Once upon a time, a female writer who can be called a "literary giant" was born, and her name was Zhang Ailing. Time flies to 1943, Zhang Ailing devoted herself to the creation of the novel "Half Life", a palace-level masterpiece, in which a very representative female character was successfully portrayed vividly - Gu Manzhen! Living in the social atmosphere of the thirties of the last century, Man Zhen had a weak and quiet personality, and could have lived a happy life, but unfortunately he was bound by the selfish desires of his family and eventually became a victim.
At that time, as soon as this novel was published, it immediately aroused an enthusiastic response from a wide range of readers. They all sighed for Manzhen's fate and deeply sympathized with her experience. It wasn't until 1997 that this classic finally ushered in the opportunity to be adapted into a movie of the same name for the first time, with the well-known actor Wu Qianlian interpreting the image of Man Zhen, which made people can't help but be moved.
The years flew by, and in a blink of an eye, in 2003, "Half Life" was adapted into a TV series again, with the then hot little flower Dan Lin Xinru as the heroine Gu Manzhen. Ruby Lin's wonderful performance has won the applause of countless audiences, and she has successfully created this classic image of being pitiful, gentle and virtuous.
Just when people's memories of "Half Life" are gradually blurring, 2020 coincides with the 100th anniversary of Zhang Ailing's birth. In order to pay tribute to this talented woman, director He Xiuqiong decided to put "Half Life" on the big screen again, but this time it was renamed "The Origin of Love". This move instantly stirred up a thousand waves in the film and television industry and attracted widespread attention.
Who would have thought that a full 17 years had passed since the last adaptation? As soon as the new version of "The Origin of Love" was broadcast, it immediately detonated the attention and expectations of countless audiences. And the one who plays the role of Man Zhen is Jiang Xin, a little flower girl who is currently in the spotlight.
As soon as "The Origin of Love" was broadcast, it immediately caused a lot of controversy. Jiang Xin, a powerful actor with high hopes, has suffered fierce doubts and criticism as fierce as the tide of Man Zhen in the play.
In fact, Jiang Xin has always been known as a highly regarded "acting school". Since her sketch performance, she has shown amazing on-the-spot acting skills and excellent shaping ability. Later, in the hit drama "The Legend of Zhen Huan", she used her superb acting skills to perfectly interpret the image of Concubine Hua who was uncertain and the city was quite deep, giving the characters fresh vitality and amazed the audience.
We originally thought that such an actor with outstanding acting skills and full of strength would be able to successfully play the role of Man Zhen in "The Origin of Love". However, it is regrettable that Jiang Xin's performance in the play has been met with merciless criticism, and her acting skills have been questioned as a result.
In the face of the fierce wave of doubts like a storm, Jiang Xin undoubtedly felt extremely helpless in his heart. The talent of an excellent actor is seriously constrained because of the many "innovations" of the crew, which is really emotional.
In contrast, in the 2003 version of "Half Life", Gu Manzhen portrayed by Ruby Lin is undoubtedly the most successful work that is closest to the spirit of the original work. In order to prepare for this extremely challenging role, Ruby Lin can be said to have put a lot of effort into it and went all out.
She not only read Zhang Ailing's original novel repeatedly, deeply explored the inner world of Man Zhen, a character with an introverted personality and delicate emotions, but also carried out in-depth communication with the director to explore how to portray this character more vividly.
The entire crew has high expectations for Ruby Lin, and at the same time, she has been given enough space to perform. It is under Ruby Lin's careful polishing that Man Zhen's image was finally perfectly presented to the audience.
Whether it is the most classic peach blossom forest kissing scene in the play, or the heart-wrenching heavy scene where Man Zhen is ravaged by his brother-in-law Zhu Hongcai, or the endless desolation and sadness in Man Zhen's eyes when he finally reunites with Shijun, Lin Xinru has vividly interpreted these details with her excellent acting skills.
After watching it, the audience couldn't help but admire: "This is the Man Zhen that really touched my heart!" "Her performance is unpretentious, and it naturally exudes genuine feelings, which deeply touches people's hearts.
Every expression and every look of Man Zhen shows the colorfulness and delicate sensitivity of this woman's inner world.
It is with her breathtaking performance that Ruby Lin has become a strong contender for the crown of "Aftersight" that year, successfully ascended to the throne of glory in the film and television industry, and became a new bright star! She has single-handedly successfully subverted the previously inherent sweet image of "crape myrtle", and has won wide and high recognition and praise in the industry for her superb acting skills.
In contrast, Jiang Xin's interpretation of the role of Man Zhen is shocking and regrettable. This is mainly due to the crew's attempt to make bold "innovations" in shaping the characters and adapting the storyline, but this attempt has led to the distortion of the characters, and even the core plot has been simplified.
For example, the high-profile key plot of Man Zhen being defiled by her brother-in-law Zhu Hongcai is undoubtedly a heartbreaking highlight in the original book, and the pain, trauma, and helplessness that Man Zhen endured are vividly shown through delicate depictions.
However, in the new version, this plot is lightly mentioned, and there is no mention of the specific events of the incident. The audience could only see close-ups of Manzhen's horror after falling asleep, and the panic on his face when he woke up the next morning, but they could not understand why.
The entire core plot has been brushed over like this, which is really suffocating.
Another example is the warm and romantic moments between Man Zhen and Shi Jun, which are full of poetry in the original work, and the emotional development between them is also from shallow to deep and slowly unfolds.
However, in the new version, all the details have been rudely removed, and the plot of their relationship has been changed beyond recognition.
In the face of such a bold "innovation", the audience can't help but question, is it necessary for the crew to make such a change? Does this change deviate from the original intention of the original work? The distortion of the characters and the distortion of the plot make people miss the most touching parts of the classic works.
Although there are significant differences in the presentation of the old work "Half Life" and the new edition of "The Origin of Love", the unique charm of Gu Manzhen's female image itself has never disappeared due to the passage of time.
Her twists and turns in life, her endless yearning for freedom, and her helplessness to fate all made the audience deeply moved and resonated strongly.
We deplore her tragic plight, but we also sincerely sympathize with her ill-fated fate.
Indeed it is! Gu Manzhen, a classic character who once made people's hearts flutter, because of his unique charm, can go through the vicissitudes of time, and still shine and pass down for centuries. This warm and sincere emotional torrent is deeply hidden between the lines, and it is worth savoring, exploring and understanding endlessly, to feel the eternal power behind those classics.
We are full of ardent expectations and firmly believe that in the near future, there will be new excellent actors and new perspectives of interpretation, giving new vitality and interpretation to this classic image that is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
However, when that moment is approaching, what we are more eager to see is a new understanding and wonderful interpretation of this role, rather than deliberately innovating just for the sake of novelty, thus deviating from the aesthetic norms of art.
Only by being truly close to the spirit of the original work and deeply rooted in the hearts of the people can this century-old classic image shine with brilliance and last for a long time. Let's look forward to this new interpretation shining again on the stage in the future.