905 Movie Network Special Article The TV series "Flowers" directed by Wong Kar-wai and starring Hu Ge, after 6 years of preparation and 3 years of filming, finally cleared the clouds on December 27, 2023. In the first 10 minutes of the series' premiere, the ratings broke 2, with a peak of 2.6, and the average ratings of the first two episodes were 1.9984.
On the online platform, the popularity of "Flowers" on Tencent Video exceeded 30,000, and it has entered Tencent Video's "Best Hits Club". The combined number of barrage interactions for the Mandarin and Shanghainese versions has exceeded 10 million, and the number of barrage interactions has exceeded 1 million for five consecutive days, allowing this highly anticipated three-year-old "Flowers" to gather more attention and traffic.
Three years ago, when the news came out that Wong Kar-wai would direct a TV series, many Wong Kar-wai fans shouted "impossible".
is a well-known director in the film industry who works slowly and carefully. It takes three to ten years to make a two-hour movie. Doesn’t a 30-episode TV series require fans to retire en masse? Wong Kar-wai returned after 10 years, and the audience commented that "the most important thing in the Chinese film industry this year is Wong Kar-wai filming a TV series."
It is no exaggeration to say that "Flowers", which has been working behind the scenes for 9 years, has exploded!
But when "Flowers", which Wong Kar-Wai prepared for six years, shot for three years, and finished four times, was officially aired, I have to admire Wong Kar-wai for still using the most exquisite light and shadow, and the most delicate lens to capture the retro-modern Shanghai in 1993.
With a movie-like quality, the play shows the joys and sorrows, diligence and perseverance, wisdom and affection experienced by the Shanghai people in the early days of reform and opening up. Shanghai in the 1990s is "concrete" in this drama, giving the audience an immersive experience of watching the drama as if they are in the wave of the times.
has focused its traffic and attention on "Flowers", and complaints about Wong Kar-wai, "Flowers" and many local Shanghai actors have also poured in - "Shanghai's style is anachronistic" and "the story clues are a mess" Negative voices such as "Wong Kar-wai can only shoot but not tell stories" are endless, including many people in the industry who expressed "somewhat disappointed" after watching the premiere of "Flowers".
Film critic Ai Hui said very directly on Weibo: "I don't like "Flowers" because Wong Kar-wai plays Pinduoduo."
But as "Flowers" aired to the 10th episode, the audience's reputation gradually began to rise. In retrospect, comments on "Flowers" on social media have gradually shifted from "light pollution" to "the more you watch it, the more you look at it". There is even a hot search term "Watch "Flowers" five days ago vs five days later". List.
In the eyes of film critic Ai Hui, this phenomenon is a normal shift in the focus of the audience watching the drama. Including Ai Hui himself, when watching the first four episodes of "Flowers", there will be a strong feeling that "form is greater than content". It is basically difficult to see natural light in the episodes. With the blessing of filters and studio lights, it is monotonous. The sense of high-end makes the audience prone to "visual fatigue" when watching the show. At the same time, the character portrayal in the first four episodes is thin and the story lines are complicated. It is very normal for the audience to have negative voices.
However, as the series continued to air, the weak stories and characters in the early stage gradually became fuller, and the audience's focus shifted from "Wong Kar-Wai's filming techniques" to "the fate of the characters" at the beginning, and began to invest in the content of the series. , and it was precisely at this time that several main characters had slowly unfolded.
The first is Lingzi played by Ma Yili. The Ginza chapter focuses on how Lingzi from "Night Tokyo" and Mr. Bao played by Hu Ge met. Lingzi took a ticket and went to Tokyo, embarking on a journey without a return ticket. , she never thought about giving up. If she could not achieve a career, she would never return to Shanghai. At this desperate moment, she and Mr. Bao met. The two striving young people resonated, and the compatibility of their souls gradually became apparent. These small and warm stories, as well as Reiko's strong vitality of independence and self-reliance, slowly began to infect the audience.
then began to tell the story of Miss Wang, played by Tang Yan. When "Flowers" was first broadcast, Miss Wang's character coincided with the role played by Tang Yan before. Many viewers thought that she was still a "love brain". "Silly Baitian" does not have a big breakthrough, but as the plot progresses, Miss Wang's character becomes more and more full. In order to prove that "she is her own dock", she refused the Cadillac given to her by Mr. Bao and wanted to make her own way.
