked, "Are you true to me?"
As a result, the "Golden Phoenix" said that the banknotes were real.
I think, maybe it's this sentence that makes "Commander Cai" completely dead, right?
"Commander Cai" sat in the car, his eyes looked at the "Golden Phoenix" posture did not change at all, his expression also seemed so calm, but his eyes slowly filled with a little tears. Then, he didn't speak, just took out a check from his pocket, wrote a number that "Golden Phoenix" was satisfied with, and handed it to her.
In this scene, I think Zhang Jianya's grasp of the inner rhythm of the character is really good. In his silence as a mystery, he vividly showed the complex psychological transformation of "Commander Cai".
At that time, I sighed that the old drama bones are really the old drama bones. Compared with him, Huang Ling is like a "performance primary school student".
Fourth, Dong Yong (55 years old this year): played Mr. Fan in "Flowers".
Previously, Dong Yong played more "tough guy images" such as soldiers or criminal policemen on the screen.
But in "Flowers", he completely changed his acting path and successfully performed the image of a "country boss" with a "simple face and a bright heart". shows more possibilities for him as an actor.
Dong Yong's performance is so detailed that each expression has different levels of meaning.
In the eyes of Li Li played by Xin Zhilei and Mr. Wei played by Zheng Kai, and even Mr. Bao played by Hu Ge, Mr. Fan is just a "hillbilly" who came to Shanghai to find a dealer, but in fact, he knows better than anyone else what his goal is and what he wants most.
Therefore, in the face of Li Li's temptation and Mr. Wei's hospitality, he accepted all the orders. One more friend, more opportunities, after all, there is no harm to yourself. But as soon as he got down to business, he immediately "hit haha".
Dong Yong caught my attention almost from the moment he appeared. The first scene is his cooperation with Tang Yan, his vivid interpretation, his vivid performance, established the character's character at once, and even made us ignore Tang Yan's beauty.
Of course, what is more exciting is his performance in "Zhizhen Garden", the confrontation with Li Li, and the confrontation with Mr. Wei, he seems to be at a disadvantage, but in fact it is all under his control. Dong Yong really played a "scheming" guy like that. Every movement, every expression, and every line of his is so "endless".
I think he's one of the best actors in "Flowers".
And the better actor than him is the 90-year-old You Benchang this year.
5. You Benchang (90 years old this year): played the role of uncle in "Flowers".
After watching You Benchang's performance in "Flowers", I think that in his acting career, he has created a representative role, that is, the "Ningbo Old Master" uncle in "Flowers".
Although Hu Ge is the most famous star in this drama, with You Benchang, his aura will weaken a little invisibly.
You Benchang doesn't seem to need to act at all, when he stops there, he is the "uncle" himself.
In the play, the uncle said to his apprentice Ah Bao that the most important thing about doing business in Shanghai is the pie, gimmick and sprouts.
And You Benchang's performance also coincides with this sentence.
He has a style, whether it is the appearance of the characters, or the posture of walking, or the tone of speech, he invisibly shows a kind of dignity and wisdom.
He has gimmicks. He has played the role of Jigong in the TV series "Jigong", and he is not only the oldest actor in the crew of "Flowers", but also the winner of the title of "Lifetime Glory Artist" of the National Theatre of China. I think the reason why Wong Kar-wai invited Mr. You Benchang to join the crew, in addition to the fact that he is from Shanghai and has a Shanghai "tone", there is a bigger reason, that is, to use Mr. You Benchang's huge influence to "support the scene" for himself.
In addition, he has a sprout. It's that he can always bring us unexpected surprises.
In every scene he played in "Flowers", no matter who the opponent was, his perfect acting skills could beat any popular star.
If the next award is awarded, I think Mr. You Benchang is the most powerful contender for "Best Supporting Actor".
Let's take just one of these shots as an example.
Uncle invited the famous "Red Gang Tailor" and "Yangzhou Head Shaving Master" in Shanghai to "make" Bao. And when the rejuvenated Po appeared in front of his uncle, the camera slowly pushed to Mr. You Benchang's face. He lowered his head, but when he looked up, his eyes were full of tears.
Obviously, from Ah Bao, he seems to see himself when he was young, as if he saw his high-spirited youth. But at the same time, he also saw the future and hope from Po.
An actor can deduce such a rich content and level with just one look, and his acting skills can directly become a god. Who can do this among today's young actors?
So who can disagree with calling him a performance artist?
However, to achieve such a comfortable state of Mr. You Benchang, it is not something that can be done overnight. This is directly related to a person's experience, experience and perception of life.
I think Hu Ge has the potential to become a performing artist. But he still has a long way to go to become the next "You Benchang". Just like Ah Bao in "Flowers", he still needs to Xi learn too many things from his uncle to become a real "Bao Zong", which is the same reason.
So I don't know if you have also watched the drama "Flowers"? After watching it, have you also been attracted and moved by the wonderful performances of these old drama bones? Welcome everyone to interact with more netizens through the message area.