Author: Clouds in coffee
Statement: Original article, prohibited reprint, plagiarism must be investigated!
Many viewers said that she was aroused by the acting skills of She Shiman in "Yanxi Raiders".
But is this the peak of Charmaine She's acting skills? Of course not.
She once played four roles alone, and her acting skills were explosive.
It was as early as 2006 in TVB's "Phoenix Quartet", she Shiman played four roles: Wei Yufeng, Wang Zijun, Bai Huizhen and Dai Sijia.
These four characters have different personalities and experiences, spanning up to a hundred years.
The plot of "Phoenix Quartet" is based on the Phoenix Building Restaurant founded in the early 20th century, depicting the views of men and women in different contexts of the late Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China, the 1960s, and the new millennium.
It spans a hundred years in time and space, and the characters run through four generations, telling the changes in the status of Chinese women over the past hundred years, due to the grand theme and great changes in the scene, it is quite difficult in both creation and production, which can be described as a challenge.
It consists of thirty episodes, because of the limited space, so the plot does not have the slightest sense of procrastination, the whole film is like a platter of four sketches, and the characteristics of each era are quite accurate.
Four independent short stories show the fate of four generations of women in marriage.
From the stoic daughters-in-law who adhered to the feminine morality in the feudal families at the end of the Qing Dynasty, to the new women who talked about love freedom and eloped away at the beginning of the last century; from the professional women who broke the "male outside the male, the female inside" under the economic take-off of Hong Kong in the 1960s and 1970s, to the "new human beings" who were different and unmarried in the twenty-first century, through four stories that were related to each other but were independent, they outlined a picture of women full of the color of the times.
Each story of the "Quartet" has its own characteristics of the times, does not repeat each other, is fresh, and perfectly expresses the changes of the inheritance and transition in just seven or eight episodes, the plot is compact, there are both routines and surprises, which can be described as simple but not mediocre.
The four eras, although not a rigorous history, can feel the change of the times, women's status, concepts, clothing, and the progress and development of history.
The title of "Phoenix Quartet" is also remarkable.
"Phoenix Building" is a restaurant specializing in "private room dishes" throughout the play, which not only witnesses four marriages, but also is a famous century-old shop.
A "phoenix building" runs through the legendary story of four generations of women.
Perhaps it is the blood lineage, they are all firmly persistent in love, in order to love strongly to overcome any suffering, live hard, brave love, let people lament the changes of the times and then re-look at what love is.
Although the personalities of the four generations of women in the family represent the distinctive characteristics of that era, the only thing that is the same is the loyalty and single-mindedness of their love.
In addition, the name of the first generation of heroines, "Wei Yufeng", is also puned with the phrase "phoenix".
In the early Min Dynasty, the 1960s and the 21st century, the three heroines are all descendants of "Wei Yufeng", which also shows that the protagonists of this story have a relationship with each other from generation to generation.
In addition, "Phoenix" also symbolizes women, the "Phoenix Nirvana, Rebirth from the Fire" of the independent and self-reliant heroine of the four generations.
"Phoenix Quartet" is a veritable big heroine.
She Shiman alone plays four corners, showing the continuous progress of women's thinking through the changes of four years and the fate of four women.
For Charmaine She, this drama is definitely one of the most important works in her acting career, and her first TVB after-tv trophy was won with this drama.
The male protagonist Ma Dezhong and She Shiman are the first collaboration in the "Phoenix Quartet".
Before the film, Ma Dezhong came all the way to the supporting role, although the play did not get the title of emperor, but the same one person's acting skills as a four-corner role were also affirmed by the audience.
Yu Ci's infatuation; Li Jixiang's filial piety and blood; Dai Liren's big man and gentle, styling performance deliberately imitating the characters of old Hong Kong films, which is very interesting; Fang Jia'an's lean and different characters are all in place, which is impressive.
Marty-Chung has always dared to challenge different roles, from the righteous law enforcement officer to the hypocrite, from the personable Prince Charming to the deranged madman, he has all played with his heart.
