September 18, 2022 | Total issue 2998
is less than two weeks away from the National Day file, the second largest ticket warehouse of the year, and there is no blockbuster set.
On the one hand, under the disturbance of the epidemic, the film side is holding back and reluctant to sell; on the other hand, the market signals given by the summer and mid-autumn files are not optimistic, making it difficult and late to set the film.
's Mid-Autumn Festival movie in mainland China this year ended with 371 million yuan. Compared with last year's performance of 499 million yuan, the revenue dropped sharply. The
Mid-Autumn Festival has released a total of 12 new films, including the fantasy + comedy "Hello, Brother", the action film " Wolves ", and the drama "Mom!" "" has her in the world, ", "the end of the sea is the grassland ", " still thinks you are the best " and so on. It can be seen that realistic dramas are the mainstream of this year's Mid-Autumn Festival.
Compared with other movie genres, action movies and sci-fi movies attract audiences with high concept settings and big scenes. Drama films mainly rely on the ups and downs of the plot and the development of the characters to drive the progress of the entire film. The overall style is about realism.
Looking back on this year's film market, "'s life events " and "Miracle · Stupid Child" have created more than 1 billion box office. Such achievements prove that feature films can also boost the film market market .
But it's not very often that feature films are selling well. "Mom! ""I Still Think You're the Best" has an outstanding reputation, and the box office is cold. Are all dramas slow to heat?
think from the creative point of view, after the release of the feature film, there is a high probability that it will embark on three different paths of destiny: applaud and popular, applaud and not popular, and neither applaud nor popular. There are very few situations where the seats are not well received.
was applauded and popular, and
"Miracle · Stupid Child" and "Life Events" are the double stars in this year's drama. The box office of the two works has crossed the threshold of 1 billion yuan, and the Douban score both exceeded 7 points, achieving a win-win situation at the box office and word of mouth.
"Miracle · Stupid Child" stood out in the Spring Festival, and "Life Events" once took the lead in the summer. These two films have no dazzling special effects and no fantasy stories. How can they be so successful with their down-to-earth realistic stories?
First of all, the film looks at the bottom people and marginalized people.
"Miracle · Stupid Children" depicts the group portraits of migrant workers in Shenzhen, and "Life Events" focuses on funeral practitioners. They are an integral part of a city, but they are rarely noticed. Two films brought them into the spotlight, thickly rewritten.
"Miracle · Stupid Child" is driven by Jing Hao ( Yi Yang Qianxi ) who is in urgent need of a sum of money to treat his sick sister. Through the tortuous story of the protagonist running an electronics factory, the film shows the indomitable spirit of the characters, as well as the inclusive and innovative characteristics of Shenzhen.
Jing Hao is not only a migrant worker, but also a man with dreams. He is the epitome of young people in this era. People who work hard for life and ideals in the city will get emotional resonance from Jing Hao.
Jinghao's difficult situation in the film is constantly overweighted. In addition to his sister's huge operation fee, he also has to face many problems such as shortage of factory funds, disputes among internal members, and products coveted by external thieves. The pain of
makes people resonate at the same frequency, recalling their own ordeals. The sense of refreshment makes people feel at ease and swept away the depression of reality. Wen Muye transformed the theme of the main theme into the narrative of a drama film, which once again hit the audience's lacrimal glands.
"Miracle · Stupid Child" gives full play to the advantages of a realistic drama, from the story content to the characterization, it closely follows the reality, and successfully establishes a bond of empathy with the audience, thus achieving an extraordinary win-win situation.
Let's talk about "life events". The film focuses on the mortician group, which is both familiar and unfamiliar to ordinary people.
Understanders are usually not seen, and their presence often accompanies death. They are very low-key, but the last part of the deceased's journey must be seen off by them. The core characters in
"Life Events" are the funeral director Mo Sanmei ( Zhu Yilong ) and the little girl Wu Xiaowen (Yang Enyou). Through their eyes, the audience sees how the mortician treats the deceased and the new life of the bereaved.
"Life is nothing but death" This short line of Mo Sanmei's father expresses an optimistic and open-minded attitude towards life. Every deceased person sent away by Mo Sanmei is accompanied by a sad family. He not only allowed the deceased to live with dignity, but also used his true feelings to help the living learn to let go of the past.
