In October 2019, the leaders of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television approached the director Zheng Xiaolong, hoping that he could make a TV series about the first batch of 8 meritorious figures in China.
As we all know, almost every one of the works directed by Zheng Xiaolong is a classic.
From "Beijingers in New York" to the "Golden Marriage" that later became popular across the country, and then to the "Biography of Zhen Huan", which was regarded as a costume classic from the beginning of the broadcast, it can be said that the works of director Zheng Xiaolong, whether it is word of mouth or quality, have a high status in the hearts of the people.
But even so, director Zheng Xiaolong is still very low-key, he did not immediately play with the leader to guarantee the ticket, but prepared to learn more about these meritorious figures.
This "understanding" does not matter, the more you understand the more moving, and soon director Zheng Xiaolong realized how meaningful it is for him to take over the filming of this drama.
This extraordinary TV series, if nothing else, is the current highly acclaimed TV series "Meritorious Service".
01
Use ordinary stories to show extraordinary people
The drama "Meritorious Service" tells a total of 8 meritorious characters, and each story unit is divided into 6 episodes.
But what the audience does not know is how much the main creative team paid in the early stage for these 48 episodes of the TV series.
From the general director Zheng Xiaolong, to the directors and screenwriters of each unit, to every actor, it can be said that every link has been polished.
Take the script creation, director Zheng Xiaolong has a requirement, that is, can not rely on shouting slogans to move people, he hopes that the drama he shot, there is a story, a plot, with simple creation to move the people.
This adds difficulty to the creation of the script, because most of the 8 meritorious characters, the people have only heard of, but they do not know very well, how to tell the story of the meritorious to the audience is not simple.
Moreover, when the screenwriters interviewed, they found that every meritorious person was very low-key.
Even if these heroes have made great contributions, they still feel that they are very ordinary, and even many people feel that their stories are not worth saying, which makes it more difficult for screenwriters to create again.
How to show a person's dedication and achievements through just 6 episodes, so that the audience is immersed in the story of merit, which requires not only quality, but also strength.
Fortunately, with the efforts of the general director Zheng Xiaolong and every creator, the drama "Meritorious Service" has received rave reviews as soon as it was broadcast, and the rating has reached 9.1 so far, which can be said to be quite good.
So, where is the drama "Meritorious" good? Leaving aside the stories and meanings of these heroic figures, is the plot and the actors' performances really that moving?
Peanut can give an affirmative answer after seriously chasing the drama.
Yes, the drama "Meritorious Service" is really worth watching.
02
Savor the plot, there is warmth hidden everywhere
In the drama of "Meritorious Service", every meritorious person is dedicating their lives, and their stories are not only touching, but also admirable.
Whether it is Li Yannian, a hero of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Yu Min, who devoted himself to the cause of national defense and security, or Huang Xuhua, who bowed down for the cause of nuclear submarines, it can be said that behind every meritorious figure is an epic poem in capital letters.
In the stories of these meritorious characters, Peanut feels that each unit is good-looking, and here Peanut takes the chapter of "Tu Youyou's Gift" as an example to give you an in-depth interpretation of the plot and details of this unit.
In the chapter of "Tu Youyou's Gift", the director is Zheng Xiaolong, and the screenwriter is Wang Xiaoping.
It turns out that Wang Xiaoping's mother is one of the founders of the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, working in Tu Youyou's "523 Project" collaborative research unit, it can be said that Tu Youyou's story, Wang Xiaoping has a deep feeling in his mother.
Wang Xiaoping's mother once asked her daughter: You have written so many film and television characters, why don't you write about scientists?
At that time, Wang Xiaoping knew that the achievements of scientists were particularly great, but under the experimental work day after day, it was very difficult to present such a character state in a tension-oriented drama.
But it is precisely because of his understanding of his mother that Wang Xiaoping often felt a lot of emotions when he created Tu Youyou's script, and later Wang Xiaoping and Zheng Xiaolong took "Tu Youyou's Gift" as a gift to his mother, and also paid tribute to the scientists who silently engaged in research like their mothers.
Therefore, if you carefully look at the unit of "Tu Youyou's Gift", you can find the simplicity and persistence of Tu Youyou from scientists.
Tu Youyou in life seems to be a person who has "lost three or four", and always looks like he has some "out-of-body experience".
