has been waiting for a long time, but Wong Kar-wai's "Flowers" is finally here.
aired for 10 minutes on CCTV 8, with ratings breaking 2 and reaching a peak of 2.6. Wong Kar-wai is very good at fighting.
"Flowers" has received such widespread attention, which is inseparable from the following reasons.
First, the TV series is adapted from the novel of the same name by writer Jin Yucheng. This novel won the 9th Mao Dun Literary Award in 2015.
You must know that the last TV series adapted from the Mao Dun Literature Award novel was the 2022 hit drama "The World".
drama series has won dozens of awards including Best TV Series, Best Actor and Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Actor, and Best Director.
Therefore, the audience's expectations for "Flowers" are also very high.
The second reason is that the cast is very luxurious. Needless to say, the male and female protagonists of , Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Tang Yan, and Xin Zhilei, have both popularity and strength.
In addition, the supporting roles in the play are all top actors, including Wu Yue, Dong Yong, Huang Jue, Lin Xilei, Yu Entai, Yang Haoyu, etc.
and the 90-year-old You Benchang, this lineup instantly raised the audience's expectations.
The third reason is that the director of this drama is Wong Kar-Wai. It is the first time for the sunglasses king to direct a TV series, which is a bit surprising.
In Wong Kar-wai's decades-long career as a director, although there are not many works, most of them are fine works, such as "Days of Being Wild", "Ashes of Time", "Chungking Express", "In the Mood for Love", etc.
's directing of the TV series this time has really whetted the audience's appetite.
He also revealed that "Flowers" will be the third trilogy of "In the Mood for Love" and "2046".
Wong Kar-wai's last work was "The Grandmaster" in 2013, and he spent a lot of time preparing for this drama.
"Flowers" has been filming since 2020 and will not be broadcast until the end of 2023. In addition to the long time, this drama has also experienced 4 completions, and all the actors still cooperate unconditionally.
has lived up to expectations. "Flowers", which has been "sharpened for three years", has reached new highs in popularity and ratings since its launch.
Not only did the online platform give it ample exposure, it was also promoted on a large scale on the platform's homepage, and the launch of the satellite TV channel also received great attention.
I have to say that the combination of a great director, a luxurious cast, and excellent original works is really attractive.
01, dedicated and attentive crew
In order to make this TV series a success, the entire crew can be said to have worked hard.
Since the story takes place in Shanghai in the last century, in order to better display the storyline and regional characteristics, director Wong Kar-wai took "being able to speak Shanghainese well" as the first screening criterion when casting the film.
The leading actors Hu Ge, Ma Yili, and Tang Yan are all authentic Shanghainese, and they are all "veteran drama stars". This drama also has two versions in Mandarin and Shanghainese. When
was filming, Wong Kar-wai also continued his own style, shooting many, many scenes and striving for excellence in every scene.
The 55-year-old actor Dong Yong has rich acting experience and his acting skills are obvious to all, but even so, he filmed more than 30 scenes in just one scene.
In addition, in order to better restore the scenes in the story, the crew spent huge sums of money to restore and build many streets in Shanghai 1:1.
Some relevant people analyzed that the investment in this TV series can be enough to shoot three S+ level ancient puppet dramas, which shows how much Wong Kar-wai attaches importance to this TV series.
02. Polarized word-of-mouth
What is directly proportional to the attention is the huge audience group. However, with the update of the series, the overall reputation of the TV series has encountered the embarrassing situation of polarization.
Some people think that the realm of big-screen directors is high. TV series reveal a film-like sense of sophistication everywhere. The texture, light and shadow are truly amazing, and every frame is beautiful.
After watching it, some people lamented that this was the most enjoyable domestic drama they have ever seen, and they are even more looking forward to the plot behind it.
In addition, the performance of the actors has been unanimously recognized by the audience. Hu Ge's Abao is full of style in every move, and he has the temperament of a contemporary male god.
Tang Yan is no longer a silly and sweet image. In the play, she is decisive and sharp, with a delicate and soft heart.
Xin Zhilei and Ma Yili perfectly demonstrated that boldness and charm can coexist, and their elegant and graceful images are eye-catching.
Especially Mr. You Benchang, "Ji Gong", has given people a big surprise. He is 90 years old this year, but his sword is still young and his acting skills are still superb.
showed a strong aura among a group of acting actors. His eyes, expressions, and movements were all drama, and his line skills were also good. Netizens lamented that this is the kind of acting worthy of winning the Best Supporting Actor Award.
But along with the good reviews, there has also been a flood of negative reviews. These negative reviews basically revolve around three aspects.
First, the rhythm is messy.
After watching the first two episodes, many viewers thought this drama was "too Wong Kar-wai's style".
The plot is too fragmented and the years change too quickly. It just gives people the feeling that every year is rushed and things are not explained clearly.
This made the audience feel that the plot was a bit fragmented and the core of the story could not be seen. Some viewers even called this drama "the flowering era of the small era".
Secondly, the sense of the times is confusing, and the actors are a little greasy.
The story takes place in the 1990s. At that time, Shanghai had lost the atmosphere of the Republic of China and was quite modern.
However, the shots in "Flowers" seem to deliberately depict the sense of time, and the result is that it gives the audience a feeling of the Republic of China period.
This sense of confusion about the times makes it difficult for the audience to get involved in the plot, and the sense of fragmentation becomes even more serious.
In addition, each character's appearance is a bit too strong, with overhead shots, overhead shots, close-ups, and a mixture of reality and reality, which makes the actors' appearances a bit exaggerated and their expressions a bit greasy.
Third, the plot is floating and ungrounded.
In recent years, many TV series that have been recognized by the audience are mostly realistic, such as the hit "In the World" and "The Long Season", which are closer to people's lives and give the audience a more sense of involvement.
Judging from the currently aired episodes, the plot of "Flowers" is relatively floating, with too much emphasis on tone and white space, resulting in some confusion.
In addition, some of the soundtracks are also a bit out of place. It is obviously a story that takes place in Shanghai, but the Beijing-style "No Place to Confronted" by the Black Panthers is used.
However, Wong Kar-wai interpreted this. He said, "It ("No Place to Shame") represents the vitality of countless Ah Bao in that era, full of passion, sorrow and joy."
In an interview show, even Wong Kar-wai himself once said As I said, there was a lot of blank space in the original work, which made him somewhat at a loss when directing.
However, the original work is excellent, and Wong Kar-wai's level is obvious to all. "Flowers" is a drama that is gradually getting better.
After surviving the first two episodes, I couldn't stop at all. I was eager to know where A Bao, Ling Zi, Miss Wang, and Li Li would go.
One more thing, I recommend everyone to read the Shanghai version for a more immersive experience, so you might as well give it a try. (Written by Xi Chuangxue)