It has been three years since the epidemic, and many people have experienced separation and pain. The compassion and reality observation conveyed by "Major Events in Life" has achieved emotional communication with the audience.
Secondly, the genre elements are incorporated into the drama. The comedy and action elements in
"Miracle · Stupid Child" enhance the entertainment effect of the film. comedians Wang Ning and Xu Juncong brought their own joy as soon as they appeared on the stage, and Yi Yang Qianxi led a team to fight with a group of local ruffians, as well as the car scene where they were desperate. These scenes with comedic effects and intense conflict are subtly integrated into the plot and successfully arouse the excitement of the audience.
The typology of "Life Events" is a combination of tragedy and comedy. Mo Sanmei's daily job is burial, and sadness lingers in his life. However, Wu Xiaowen suddenly broke into his life, this fearless and unrelenting child, constantly causing trouble, but brought a comic effect to the film.
Wu Xiaowen made a riot in other people's mourning halls and graffitied the urns of customers. Although it caused Sanmei Mo annoyance, it also made him gradually have a father-daughter relationship. The arrival of Xiaowen brings sunshine and hope to Mo Sanmei's life. The film's emotion constantly switches between tragedy and comedy, leaving audiences with laughter and tears.
"Miracle, Stupid Child" and "Life Events" have creative themes in simple language, and enhance the film's highlights with a typological approach. The two works of are good-looking and memorable, and they have become the model works of this year's feature films.
applauded but not, closely linked to the pain points in life
"Mom! "I still think you are the best" after its release in the Mid-Autumn Festival, the box office did not have much success, but the word of mouth was outstanding. Both works have passed the threshold of 7 points on Douban.
This is also the norm for realistic drama films. Most drama films can only attract a small number of fans in the market. After word of mouth spreads, it may break the circle, such as "Hidden in the Dust".
whatever "Mom! "I still think you are the best" can wait until the day when the box office counterattacks, can not cover up the artistic quality of the work itself.
From a creative point of view, "Mom! "I still think you are the best" have a common feature of these two works, that is, they are closely related to the pain points of life.
"Mom! "Focusing on the aging population and Alzheimer's patients, "Still Think You Are the Best" shows Hong Kong's housing tension and contemporary emotional anxiety.
"Mom! ” tells the story that happens around the audience. According to 's seventh national census data, in 2020, the national population will total 1.41 billion, and the population aged 65 and over will account for 13.5%, which means that my country is accelerating its aging. In the
film, the mother ( Wu Yanshu ) is 85 years old, and the daughter ( Xi Meijuan ) is 65 years old. The two old people depend on each other for life. The daughter has Alzheimer's disease and gradually loses the ability to live, and needs her mother to take care of her.
"Mom! "shows the contemporaryThe life problems of the elderly in society, they lack care and have a difficult life. The daughter in the film tried her best to arrange her diet and family savings before she got sick, trying not to burden her mother as much as possible.
After the mother learned that her daughter was ill, she tried her best to learn the skills of caring for her daughter. Even if the daughter no longer recognizes her mother, she still takes care of her daughter with the most gentle attitude.
"Mom! " not only has a touching story, but also can trigger the audience's introspection. Do we have such tolerance and understanding for the elderly and relatives? This work gives full play to the realistic appeal of the film, allowing the story and characters to touch the hearts of the audience.
Let's talk about "I still think you are the best". The explicit expression of the film is about the current situation of emotional anxiety of contemporary people. Couples rely on the Internet to communicate, but they add unnecessary misunderstandings. Contemporary people have less and less trust in marriage and are even accustomed to single life. The rate of marriage and childbearing is declining year by year, which has become a common phenomenon in many developed regions. The implicit expression of the
film is to show the crowded living space of Hong Kong people. The three brothers live in the house left by their parents, which used to be a family-owned processing factory for making lo-mei. The high rent outside prevented the two younger brothers from moving out. The three brothers
later had their own girlfriends, and they all moved in. Girlfriends also want to have free and relatively independent living space.
"Still Think You're the Best" designed a relatively closed environment, a house, from three people to six people, the bumps and disputes in life started from this. Such wonderful living relationships are common in Hong Kong and other big cities.
The high housing prices in cities have spawned a high-density living environment, and the relationship between people has become more and more delicate. Such a description of life pain points makes the audience involuntarily empathize.
