1905 Movie News "Listen to me, buy it!"
Hu Ge and Lei Jiayin, the starring actors of "The Party at Southern Station" and "The Whistleblower", had previously visited the Internet celebrity live broadcast rooms to promote the movie plus ticket sales.
Under the hard yelling of "Lipstick Brother" Li Jiaqi, "The Party at Southern Station" sold up to 255,000 movie tickets online. In addition to the two new films
, they both follow the online roadshow mode of live streaming movie tickets, and they are also "the same house" in creation.
doesn't have to say that the stories are all crime themes, Xiaodianjun also sees a deeper doorway between them.
After "The Gathering at South Station" was unveiled in Cannes in May this year, many foreign media gave praise:
"This is a vibrant, poetic and unique Chinese noir film"; "Escape from Prison" "You Only Live Once" and "Night Escape", the classic noir films will come to mind"; "Suddenly I feel that China is the most suitable place for film noir in the world"... After
was released in China, many audiences Like foreign media, there is a word used in the evaluation-"Noir film". And "The Whistleblower" also has a vaguely "film noir" flavor.
What exactly is "film noir"? Is it black and white? dark humor? Or is the whole story very "dark"?
In fact, the “film noir” that has taken root from Hollywood is growing wildly in mainland China, combining with various types to form a new look. how to say? Xiaodianjun will make it popular for everyone.
What is "film noir"?
The term "Film Noir" (Film Noir) was invented by the French in 1946. French commentators found that since the early 1940s, a group of films with similar styles and patterns have been produced worldwide. These films are often adapted from detective novels. Most of them depict crime stories in the city, full of gloom, anxiety, despair, and horror, as well as a kind of compassionate fatalism.
The French claimed that Marcel Carne’s "Dawn" was the first film noir, and Hollywood believed that "Malta Eagle" was their pioneering work.
But in any case, the emergence of the well-known noir films such as "Gone with the Tribulation", "Sunset Boulevard", "Double Compensation" and "Beauty" has created a vibrant and explosive golden age in Hollywood movie history.
also appeared in the field of European film, such as "The Third Person", "Informer", "Red Circle", "Elevator to the Gallows" and a series of noir films.
So why are these films called noir films? Paul Schrader, the screenwriter of
"Taxi Driver", once listed the common points of seven noir films for everyone, which is also their common technique:
most of the scenes are lit according to the night scene;
(photographic composition) I would rather use diagonal and vertical lines rather than horizontal lines;
provides equal lighting intensity for actors and sets;
composition tension takes precedence over actor’s physical movements;
is almost Freudian attachment to water;
's preference for romantic narratives;
often uses complicated time series to enhance the feeling of hopelessness and passing time. There is so much eloquence in
. In short, the first five talk about visual style, and the second two focus on narrative features.
Noir film is first of all a very strong and highly stylized visual system. In layman's terms, most scenes take place in the empty streets of the city at night or places where secret meetings such as stations and piers are at night, often accompanied by rain, fog and other special weather. The protagonist of
often hides in dark shadows, usually using side light to reinforce one of his faces, while the other side is always covered by the shadows of doors, windows, pillars, railings and other objects. The shooting angle of
is often slanted and unbalanced, creating a kind of mystery, and also alluding to the protagonist's righteousness and evil and his inner anxiety.
Before "The Gathering at Southern Station", there were a few domestic films that used the iconic visual elements of these noir films, including "Bental Year" directed by Xie Fei, Zhang Yibai’s "Curiosity Kills the Cat", Ning Hao’s "No Man’s Land" and Diao Yinan’s "Fireworks in the Day" etc. The director of
Diao Yinan has always insisted on transplanting Western film noirs to China. Although he currently has only 4 directorial works, the visual qualities of film noirs are stronger than one. In
"Fireworks in the Day", there is endless rain and snow in northeastern towns, the streets are dim, and the contrast between bright and dark creates a very cold and depressing atmosphere.