It can be seen that Wong Kar-wai used filmmaking techniques on Miss Wang. For example, he used a low camera position, and Tang Yan's wavy hair was clearly visible. Including how her eyes were filled with tears and how her tears flowed down. It is the emotions behind these details that, as the fate of the characters unfolds episode by episode, the audience will gradually feel so advanced.
The fate of the characters is covered in details, once again demonstrating Wong Kar-wai's "superpower" to control the story behind emotions. If we talk about the first 10 episodes, what the audience loves only is Wong Kar-wai’s original shots and lighting. In episodes 13 to 18, what they love must be the characters, stories, and emotions. There is no flaw in the narrative, rhythm, and atmosphere. TV series "Flowers". I believe Mr. "Sunglasses King" will smile knowingly after reading the audience's comments.
On the other hand, viewers who are familiar with Wong Kar-wai commented that "Wong Kar-wai's movies are like prose and focus on emotional transmission, not story expression. They are too specific and he really can't control it." Therefore, in the eyes of professional film critics, Wong Kar-wai's storytelling is Ability has become a key part of "Flowers". So has Director Wang finally finished speaking?
In this regard, film critic Ai Hui, who has always been known for being sharp and daring to tell the truth, agreed with the above-mentioned views of netizens. Wong Kar-Wai uses emotions as his clues to string together the characters' stories, and some of the filming techniques are actually rarely seen in TV dramas before.
For example, Reiko has a roof. The roof has never been repaired and it always leaks. Then it is easy for the audience to think of a "stic" in "Chungking Express", that is, the lovelorn Tony Leung Chiu-wai always has a ticking towel, which symbolizes Tony Leung Chiu-wai who refuses to cry, but he sheds tears on the towel.
This association will be very useful to many movie fans. It seems that in TV dramas, Wong Kar Wai tells stories more completely than in movies. The capacity of previous movies was like a room, and Wong Kar-Wai had to make choices. The director can only show you certain corners of the room. The current 30 episodes are like a museum, with enough time and space to put in all the things that Director Wong Kar-Wai loves.
In the TV series "Flowers", he used a lot of documentary materials. The series repeatedly emphasizes that this is 1993 and this is 1988. I think he is still very sensitive to the scale of time. Perhaps in Wong Kar-wai's view, time is approximately equal to fate. Under the influence of time, some people become "face" and some people become "lizi". A Bao became Mr. Bao, Li Li became Li Li, and Miss Wang also became "Entrepreneur Miss Wang."
Director Wong Kar-Wai seems to be "in love" with the audience. You may misunderstand him or misunderstand him, which may be part of the fun of watching "Flowers".
"Flowers" has a relatively concentrated story line every few episodes. Even if you don’t know much about it before, when you pick out those episodes and watch them, you will feel like a high-level unit drama. This must be a very innovative and immersive experience for the audience.
In addition, Wong Kar-wai sticks to his own shooting techniques, such as slow work and careful work like single-camera shooting. It is said that Tang Yan only worked on "Flowers" for three years and did not take any other roles. Even a very senior actor like Dong Yong has to take 30 shots before choosing one. There are even actors who think, "Maybe I won't be able to complete the film in my lifetime."
Looking back, the "silent sound" at the beginning of "Flowers" turned out to be a blockbuster later. This kind of shooting technique is as luxurious as only Wong Kar-Wai can do.We should not underestimate the influence of "Flowers". TV series worth chewing like "Flowers" may only appear one or two in a few decades, so "Flowers" may become an orphan for a long time. . All the voices that you like or dislike will eventually turn into traffic, allowing everyone to focus on "Flowers". For domestic dramas, it may have greater significance.
