On the evening of December 27, "Flowers" was launched on Tencent Video and cctv8. The play is adapted from Jin Yucheng's novel of the same name. It is produced and directed by Wong Kar-Wai and stars Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Tang Yan, and Xin Zhilei. With A Bao as the center, it shows the trend-setting children in Shanghai's high-profile business world in the early 1990s. The ups and downs of life.
On the night of the show's premiere, social platforms were in full swing, and the broadcast index quickly topped the charts: Some people were fascinated by Wong Kar-wai's unique film-level aesthetics and praised him for making the most beautiful Hu Ge, Menghui. "Days of Being Wild"; some people were attracted by the unique accents of the actors' lines in the Shanghainese version of the show, saying "I want to eat local food"...
However, controversial topics also emerged. Many netizens compared "Flowers" with "Little Times" directed by Guo Jingming and lamented: "Is there any essential difference between the Shanghai in the 1990s shot by Wong Kar-wai and the Shanghai after 2010 shot by Guo Jingming?" I'm watching "Tiny Times: Flowers."" Some people questioned that "Tiny Times" was taking advantage of the popularity of "Flowers" when it aired, while others thought it was "Flowers" fans who were taking advantage of the topic. What do you think?
【a】Story: Who is Po?
The narrative of the premiere episode of "Flowers" is "scattered" but "quick", and the audience quickly understands three questions: first, who brought Ah Bao into the industry, second, who is helping Ah Bao start his career, and third, who put Ah Bao through test. The answers to these three questions are all to answer one big question: "Who is A Bao?" The actor Hu Ge described A Bao this way: "He is an ambitious person. In the era of rapid development, he is very diligent. So he seizes the opportunity of the times. However, whether he follows the ups and downs of the tide, the most important thing in his heart is friendship. I believe that the audience will be moved by this character when they see the end."
In the play, You Benchang plays My uncle was the one who introduced A Bao into the business. He helped the young boy A Bao, regardless of his efforts, to become Mr. Bao who "does foreign trade with his left hand and speculates in stocks with his right hand" in just a few years.
In addition, there are people helping Abao with his career, such as Lingzi, the proprietress of the Night Tokyo restaurant played by Ma Yili. Ma Yili said: "Ye Tokyo is a store that Mr. Bao and I opened together. We are partners. Lingzi is a bit like a haven for Bao. Yellow River Road is Bao's battlefield. He may finish the war." I need a place to rest."
Hu Ge described Po as Zhu Bajie and Lingzi as Sun Wukong: "First, Sun Wukong has 72 transformations, Zhu Bajie can only 36 transformations, and I am not as good as her in ability. Once Lingzi and I quarrel, every time I lose every time; secondly, when A Bao and Lingzi are together, Lingzi is always the one who helps A Bao settle everything."
Miss Wang, played by Tang Yan, works in a foreign trade company at No. 27 on the Bund, and she and A Bao are in the same era. Go hand in hand in the torrent. Tang Yan said: "Ms. Wang is very outspoken. She has her own principles and bottom lines in life and work. She dares to challenge and is responsible." In the premiere episode, Miss Wang expressed her loyalty to A Bao more than once, and she is a powerful asset to A Bao's career. assistant.
Relatively speaking, Li Li, played by Xin Zhilei, is the person who puts Abao through the test. In the premiere episode, she landed on the famous Huanghe Road and opened a flagship restaurant, Zhizhenyuan. The relationship between her and Abao is like the sea and the blue sky. They seem far away, but they are mirror images of each other. In the play, Abao said: "January 26, 1993 was the fourth day of the Lunar New Year. I did not welcome the God of Wealth that night. I preferred to believe that peace was a blessing, but I did not expect that Zhizhenyuan fell from the sky and would be my doom. Everything is inevitable, there is no other ending."
[b] Wong Kar-wai: Has it been adapted?
The premiere episode of "Flowers" allowed many viewers to see Wong Kar-Wai's storytelling style - non-linear narrative, plenty of white space, and the use of lenses and scenes all have obvious traces of art films. The beginning of the play shows how Po encountered a car accident after he became Mr. Bao, and uses the car accident investigation as the starting point. While telling the investigation process of the case in order, he also narrates the history of Po’s fortune and the people who are related to Po. Make peace. What’s interesting is that the appearance of related characters is not necessarily presented in flashbacks, but through the lines of other characters.This narrative method raises the threshold for watching the drama in disguise and requires a high level of attention from the audience.
