Beijing, October 25 (Reporter Yuan Xiuyue) Looking at home and abroad, there are not a few famous directors who are "unsatisfied with the water and soil" overturning, and it was Zheng Xiaolong's turn recently.
The director, who has directed popular domestic dramas such as "Longing", "Beijingers in New York", "Golden Wedding", and "The Biography of Zhen Huan", has caused controversy in his new work "Turandot: The Origin of the Spell".
Jiang Wen, Guan Xiaotong, Hu Jun starred, Sophie Marceau special starred, but the current box office is only more than 18 million yuan, Douban score 3.4 points.
Douban screenshot
Some netizens compared it with "Asura" and "Shanghai Fortress". Some netizens joked with "Zhen Huan's body": "Zheng Xiaolong, that year the apricot blossoms were slightly rainy, and all the beauty brought to me by "The Biography of Zhen Huan" has now been paid off, and from then on, you and I do not owe each other." ”
Why did "Turandot: The Origin of the Spell" become a rotten film in the mouths of netizens?
The picture is not beautiful?
First look at the shape, with a double ponytail and a small broom bangs of the big sweat (Jiang Wen).
Video screenshots
Wearing a white gauze dress and blue eyeshadow, the Yuan Dynasty princess Turandot (Guan Xiaotong).
Stills from Turandot: The Origin of the Spell
Queen Malvia (Sophie Marceau) wears a crown and a sweet smile.
General Po Yan (Hu Jun) wears armor and has a serious face.
Just looking at the shape, there is a sense of separation, and several people act as if it is not a film. There are court films, there are martial arts films, there are power plots, and the collision of Chinese and Western cultures does not seem to be in agreement visually.
Those familiar with the story of Turandot should know that it is known to the people of the country, mainly thanks to the opera of the same name created by the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini.
The opera tells the story of Turandot, a princess during the Yuan Dynasty, who, in order to avenge the crimes committed by foreign men against her ancestors, gave three riddles to all the foreign princes who came to propose marriage, and only if they answered correctly could they marry her, otherwise they would be executed.
Karaf, the Tatar prince in exile in China, was attracted by Turandot's beauty and went guessing in spite of objections. Calaf guessed the riddle correctly, but Turandot repented. At this time, Calaf said that if the princess guessed his name before dawn, he would rather be tortured.
Turandot captured his father and maid Liu'er and tortured him, and Liu'er committed suicide to protect the prince. Willow's death shook the icy Turandot. At dawn, Turandot did not yet know Carraf's name, and Calaf melted Turandot's indifferent heart with a kiss and told the princess his real name. Turandot was conquered by Carraf and not only did not say his name, but was willing to marry him and call him "love".
It is such a story, which can be called a typical example of "export to domestic sales", and is also known as the legendary story of the East in the imagination of Westerners.
Turandot: The Origin of the Spell poster
Magical Sadomasochism + Exotic Legends + Court Scheming?
But how can such an old story be adapted into a movie?
According to media reports, 20 years ago, Zheng Xiaolong decided to shoot the "Turandot" movie, and he also discussed with screenwriter Wang Xiaoping about the plot adaptation for many years.
As a result, Turandot: The Origin of the Spell adds a more magical touch than the opera, and the entire film revolves around a strongest plug-in "tricolor bracelet". Turandot did not set the puzzle out of revenge, but was cursed by the "tricolor bracelet".
Turandot and the prince fall in love, but there is a vendetta between the two. In the early stages, she didn't love him, in the later stages he didn't love him, and finally a sudden reconciliation was reached. Because they have a common enemy, the mutinous general, he is the biggest boss in the whole film.
Magical sadomasochism + exotic legends + court plots, the elements are very complete, but the whole makes people cry out for help. The whole film is more like a cheesy, illogical fairy tale, the male and female protagonists are inexplicably in love, the audience knows that they love each other, but they do not feel that they are in love.
The lines are also slightly worse. The heroine asked, what color is blue? The male protagonist said that there is a small flower in the world that is also blue, called Forget Me.
The great general inexplicably trained into the body of King Kong, and inexplicably rebelled, and the way of rebellion was to move a bunch of explosives to the palace, who knew that it was stolen and replaced by fireworks. The general seemed to be stunned, knowing that only the princess's blood could kill him, and he chased the princess all the way, and it was difficult not to fail.
As for the Great Khan played by Jiang Wen, it seems to be outside the plot, just bent on playing a brainless pet girl demon.
The creators also greedily added fireworks to the film. In the end, the male protagonist travels the world with the recipe for fireworks, and many countries have learned to make fireworks. Some netizens commented that the whole film fell here, which made people unexpected, and what they did not know was also thought to be a fireworks science propaganda film.
Domestic magic blockbuster = bad film?
You can see the efforts given by the creators to Turandot: The Origin of the Spell, but the effect is generally true. In addition to the logical loopholes in the story, the backwardness in aesthetics, and the roughness in production, in fact, what should be reflected on is what kind of "magic giant" the current audience wants to see.
Is it just about pursuing technology? Is it just to see the big coffee actors? Is there a realistic special effect? Is it okay to have a grand scene?
From "Asura" starring Liang Jiahui, Liu Jialing and Wu Lei, to Zhang Yimou's "Great Wall" starring Matt Damon, Andy Lau and other stars, as well as "Legend of the Fengshen Gods", "Journey to the West: The Haunting of the Heavenly Palace", etc., domestic magic blockbusters seem to have become synonymous with "bad films".
Why? Not to mention the film industry system and technical issues, it is difficult to make local audiences empathize with the core of the story alone. Instead of thinking about how to make a movie like a "blockbuster", the creator should think about how to tell a good story in magic. (End)
Source: China News Network