author | Wu Luzhi
editor | Xiang Wanwan
With the popularity of "Flowers".
The most frequently asked question to actors from Shanghai is probably: "How can I not act in "Flowers"?"
This is really because this TV series directed by Wong Kar Wai, which reflects the style of Shanghai in the 1990s, is so popular.
not only caused people to follow the drama, but CCTV also singled out the drama for its "accent".
The success of creating "tone" is not only due to the contemporary theme of "Flowers" and the authentic Shanghai atmosphere in the play, but also thanks to director Wong Kar-wai's "insight" in casting.
Wong Kar-wai spent a lot of money to invite 29 local Shanghai actors to join the cast. Without exception, they contributed just the right acting skills and jointly built the world of "Flowers".
But I have to say that the biggest limelight in "Flowers" was robbed by 3 outsiders.
1
Hu Ge leads
9 Shanghai actors to reproduce the "Shanghai style accent"
The story of "Flowers" unfolds from the perspective of Abao, who has the most "accent" and the most legendary color on the Yellow River Road.
Through A Bao's hard work, emotional entanglements, and the lives of all kinds of little people around him, it reflects the turbulent years of Shanghai's market economic reform in the early 1990s, which is comparable to the mainland version of "Big Times".
Director Wong Kar-wai was born in Shanghai, and later moved to Hong Kong with his parents. He has a strong attachment to Shanghai.
His unique feelings for Shanghai can be seen in the films he directed, such as "In the Mood for Love" and "Days of Being Wild".
Director Wang’s brothers and sisters who settled in Shanghai are basically of the same generation as the characters in "Flowers".
"Want to know what they went through" prompted Wong Kar-wai to adapt "Flowers" and direct his first TV series.
In order to truly restore the era atmosphere of Shanghai in the 1990s, Wong Kar-wai repeatedly scrutinized the script, costumes, lighting effects, and the casting was no exception.
The starring cast is almost entirely from Shanghai actors, led by Hu Ge, and joined by many acting talents such as Tang Yan, Ma Yili, Wu Yue, and Chen Long.
There are also surprise guest appearances by General Fan Zhiyi, Qingyi teacher Shi Yihong from Mei School, famous pianist Kong Xiangdong, etc.
does this to let the actors speak their lines in Shanghainese and basically restore the "Shanghai style accent".
And these actors live up to expectations. Regardless of the protagonist or supporting role, they are all vivid and three-dimensional in the play.
Abao, played by Hu Ge, is particularly brilliant, showing the character's intelligence, courage, strength and softness, affection and justice in a clear and delicate way.
The relationship between Abao and other characters is handled differently, but just right.
joins hands with Miss Wang, shares the joys and sorrows with Lingzi, and cherishes each other with Li Li. The three relationships are both "sweet" and each has its own sadness.
The relationship between master and apprentice with my uncle, and the brotherly relationship with Tao Tao, Xiao Ningbo and others are also profound and touching.
The creation of a "Shanghai style accent" in the play is also reflected in the true restoration of Shanghai city life.
has a quarrel scene in Tokyo at night, which was highly praised by director Wang Jing, saying that it restored the reality of Shanghai people's quarrels, especially the kind of entangled but clear words heard by neighbors in childhood. speed.
In addition to receiving praise from the industry, "Flowers" has also triggered waves of drama-watching crazes on social media.
Netizens are hotly discussing, in addition to Hu Ge's "handsomeness", Tang Yan's "嗲", and Ma Yili's "sa", there are also three foreign actors who are "excellent".
They captured the hearts of the audience with their excellent acting skills, wonderful famous scenes, and cute characters.
2
You Benchang:
"Post-90s" old naughty boy, guiding people's hearts with literature and art
Hu Ge said: ""Flowers" has two treasures, one is A Bao, and the other is the treasure actor You Benchang."
Teacher You Benchang, a native of Taizhou, Jiangsu, He is 91 years old this year and plays Po's mentor and uncle in "Flowers".
The role of uncle, in the words of the play, is "if business is an art, this person is definitely an old mage."
In real life, Mr. You is also an "old mage" among actors.
Teacher You entered the industry very early. He joined the Nanjing Art Troupe after graduating from high school and later became a drama actor.
Young teacher You is active in the drama industry. No matter how small the role is, he is willing to participate in it.
's intensive drama tours all year round give Teacher You the opportunity to hone his acting skills.
His pursuit of acting skills is the ultimate. He strives to carry the character's emotions with every move and every gesture, and he can express the character's joy, anger, sorrow and joy with just one look.
Teacher You has a humble personality and does not fight for others.
On a show, the old man said: "I have never had the problem of competing for roles. The others pick the remaining roles and I play them."
