If I am still looking forward to Wang Shuo's new novels, then from the several films he has written in recent years, I have not expected much from his new films. "Do Not Disturb 2" seems to be making quick money, and "Private Order" uses the comedy routines of the 80s and 90s to fool people, which is really disappointing.
However, I went to see his new screenwriter's movie "The Wonders of Immortality" for the first time. How to say it? I like Wang Shuo this time.
| One
At the end of 2020, I once saw another movie in the cinema, and I saw in the trailer that such a film would be screened. I was a little surprised, I didn't know that Wang Shuo actually participated in a new movie. Looking at the relevant information, I know that Wang Chuanjun and Wang Luodan starred, and the director Xu Chao was not well-known.
I started to have some expectations from then on, but soon the film was withdrawn, and it was almost a year later before it was in theaters.
The lead actor is not a first-line actor, the director is not very famous, and the name of screenwriter Wang Shuo is not appealing to today's audience. I have long judged that it will not be too popular with the market, and this morning I sat in the cinema hall and watched it by myself.
It was a bust for the theater, but for me, it was more than two hours of immersion. Wang Shuo is 63 years old, and in the movie, he wrote about the love that he was best at writing in his youth, and even more about the life and death of people.
It tells a story that spans forty or fifty years from the sixties. The hero and heroine have been young since childhood, but because of the changes in life, they are floating and heavy, gathering and scattering, and embark on a completely different path of life. Eventually they came together, but were not married.
| Two
I like that Wang Shuo writes monologues in movies, such as many of Zhang Guoguo's monologues in "A Sigh", which I often chew for many years after watching it.
Wang Chuanjun, the lead actor of "The Wonder of Immortality", has less line skills than Zhang Guoguo, but from "I am not a medicine god", he is also my favorite actor.
Some people commented that Wang Chuanjun belonged to the facial paralysis performance in "The Strange Thing of Immortality". I don't think so, such a character can be interpreted relatively calmly, just like the lines and monologues written by Wang Shuo, which have long been less lively and exuberant than he appeared when he was young. Wang Chuanjun's expression seemed single, but there was always drama in his eyes.
In contrast, the heroine played by Wang Luodan is much externalized. Some people say that her performance state is too similar to Millais in "Struggle", but I feel that this role in the movie is at least in some moments, and Millais is a bit similar, so there is no problem in acting like this.
A major plot of the movie is "Not Old", which is about the hero's use of stem cell technology and his appearance has not changed for decades. During the watching process, I have a feeling that Wang Luodan, an actor, has not changed much in appearance for so many years, playing the female lead singer of the band in his 20s in the eighties, or full of youth.
| Three
Before entering the theater, I saw that there were comments that since it involved the plot of "rejuvenation", would the movie be like "The Wonders of Benjamin Button"? Watching the whole movie does not have this feeling, but because the hero and heroine are divided and combined, and Wang Luodan plays an actress, it is reminiscent of Forrest Gump and Jenny in "Forrest Gump" many times.
At the end of "The Strange Thing of Immortality", Su Lingfang, played by Wang Luodan, is old and her thinking is not very clear, standing alone on the beach looking at the sea. Guo Xiaolu, played by Wang Chuanjun, approached her, and his face was still so young.
Su Lingfang did not know him, and told him about playing by the beach when he was a child, and Guo Xiaolu said that I knew. "How do you know?" "Because I'm here."
At the end of the film, the hero's confession rings out again, "Sorry to tell such a long story, which contains my relatives, my friends, and my lovers." I used to think about how I could be with them forever, but now I understand that parting is really forever. ”
With such a monologue, Guo Xiaolu's family, lovers, friends, and teachers who have been constantly leaving in his life have returned. Instead of a simple presentation of the old shots, it seems that their relationship is more harmonious, and everyone is smiling brightly.
| Four
Wang Shuo, who has passed the age of flower armor, has experienced some life and death over the years, and has witnessed many joys and sorrows in life. He should have seen through many things, so that he calmly told us a story about love, life and life and death.
"The Wonders of Immortality" is not destined to sell well, but I like Wang Shuo, who has a long relationship here.