From "Send Me to the Blue Clouds" to "Keep Silent", literary films are in an embarrassing situation of "applauding but not selling".
For a long time, the creators of literary and artistic films have also been seeking survival in the cracks of marketization and personal expression. It is almost impossible for to meet literary standards and sell at the box office.
However, the two films directed by Diao Yinan, "Fireworks in the Day" and "The Gathering at Southern Station", have been "popular". From 100 million in the previous film to 100 million in 3 days, Diao is the development of literary films. Developed a new idea, that is, how to find a balance between self-expression and market efficiency, and broke the vicious circle of "popular but not popular" in literary films.
01, subversive theme
It is true that directors have their own exquisite literary films and need to make connotations. Therefore, many literary films seem to be too "cold" for ordinary audiences.
is either full of the director’s detached feelings, or expressing paranoid love, or lofty ideals, and these ideas have created the "self" of literary and artistic films, whether it is the choice of themes or the shooting techniques, and has become Movies that only a few audiences who understand art can understand. The limitation and limitation of
subject matter is the main reason for the cold box office of literary films.
in "The Gathering at Southern Station", overturned the themes of previous art films.
not only chooses the crime suspense themes that most audiences are interested in, but also maintains the original elements and personality of its own literary films, so that the whole movie is full of marketing topics and maintains a proud style. One reason for the success of this movie.
is different from the northern snow scene in "Fireworks in Daylight". "The Gathering at Southern Station" moved from the north to the south and chose Wuhan, a corner of a city full of local characteristics. It told the story of Zhou Zenong, the leader of the car theft gang. The story of embarking on the road of escape and seeking self-salvation with a reward. The story of
is adapted from real events, which can evoke people's exploration of real events to a certain extent. It uses more diversified methods to provide more audiences who like crime suspense themes with a new viewing experience.
02, the narrative element
famous dramatist Pinter once said:
"White is to make black darker, and black becomes shocking."
The city should be the most harmonious and peaceful place. In traditional noir films, crime Violence and violence are the core elements, and a corner of the city is often depicted as a gathering place for crime, filled with an atmosphere of anxiety and tension, such as disputes between gangs, entanglements of love and hatred, grievances and salvation. The movie
takes Wuhan as the location city. It mainly presents the scenes of a corner of the city, the feasting streets, and the humid and dark environment. It inherits the elements and shooting techniques of Diao Dao’s consistent noir film, and strives to achieve resonance with the audience. The hero and heroine of
, Hu Ge and Gui Lunmei, speak the Wuhan dialect, which has both the suspense plot of reasoning and the case detection process of the police film, which makes the whole story more tension and rhythm.
In the selection of scenes, there are undulating lakes, zoos full of tension, as well as damp and dark paths and hidden roadside stalls. The infusion of these popular elements of makes the whole movie more enjoyable. Strong, can also express artistic ideas to a certain extent.
03, the black violent aesthetic
was highly praised by Quentin when it was released in Cannes. Diao Yinan inherited and paid tribute to director Quentin in the construction of the overall aesthetic of the film.
, for example, has several bloody and violent scenes in the play, but it does not have the horror and visual discomfort created by the previous point. is full of artistic aesthetic value, as if "splashing ink" in an oil painting.
For example, the most acclaimed "Umbrella Handle Assassination" link in the movie. In this chase scene, Hu Ge played Zhou Zenong and the Maoyan team in the fight, he took out the transparent umbrella handle and pierced the opponent Then he pressed the handle switch of the umbrella, and suddenly, the red blood was sprayed all over the transparent umbrella, but it did not spray out.
has been filled with too many ketchup-like blood splatters in the usual movies, You need to use filters or make them black and white, so as not to cause discomfort to the audience.
And this scene in "The Gathering at Southern Station" is full of murderous cruelty, and can make people "harmonize" the inner resistance and discomfort in the experience of beauty, which has a rather instructive and consistent aesthetic of violence.
04, the care of the bottom-level characters
In Diao Yinan's films, most of the characters are male-dominated, women as the auxiliary, and the bottom-level social figures are the main narrative.
is either a policeman in a middle-aged crisis or a wanted criminal. They are all marginalized and neglected groups in the city.
For example, Wu Zhizhen in "Fireworks in the Day" is portrayed as an object to satisfy the dual desires of love and career for men who have experienced a midlife crisis.
In "The Gathering at Southern Station", Gui Lunmei's Ai Ai is also a swimmer at the bottom of the society. Her destiny is not controlled by her, and she is struggling to survive under the oppression of male forces.
On the one hand, she wants to swallow Zhou Zemin’s 300,000 "left" to his wife. On the other hand, she is in compassion for Zhou Zemin's wife and the erratic feelings for Zhou Zemin, making difficult trade-offs.
As for Zhou Zemin, after five years of not going home, he thought of salvation when he was last wanted, and left his only remaining worth of 300,000 to his wife.
In the heart of everyone at the bottom of society, there is also a side that yearns for light and peace.
Even with the development of social economy, the crime rate of society is constantly rising. Through the cold camera, re-examining the people struggling to survive in the society, allows the audience to experience the darkness and helplessness of human nature under the surface of peace and harmony. .
However, this more difficult social problem is only the tip of the iceberg. Behind every crime of
is people’s excessive pursuit of material and the continuous expansion of human desires, so it will urge more unstable factors, and only pays attention to the improvement of the spiritual world and pays attention to the bottom characters. Can reduce the crime rate as efficiently as possible.
I think this is the idea of the director in this movie!
