Preface
Wong Kar-wai, a well-known director in the film industry, finally made his first TV series, "Flowers". This drama is adapted from Jin Yucheng's novel of the same name, starring Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Tang Yan, Xin Zhilei and other powerful actors.
However, after the show premiered on December 27, 2023, it aroused strong dissatisfaction and complaints from the audience, and some people even bluntly said that "it overturned". What is wrong with this drama? Why is Wong Kar-wai's TV drama road so bumpy? Let's analyze it together.
1. Wong Kar-wai's style does not match the characteristics of the TV series
Wong Kar-wai's film style is unique, and he is good at using jumping editing, colorful colors, slow motion, narration and other techniques to create a poetic audio-visual enjoyment.
His films often do not focus on the integrity and logic of the story, but pay more attention to the emotions and psychology of the characters, leaving a lot of room for the audience's imagination. This style is praised and respected in the film industry, but it is not necessarily applicable in the field of television dramas.
A TV series is a long-term narrative form, and it needs to have a clear main line and structure, as well as a reasonable rhythm and tension, to attract the audience's sustained attention. Viewers of TV series often pay more attention to the development of the plot and the changes of the characters, rather than the simple beauty and artistic conception.
As a 40-episode TV series, "Flowers" adopts the filming technique of a movie, which leads to the slow pace of the series, the pictures are too long, and the plot is too scattered, making the audience feel tired and confused. Many viewers said that they wanted to abandon the drama after watching four episodes, and some even said that this is not a TV series at all, but a 30-hour movie.
Second, the original book was over-adapted and lost the charm of the novel
The original novel of "Flowers" is Jin Yucheng's masterpiece, which has won the Mao Dun Literature Award and the Five One Project Award, and is a novel that describes the social changes and the fate of the characters in Shanghai in the 90s. The language style of the novel is humorous and witty, the tone of the story is commonplace, and the characters are vivid and colorful.
Shanghai in the novel is a place full of opportunities and hopes, but also a place full of risks and challenges, and the novel shows the characteristics and social environment of Shanghai through the portrayal of various characters.
However, the TV series "Flowers" has made a significant adaptation of the original book, which not only changed the setting of many characters and the direction of the story, but also changed the style and tone of the novel. Shanghai in the TV series is a glamorous place, but also a flashy and illusory place, and the TV series shows Wong Kar-wai's aesthetics and vision through the rendering of the scene.
The characters in the TV series have also lost the life and personality charm of the novel, and have become bland and stereotypical. The stories in the TV series also lack the humor and drama of the novel, becoming disorganized and illogical.
The TV series "Flowers" is no longer an adaptation of the original novel "Flowers", but another work by Wong Kar-wai, which only has the same name as the original book.
3. The actor's performance was unsatisfactory, and Tang Yan's acting skills were questioned
The cast of the TV series "Flowers" is very luxurious, Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Tang Yan, Xin Zhilei, etc. are all powerful actors, and their joining is also a major selling point of the show.
However, the performances of the actors did not meet the expectations of the audience, and some even disappointed the audience. Among them, the most controversial is Tang Yan's acting skills.
Tang Yan plays Li Li in the play, a mysterious woman who opens a fashionable restaurant, stirs up the entire Yellow River Road, and also puts Mr. Bao's (Hu Ge) career and relationship into a crisis.
This character is supposed to be a character with complex psychology and multiple identities, which requires the actor to have high acting skills to interpret. However, Tang Yan's performance makes people feel bland and tasteless, lacking layers and tension. Her expression and tone are monotonous, and she does not show the character's inner changes and emotional fluctuations.
Her appearance and temperament also did not match the role, and she did not show the style and charm of Shanghai women in the 90s. Her acting skills were questioned by the audience, who thought that she had not improved, and even showed signs of regression.
Fourth, the common problems of domestic dramas have been exposed again, the plot is procrastinating, and the advertisements are implanted
The TV series "Flowers", as a drama with high investment and high expectations, should have been a banner for domestic dramas, but it exposed some common problems of domestic dramas and made the audience feel dissatisfied. Among them, the most obvious is the plot procrastination and advertising placement.
Plot procrastination is a major drawback of domestic dramas, in order to cater to the broadcast volume and ratings of the platform, many dramas will infinitely lengthen the plot and add irrelevant details, resulting in a decrease in the quality of the episodes and a decrease in the interest of the audience.
"Flowers" is no exception, although the show has only 40 episodes, each episode is more than an hour long, and the content of each episode is very redundant, which does not promote the development of the plot, but only repeats Wong Kar-wai's style and beauty. Many viewers said that they couldn't watch it anymore after watching four episodes and felt too boring.
Fifth, Wong Kar-wai's directing technique has caused controversy, and he pursues a deliberate shocking effect too much
Wong Kar-wai's directing approach is controversial, with some considering him a gifted artist and others believing him to be a narcissistic showman. "Flowers" is no exception, in the play, Wong Kar-wai uses a lot of his signature techniques, such as jumping editing, colorful colors, slow motion, narration, etc., trying to bring a shocking effect to the audience. However, this effect was not recognized by the audience, but instead made the audience feel bored and disgusted.
Many viewers believe that Wong Kar-wai's directing technique pursues deliberately shocking effects too much, and ignores the coherence of the plot and the authenticity of the characters. His editing style makes it impossible for the audience to keep up with the progress of the story, his choice of colors prevents the audience from feeling the atmosphere of Shanghai, his slow motion prevents the audience from experiencing the emotions of the characters, and his narration makes it impossible for the audience to understand the psychology of the characters.
His directorial approach is not to serve the story and characters, but to show his own style and beauty. His directing technique is not an artistic creation, but an expression of self-absorption.
epilogue
The TV series "Flowers" is a highly anticipated drama series, it has an excellent original book, a famous director, and luxurious actors, but it does not bring a satisfactory look and feel to the audience.
There are many problems in the play, such as Wong Kar-wai's style is inconsistent with the characteristics of the TV series, the original work is over-adapted, losing the charm of the novel, the actors' performance is unsatisfactory, Tang Yan's acting skills are questioned, the common problems of domestic dramas are exposed again, the plot drags on, advertising placement, Wong Kar-wai's directing techniques cause controversy, and the pursuit of deliberate shocking effects is too much. These problems have led to a decline in the show's reputation and ratings, and also made the audience lose confidence in Wong Kar-wai's TV drama career.
We look forward to the subsequent dramas to improve and achieve better ratings, and we also look forward to Wong Kar-wai finding a suitable directing technique for TV dramas to bring more wonderful works to the audience.
Today's topic:
What do you think of the TV series "Flowers"? Do you think Wong Kar-wai's directing technique is suitable for TV dramas? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area to share your views.