For example, in everyone's eyes, Tu Youyou seems to be "invisible" in her eyes, she will never take the initiative to greet you, and even neighbors who have lived together for many years, Tu Youyou may not remember;
For example, Tu Youyou always has some "unexpected" behavior, she looks "stupid", can't remember to take the key, will see the cute child get off the wrong car;
Tu Youyou in marriage does not feel like a "good wife and good mother".
Daughter Xiaojun saw Tu Youyou coming back at her grandmother's house, and her first reaction was to run, because she had not seen her mother for too long, so when she reported to her grandmother, she was also "she is back", not "mother is back".
And Tu Youyou is also a "confused" mother, she bought shoes for her daughter Xiaojun, bought two right feet, and said that she had been carefully selected for a long time, or chose the wrong one.
So, where is Tu Youyou's energy? After watching the play, the audience will understand that this woman has dedicated her life to science and artemisinin.
Don't look at Tu Youyou in life, there is always a small gap pool, but when she works, she is more rigorous than anyone.
In order to find new antimalarial drugs, she can consult the ancient formula for several days and nights;
In order to ensure the normal operation of the laboratory, she picked up the things at home and moved them to the laboratory, the laboratory lacked fans to take fans, and the laboratory lacked containers, so she took the casserole at home;
In order to be able to accurately understand the role and safety of artemisinin, she did not hesitate to try the drug and make her own mice;
In order to study the clinical role of artemisinin, Tu Youyou can run all over the southeast and northwest, she is not afraid of traveling far, as long as she can save people, she is willing to do anything, even if she is sick and hospitalized later, Tu Youyou's heart is still the research institute, still artemisinin.
Perhaps, it is Tu Youyou's persistence and simplicity that allowed her to lead the team to find artemisinin and present the world with antimalarial gifts from China.
When the main creative staff created this chapter, they also firmly grasped the characteristics of Tu Youyou's body, which presented the life and story of a scientist to the audience.
As director Zheng Xiaolong said, when interviewing Tu Youyou's colleagues, they asked Tu Youyou what hobbies and interests she had in private. Will she go singing? Do you know how to knit sweaters? Will you go to the movies?
But the answer is that they don't go, Tu Youyou's favorite thing is the laboratory, to do experiments.
It is precisely because of the team's efforts and preliminary research, coupled with Zhou Xun's powerful performance, that we can see a real and vivid image of a scientist.
What is even more valuable is that the main creators do not blindly show the rigor of scientists, but add warmth to the creation.
For example, the tolerance and care of husband Li Tingzhao to Tu Youyou, the understanding and support of parents to their daughters, and the love of children for their mothers have injected a full human touch into the whole unit.
03
Behind the scenes, every detail is moving
The drama of "Meritorious Service", in addition to the touching stories of the meritorious people, the details of the whole drama are also worthy of praise.
Carefully watch this drama to know that this is a very long span of period drama, each unit presents a different year and environment, how to let the audience have a sense of substitution, this is the test of the "Meritorious" drama.
In this regard, director Zheng Xiaolong replied that there is no other shortcut, that is, relying on a little research and polishing.
Take "Tu Youyou's Gift", there are many details that are too exquisite.
For example, on the door of Tu Youyou's home with 202 written on it, there are cracks and cracks, which are very old at a glance;
There is also the furniture in the house, whether it is a cabinet, a sticker on the wall, or a shelf for hanging clothes, which is simple and worn, showing the simplicity of a scientist to the fullest;
The most surprising thing is all kinds of tiny details, the bicycle, the hot water kettle, the enamel cup that appears in the plot, and every detail restores the sense of age;
As one netizen commented:
"Tu Youyou's chapter, the details are really too moving, from clothing production to women's hairstyle restoration, small to hats and shoes, large to restore the "Great White Building" of the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, really too meticulous. ”
In fact, such details can be seen everywhere in "Meritorious Service", not only in the "Tu Youyou's Gift" chapter, but also in other chapters, the appearance of each meritorious character, the environment, props, and various details The main creative team is full of sincerity.
Seeing this, you may understand why the radio and television leaders will choose to find Zheng Xiaolong as the general director to shoot a TV series of such extraordinary significance, which is not only a tribute to scientists, but also a recognition of Zheng Xiaolong's strength as a director.
Finally, I would like to summarize with a paragraph directed by Zheng Xiaolong:
"I hope that the audience likes this drama I made, the audience loves to watch, the audience is satisfied, and if I can do this, I will be very happy."
Nowadays, "Meritorious Service" has proved with a score of 9.1 points and the audience's reputation that director Zheng Xiaolong has done it.