[Global Times Special Correspondent Dong Ming] "Flowers" directed by Wong Kar-wai and starring Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Xin Zhilei, Tang Yan, etc. has recently been launched. Both in terms of ratings and topicality, it has become the hottest topic in the film and television industry. One,

[Global Times Special Correspondent Dong Ming] "Flowers" directed by Wong Kar-wai and starring Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Xin Zhilei, Tang Yan, etc. was recently launched. It has become the most popular movie in the film and television industry in terms of ratings and topicality. One of the topics that overseas movie fans are also paying close attention to. After all, Wong Kar-Wai's first drama chose to create a unique style of Shanghai. Such Shanghai style in the 1990s seems to have never appeared on Chinese screens.

Wong Kar-wai's Shanghai Complex

"Flowers" is adapted from the novel that won the first Lu Xun Culture Award and Mao Dun Literature Award. The film and television rights were bought by Wong Kar-wai early. After years of preparation, start-up, completion and reshoots, it will meet the audience at the end of 2023. "Flowers" was broadcast simultaneously on CCTV's eight prime time slots and on Tencent Video, with two versions in Mandarin and Shanghainese for viewers to choose from. Before the broadcast, Weibo's hot search hits exceeded 1 billion, and the number of reservations on Tencent's website exceeded 3 million.

The original work of "Flowers" tells the life stories of three Shanghainese from different family backgrounds, Po, Husheng and Xiaomao, in two timelines, the 1960s and 1970s and the 1980s and 1990s; while Wong Kar-wai's drama The collection mainly focuses on how Abao, played by Hu Ge, made his fortune in foreign trade and stocks in the 1990s. With the support of his "mentor" and business partners, he became a well-known "Mr. Bao" on the Yellow River Road. "Flowers", which has a total of 30 episodes and each episode is 46 minutes long, has been broadcast for more than half of the time. The plot is in full swing, with various characters appearing one after another, presenting the shopping malls and worldly sentiments of Shanghai 30 years ago.

"Flowers" poster

Although Wong Kar-wai, who was born in Shanghai, went to Hong Kong with his parents when he was young, he has a strong Shanghai complex. Many of his relatives have been living in Shanghai. According to Wong Kar-wai, filming "Flowers" was To film their lives. In order to perfectly restore Shanghai in the 1990s, the play not only featured the Peace Hotel, the most representative building on the Bund, but also "reconstructed" the once prosperous Huanghe Road Food Street.

In terms of language and actor selection, except for the character played by Xin Zhilei, who comes from other places and speaks Mandarin throughout the whole process, the other main actors and supporting roles all speak Shanghainese. Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Tang Yan and Chen Long are all Shanghainese. The 90-year-old "Ji Gong" You Benchang has excellent acting skills. He performed the role of uncle with every move and every move that is staggeringly praiseworthy. In addition, Zheng Kai, Internet celebrity Papi Jiang (Jiang Yilei), Fan Tantan and others who have few roles in the drama all have outstanding performances in the drama. In the latest episode, there is also a guest appearance by Chinese football star Fan Zhiyi, which made many netizens lament that "the king of sunglasses saves face" It’s so big, almost all the celebrities in Shanghai have come to act in this play.”

1,000 times "no sound"

For fans who are familiar with Wong Kar-wai's film style, the biggest feature of "Flowers" is its strong visual style. His unique composition, light and shadow, tone, shallow focus and frame-squeezing slow-motion pictures, from the big The aura remains the same even after being transplanted to the small screen. From the very first scene, Mr. Bao, played by Hu Ge, has a good accent. His uncle’s line, “It takes an hour to run from the bottom to the roof of the Empire State Building in New York, but it only takes 8.8 seconds to jump off the roof.” It foreshadows the cruelty of the mall.

The family history of Mr. Bao, who made his fortune by stock trading in the 1990s, reminds many people of the classic movie "Stock Crazy" starring Pan Hong. However, the style of "Flowers" is very different from that realistic and life-oriented style. Wong Kar-wai insists on using strong Stylized images create a sense of the times that alternates reality and reality. With the blessing of senior photographer Bao Dexi and musician Chen Xunqi, who have been partners for many years, "Flowers" not only has historical details of the 1990s, but also has an elevated sense of Shanghai in the 1930s and Hong Kong in the 1970s, giving many firsts The TV audience who was exposed to Wong Kar-wai for the first time made it more difficult to accept. Fortunately, as the plot gradually unfolded, most of the audience adapted to and accepted Wong Kar-wai's aesthetic characteristics, unhurried narrative rhythm, and sharp dialogue. Some fans lamented: With the audio-visual scheduling level of the Chinese-speaking director, they moved to another movie. The TV series "is simply a dimensionality reduction attack." Shadows of films such as "Days of Being Wild", "The Grandmaster" and "Happy Together" can be seen everywhere in the play, which is like a retrospective of Wong Kar-wai's works.

Jin Yucheng, the original author of the novel, expressed his understanding of Wong Kar-wai's adaptation method. The Mao Dun Literary Award winner and senior literary editor, who appeared in the first episode "Introduction", revealed that he has watched the TV series: "The most amazing thing about this TV series is that everyone will be moved after watching it." And Wong Kar-wai is good at leaving blank spaces. It exactly fits the Shanghainese's unique philosophy of life, which appears more than 1,000 times in the novel. "No sound is also the attitude of the creator. Words have the advantages of words, and images have the advantages of images." Wong Kar-wai himself also said, "We are not able to restore the full version of "Flowers", but we are sure that we can give you a The Shanghai Abao that cannot be seen in the original work. Everyone has their own "Flowers" in their hearts. My interpretation is just my personal opinion. This series is just a piece of the cake."

"Three golden flowers, each with its own characteristics"

Although "Flowers" has not yet been broadcast in Hong Kong, China and other overseas regions, Wong Kar-wai's name has already made many fans and media eagerly await it. Hong Kong's "01" website commented: "The legend of Mr. Bao is like "The Great Gatsby", a microcosm of an era full of passion and ambition. Shake your collar before getting in the car, wear a coat, and look like Shanghai in the 1990s. The classical filter beauty of the first batch of successful people. Wong Kar-wai never disappoints when he shoots women. Each of the three golden flowers has its own characteristics. In the tide of the times, they are also carried forward." Hong Kong Wenhui.com It is said that the pure Shanghainese interpretation of the play is more consistent with the original work, and every word and every word describes the texture of Shanghai city. In the turbulent era when Shen Jiang's children were full of ambitions, the three heroines were the most beautiful scenery in Shanghai, blooming with their own unique style. Hong Kong's "Sing Tao Daily" quoted netizens' comments as saying that the historical background of the play was inaccurate, which cast doubt on Wong Kar-wai's golden brand.

In view of Wong Kar-wai's popularity in the global film industry, many overseas movie fans have asked on social media when "Flowers" will be released on the streaming platform, eager to immerse themselves in the 30-episode Wong Kar-wai world. "Just watching the trailer is very exciting." People are looking forward to it.” After all, since "The Grandmaster" in 2013, Wong Kar-wai has not personally directed any works. He has only served as a producer and screenwriter, participating in works such as "The Ferryman", "Killing a Sheep" and "One Cup". The quality of these films , the style is not the same as that directed by Wong Kar-Wai himself, and the reputation and box office reviews are also mixed, which makes people regret and have more expectations. Therefore, "Flowers", which has been prepared and produced for many years, has become a "ten-year appointment" between Wong Kar-wai and his movie fans.