In the 60s of the last century, there was a filmmaker named Liang Zhefu who filmed a fantasy film with the theme of "Hundred Virtues and Filial Piety First" - called "Mulian Saves Mother", which tells the story of his son Mulian who went through a lot of hardships and finally let his mother be reincarnated in the world.
After nearly 60 years, the young director Gu Xiaogang used the core of "Mulian Saves the Mother" to create a modern version of the anti-"pyramid sales" genre film "Grass and Trees in the World".
It's been a few days since the film was opened, but what is the movie like?
Brother Brown has watched the movie, and I can responsibly tell you that the box office of "The World of Grass and Trees" will be 100 million, far exceeding expectations, and the following is a detailed introduction.
1. Box office.
In 2024, the box office of Qingming stalls will break a record high.
The market won a total of 855 million, surpassing the 822 million Qingming box office record created in 2021 in one fell swoop, and the box office of 190 million in 2023 increased by 448%.
This is mainly related to three imported films, which are "What kind of life do you want to live", "Godzilla vs. Kim 2" and "Kung Fu Panda 4".
There are a total of 8 new films competing for this year's Qingming file.
Among them, the last film "Snow Leopard" directed by the well-known director Wanma Tseden before his death, with a total box office of only 2.43 million, missed the top ten;
There are five new films on the list, which directly eliminated "Article 20", "Flying Life 2" and "Hot and Hot" in the Spring Festival file, and only "Bear Infested: Reversing Time and Space" can still be played.
The five new films are divided into three tiers.
The first ladder is Hayao Miyazaki's animated film "What kind of life do you want to live", which exploded 399 million in Qingming and won the championship, plus the 100 million box office received on April 3, the total box office in the mainland was 499 million.
The film revolves around the story of her mother's death in the fire, which is relatively obscure in the early stage, interspersed with various hints, which will make quite a few fans feel a little confused, and the ending is a description of human nature, which is a real "anti-war" film.
Because when it was announced, it was highlighted that this was Miyazaki's last movie, and there were some emotional elements, just like when "The Mermaid" was released, everyone said that they owed Stephen Chow a movie ticket.
Therefore, the film presented such a high box office result in the Qingming file, which is inseparable from Miyazaki's appeal.
The second ladder is "The World of Grass and Trees" and "The Yellow Sparrow is Behind".
These two films, whether it is the film schedule or the attendance rate, are synchronized and parallel, and the total box office is only about 4 million apart, judging from the trend, the predicted box office is 100 million.
"Yellow Sparrow Behind" starring Feng Shaofeng and Tao Hong opened for 4 days, and the total box office was 51.43 million, ranking fifth.
This is a suspense film with humanistic feelings, the core of the movie is the analysis of family and human nature, legal principles and reasonableness, as well as criticism of social phenomena such as remarried families and juvenile crime.
The quality is still very good.
"The World of Grass and Trees" starring Wu Lei and Jiang Qinqin was released for 4 days, with a cumulative harvest of 55.84 million, ranking fourth.
The third ladder is "The Great Villain" and "The Snow Queen 5".
The comedy "The Villain" starring Bao Bell was released on April 4 and had a three-day box office of 17.7 million, ranking seventh.
The Russian cartoon "Ice Queen 5" received only 7.56 million in three days, ranking eighth.
So far, the 2024 Qingming file has ended perfectly, and it can achieve such a shining box office result, which is closely related to the new films on the list, especially Miyazaki.
2. Film reviews.
"The World of Grass and Trees" set off a storm soon after its release, predicting that the box office was 100 million, and the film ranked fourth in the popular Qingming file, and its performance was still very good.
The main creative team at the helm of the film is Gu Xiaogang, a director who can be called a young talent, and the film is the second part of the Hangzhou trilogy, the first "Spring River Plumbing" has achieved good results internationally.
This time, he was also elected as a jury member of the 14th Beijing International Film Festival "Focus on the Future" unit, Gu Xiaogang, who was born in 1988, really has a great future and is unlimited.
The cast lineup of "The World of Grass and Trees" includes Wu Lei, Jiang Qinqin, Chen Jianbin , Wang Jiajia , Yan Nan , Wu Bi , Wang Hongwei , the more well-known one is Chen Jianbin , but he is still a supporting role.
Why do I say that it has exceeded expectations? This is mainly manifested in two aspects.
The first aspect is that the essence of movies is actually literary films.
The film is divided into three acts.
Act I introduces the main cast and setting.
Wu Taohua played by Jiang Qinqin and He Mulian played by Wu Lei are a pair of mother and son, ten years ago, He Mulian's father came to Hangzhou to work, and has not been heard from since.
Wu Moss came to Hangzhou to look for a husband for several years, but still did not find a clue, so you can't just keep looking for it, people always have to live, she found a foothold - to be a tea farmer, her usual job is to pick tea.