This humility almost made him miss his classic role "Ji Gong".
When Mr. You was 52 years old, at the invitation of the director, he played the first leading role in his life - Jigong, and won the 4th Golden Eagle Award for Best Actor for this role.
Teacher You contributed wonderful acting skills in the play and was highly respected for his extremely serious and rigorous work attitude.
There is a scene where Jigong is tortured and hit with a board. It was filmed 12 times. Teacher You was beaten until he could not stand up.
It is this respect and passionate interpretation of the character that makes "Jigong" deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Some netizens said that when they think of Jigong now, the image of Teacher You singing "The shoes are torn, the hat is torn" immediately appears in front of their eyes.
In "Flowers", Mr. You also showed his peak acting skills.
There is a scene where my uncle returns to No. 27 where he once worked after many years and asks the doorman about his old friend.
When I learned that my old friend had passed away, my eyes went from smiling to full of loneliness in an instant. I blinked and lowered the corners of my mouth, all filled with sadness that things have changed.
With the blessing of light and shadow, which Director Wang is best at, Teacher You’s delicate acting skills are infinitely magnified, making it real and moving.
In addition to the vitality of his acting skills, you can also feel the rare "youthful vitality" in Teacher You.
At last year's TV Drama Quality Ceremony, Mr. You, accompanied by Hu Ge, went on stage to receive the award. He introduced himself like this:
"Hello everyone, I am actor You Benchang. I happen to be 90 years old this year. I am also fortunate to join our post-90s generation. Line up."
winked slyly after finishing speaking.
Hu Ge on the side called Teacher You his life mentor and saw in him what true virtue and art are.
Teacher You, who is 90 years old, insists on working on the set for 10 hours every day. Sometimes he is so tired that he falls asleep just sitting down.
insisted on acting for Hu Ge even when the camera couldn't take him, and praised and encouraged Hu Ge from time to time.
When asked what he wanted to say to young actors, Teacher You put away his naughty spirit and solemnly shared seven words: "Guiding people's hearts with literature and art."
This is also the reason why Teacher You has made countless achievements with his excellence in acting. The classic character's life motto is constantly practiced and pursued.
3
Dong Yong: After 10 years in the military, no one knows it. One sentence, Anne, is known all over the world.
In fact, "Flowers" did not become popular as soon as it was aired. At first, many people said it was too exaggerated and could not be watched.
But the real moment will come soon. When Mr. Fan sang "Ann~Ni~", netizens suddenly became excited and turned from haters to fans.
Dong Yong, who plays Mr. Fan, is a native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang, and a martial arts student in Peking Opera.
Dong Yong has been in the industry for more than 30 years and is well-known to the audience for his tough guy image. Most of his roles are police officers and soldiers, such as Wang Ming, the deputy captain of the criminal police team in "Black Hole", Jiang Han, the criminal police officer in "Case Six", and "Chongqing Spy". CCP agent Lu Ya and others.
Director Wang said that he came to him after watching Dong Yong's "Marshal Peng Dehuai". But Dong Yong will play a different kind of "tough guy" this time.
Mr. Fan, the director of Hangzhou Knitting Factory, works hard among the big guys in Shanghai and fawns over orders, looking like a glib and silly person.
But he is also loyal and responsible, and he will not hesitate to kneel down to the factory director for Miss Wang's assembly line.
Although Fan is always a comedy character and his appearance brings comic effects, he shoulders the heavy responsibility of the entire factory and bravely goes to Shanghai to work hard to build a domestic brand.
"He is a tough guy at heart." Dong Yong commented, which also explains Mr. Fan, a down-to-earth private industrialist.
Dong Yong’s “understanding” of Mr. Fan was not written in the script, but developed through hard work.
As we all know, director Wong Kar-wai does not have a complete script, nor does he tell you how to act correctly. Sometimes a scene is shot dozens of times.
At the premiere of "Flowers", Dong Yong told a joke about director Wang "shooting 30 takes for one scene and then calling it a day. An announcement will be made next week to shoot this scene again."
Just when everyone was joking about "Wong Kar-wai has added another victim", Dong Yong put away the joke and said seriously:
"When 30 photos were taken, I didn't feel that my first performance was Accurate. Just like if you first walked west, after walking 10 times, you will start to think, is it better to go southwest? Can you try the northwest? "
One more, reshoot, overturn and start again, Director Wang's The operations may seem torturous, but Dong Yong regards them as a kind of growth, a breakthrough, and a kind of self-renewal.
Mr. Fan’s accent in the play was also figured out by Dong Yong through “updating” the character over and over again. The audience should know at first glance that they are from Jiangnan, but if the dialects from each region are blended in, everyone can understand it.
