has been called upon for a long time, and the TV series "Flowers" has finally been launched on CCTV.
As the finale drama at the end of 2023, the audience's expectations for "Flowers" can be said to be fully met.
And it can be seen from the lineup of this drama that it is aimed at this year's "King of Dramas".
is directed by Wong Kar-wai, winner of Best Director at Cannes, Golden Horse and Academy Awards. The original novel "Flowers" by
won the Mao Dun Literature Award and was praised as "one of the best Shanghai novels".
When Wong Kar-wai saw this novel, he said that it felt like he had experienced a lifetime.
directly bought the adaptation rights, hoping to translate the novel into movie language so that the world can understand it.
In order to better visualize the novel, "Flowers" took 6 years from preparation to completion.
Wong Kar-wai also invited a super lineup.
visual director Bao Dexi, cinematographer of the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", won the Best Cinematography Award at the 73rd Academy Awards. The art director of
is Tu Nan, winner of the China Film Golden Rooster Award for Best Art Award.
The actors include Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Tang Yan, Xin Zhilei, You Benchang, Zheng Kai, Chen Long, Wu Yue, Dong Yong, Huang Jue, Zeng Meihuizi, Lin Xilei and other more than 12 powerful actors.
Before the broadcast of "Flowers", there were 10 advance screenings in 3 cities, a grand premiere, and the homepage of the video platform was full of recommendation slots.
's publicity campaign can be described as unprecedented in the field of TV dramas.
After the broadcast of "Flowers", the ratings broke 2 in just 10 minutes, reaching a peak of 2.6, and topped the ratings for 2 consecutive days.
also ranked first in popularity on the entire network, received a total of 389 hot searches, and topped the hot list 55 times.
I also finished 6 episodes in the first time. I have mixed feelings about this blockbuster drama and my emotions are extremely complicated.
There are some expectations, some surprises, and some controversies. Qingshi will talk about them one by one.
1, pictures, atmosphere, lines, everything you know about Wong Kar-Wai's style is here.
When it comes to Wong Kar-wai, his unique style cannot be avoided.
In Wong Kar-wai's works, he often integrates light, shadow, color, music, etc. with the story, and uses unique lens language to tell the story and show the characters.
opened "Flowers", and the expected Wong Kar-wai style came to mind.
At the beginning, the director showed the audience a prosperous and retro 1992 Shanghai New Year's Eve through a lens.
The neon lights on the street are flashing, and the overall color is an elegant and delicate golden color, which is warm and full of lively colors and fragrance.
Immediately afterwards, the male protagonist Abao played by Hu Ge appeared, which used the atmosphere of Wong Kar-Wai's movies to the extreme.
Po in a dark suit, the dazzling lights, the yellow taxi that crashed into Po, and the banknotes floating in the sky.
The picture quality and use of light and shadow in the series have reached the movie level, and everyone was impressed by Wong Kar-wai's picturesque shots.
The most important thing is that these pictures are not only beautiful, but Wong Kar-wai also gives them a sense of story.
For example, the scene where A Bao transforms into Mr. Bao.
Abao wants to do business with his uncle (played by You Benchang), and his uncle hires someone to dress him up.
When the majestic Po and his uncle face each other, the picture has the illusion of overlapping time and space under Wong Kar-Wai's unique interplay of light and shadow.
For example, the appearance of Li Li, the proprietress of Zhizhenyuan played by Xin Zhilei.
Under Wong Kar-wai's iconic dim light and overhead shots, Xin Zhilei steps into the frame wearing a mink coat.
There is no face in the close-up shot, only the back walking in a hurry, but it still cannot stop the impactful charm.
No matter it is Mr. Bao’s back when the neon lights are flashing, or when the fireworks are blooming during the New Year.
The warm background contrasts with the lonely character, telling the character an inexplicable loneliness.
There is also a very nice shot of Po and Li Li looking at each other through two layers of glass.
The two of them had no lines, only simple glances at each other, but the language of this shot is worth a thousand words, creating an atmosphere of masters competing against each other.
In Wong Kar-wai's movies, unique narrations and lines are naturally indispensable.
"Today's sun will not be able to shine tomorrow's clothes, time determines everything."
"Shanghai people pay attention to style, gimmicks and signs when doing business."
These lines, combined with the iconic characters' lighting and shadow, if you have watched Wong Kar-wai's Movie, you will definitely feel "this tastes very authentic".
