1. The National Day movie has a poor reputation, it is bland and boring, only "The Mistake by the River" is unique!
It was supposed to be a joyful carnival of the film market - the National Day Golden Week, and many new films were also waiting for it. However, what is unexpected is that when the elaborate masterpieces of powerful directors such as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige appeared one after another, their evaluations hovered at the level of just passing, which undoubtedly made people feel frustrated.
Just as we are turning to explore whether there is a better choice for the post-National Day schedule, a movie based on Yu Hua's novel of the same name, "Mistake by the River", has attracted the public's attention like a clear stream.
This film is written by veteran screenwriter Kang Chunlei himself, and Wei Shujun is the director, claiming to show Yu Hua's confusing and unfathomable words on the big screen in their original form.
The male protagonist of the film is played by the popular actor Zhu Yilong, in order to get closer to the character image, Zhu Yilong has put a lot of effort into the modeling, not only tanned his complexion, grew a beard, and even learned various postures and actions of smoking.
However, shortly after the film's release, Zhu Yilong's superb acting skills were fiercely criticized by critics and fans, becoming the target of public criticism, and even once regarded as the main factor questioning the quality of the film.
2. The road to screenwriting for "Mistakes by the River" is bumpy and rugged, and Zhang Yimou was also moved by it!
In fact, Yu Hua's novel has been warmly sought after by people in the film and television industry since its inception, and has been hailed as the writer's masterpiece with the most potential for adaptation. As early as a few years ago, the famous director Zhang Yimou had a strong interest in "The Mistake by the River" and intended to bring it to the big screen.
At that time, Zhang Yimou informed Yu Hua of this idea. As one of the most prestigious literary giants in China, Yu Hua has always maintained an open and tolerant attitude towards the filmization of his works.
However, he also frankly told Zhang Yimou that novels and movies are two completely different forms of artistic expression after all, and the difficulty of adaptation can be imagined.
Zhang Yimou naturally understood this, and he first invited a number of senior screenwriters, hoping that they would be able to successfully adapt the novel, but no one satisfied him. The plot of "The Mistake by the River" has ups and downs, and the author deliberately leaves blank spaces for readers to comprehend on their own, which undoubtedly brings great challenges to the adaptation work.
Just when director Zhang Yimou was troubled, the well-known screenwriter Mr. Kang Chunlei decisively stepped forward and volunteered to undertake this extremely difficult adaptation task. Mr. Kang Chunlei has repeatedly and deeply studied the original work before this, carefully extracted the core spiritual core of the work, and on this basis, combined with his long-term accumulation of keen insight and in-depth thinking on social reality, endowed the script with a distinct personality and internal tension.
3. The storyline is intricate, triggering the audience's endless imagination but never being able to come to a definite conclusion
After getting the script, director Mr. Wei Shujun was also deeply moved. He said frankly that the plot of "The Mistake by the River" is confusing, and the multi-angle narration makes the film unique, incorporating the author's deep reflection on human nature and society, and is by no means just a suspense film that pursues visual impact.
The central part of the story revolves around three gruesome homicides. A veteran criminal police captain who is about to retire resolutely embarks on a long and unknown journey in order to find out the truth.
The unexpected appearance of a trance-like "madman" completely disrupted the seemingly clear truth of the case.
The first victim was an elderly woman who collapsed naked in her home and was subjected to brutal torture. Soon after, a poetry teacher at a middle school was also killed, and his body was in a terrible condition.
Immediately afterward, a man who worked in the barbering industry suddenly committed suicide, leaving many unsolved mysteries.
Most horrifyingly, a boy as young as 8 years old was also brutally murdered. A series of gruesome mysteries, lacking a plausible explanation, and all the evidence points to the delirious "madman" as the real culprit, yet more details remain shrouded in layers of fog.
When the captain of the criminal police gradually approached the truth of the case, he gradually fell into a state of obsession, and it was difficult to distinguish between reality and dreams. He began to wonder if he was like that "madman", living in a twisted world.
At this point, the story has become more and more confusing, and the audience has no way to evaluate and speculate.
Fourth, Zhu Yilong's acting skills have become a bottleneck in the overall performance of the film
The plot in the play is so tortuous and bizarre, but the viewing experience outside the play has been questioned and criticized because of the clumsy performance of the film's male protagonist Zhu Yilong. , a 35-year-old veteran in the film and television industry, has put in a lot of effort and sweat in order to better interpret the character image.
He resolutely decided to tan his skin to make his complexion more masculine; He skillfully grew the stubble, showing a rich life experience; At the same time, he also mastered the various elegant movements of smoking, and tried his best to create a mature and stable character who is not surprised by changes.
However, it is this kind of well-designed "carving" that just exposes the stiffness and artificiality of Zhu Yilong's acting skills. Whenever he appeared in front of the camera, he always craned his neck, bent over, and walked slowly, trying to show a sophisticated and calm demeanor, but it felt very inconsistent.
What's even more embarrassing is Zhu Yilong's exaggerated facial expression. No matter how high the plot develops, he always maintains a comical appearance of staring wide, opening his mouth wide, and staring at the camera.
Obviously, Zhu Yilong hopes to interpret complex emotions such as shock and fear in this way, but in the eyes of the audience, he is more like an immature teenager playing grimaces.
Not only that, Zhu Yilong seems to have an unsatisfactory grasp of body language, and often interprets every action too exaggerated and blunt. For example, when he stretches out his arm in front of the camera, it is not done smoothly and naturally, but moves a little bit mechanically, making it impossible to understand what kind of message he is trying to convey.
Overall, Zhu Yilong's acting skills were too pretentious, and his control of details was too hard and deliberate, but he failed to achieve the expected results. As the absolute protagonist of the film, his clumsy performance undoubtedly dragged down the reputation and quality of the entire film, making it the target of public criticism.
Part 5: Zhu Yilong poured a lot of effort into the role, but excessive pursuit backfired
There is no doubt that Zhu Yilong has worked hard to accurately portray the role of the criminal police captain. From his meticulous preparation process in obscurity, it is not difficult to see that he attaches great importance to this role and puts the energy into it.
First of all, in terms of styling, Zhu Yilong deliberately chose to tan his skin to make his complexion appear more masculine and powerful. He also cleverly grows slightly messy stubble to show a weathered charm.
In addition, he also specially consulted others, learned various elegant movements of smoking, and tried his best to create a mature and stable character who is not surprised by changes.
Zhu Yilong has shown otherworldly wisdom and hard work in his dealings with people and the way he handles things. On the set of the film, he always maintained a solemn and serious face, and he was meticulous with the staff, as if he had fully integrated into this old-fashioned and strict criminal police role.
However, it is precisely because of his overly "sophisticated" acting style that his acting skills are a little contrived and deliberate. Every time he appeared in front of the camera, he always craned his neck, bent down, and took a few steps carefully, trying to show a kind of calmness and composure that has gone through vicissitudes and battles.
However, in the eyes of the viewer, this is more like mimicking some strange walking posture.
To make matters worse, his exaggerated facial expressions. Whenever there is any surprising or frightening scene, he always stares wide-eyed, gap-opens, and stares at the camera tightly, looking like a child grimacing.
His way of acting so vigorously not only exposes his lack of attention to detail, but also distorts the inner depth and richness that the character should have.