The 2024 Film Big Data and Movie Channel Honor Night was unprecedented, and Zhang Yimou won the Outstanding Contribution Award of the Year as a director again after many years. The Spring Festival film "Article 20" directed by him won 5 awards including the annual film in one fell swoop, which can be described as unbeatable.
This award combines the selection of professional judges and the support of big data, representing the combination of commercial value and artistic value, and can better reflect the real choice of the audience.
Although "Article 20" failed to dominate the box office during the Spring Festival, it was very eye-catching from word-of-mouth response to award gains, adding another glorious stroke to Zhang Yimou's 40-year film career.
The biggest dark horse among the six crowns of "Article 20" is none other than Ma Li. In the early days of the comedy's release, the focus of publicity was on the actor Lei Jiayin and the supporting actress Zhao Liying, and Ma Li's position as the first heroine was seriously blurred.
However, after the filmmaker's marketing strategy was adjusted in the later stage, Ma Li's appeal and word-of-mouth credit were finally taken care of, and finally she won the Actress of the Year with her outstanding performance.
In fact, in terms of film genre positioning, comedy has always been Ma Li's absolute strength.
From the early "Journey to the West" to the later "Mermaid" and "Journey to the West: The Return of the Great Sage", Ma Li has conquered countless audiences with her natural joy and witty temperament, and is recognized as one of the best comedians in China.
In Zhang Yimou's movie, Ma Li changed her demonic and enchanting image in the past, and appeared as a gentle and intellectual middle-aged female character, showing a new side.
Ma Li said in her award speech that comedy is her ruling area, and this confident speech added another layer of insurance to her position as the queen of comedy.
In fact, Ma Li is not the only actor in "Article 20" to hit the throne of the actress through this movie. The female No. 2 Gao Ye won the Powerful Actor of the Year award with this film, which shows Zhang Yimou's discerning vision for heroes.
Gao Ye, as a post-80s Xiaohuadan, has been known for his costume dramas over the years, and his representative works include "Painted Skin II" and "The Legend of Qingqiu Fox".
In "Article 20", Gao Ye switched to contemporary drama and played a female prosecutor with an upright personality and a sense of justice, with outstanding performance. This powerful actor award undoubtedly provides a more solid foundation for Gao Ye's determination to transform into contemporary drama and take the lead in the future.
Another winner, Qi Xi, can also be said to shine. In the film, he played a very deep officialdom figure in the city, restrained and cunning, and portrayed the character characteristics very well.
As an old drama bone, Qi Xi has been picky about his scripts over the years, and there are not many works but they are all high-quality works. "Article 20" provided him with a rare good role, and he also handled the role in a layered and distinct character. This award is well deserved.
In addition to these old drama bones, "Article 20" also provides many opportunities for new faces to stand out. Liu Yaowen, the newcomer of the year, was affirmed for his frank and vivid youthful acting skills.
And the actor Lei Jiayin also won the Influential Actor of the Year Award for this film, successfully further consolidating the development trend of both ends of his film and television.
Zhang Yimou's bumper harvest this time, both veterans stabilized their positions, and newcomers charged ahead, which can be described as a one-stop "Zhang's brilliant crew". The six awards have become the biggest highlight of this year's ceremony, showing Zhang Yimou's continued influence as a filmmaker.
The night was full of stars, with celebrities from all walks of life, including Zhang Yimou, Jackie Chan, Leung Ka-fai and other superstars, which undoubtedly enhanced the style and attention of this film event.
In fact, as early as the 80s and 90s of the last century, Zhang Yimou was already a bigwig in the film industry. He is good at depicting Chinese cultural heritage with a strong visual style, and his representative works include "Wall Street", "Alive" and "Hero", which have swept countless awards in the East and the West.
After entering the 21st century, Zhang Yimou gradually transformed into a big producer and cultural symbol, and for a period of time there were few works directed by himself.
This time, with "Article 20", he once again proved his strength, and it also made people see that the old director is still forging ahead and has not been frozen in historical coordinates.
The popularity of "Article 20" comes at a time when China's film industry continues to decline. In 2022, the box office of domestic films will drop by nearly 40% year-on-year, coupled with the repeated epidemics, the market downturn is a foregone conclusion.
The advent of a good film is inspiring and has positive significance for the development of the entire industry. The achievement of the 6 crowns of "Article 20" also shows that Zhang Yimou is still influencing and promoting the progress of Chinese films in his own way.
The old director's obsession and enthusiasm are still admirable.
This year's Movie Channel Awards has set up an award mechanism supported by big data to make the results more credible.
After removing all kinds of external noise, Article 20 is still the biggest winner. This also proves from the side that the quality of this movie is excellent, Zhang Yimou's topic selection perspective and directing skills are still undoubted, and the performance of Ma Li and other main creative lineups is also convincing.
Although "Article 20" failed to win the first place in the Spring Festival, the blessing of the award has written a good follow-up for it. This bumper harvest of Zhang Yimou is enough to inspire, indicating that Chinese films will usher in a new period of prosperity with the joint efforts of all parties.
After the end of this year's Movie Channel Awards, people will continue to look forward to more masterpieces of Zhang Yimou in the future.