I have to say that the arrival of Wong Kar-wai has brought a new image style to the TV series, which has improved the audience's audio-visual enjoyment.
In this regard, "Flowers" is amazing.
2, and the three surprises hidden by Wong Kar-Wai make "Flowers" both Wong and not Wong.
Judging from the current plot, in addition to the expected Wong Kar-Wai style, "Flowers" also has three major surprises.
The first is that the story is no longer obscure.
Before the broadcast of "Flowers", everyone was most worried that the story would be a stream of consciousness. After all, most of Director Wang's previous works were obscure and difficult to understand.
But after the series was aired, many people found that the plot of "Flowers" did not have a stream of consciousness.
The story opens on New Year's Eve in 1992. The male protagonist comes down from the hotel carrying a box with 300,000 banknotes and is about to drive away.
Suddenly a taxi hit him, and Abao fell in a pool of blood.
Abao was sent to the hospital for rescue. Along with the interrogation scene at the police station, various characters also appeared one after another.
Lingzi, Miss Wang, Uncle Ye, Tao Tao and Commander Cai's group.
In just a few sentences, everyone's occupation and personality are clear at a glance, and their relationship with Mr. Bao is clear.
At the same time, he also laid a hook. Who is the person who hit Mr. Bao? Is Bao always alive or dead?
Then the camera turned, and the uncle played by You Benchang recalled, bringing out the history of Po's fortune.
Then as the mystery of the car accident was revealed, the first round of business war came to the main point.
While setting up Li Li's ambition by saying "Li Li intervenes in Mr. Fan's business", she is not an ordinary woman who just wants to open a restaurant.
On the one hand, "Mr. Fan and Mr. Wei fought fiercely, but Mr. Bao was not in a hurry", which also led to suspense. What exactly did Mr. Bao come up with to challenge?
On the Shanghai business battlefield, there are 800 tricks per person, and the competition between Mr. Bao, Mr. Wei, Mr. Fan, and Zhizhenyuan Li Li is really exciting.
And a dispute in the love market is about to break out, and the show is officially on.
It can be seen from here that the story of "Flowers" is not only not obscure, but also very gripping.
Especially the business war part starting from the third episode is particularly exciting, which attracted the audience to say bluntly:
Wong Kar-wai can also tell good stories.
The second is that the actors shine.
After the broadcast of "Flowers", everyone agreed that Wong Kar-wai left the most beautiful appearance as an actor.
I have to say that Wong Kar-wai is really good at training and exploring the potential of actors. Many actors have regained their splendor under Wong Kar-wai's lens.
The same is true for the actors in "Flowers".
The male protagonist Hu Ge showed his 360-degree handsomeness under Wong Kar-wai's lens.
Wearing a black coat, every look and every movement exudes the mature charm of the male protagonist.
In addition, Hu Ge is originally from Shanghai. As soon as he speaks Shanghainese, the image of the President of the Republic of China is established.
From the beginning of A Bao's honesty and simplicity to the end of Mr. Bao's deep thoughts, Hu Ge also performed the multi-faceted changes of the character.
As the three golden flowers in Shanghai, Lingzi, Miss Wang and Li Li each have their own beauty in the interpretation of the actresses.
Lingzi, played by Ma Yili, is smart and capable, and runs a small restaurant in partnership with Mr. Bao.
In the drama, Ma Yili is back to her best with short hair, especially against the background of the Shanghai dialect.
The image of a Shanghai boss lady who is exquisite, shrewd and unreasonable came out immediately.
Xin Zhilei plays Li Li, the owner of Zhizhenyuan, a character full of mysterious charm.
Xin Zhilei is particularly beautiful in Wong Kar-wai's lens, she is radiant and charming with every frown and smile.
Xin Zhilei, whose aura and momentum are both online, is very exciting to watch.
As netizens said, Xin Zhilei is expected to leave her most beautiful picture on the screen.
Miss Wang, played by Tang Yan, works in a foreign trade company on the Bund and assists Mr. Bao in handling work.
is beautiful and capable, with a fashionable big wave, a perfect "Pearl of Puxi", bright, smart and youthful under the shape of Tang Yan.
There are also Uncle Ye played by You Benchang, Mr. Fan played by Dong Yong, and Mr. Wei played by Zheng Kai, all of whom were filmed by Wong Kar-Wai and gave them a different flavor.
Thirdly, Shanghainese exudes charm.
The most surprising thing about "Flowers" is probably the use of dialects.