"The Gathering at South Station" is a masterpiece of his film noir style.
It is understood that there are 106 scenes in the film, 71 of which are night scenes, accounting for 80% of the entire film.
was filmed during the humid rainy season in Wuhan. Zhou Zenong, played by Hu Ge, ran from the station to the narrow alleyway, fleeing all the way, shining with rain. The
movie also uses shadow to make a big fuss. The
lens will shoot the body reflections of Hu Ge and Gui Lunmei on the wall.
Their faces are covered by shadows from time to time, bright and dark.
When they were in the performing arts studio, the polygon mirror they placed seemed to borrow from the film noir "Miss Shanghai".
According to these visual standards, "The Gathering at Southern Station" can really be regarded as the first typical film noir style in Mainland China.
can't live without "female beauty"!
If there is no "female beauty", it would not be a film noir. The heroines in
noir films are both beautiful and intelligent, but also active and powerful like men. They are mysterious, always fascinated by the male protagonist, and follow them around.
They will wore a gorgeous evening dress, quietly appearing from the shadows, revealing their thighs; they will carry guns and cigarette cases to carry out secret operations. Their faces and guns are enough to "kill".
Simply put, they are "black belly" characters.
If you are not familiar with the film noirs of the last century, you must have seen this scene of Rebecca Ferguson in "Mission Impossible 5". This is also a film full of retro temperament of film noir.
Women in noir films are usually at the heart of a conspiracy.
They only care about themselves, they will use improper means to obtain money and benefits, but they often have to pay the price of death or submission. Most of the heroes of
are tough detectives or policemen. They will have some obsessive-compulsive disorder. Under the temptation of "femme beauty", they are deeply involved in an unsolvable case, smashing to the end for one thing, until the last possibility I can't figure out what happened.
film scholar Jan Damico once summarized the emotional relationship and plot development of the heroes and heroines in film noir:
"Whether a man is destined to act by chance or because he is hired to deal with a woman specifically Their life experience makes them bloody and painful. When they met this woman who had the same outlook on life, he was not innocent and innocent. He was attracted to her from the sexual aspect, so he could not escape bad luck..."
sees this Isn’t "The Gathering at South Station" and "The Whistleblower" such a plot mode? The personality and destiny of the heroes and heroines of
are all in line with the above-mentioned noir film narrative routine, which is exactly the same.
Zhou Zenong's wild vicissitudes, taciturn chivalrous temperament is like walking from Melville's noir film. There is only one main cause or ultimate goal destined for him in the film-while fleeing, leave a bounty to his wife.
But in the process, he got acquainted with Liu Aiai, the "accompanying swimmer" played by Gui Lunmei. Liu Aiai was his helper, attracted him, and "betrayed" him, leading him to a dead end.
"femme beauty" is also often the target of male investigators in film noir, becoming the key to solving crimes. This is the relationship between Liao Fan and Gui Lunmei in the film.
In "The Whistleblower", Ma Ke, played by Lei Jiayin, was originally a winner in life with a successful career and a happy family. When he met his ex-girlfriend Tang Wei, he started to lose his head and lose his head.
Tang Wei brought him from Australia to Africa, not only causing him to be chased by a killer, but also facing a situation where his wife was scattered.
Even if he is so confused that he does not know the truth of the case, Lei Jiayin is still like a "big silly boy".Follow her desperately on the ground.
On the way, Tang Wei cruelly betrayed Lei Jiayin for his own life-saving money, and the "selfishness" of "femme beauty" was fully revealed.
Although "Whistleblower" is not like "The Gathering of Southern Station", there is no shadow of film noir in the picture, but the overall characterization and plot mode are written according to the template of film noir.
Hu Ge and Lei Jiayin play the two male protagonists in common. They both have the moral ambiguity of male characters in film noir, but they have a sense of justice.