's adaptation of "Flowers" also attracted the attention of netizens. You know, the play is adapted from writer Jin Yucheng's "Five One Project" and the Mao Dun Literary Award-winning novel of the same name, so how to adapt the masterpiece must be a big deal! However, after the show premiered, this issue sparked controversy among netizens.
Well-known film and television blogger "Luo Beibei" posted on Weibo after watching the premiere episode: "No, this drama is the same as the original script. Why buy the original script by Jin Yucheng? The effect has already reached the point where you start another drama by yourself, male The protagonist is also named Po, and no one can imagine the extent of "Flowers"..." However, many viewers are satisfied with the adaptation: "How could Wong Kar-wai film the original work word for word? That's Wong Kar-wai!" Of course, Wong Kar-wai once explained that he It is impossible to copy the original work. "I only talk about what I can say, what I want to say, and what I say well. Words have the advantages of words, and images have the advantages of images."
Many viewers also expressed their respect for Wong Kar-wai's understanding of "Flowers" and Shanghai. You know, Wong Kar-wai has expressed his love for the original "Flowers" more than once. He revealed that he was born in Shanghai and went to Hong Kong with his parents in 1963. “In the following decades, I kept coming and going. My brother and sister have always been in Shanghai. I also have more than 20 cousins. They are basically of the same generation as the characters in "Flowers". I really wanted to know what they went through, so I decided to adapt this novel."
On the day of the premiere, Wong Kar-wai also recalled the ten years he met "Flowers" through a video: "Today is December 27, 2023. In the past ten years, we were just like Po in the show, crossing the river by feeling the stones. , in addition to our own will, we also need luck and noble people. I would like to thank all the noble people who helped me in this process, including my family. Our story mainly tells what happened between 1993 and 1994, 1994 2024 is a year of full harvest. Thirty years have passed. I hope that 2024 will be as wonderful and prosperous for everyone."
[c] Lineup: Old friends gathering?
As the characters gradually reveal their true identities in "Flowers", many viewers lamented that the cast of this drama can be called a gathering of old friends! Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Tang Yan, Xin Zhilei, Zheng Kai, Chen Long, Wu Yue and other leading actors have all collaborated in different works. Many of them are alumni of the Shanghai Theater Academy, fellow Shanghainese, and have been close friends for many years.
For example, Hu Ge and Chen Long once worked together through life and death in the hit drama "Nirvana in Fire", and this time they play a pair of good brothers in "Flowers". The two also have a good relationship off-screen. Hu Ge said: "We have known each other for 20 years and have collaborated many times. I call him 'Brother Long' in life."
Ma Yili and Chen Long are also good friends. In 1996, the two co-starred with Bao Jianfeng in the early domestic youth idol drama "Vacuum Love Record". Ma Yili said: "We have been friends for almost 30 years. I am very much looking forward to Chen Long's performance in "Flowers" because the director saw the most shining side of him, which no one else could see before. ."
Although it is the first time for Ma Yili and Hu Ge to collaborate, they are also old acquaintances. Ma Yili recalled: "We had a very dramatic scene on the same stage for the first time. It was at the Beijing University Student Film Festival in 2003. Hu Ge had just finished playing "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" at that time, and it was a time when the popularity was very high. We presented an award for Best Visual Effects, and the two of us performed 'Best Visual Effects' on stage - and we both fell down. The second time we were on the same stage to present an award, at the Magnolia Awards. This time Finally got a chance to act together."
Another old acquaintance is Hu Ge and Tang Yan. The two have collaborated four times in TV series such as "Legend of Sword and Fairy III", "Fantasy Zhu Xian", "The Impeccable Master Ru Lin", "Xuanyuan Sword: Traces of the Sky", etc. This time in "Flowers", the two welcomed This is our fifth cooperation. Tang Yan said: "Although this is the fifth time that Hu Ge and I have collaborated, I still see surprises in him, which is different from him before and from him in life.Hu Ge said: "Ma Yili has a saying that is very good. In the past three years of filming, we can see each other's growth in each actor. I believe the audience can also see Tang Yan's growth in the play." "
text | reporter Gong Weifeng
picture | stills
