At the beginning of 2023, "Crazy" set off a wave of people watching the drama.
In December 2023, "Flowers", the TV series directed by Wong Kar-wai for the first time, was launched, taking up the banner of domestic dramas at the end of the year and the beginning of the year, and once again reappeared the grand occasion of national TV dramas.
In the industry, directors Wang Jing, Chen Zhengdao, Gao Qunshu, and Bi Zhifei have all taken advantage of it. Artists Yang Tianzhen, Li Dan, Su Youpeng, Liu Yifei, Sun Jian, Tan Kai, Fei Qiming, Li Liqun, Wang Ziqi, etc. have joined the army of chasing dramas.
Outside the industry, topics related to "Flowers" dominated all major social platforms, and the audience participated in the discussion enthusiastically. Actors, business wars, relationships, camerawork, colors, behind-the-scenes stories, etc. have become the focus of hot discussion, and it was rated as the 2024 Opening. A New Year drama is no exaggeration.
Zheng Kai, who participated in the film, said that "Flowers" has given the entire industry a shot in the arm. Fans of the drama praised every episode of "Flowers" as a high-quality movie by Wong Kar-Wai.
Of course, because Wong Kar-wai's works have a strong personal style, not all viewers can accept it, so the reputation did become polarized in the early stages of the broadcast.
But now, "Flowers" is coming to an end and has become a veritable hit. Wong Kar-wai's ten years of hard work has been widely recognized, and he has slapped three major groups in the face.
The first group: the group that gave up on dramas early.
The first two episodes of "Flowers" did not officially start telling the story. They were just introductions to the leading actors such as Po, Lingzi, and Miss Wang.
It is precisely because of this that many viewers who followed the show with a luxurious lineup such as Wong Kar-Wai, Hu Ge, Tang Yan, Ma Yili, etc. expressed their disappointment. Some even complained that Wong Kar-wai could only show off his skills and could not tell a good story.
Indeed, many viewers judge whether a drama is good or not, and whether it is worth continuing to follow, based on whether watching the first two episodes can attract them.
But coincidentally, the high energy of "Flowers" started from the third episode. After Li Li, played by Xin Zhilei, appeared on the stage, "The Battle of Yellow River Road" became the first small climax. The subsequent plot was even more addictive, and the audience couldn't stop it. Huh, two episodes a day are simply not enough to follow.
The magic of "Flowers" is that although most ordinary viewers have never experienced Shanghai in the 1990s and do not understand stocks, food, or business wars, Wong Kar-wai is able to balance the camera and the story, and the audience finally knows what high quality means TV series, and it also taught the entire industry a good lesson.
The second group: those who question Tang Yan’s lack of acting skills.
As one of the top 85 flowers, Tang Yan has played many female leads over the years since her debut, but when it comes to her masterpiece, most viewers can still only think of "Legend of Sword and Fairy III".
Back then, Tang Yan's first drama after giving birth, "Yanyuntai", not only had low popularity, but the production quality was hard to describe. Her acting skills were also ridiculed by the crowd, and she was recognized as lagging behind among the 85 flowers.
After "Yanyuntai", Tang Yan did not join the cast for three years and devoted herself to the filming of "Flowers". Even many fans couldn't help but wonder, is it worth it?
Now that "Flowers" has become a hit with both popularity and reputation, not only fans are relieved, but many passers-by who once mocked Tang Yan for her lack of acting skills have also changed their views on her.
Compared with Tang Yan's previous works, the role of Miss Wang she played was not very impressive in the early stage. This refers to the screen image with the blessing of Fu Huadao and others.
However, Tang Yan is extremely suitable for the role of Miss Wang, or in other words, she performed well. If I could only use one word to describe it, it could only be "fresh". Wong Kar-wai discovered this precious side of Tang Yan.
In the drama "Flowers", Hu Ge is the absolute male protagonist, and he undoubtedly gets the most dividends. After 2015, he is once again recognized as another masterpiece, and he has a great chance to win the title next year. The white magnolia looks like an emperor.
At the same time, some viewers believed that Tang Yan even shared the dividends from "Flowers" with Hu Ge. Regardless of whether this praise is well-deserved or exaggerated, Tang Yan has indeed made a wonderful turnaround, and it is worth not being in the group for three years.
The third group: cancer group.
I don’t know since when, fandom has become one of the key words in domestic entertainment. Artists have to compete overtly and covertly, and fans are raising banners in various ways, bound to fight for their idols. Let's not talk about
, just take the movie "Jiang Yuan Lane" that made a lot of noise some time ago as an example. Directed by Peter Chan and adapted from Strange Cases of the Republic of China, Zhang Ziyi serves as the lead actress.
It stands to reason that "Jiangyuan Lane" is definitely a good piece of cake, and the actors who can participate in it should be lucky. But fans of Yang Mi and Zhao Liying set off another battle for position.
Due to the fact that both Yang Mi and Zhao Liying are top 85 celebrities, the official Weibo account of "Jiang Yuan Lane" had to end and announced that the starring roles will be based on the order of appearance of the characters. This incident was even named and criticized by the film channel Fusion Media Center. Before the movie even took off, passers-by already had a bad impression.
Looking back at "Flowers", Ma Yili, Tang Yan and Xin Zhilei, as the three heroines, although their roles are not equal, they are equally outstanding.
Some people love Lingzi’s shrewdness and original intention, some love Miss Wang’s liveliness and stubbornness, and some love Li Li’s forbearance and profundity. In such a good drama, few viewers debate who is Ma Yili, Tang Yan or Xin Zhilei. Female first, female second and female third.
It is worth mentioning that before the broadcast of "Flowers", Xin Zhilei's "status" was obviously weaker than Ma Yili and Tang Yan.
Ma Yili is one of the few mainland Mesozoic actresses second only to Sun Li, while Tang Yan is mainly successful because of her own traffic, but Xin Zhilei does not have many masterpieces as a heroine.
Even, it was not until Wong Kar-wai corrected Xin Zhilei's acting error and said that he would always remember the look in her eyes when she cut off other people's knives in "Spring Knife 2" that Xin Zhilei suddenly realized why she was chosen by Wong Kar-wai.
Before the broadcast of "Flowers", "Flowers and Boys 5", in which Xin Zhilei served as a regular guest, had become a big hit, and she was a major contributor to the show's success.
It can be said that the popularity of "Flowers and Boys 5" is enough to help Xin Zhilei get more film and television opportunities. But after the broadcast of "Flowers", Xin Zhilei was promoted directly. More and more people got her acting skills and charm. She will definitely be exposed to more high-quality scripts in the future.
It is foreseeable that "Flowers" will definitely be the big winner of the next Magnolia Award. Wong Kar-wai is expected to win the best director, Hu Ge is expected to win the TV drama, and You Benchang is expected to win the best supporting actor. So who do you think among Ma Yili, Tang Yan and Xin Zhilei can get the queen's title?