After a long time, he had a special relationship with the owner of the tea factory, Lao Qian (played by Chen Jianbin ), and was later reported by other tea farmers, and Lao Qian's mother directly bloomed Wu Moss.
He Mulian, who graduated from university, also came to Hangzhou to find a job selling health care products, and looked for her father by the way.
In the second act, Wu Moss Hua enters the pyramid sales organization.
Wu Mosshua, who lost her job, and her best friend Jin Lan decided to go out for a walk, and it was Jin Lan's younger brother who led the team.
This guy also does sales work in Hangzhou, and in his spare time, he took his two sisters into the "Butterfly International" organization.
After several rounds of meetings, Wu Moshua completely let go of herself, sold the house in her hometown, and bought her product, Foot Sticker.
If the people below the development buy the product, they can earn 10.8 million when they reach a certain level.
After his son He Mulian learned of the situation, he told him that it was a scam, and Wu Moshua was deeply involved and was still dreaming of making a fortune, how could he easily quit?
What should I do if He Mulian can't persuade him? Then only by breaking into the interior can the situation be broken.
The third act is redemption.
He Mulian used the listening device to finally dismantle the pyramid sales organization, and her mother had nothing and fell into chaos, He Mulian decided to carry her mother up the mountain to save her mother.
The essence of the film is a literary film, just like the title, "grass and trees" and "world" are separated, grass and trees refer to the tea mountain in Hangzhou, and the world is the "Butterfly International" organization they entered.
The content mentioned above is all for the last 20 minutes, and compared to a literary film, it is really far beyond expectations to achieve such a high box office.
You must know that the box office of Yao Chen's "Send Me to Qingyun" was only 29.54 million before, and the box office of "Hidden in the Dust", which announced its surprising victory, was also 100 million, and the box office of "Grass and Trees in the World" was 100 million, which will make a lot of money.
In the second aspect, Wu Lei and Jiang Qinqin do not have the ability to carry the box office.
The movie did not invite famous actors, or popular and famous traffic students to play the film, such as Yi Yang Qianxi, Wang Junkai, Xiao Zhan, Wang Yibo and other first-line traffic stars.
Instead, he chose Wu Lei, who has some resources in TV dramas.
In the final analysis, Wu Lei's journey to the big screen is still very bumpy, Leung Jiahui and Carina Lau failed to drive him before, and "Asura" hit the street at the box office, but it was still an epic hit the street.
Last year, Hu Ge also took him to act in a "It's Worth the Trip", although the reputation improved, but the commercial box office could not get up, so it will take a while for Wu Lei to gain a foothold on the big screen.
Also, the heroine Jiang Qinqin's previous works are relatively few, and they are basically TV series, the last hit is "Housewife" in 2021, and few big-screen works have come out in so many years.
Therefore, Jiang Qinqin can't carry the box office.
But now, the box office of "Grass and Trees" has earned 55.84 million in 4 days, which is really far beyond the filmmaker's expectations.
3. Jiang Qinqin was replaced by Zhang Ting.
After watching this movie, I always felt a little unsatisfied, and I always felt that some places still lacked some heat. So, I began to ponder, what would be the effect if the leading actor Jiang Qinqin was replaced by Zhang Ting?
Who is Zhang Ting?
Zhang Ting, born on June 20, 1970, is a well-known actress in Taiwan, China.
When Zhang Ting was just starting out, his pure and sweet appearance and excellent acting skills conquered many audiences, and his early acting career spanned many years, with rich performance experience, and his representative works include "Stunning Shuangjiao", "Iron Tooth Bronze Tooth Ji Xiaolan 3", "Love Through Time and Space" and so on.
The turning point in her life was marrying Lin Ruiyang, who was ten years older than him.
In 2012, Zhang Ting, who faded out of the entertainment industry, started his second major career in life, and this career is very similar to the pyramid sales in "Grass and Trees", with products and offline strategies.
If Zhang Ting is invited to star, the popularity of the movie will definitely be unprecedentedly high, and the topic discussion will definitely rise, coupled with the short video publicity, the box office will definitely explode!
It's a pity, this is all my wishful thinking, and it is impossible for Zhang Ting to act, knowing that it is not good for him, he still accepts such a movie, it is not asking for trouble.
IV. Conclusion.
"The Grass and Trees" has already achieved unexpected success at the box office.
This is inseparable from the main creative director and the leading actor.
In the role part, the heroine Jiang Qinqin should be the most shocking performance since she was engaged in film and television drama performances, and there is a video that is very similar to the male protagonist of "Joker" dancing in the rain.
Wu Lei's performance is also remarkable, and I look forward to Wu Lei's successful transformation.
What was your experience with this film?