Zhou Zenong is the small leader of the theft gang, and Ma Ke is the "scum man" of the derailed predecessor, but in the end, they all become "heroes" in a certain sense:
Zhou Zenong does his best for the happiness of his wife in the latter half of his life and pays for love ; Ma Ke bravely reported the trade conspiracy and corruption of overseas companies and became an unsung hero who saved a city.
"Film Noir" is growing savagely in the Mainland.
Film noir was born during World War II and the Cold War. It was an era when the American dream fell apart and society was full of insecurity. After
, the emergence of new noir films from "Chinatown", "Ice and Blood Storm", "Seven Deadly Sins" to "Old Nowhere" and "Birdman" have given more new connotations and new styles, but they are still inseparable in essence. Zong.
When film noir came to China from the Western world, many changes have taken place.
From "Fireworks in Daylight" to "Gathering at Southern Station", especially the latter, there have been a lot of street scenes, squares, archways, motorcycles unique to China...the neon lights of the city at night and the special edge of China's urban and rural areas The landscape is combined to form a uniquely beautiful heterotopia world full of charm.
Traditional noir films often have a "misogynistic" stance, and the portrayal of the "femme beauty" is very veneer and symbolic. However, in "South Station" and "Whistleblower", both Gui Lunmei and Tang Wei are atypical Film noir female image.
Gui Lunmei has a tanned complexion, freckles on his face, and his body is in a state of weakness.
Tang Wei's overall appearance is simple and capable, and it is not sexy on the screen most of the time. Only when he meets Lei Jiayin for the first time and escapes for the first time, he shows a bit of beauty. In addition to the appearance of
, these female characters are also brighter and warmer. They all reversed at the end of the film to complete their own salvation. The visual and narrative elements of
noir films are gradually merging with domestic genre films to create new forms.
In "South Station", Hu Ge's character and action scenes are designed with the route of martial arts movies, and the grander narrative theme of "The Whistleblower" is the mainstream melody with Chinese characteristics.
Ning Hao’s "Crazy" series introduces black texture into local humorous comedies, and pays more attention to low-level characters; Guan Hu’s "Killing" and "Bull Fighting" express black themes with absurd fables; Cao Baoping's "Scorching Sun" and "The Murderer" Also" creates a black suspenseful spirit in the context of social reality.
Diao Yinan said, "I have always been very interested in the changing human nature of film noir." He believes that film noir allows directors to keep thinking about society and humanity, and the development of China also provides natural soil for the creation of film noir.
uses the film noir model to produce works that are both interesting and expressive by the author. This type is also expanding the development space for domestic art films.
"Fireworks in the Day" received more than 100 million box office that year, breaking the curse of the bleak box office of the literary movie theaters and becoming the highest-grossing literary film at that time. With the help of film noir + star cast, Lou Ye filmed "Clouds Made of Rain in the Wind" and "Lanxin Theater" successively, and entered the public eye.
As the domestic audience has become more diversified in aesthetics, the overall market and film industry have become more mature, and film noir also provides a stage for new directors to enter the commercial mainstream.
"Heart Labyrinth", "Violent Silent", "Blizzard Coming", "The Last Night on Earth" and so on are everywhere. Among them, the story of "Earth" is a genre frame in which the detective and the "femme beauty" fall in love, and Bi Gan also described this as a romantic "black fairy tale".
Regardless of the outcome of the film, it is precisely because the story of film noir is born with commercial attributes, plus the "one kiss"With the help of "New Year's Eve" marketing and promotion, it was able to ferment rapidly at the time and directly attract the general public to enter the theater. The
noir film stimulates the imagination of the film and creates unlimited possibilities. It is both genre and art; it is both commercial and also Author; both mainstream and independent, able to get through the "two lines of both governor and governor" of film creation.
is also just like the observation and judgment made by the producer of "The Gathering of Southern Station" Shen Yang: film noir may be a Chinese film in the next few years The wind direction is not only due to industry ecology, but also because this type of film happens to be an effective bridge between the author’s expression and the market.