During the filming, Wong Kar-wai said that he would retain the language style of "Flowers" and shoot the work in Shanghai dialect.
Because if it were changed to Mandarin, it would be equivalent to changing the tone of Jingbai in "Teahouse" to Mandarin, and it would be tasteless. Most of the actors chosen by
can also speak Shanghainese. Facts have proved that using Shanghainese is very correct.
On the one hand, it gives the play a strong regional atmosphere of Shanghai, allowing you to feel the fireworks unique to Shanghai in the dialect.
On the other hand, it makes the characters more realistic.
Ma Yili plays the role of the proprietress in Tokyo at night, and the Shanghainese version has a full accent.
's character immediately comes to life as soon as she opens her mouth. The Shanghainese woman's charm is completely incompatible with her. She is really "spirited".
No wonder Tang Yan said it didn’t look like she was acting, but the implication was that she was showing her real life.
Although "Flowers" is available in Mandarin and Shanghainese versions, I strongly recommend watching the Shanghainese version, it is so interesting.
3. The ratings are booming, but "Flowers" is also facing three major problems.
As Wong Kar-wai's first TV series, "Flowers" has achieved outstanding ratings since its launch, but it has also been controversial.
Some people even say that Wong Kar-Wai will not be able to survive until the end of the year.
Qingshi summarized it, there are three main points.
The first thing is that the plot is unclear.
Many viewers who have watched the first two episodes feel that the plot of "Flowers" is a bit difficult to enter, and this is true. The plot of
is a non-linear narrative of forward narration, flashbacks, and interludes. If you don't pay attention, you will not be able to understand the plot before and after.
The focus of the story in the first episode is the history of Po’s fortune, but this plot is too simple, with a large number of pictures but a lack of narrative narrative, which makes people feel uninvolved.
Moreover, many plots rely entirely on dialogue. Some viewers who are impatient and do not pay attention to the lines will feel that they do not know what is being played.
However, this problem is mainly highlighted in the first two episodes. When entering the third episode, the story rhythm and narrative are greatly improved, and there is no problem of incomprehension.
The second is that the background does not fit the times.
The story of "Flowers" is set in Shanghai in 1992. In the play, both the glittering Yellow River Road and the characters' fashionable outfits are very gorgeous.
So many viewers questioned that this was not like Shanghai after the reform and opening up, but Shanghai at night during the Republic of China.
Especially when interspersed with real recorded plots, it will appear even more fragmented.
But according to documentaries and photos, Shanghai in the early 1990s was indeed so prosperous and nihilistic.
In order to truly restore that era, the crew built a 1:1 real-life scene and also collected old Shanghai objects from the whole society.
So in the play we have both the luxurious and extraordinary Yellow River Road and the return to the simple Shanghai city.
may also have problems with the shooting style, but there is absolutely no problem that the background does not fit the times.
The third is that the original work has been changed beyond recognition.
After "Flowers" was broadcast, the most controversial thing was the adaptation of the story. Many people bluntly said:
The story has almost nothing to do with the original work, except for the character names and identities.
Judging from the plot currently aired, "Flowers" is indeed divorced from the original work.
The end subtitles show that part of the content of this drama comes from "Shanghai Fu", "Savage Growth", "Guys and Dolls in the Stock Market", and "Sorrows and Joys in the Stock Market" and has been approved by the author or publisher.
It can also be seen from this that the plot should be rewritten based on several texts.
But in fact, from the earlier plot introduction, we can already see that there are certain differences between the drama version and the original work. Jin Yucheng, the original author of
, said that if the original work is handed over to a director, the series will be a new life, and it is impossible to copy the original work.
In addition, when adapting the story, Wong Kar-wai mentioned that the book "Flowers" has thirty-one chapters, and there is no coherent story. The adaptation is simply confusing.
Therefore, Wong Kar-wai chose Po Lai, the most ups and downs and most representative character in the novel, as the main line of the series.
What makes A Bao become President Bao and become a trendsetter of the times overnight?
This experience is not mentioned in the book, Wong Kar-wai went to fill in the gaps and improve it.
As he said himself, 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.
From this we can see that the drama "Flowers" is not the original "Flowers", but the unique version of "Flowers" by Wong Kar-Wai.
It is not only the story of Abao, but also dedicated to this vibrant city of dreams.
is dedicated to those dream chasers who never give up day and night, and to that indescribable rushing era.
Such "Flowers" and such Wong Kar-wai are still worth watching.
Qingshi Movie | Xiaozhu
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