Dong Yong's breakthrough in "Flowers" has won the love of a large number of viewers. Some netizens jokingly called him "no one knows him in the military for 10 years, but one sentence from Anne is known all over the world."
Dong Yong in life is also a person who is young at heart and follows the trend. He readily accepted everyone's teasing and his love for the famous scenes of "Annie". He also frequently made memes on social media and interacted with netizens.
It is this mentality of continuous breakthrough and self-renewal that allowed Dong Yong to seize the opportunity of "Mr. Fan" and gain a new spring in his career as an actor.
Borrowing Mr. Fan's words: "Life is all about an opportunity, right? If you seize it, you will rise to the top."
4
Before, Xin Zhilei's name was on the hot search all day long because of her appearance in a variety show "Flowers and Boys Silk Road Season".
Xin Zhilei's elegant and dignified character in "Flower Young Master" repeatedly collapsed and turned into a famous Northeast Sanfeng'er. Netizens joked that she "seems to have some funny KPI".
While watching a lava show in Iceland, everyone else was taking pictures. Xin Zhilei suddenly sighed: "This lava can bake a sweet potato."
When she met a foreign grandma who loved Chinese culture, she showed off her collection of suonas. She was only worried that her grandma wouldn't know how to play it. Dentures blew out.
After eating a banana, I felt like I was out of body. After the broadcast of "Flowers", I specially posted on social media and said: "Xin Zhilei's behavior should not be promoted to Li Li."
Xin Zhilei used her acting skills to rectify Li Li's name: in "Flowers" Li Li is mysterious, smart, courageous, beautiful, sharp, and charming. He single-handedly stirs up the situation on the Yellow River Road.
Xin Zhilei, a native of Hegang, Heilongjiang, is the only northerner in the crew of "Flowers". When
joined the group, Wong Kar-wai told her that she had the important task of leading all audiences except the Shanghai audience into "Flowers".
Xin Zhilei did it. As soon as "Flowers" was broadcast, the charming and domineering Li Li captured the hearts of the audience.
In the scene where he said goodbye to Mr. A at the beach, Li Li had tears in her eyes and was full of brokenness.
The sea breeze gently ruffled the beauty's hair, and she hugged her so tightly that her knuckles turned white, all filled with reluctance.
After they broke up, Li Li watched his lover jump into the sea through the rearview mirror in the car, gradually collapsed and burst into tears.
This crying scene is shocking with its brokenness, powerlessness and explosive power.
Some netizens commented that Wong Kar-wai captured Xin Zhilei’s life scenes.
Director Wang is indeed "a keen eye for beauty", but Xin Zhilei also used her acting skills to capture this overwhelming wealth.
Xin Zhilei has frequently relied on her acting skills to make a name for herself in the past. She has played various roles in film and television masterpieces such as "Xiu Chun Knife 2", "Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace" and "Celebrating More Than Years", all of which are different and unforgettable.
When she is not filming TV series, she runs to challenge dramas.
debuted the play "Preliminary Evidence", which was a very difficult one-man show. It was performed in many theaters such as the Shanghai Dramatic Art Center and the National Center for the Performing Arts, and received high praise.
Director Wang invited Xin Zhilei to play the role of Li Li because he watched the aloof and power-defying heroine Ding Baiying played by Xin Zhilei in "Xiuchun Knife 2".
In addition to her swaying beauty, Li Li also has a hint of cold arrogance and chivalry.
Under Xin Zhilei's interpretation, this ambition is written on the face of the Shanghai flower of wealth, and at the same time reveals the truest and most righteous soul.
Xin Zhilei said in an exclusive interview that she is ambitious to be an actor. She hopes to become popular, but in order to get better roles and present better works.
She has always had her own goals, which are clear, direct, and challenging herself, much like Li Li.
5
There are many outstanding supporting characters and surprise Easter eggs in "Flowers".
Returning to the original nature, the Academy Award-winning actress Zeng Meihuizi, the aggressive and arrogant Fan Tiantian, Chen Guoqing, who has a charm of ordinary people, Zhong Zhentao, who pays tribute to Leslie Cheung, and Wen Zhaolun, who guest-starred as himself, etc., contributed wonderful performances that made the audience hooked.
A good drama and good actors make each other successful.
"Flowers" is a regional drama that reflects Shanghai's local customs and the style of the times. It would be inseparable from the painstaking efforts of director Wong Kar-wai and all the actors to create a unique "Shanghai style accent".
No matter where they come from, actors finally reach the audience and enter the hearts of the audience with their acting skills and works.
hopes that more and more dramas with "accent" will appear in domestic entertainment, and more and more capable actors will be seen.
