"In Shanghai in 1992, some people took advantage of the wind, and some people returned to zero in half a day..." Amid numerous calls, "Flowers", the first TV series directed by Wong Kar-wai, was launched on the 27th.
The beginning of the story surprised the audience. The smug Mr. Bao never imagined that as soon as he opened the door of the Mercedes-Benz, a car hit him from behind, and Mr. Bao was seriously injured. All stories unfold slowly from his memories.
The opening chapter of "Flowers" is quite unique. There is a dialogue between Mr. Bao (played by Hu Ge) and Jin Yucheng, the original author of "Flowers". Mr. Bao walked into the attic and saw Jin Yucheng. Ask the other person if they have a name in mind. Jin Yucheng's answer was - not yet, only the beginning - to go to the attic alone. Those who are familiar with "Flowers" should know that "Going to the Attic Alone" is the screen name under which Jin Yucheng wrote this work.
The screen changed, it was Shanghai at the end of 1992. Riding on the spring breeze of reform and opening up, many people have entered the stock market, some have made money, and some have lost money. A Bao in the story has become Mr. Bao. In his own words, he is like most of the Abaos in Shanghai, struggling to make a living and support the market every day in this bustling world. The
TV series "Flowers" projects the story perspective into the early 1990s. The era is changing rapidly. Shanghai is the forefront of economic development, and all walks of life are showing a vigorous vitality. Director Wong Kar-Wai said in the trailer that Po, who had nothing, turned around in ten years and became the all-powerful Mr. Bao. "In addition to his personal struggle, he also needs the blessing of the times."
From the perspective of the story, "Flowers" focuses on He learned the story of A Bao becoming President Bao, and became a man of the hour in Shanghai in the 1990s by relying on "doing foreign trade with his left hand and stock trading with his right hand". The fate of small people in the context of a big era, such propositions and themes are not new. Drama series such as "Dajiang Dahe" and "Chicken Feathers Flying to the Sky" are all excellent masterpieces.
The difference is that "Flowers" uses a suspense-like technique to create it. How Bao, an ordinary alley boy in Shanghai, becomes Bao is always the main line. It is up to him to bring out Lingzi, Miss Wang, Li Li and other complicated and confusing things. s story. At the beginning of the
series, Mr. Bao was seriously injured in a car accident. All the stories slowly unfolded from his memories... Was the car accident an accident or man-made? Many characters appeared one by one, and the outside world was asking about Mr. Bao's safety. What was the cause of the car accident? Among the many suspenses, it attracts the audience to keep watching.
However, it is not easy to smoothly enter the plot of "Flowers", especially for most people who watch the drama at double speed. There are too many characters in the story, and various characters appear in person. The audience cannot immediately understand who is who. In addition, the first episode has narration, flashbacks, interludes, and different stories from various eras. If you don't pay attention, you won't be able to understand the plot before and after.
Putting aside the story level, "Flowers" has a high-end feel and a strong "Wong Kar-Wai style". The overall color tone presents an elegant and delicate golden color, which makes people return to the 1990s in a second. Whether it's the neon lights flashing on the streets of Shanghai or the ordinary fireworks in the streets and alleys, they are all lively and full of life, including the prosperity and prosperity of Shanghai in the 1990s, but also the haziness and ambiguity.
But when photographing people, they are always lonely, whether it is Mr. Bao’s back when the neon lights are flashing, or when the fireworks are blooming during the New Year, the blurred background and the lonely protagonist, the warm background and the lonely figure. The characters always speak of an inexplicable loneliness.
The writing of the novel "Flowers" was actually an unintentional act by Jin Yucheng. In 2011, Jin Yucheng, who was still the editor of "Shanghai Literature" magazine, published articles on a forum in Shanghai under the name "Du Shang Loft". This forum usually only has more than a hundred active netizens. At first, he just wanted to write a short story, but it attracted a group of readers. So, the story began to be serialized. Jin Yucheng, a young editor, accidentally became an online writer. In addition to editing work, he also had to write for two to three hours every day.
"Flowers" was published in 2014. It is said that Wong Kar-wai bought the copyright a year later.Wong Kar-wai once commented on "Flowers", "I read this novel in one sitting. It is Shanghai's "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" and represents the spirit of Shanghai. "Flowers" allows the world to understand Shanghai and its people. And a dictionary of Shanghai culture."
"Flowers" has received such great attention, which is inseparable from the golden signature of director and producer Wong Kar-wai.
The production of this work also adheres to Wong Kar-wai's consistent method of slow work and meticulous work. The preparation of the series dates back to 6 years ago. At that time, we also recruited old objects from Shanghai citizens, and received an enthusiastic response, ranging from teacups, vases, and thermoses to large phones, pianos, and cars. Starring Hu Ge also donated items from his home, including a red woolen scarf knitted by his mother and an old-fashioned sewing machine.
"Flowers" started filming in September 2020. The filming took longer than expected. It is said that Hu Ge himself celebrated three birthdays on the set.
Wong Kar-wai revealed in the interview that he was born in Shanghai, followed his parents to Hong Kong in 1963, and kept coming and going in the following years. To this day, Wong Kar-wai's brothers, sisters, and more than 20 cousins still live in Shanghai. "They are basically the same generation as the characters in "Flowers". I really want to know what they have experienced, so I decided to adapt this story." "A novel."
Wong Kar-wai mentioned that the book "Flowers" has thirty-one chapters and does not have a coherent story. The surface is about eating and drinking, men and women, and the inside is about the mountains and rivers, the years and the changes of the times. How to deal with such a structure? It’s just a myriad of things. How to adapt
? Wong Kar-wai gave a poetic answer using the high-frequency word "not ringing" that appeared more than a thousand times in the original work. In his words, "silent" does not mean silence, but a kind of blank space. "Anything I don't want to say, can't say, or embarrasses myself or others, then it will be 'silent'."
In Wong Kar-wai's opinion, this is the attitude of a creator, that is, I only tell what I can tell, what I want to tell, and what I tell well. This is both Jin Yucheng’s creative code and his adaptation code.
"Everyone has his own "Flowers" in his heart. I am just a reader, and my interpretation is a family opinion." In Wong Kar-wai's view, words have the advantage of words, and images have the advantages of images. As a drama, the one with the most ups and downs and the most representative one should be Abao. In the original work, Abao has two identities, one is Abao, a worker in the 1960s, and the other is Mr. Bao, who never touches a leaf among the flowers in the 1990s. What makes A Bao become President Bao and become a trendsetter of the times overnight? The book does not mention, "The original work is silent, but we can fill in the blanks and complement each other. We may not be able to restore the full version of "Flowers", but we can give Shanghai Abao that cannot be seen in the original work."
For book fans, Wong Kar-wai's suggestion is "Watch "Flowers" with "Flowers"." For viewers who have not watched the original work, Wong Kar-wai's answer is that the series is just a piece of the cake, and if you are still unsatisfied after watching it. Then go read the original work again.
Red Star News reporter Qiu Junfeng editor Zeng Qi