"Mom! " and "I Still Think You Are the Best" are films of outstanding quality and simple appearance. As long as the audience has gone into the theater to enjoy these two works, they will likely like the film, which will further boost the reputation of the two works.
Drama films are like a mirror, often reflecting the predicaments of our lives. Some people in the are unwilling to "add blockages" and prefer bright genre films, but it is actually quite good to go to the theater to have a dialogue with the main creator and live a private spiritual life in a black box.
Modern people are getting busier and more lonely. When you can't always have a good drink with three or five friends and inspire yourself, the movie can warm your heart and arouse your emotions thoughtfully. How fast is this? Where can I find the province?
is not good or bad, the platter movie is incongruous
In 2019, after the great success of the movie " Me and My Motherland ", the creation of platter movies became lively. This year, " you are my spring ", "there is her in the world", " seven-member band " and other platter movies have been released one after another, but they all performed mediocre.
"You Are My Spring" and "There is Her in the World" have similar themes. They are all depicting people living in the epidemic.
First, platter stories, emotional breaks. "You Are My Spring" tells five stories, "There is Her in the World" consists of three stories. Multiple stories are spliced together and not seamless. In
"You Are My Spring", the protagonists of the unit story are medical staff, community workers , drivers, tour guides, etc., showing the lives of different groups of people in the epidemic.
The problems faced by each group of characters and the environment they are in are very different. The unit stories are spliced together, and the emotions of the characters and the atmosphere of the story are broken. The previous story is still full of grief, and the next story is full of joy, making it difficult for the audience to have a sustained emotional resonance.
"The World Has Her" has the same problem. The film tells the stories of three groups of characters that are not closely related to each other. Although it is describing the appearance of all beings under the epidemic, the stories are separate.The rhythm is too fast, and it is easy for the audience to get out of the play. If the
feature film fails to make the audience feel immersed, it means that this work does not capture the essence of life, and the creation is in a suspended state. Such works are likely to be cold in the market and have a low reputation.
Secondly, there are many directors and their strength is uneven. "You Are My Spring" was jointly completed by five directors, and "There is Her in the World" was jointly completed by three directors. The director is the brain of a movie. If there are too many directors, the style of the movie may be inconsistent.
"You Are My Spring" consists of five short films, with distinct differences in video style to actors' performances. There seems to be no resonance between the directors, and the five stories are spliced together, not like a whole.
"There is Her in the World" was completed by three directors of Li Shaohong , Chen Chong , and Zhang Aijia . The first story directed by Li Shaohong focuses on the conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. The selection of materials is not new, but the performance is superb. At the end, the reconciliation of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law came too suddenly to convince the audience. The second story directed by
Chen Chong focuses on a long-distance couple. Lovers can't meet each other, they can only care about each other through video connection. Although the identity setting of long-distance lovers is representative, the shaping of the two characters lacks uniqueness, the characters are difficult to enter the hearts of the audience, and the story is slightly thin.
Zhang Aijia's third story focuses on the relationship between husband and wife. Under the epidemic, all living beings are suffering. In the film, the fierce quarrel between husband and wife seems to lead to divorce, but after the emotional outbreak, it is their calmness and soft-heartedness. Such a delicate handling method realizes the emotional landing of the characters. The three stories of
"The World Has Her" have the same theme, but the strength is uneven. The three short films did not form an organic whole, and lacked the strength of combined boxing.
Conclusion
The investment threshold for feature films is relatively low, so there are quantitative advantages. However, the threshold for the creation of feature films is extremely high. How a story can move people's hearts is a difficult problem for screenwriters and directors.
can see from the acclaimed and popular "Miracle Stupid Child" and "Life Events" that finding the right subject matter and identifying the right characters is the key. Of course,
is very good for it to be well-received and well-received. There is a market reason for being well-received and well-received. A well-received is a victory. There is no such thing as a bad reception for a drama film, and if it is not well received, it must be a creative failure.
The concept of first is often the beginning of failure. If you want to impress the audience, you must first impress yourself, and if you want to impress yourself, you must first sink into life.
In terms of market prospects, the potential energy of realistic drama films is no less than that of genre films, as evidenced by the 3.1 billion box office of " I'm Not the God of Medicine ". Life is an inexhaustible treasure trove of subject matter, it depends on whether you have the eyes and the brush for tracing.
[Text/Cui Ting]
