At the end of the last century, South Korea put forward the national strategy of cultural nation-building, and since then Korean cinema has moved to the fast lane of development.
At the same time, the Chinese film industry has also begun to transform significantly under the stimulation of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
As a result, China spent a lot of money to shoot the milestone movie "Hero", and South Korea also broke their film investment record to shoot an epic blockbuster "Samurai".
It can be said that "Hero" and "Samurai" have achieved high achievements, but the two films also have a similar fate, "Hero" has suffered a large number of bad reviews in China, and "Samurai", in which both China and South Korea participated in the filming, seems to have been forgotten in both countries.
The author believes that "Samurai" is an unquestionably excellent film, but the fate of the film is more or less related to the historical background in which its plot is located.
First, the plot of "Samurai"
In 457 (1375 AD, the eighth year of the Ming Dynasty Hongwu), Goryeo sent a mission to Daming, and the mission was guarded by the Dragon and Tiger Riders led by Choi Jeong (Zhu Zhenmo) and the Zhouzhen Army led by Chen Li (An Shengji), the mission was enlarged by Zhu Yuanzhang, and on the way it encountered the Northern Yuan cavalry, the Ming army was completely destroyed, and the mission was released by the Northern Yuan and allowed to return to China.
On the way back to China, people continue to die, and the ambassador gives his slave Lu Song (Zheng Yusheng) freedom before dying.
At the Desert Inn, the mission encounters the army of the Northern Yuan general Lahamu (Yu Rongguang), who holds Princess Furong (Zhang Ziyi) hostage in the Ming Dynasty. Raham rescued Lu Song, who had killed five merchants in a row.
Cui Zheng decided to ambush Raham to rescue Princess Furong, and then escorted the princess back to Nanjing to complete the mission of friendship with the Ming Dynasty. During the melee, Lu Song rescued the princess and released the wounded Lahamu.
The mission came to the abandoned guardhouse by the sea, Lahamu led his army to surround the guardhouse, and under the melee between the two armies, Lahamu, Lu Song, Cui Zheng and the soldiers were killed, leaving chen Li alone in the mission, who, with the help of Ming dynasty refugees, drove a small boat to bid farewell to the princess and returned to Goryeo.
If you talk about the plot, "Samurai" is more complete and wonderful than "Hero" and "Hero of Heaven and Earth", vengeance, ambush, heads-up, melee, horse fighting, infantry combat, sniper... You can think of all kinds of battle scenes In the film, there are also emotional scenes such as love triangles, master-servant love, and men appreciating each other, the original version of the whole film has nearly four hours, and there are also two and a half hours after editing, but it does not feel lengthy to watch, and the plot is very compact and gripping.
Second, the strange historical background
Many domestic audiences who have watched "Samurai" will have some doubts about the plot of the film:
Wasn't Goryeo a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, and why were the missions magnified by Zhu Yuanzhang?
Why didn't the Northern Yuan cavalry kill the Goryeo people? Why didn't Raham watch out for the Goryeo mission?
Why did Cui Zheng have to complete the mission of making friends with the Ming Dynasty?
Why does the scene in the film quickly shift from the desert to the sea?
Why do the Koryo people in the film say that they have fought with the Red Turban Army and the Wokou, where is this?
The historical background set in the "Samurai" movie is 1375 AD, and what happened around this point in time is only a small wave in the long river of history for China, but it is an important historical stage for Goryeo and Korea, roughly equivalent to the state of the years before the end of the Qing Dynasty in China.
Goryeo was once a vassal state of the Yuan Dynasty, during the Red Turban Rebellion, Goryeo sent troops to assist the Yuan Dynasty, and later Liu Futong Northern Expedition, the Red Turban Army twice crossed the Yalu River into Goryeo, once occupied Pyongyang, and was later defeated by the Goryeo army.
At the same time, southern Goryeo, which is now Busan, was often attacked by the Wokou, so the Koryo soldiers in Samurai say they fought with the Red Turban Army and the Wokou. Chen Li, the leader of the State Town Army, spoke Chinese, proving that he may have followed the Goryeo army to China to assist the Yuan Dynasty in attacking the Red Turban Army.
After Zhu Yuanzhang's Northern Expedition, Goryeo faced two directions, on the one hand, they continued to communicate with the Northern Yuan, especially with Nahachu in Liaodong for a time. Therefore, the Northern Yuan cavalry in "Samurai" still treats the Koryo as friends and is not wary.
On the other hand, Goryeo also began to submit to the Ming Dynasty. However, due to the different forces in Goryeo, the Ming emissaries were killed twice, and Zhu Yuanzhang was furious. There is also a historical basis for saying in the Samurai that Zhu Yuanzhang exiled emissaries because they were killed.
Cui Zheng, a dragon and tiger riding officer in "Samurai", insists on saving the Ming princess in order to complete the mission of the mission to make friends with the Ming Dynasty. This should be related to his identity, he repeatedly mentioned how the "father" in the film, it is estimated that his father may be the last famous general of Goryeo Choe Ying, Choe Ying is the loyal general of the King of Goryeo, the King of Goryeo at that time was in the depths of the water, and it is difficult to ensure the throne without making good friends with the Ming Dynasty, so Choi Zheng should be adhering to his father's teachings and resolutely completing the tasks that do not belong to him.
The story takes place in 1375, when the Northern Yuan forces were still strong, and even defeated Xu Da and Li Wenzhong, so the Goryeo mission would encounter the Northern Yuan cavalry in the exiled desert, and it is estimated that their position may not be far from the current Bohai Sea, and the coastal guardhouse they reached should be near the Bohai Sea.
