"Flowers" would not be possible without the role of "Uncle".
A back view reveals the past glory of my uncle, and a look in his eyes kicks off the story of Mr. Bao.
The two shots anchored the plot of "Flowers" and instantly raised the expectations of the entire drama.
If the character of Uncle Grandpa appears a few days later, I am afraid that a large number of impatient viewers will not be able to survive five episodes.
Flowers are blooming but not ringing
When "Flowers" first aired, the first wave of drama reviews were almost full of doubts and complaints.
First of all, the problem is the setting. Many viewers feel that it is too gorgeous and exaggerated, reminiscent of "Tiny Times".
Some people even laugh at Wong Kar-wai, saying that he is the middle-aged version of Guo Jingming.
Secondly, it is the characterization, especially the Shanghai women in the play.
Most people have the impression that Shanghai women are smart and full of aura, but Wong Kar-wai has made the unique aura of Shanghai women into a noisy one.
Whether it's Reiko, Miss Wang, or any other female character in the play, spittle flies and babbles keep coming.
In order to show the unique "aura" of Shanghai women, it can be said that they have taken great pains.
In episode 13, , a bunch of people argued with each other without any logic for most of the episode, and the quarrel ended only when Teacher Ge fainted.
Some of the audience members who watched this farce probably fainted along with Teacher Ge.
What is more serious is the problem of plot promotion.
Whether it is the emotional plot design or the business war plot design, the evaluation received is that the plot is dragging, confusing and dazzling.
used the same techniques used in making movies in TV series, which made it difficult for many viewers to adapt.
But fortunately, every time the uncle appears, the plot can be brought back on track.
As small as teaching Miss Wang to write a self-criticism, as large as finding a way out for Mr. Bao to stabilize the world, not a single scene of Uncle Ye is useless.
You Benchang, who plays the role of uncle, has been praised repeatedly by the audience for his acting skills.
Even when "Flowers" received negative reviews and doubts, the audience also gave You Benchang high praise, even overshadowing Hu Ge. While
was given a low star rating, netizens commented: The entire drama of relies on You Benchang and Huyu, and the shots are exaggerated and can hardly be called a masterpiece.
Evaluations such as "One person controls the whole scene" and "Dinghai Shenzhen" are the audience's recognition of the character and their affirmation of You Benchang's acting skills.
The highest evaluation for an actor is that nothing he plays looks like himself.
Even if there is a familiar character like "Ji Gong" in front, some people still lament : When I saw the old man in the first episode, he held up the scene. I thought he must be an old actor, but I didn't expect it was You Benchang.
In addition to his superb acting skills, You Benchang's life is also full of legend.
The hat is broken, the shoes are broken
You Benchang was originally from Jiangsu and was born in Taizhou City, Jiangsu Province in 1933.
When he was six years old, his parents sent him to a temple in Shanghai to become a monk. From then on, he studied and lived in Shanghai.
You Benchang’s experiences as a boy are indeed a bit like the uncle in “Flowers”.
Before entering high school, You Benchang attended a commercial vocational school and also studied accounting.
If he had not entered the ranks of actors prematurely, then You Benchang should have performed in his true colors in "Flowers".
You Benchang was recommended to join the Nanjing Art Troupe when he graduated from high school. A year later, he was transferred to the Shanghai People's Art Theater with the troupe. In the same year, he was admitted to the Performance Department of the Shanghai Theater Academy.
I didn’t expect that the path of an actor would be so difficult. He has been playing a bit part for more than 20 years. When
acted in "Ji Gong", You Benchang was already 53 years old.
The remuneration for each episode is only 1,500 yuan, and the total remuneration received after filming is only a few thousand yuan.
Although "Ji Gong" was broadcast well, the TV station had no idea of making a sequel at that time.
Therefore, You Benchang had to raise funds by himself and found director Yang Jie to make a 20-episode "Jigong Living Buddha".
However, due to financial problems, only four episodes of this drama were filmed in total, and You Benchang was unwilling to do so.
In 1991, when You Benchang was trying to raise funds to make the sequel to "Ji Gong", bad news came to his family.
When his wife was diagnosed with cancer, he had to put down everything he was doing and spend all his time with his wife.
You Benchang stayed by his wife's bedside day and night. After four years of fighting the disease, his wife finally recovered.
After his wife recovered, You Benchang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
started to set up a company and filmed 20 episodes of "Jigong Travels", which received a good response.
You Benchang started his career as a supporting actor again. He only chose scripts but not roles, and his acting skills never fell behind.
One look supports a drama
Wong Kar-wai said that his favorite actor is Tony Leung, especially his eyes.
has an elegant temperament and melancholy eyes. He looks like a person with a story as soon as he stands in front of the camera.
But the story in Tony Leung Chiu-wai's eyes is inward, while the eyes of Yau Ben-chang can penetrate multiple levels.
In one episode, Jigong cast a spell to burn down his home.
Then his eyes were full of tears, half smiling and half sad.
Some people say that from You Benchang’s eyes, he could see the suffering of all sentient beings..
In recent years, there have been many phenomena on the Internet where people watch the entire movie because of one clip, or watch the entire drama.
In 2011, You Benchang participated in a movie called "The Adventures of Li Xianji", which tells the story of the male protagonist using a game to travel back in time to save his girlfriend. The movie
did not make a splash, with a box office of only about 10 million, and a low score of 6.4 on Douban.
The narrative method of "The Adventures of Li Xianji" is like self-exciting graffiti, which is exactly the same as Wong Kar-wai's shooting technique.
Despite numerous negative reviews, many people were still attracted by one of You Benchang's scenes. In this movie, he used one look to explain what it means to have a look for thousands of years.
Many netizens said that one look in his eyes held up a whole drama. Such evaluation is not excessive when it comes to You Benchang.
participated in "Young Song Xing", playing the role of Master Wangyou.
Actors without acting skills rely on makeup to fit their roles, while talented actors like You Benchang rely on the details of their expressions and manners.
When netizens asked if this drama has a teacher, You Benchang, this sentence is enough to reflect his skills.
An actor is unrecognizable no matter what role he plays. This is the greatest affirmation.
After the prosperity is over
"Flowers" has been aired for so many days and finally comes to an end.
Miss Wang and Lingzi, the two plots related to Mr. Bao, feel more like making up numbers by the end of the play. On the contrary,
is the uncle who always brings the theme back on track every time he appears, but his scenes are pitiful. The ending like
is actually not strange, after all, this is Wong Kar-wai's consistent style.
So far, there are two works that best reflect You Benchang’s “eye skills”.
One is "The Adventures of Li Xianji" which received poor reviews, and the other is "Flowers" by Wong Kar-Wai.
In "The Adventures of Li Xianji", You Benchang used his acting skills to "interpret" a glance that traveled through time and space for ten thousand years.
When it comes to the uncle in "Flowers", his eyes are filled with the precipitation of time and the rush of old Shanghai.
Looking back at the whole drama, the audience was dissatisfied that Yau Ben-chang had too few scenes, but Wong Kar-wai also fulfilled Yau Ben-chang's role.
After the broadcast of "Flowers", You Benchang suddenly became the top actor born in the 1990s (actors over 90 years old).
With the arrival of 2024, You Benchang posted a New Year blessing video on the short video platform, which has received 35.37 million likes so far.
The drama has ended, and the prosperity has ended.
After becoming his uncle, he turned back into the Jigong who looked at the world with a smile.
