The name Huang Bo immediately reminds people of the aura of the 10 billion box office actor of Chinese films. "Journey to the West", "Heart Flower Road" and "Looking for the Dragon", these movies have forged unparalleled appeal and box office charm for him.
When Huang Bo's name appeared on the promotional poster, the audience's expectations had been pushed to the top.
However, time has passed, and Huang Bo's aura has gradually weakened. After the word-of-mouth box office drop of "Mozart in Outer Space", he has not had a strong work for a long time. This highly anticipated space sci-fi movie was released but suffered a collective snub after its release, with only 21 days in 21 days. The box office of 200 million can be described as Huang Bo's box office Waterloo over the years.
Once upon a time, Huang Bo could always conquer the audience with his passionate acting skills, but now it is difficult to find the passion and tension of the past. Every time he releases a new work, he can no longer set off a topic craze.
In fact, the predicament presented by Huang Bo just exposes the predicament of Chinese films as a whole - while the visual effects are becoming more and more dazzling, many films only stay at the hardware level, and lack the soft power support of excellent scripts and delicate interpretation.
They can only be reduced to commercial products, and it is difficult to touch the hearts of the audience. If market recognition can be achieved only with a temporary fireworks effect, there is still a long way to go for the quality of Chinese films.
What we need is a masterpiece of cinema that perfectly combines a subtle plot with excellent acting.
When Huang Bo's masterpieces continue, we should not criticize him personally, but should focus on the director group.
There have been many talented directors who have tried to tell Chinese stories well in the language of film. Hao Jie once used spicy and mocking brushstrokes to depict the difficulties and ups and downs of life at the bottom of Chinese society.
Zhang Meng, on the other hand, is good at reflecting the changes of this era from the fate of the small people in the market. They were once seen as the hope of a new force in Chinese cinema.
However, without exception, they also turned to commercial films under various pressures and had to abandon the original intention of artistic exploration. The director has become a "silent majority", and it is difficult to break through the barriers of realist creation.
In desperation, they can only shift from well-crafted art films to commercial themes with mainstream value, and creative personality and breakthroughs are inevitable. What we need is a deafening voice from the directors, not more silence.
Every time a commercial blockbuster is a market success, it seems to signal the triumph of mainstream values. But we must not forget that Chinese films need the flowers of art to bloom all over the people's wisdom, rather than being covered up by a unified theme.
The transformation of the director has also put the actor group in a difficult situation. They have become the biggest victims of this silent change.
Once, Qin Hao held high the banner of "literary and artistic films" and was proud of commercial films. But in the context of directorial transformation, he can no longer wait for the next popular literary and artistic work.
In the end, I had to shift from the condescension of "Qinggao" to commercial web dramas. However, after "In the Name of the People", Qin Hao has not burst out with dazzling acting sparks again.
Similarly, Yu Nan has also shined in the film industry with a series of realistic masterpieces and is regarded as a new generation of actresses. But today, when those social movies are difficult to conceive, she has starred in many low-rated crime films and police action movies.
The former actress is no longer in her former glory.
Looking at powerful actors like Zhou Xun and Zhang Ziyi, they also reluctantly left the big screen and switched to the small screen, but they showed their old age in various costume dramas. They once made a name for themselves by starring in realistic films, but now they are only able to survive in entertainment.
It can be seen that when actors lose the opportunity to transmutate with excellent scripts and characters, their distinctive acting characteristics and personal charm are difficult to reproduce. These former actors and actresses are aging step by step, rather than continuing to be brilliant.
However, in addition to lamenting, we also see that the new life and hope of Chinese films are germinating.
"The old with the new" has gradually become the consensus of the film industry, and various plans for young directors have been rolled out. Andy Lau used the prestige of the actor to build a platform for newcomers, and Xu Zheng spared no effort to discover new forces.
Under the guidance of senior artists, cutting-edge directors have a stage to display their talents.
At the same time, niche art films have found more outlets. The growth of the China Art Film Screening Alliance has provided more opportunities for such films to be released. The nearly 100 million box office achieved by quality works also proves that the audience's demand for them is being met.
We can't afford to blind ourselves. In fact, Huang Bo himself has realized the need for transformation and breakthroughs. He is currently working on a number of new film projects with a number of big-name directors and actors.
We have reason to believe that these projects will give birth to acclaimed and acclaimed masterpieces.
There are all kinds of signs that Chinese filmmakers are forging ahead and actively looking for ways to break through the existing predicament. Let's wait and see, I believe that many problems will eventually usher in the dawn of the dawn.
In the process of Chinese films entering a new era, high-quality audio-visual feasts and high-quality works will surely follow.