It is precisely because of this period of history that it is somewhat chaotic and strange that it eventually led to the suspension of "Samurai".
The three and five major protagonists have their own advantages
The male number one of "Samurai" should be Lu Song played by Zheng Yusheng, who was also named Zheng Yucheng at that time.
Lu Song is a slave of an ambassador, loyal and brave, introverted and paranoid, in the film belongs to the type of people who do not talk much, and is the kind of handsome and cool man who is easier to capture girls' liking.
However, the author believes that this role is a bit twisted in the film, especially his bridge with Lahamu, which makes people feel a bit ridiculous, and Lahamu is also unlucky, and he has to surrender this male lion, and as a result, he and the male lion are all dead.
The Ming Dynasty Princess Furong played by Zhang Ziyi is very brilliant, but some netizens think that she is too proud and too capable of doing, cutting, there are delicate princesses, of course, there are princesses who can be made, princesses can not have only one type, at least the author feels that Zhang Ziyi has nothing to say whether from appearance or acting. The Korean director chose her, which is also estimated to be related to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
Interestingly, there was a rumor that Zheng Yusheng and Zhang Ziyi were in love, and then Zheng Yusheng laughed and denied it, he said that the two people did not even understand the language, and they had to speak through the translator, how can this talk about love? Talk through translation?
Zheng Yusheng also praised Zhang Ziyi's professionalism, saying that he hoped that Korean actresses could be like Zhang Ziyi.
There is a love triangle plot in "Samurai", generally speaking of Cui Zheng, Lü Song and Princess Furong, but the author feels that Lahamu, played by Yu Rongguang, seems to be able to form another triangle, Lahamu, Princess Furong and Lü Song.
Raham is one of the most tragic characters in "Samurai", who saved Lu Song, was also spared by Lu Song, and finally died because of Lu Song and the princess, in the end, a general who died of personal feelings.
The author is interested in the prototype of Lahamu, and it is certain that his prototype is not the Liaodong Taiwei Naha, but it may be a famous figure of the Yuan Dynasty, who is known as the "Strange Man of the World", that is, Wang Baobao.
The reason is that Wang Baobao was indeed in the limelight in 1375, and he had previously defeated Xu Da and Li Wenzhong. In addition, according to the Ming Dynasty history records, Wang Baobao died in 1375, the cause of death is unknown, so if the "Samurai" chooses the prototype of Wang Baobaodang Lahamu, it is also reasonable.
In "Samurai", the author's favorite is not the above three characters, male number one, female number one and villain number one, but the other two are relatively more like supporting roles, Cui Zheng and Chen Li.
Choi Jeong, played by Zhu Zhenmo, is the leader of the regular army dragon and tiger in the film, bent on thinking about the king of Goryeo, fighting a battle, and still not forgetting his original intention when he suffers from the incomprehension and humiliation of the state town army, although there is unfairness in handling Lü Song, but on the whole, he is a responsible and responsible excellent officer.
Chen Li, played by An Shengji, is a respected veteran officer in the film, who can protect his subordinates when the state town army is bullied by dragons and tigers, and can also support Cui Zheng's decision in the face of major issues of right and wrong.
What fascinates the author the most is that Chen Li has a hundred steps through Yang's archery skills, and in battle, he always lurks up and sneaks with a bow and arrow, a hundred shots, and is a trustworthy veteran.
At the end of the film, only Chen Li survived the Koryo mission, and he carried the logo of all the missions and crossed the sea in a small boat to return to his homeland, which made people sigh.
Only those who have experienced a long journey can see the long road back home.
Fourth, the fate is uncertain
After the filming of "Samurai" was completed, it was highly sought after when it was released in South Korea, but it was suspended in China for a long time.
First of all, because some of the scenes of "Samurai" are too bloody, the film was cut from 230 minutes to 154 minutes.
Secondly, due to the complex background of the era in which the story of the film is located, the Chinese side hopes that the South Korean side will add some subtitles to explain the historical background and details clearly, but the South Korean side did not do so, but chose to release it directly in South Korea.
It is said that in the end, "Samurai" was released in some theaters in China, but the response was mediocre, and the author bought a disc from an image store to watch.
Realistically speaking, the two suggestions put forward by the Chinese side do have a certain truth, even if it is a deleted movie, the author still feels that some of the pictures are too bloody, such as the scene where Lu Song cuts off the head of a businessman with a spear, and the fight in the guardhouse at the end of the film, which is real and real, and it is really shocking to watch. You can imagine what the picture looked like before the deletion.
The other is the historical background mentioned above, this history is relatively unpopular for china's history lovers, not to mention for ordinary audiences, let us think about it in another way, let koreans look at the history of the late Qing Dynasty before the Wuchang Uprising, they will also be confused, without subtitles to explain that it is really difficult.
Finally, although the film industry generally believes that "Hero" and "Samurai" are milestones and watersheds in the film industry of China and South Korea, in the following two decades, the film industry of the two countries did not follow the path of martial arts and blockbusters of these two films, and Chinese films paid more and more attention to the domestic market with entertainment themes, such as "Hello, Li Huanying". Korean films are increasingly paying attention to extroverted realist themes, such as "Parasite".
Therefore, it is normal for epic blockbusters such as "Samurai" and "Heroes" and "Heroes of Heaven and Earth" to be forgotten.