Despite the hard work, Ma Dezhong regarded it as a good opportunity to practice his acting skills.
The costumes, character personalities and interpretation methods of different eras in the play, such as tone, small actions, etc., are also different, which can be described as a big test of acting skills.
It is particularly worth mentioning that the slogan on the poster of the play at that time was really incisive - women have resonance after watching it, and men will wake up after watching it.
This sentence already tells the meaning behind this play:
In addition to examining the history of marriage and women over the past hundred years, it also reflects on how people regain the beautiful quality of loving, appreciating and accommodating others in today's time when the marriage system is challenged and the feelings of men and women are easy to gather and disperse, which is of great social significance.
So I read this story several times, but I didn't get tired of it a little, and I had a feeling of constantly looking at it and always new.
The main theme of the play is what the heroine said in the opening paragraph:
Being able to meet someone you like is the happiest thing, so you must cherish it, no matter what problems you encounter, don't give up easily, as long as you love him, any problem can be solved.
Perhaps, love is the same in every age; love can overcome all difficulties.
I don't know if the people who saw it for the first time had the same doubts as me:
The whole drama actually tells the married life of Wei Yufeng and her descendants for a total of five generations, but why do the five generations only show four generations?
I think it's possible that because one of the generations involved a war revolution, a lot of things are not suitable for filming, so there is a generation whose story is skipped.
Of course, this is my personal understanding.
Regarding the relationship between the generations of characters in the play, it also needs to be sorted out, otherwise it may be a bit cloudy, but this is TVB's usual shooting method, "infinite nesting dolls" to the fifth generation.
But it is also this kind of shooting method that allows Charmaine She to show four completely different personalities in five generations, and her acting skills are fully exerted.
In the story of four generations, the theme of the first generation is to confess life, reflecting the imprisonment of universal women under the times, so it is sad.
The theme of the second generation is boldness, bravery to break through the shackles of feudal etiquette, although it is eventually separated for the country, but it sublimates the whole story, so it is vigorous.
The theme of the third generation is the way husband and wife get along, humor and humor at the same time, breaking the male protagonist's "machismo", but there is a female compromise, which has no lack of limitations in Hong Kong in a specific period, so it seems warm.
The theme of the story of the fourth generation is self-reliance, Dai Scarlett dares to love and dare to hate, has principles and a bottom line, bravely moves forward when loving, and is dashing when breaking up, so it is a complete transformation of contemporary women.
Personally, I think that the stories of the first and fourth generations echo each other and form a sharp contrast, so they are relatively deep and delicate.
The pursuit of love between these two generations is completely different, and it is also in line with the most traditional and modern concept of love.
The second and third generations of stories are the transitional stages of these two generations.
The second generation was in the Period of the May Fourth Movement, when people themselves were in the stage of confusion and cognition, so they were still confused and lacked understanding of everything around them.
The confusion brought about by the love between teachers and students, the love achieved by elopement, the real life shattered the romance, and the search for new hope strengthened people's desire to free themselves from the shackles of the spirit.
The third generation is a bit of the funny taste of "Detective Richie", coupled with a little nonsense, in that male and female protagonists, women can not be separated from the era of men's life and economic dependence, the third generation of women once again show the autonomy and independence of the women of the Phoenix family.
In the Hong Kong drama, we see more of the chai rice oil, salt and vinegar behind the love, which made me understand when I was young at that time that only a woman can achieve her own perfection by being self-reliant and self-reliant, self-respecting and self-loving.
Four different eras, four pairs of men and women with very different personalities, four marriages, four destinies, this is the "Phoenix Quartet".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="94" >~To be continued~</h1>
(All featured images are from the network)
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="97" > Author: Clouds in Coffee</h1>
All the time
In the company of words, pour out a heart that has never betrayed
Firmly believe that growth is the ultimate destination of women
May you feel warmth and affection in my words