At the beginning of 2024, CCTV went crazy in the Chinese drama circle.
In the first month of the new year, almost every drama on the CCTV platform has become a hit.
follows the 2024 New Year's Eve hit " Blossoms " , setting off the nostalgic style of Shanghai in the 1990s both inside and outside the play.
Whether it is the heated discussion of characters such as Mr. Bao and Miss Wang in the play, or the hot sales of props such as ribs and rice cakes outside the play, it reflects the good popularity of the play.
"Flowers" dispersed, and "Big River" appeared again.
"Dajiang Dahe 3" produced by drama king Noonday Sunshine will land on CCTV in mid-January.
With the excellent foreshadowing of the first two games in the series, the career stories of the protagonist Song Yunhui and others are equally interesting after entering a new chapter in the 1990s.
Thanks to the good quality of the drama, the drama's popularity and reputation have soared in both directions. The work's score of 8.4 also maintains the same level as the series.
But in late January, CCTV changed its taste again and launched a new drama.
The anti-Japanese comedy "Running Dogs" starring Qin Hailu has recently been launched on CCTV 8.
This drama has a somewhat "cheesy" title, but the response has been anything but vulgar. On the first day that
was aired, the drama reached a peak ratings of over 2, and subsequently ranked first in the national ratings four times.
After the previous episodes were broadcast, some netizens also left reminder comments about "Don't be dissuaded by the name, it's really good-looking" .
So, why does this work with a somewhat "strange" name gain such a reputation?
Next, let’s talk about its highlights based on the plot.
01. The protagonist’s perspective is unique, and it is an anti-Japanese story that focuses on “ordinary people” in the market.
The title of “Running Dogs” sounds very vulgar, but the setting of the protagonist is actually also very “vulgar”.
Compared with most anti-Japanese dramas that depict the heroic resistance of the protagonists against Japan, this "Gou Sheng Run" mainly tells the process of ordinary people being involved in the anti-Japanese wave.
The protagonist of the story, Gou Sheng (played by Jiang Long), is an out-and-out common man.
He was an abandoned baby and was adopted by the farmer Wang Daju's family. He only had three simple wishes in life:
Make money, build a house, and marry a wife
He had a soft spot for his adoptive father Wang Daju's daughter Xing'er, and he was originally very happy. Move towards your life goals.
But in that era disrupted by the Japanese invaders, it was too difficult for "ordinary people" like Gou Sheng to realize their wishes. After watching the first 4 episodes of
, he encountered three unfortunate things that happened out of his own control.
The first thing - passively going to the front line for your lover;
In the play, the same person who pursues Myolie like the male protagonist is Yang San (played by Jiang Yi), the director of the village office.
Taking advantage of his position, Yang San "blackmailed" Myolie to marry him by putting Wang Mao, the foolish son of the Wang family with intellectual disabilities, on the conscription list.
But he never thought that Yang San, who was just a false shot, accidentally reported Wang Mao on the roster.
Seeing that Wang Mao was destined to be a soldier, the whole Wang family burst into tears.
Seeing this situation, Gou Sheng, who couldn't bear the embarrassment to his adoptive father and his family, had no choice but to sacrifice himself and couldn't help but join the army in the name of Wang Mao.
The second unfortunate thing - being surrounded by the Japanese army and becoming a "dead corpse";
After joining the army, the national army team where Gou Sheng was originally only "paddling" in the rear and had no major combat missions.
But just when Gou Sheng thought he could return home safely, the Japanese soldiers' surprise attack gave him a wake-up call.
On the battlefield, seeing a group of veterans escaping cunningly, Gou Sheng, the new recruit, froze in place.
Surrounded by enemy troops, Gou Sheng was forced to hide on the ground to load his body, and was extremely lucky to escape the enemy's follow-up shots.
But he had separated from the team and became a "dead person" registered in the rear.
The third thing was not only unlucky but also ironic - being regarded as a "deserter" by the deserters;
Although he escaped from the battlefield by chance, Gou Sheng, who wanted to get military pay and marry a wife, embarked on the road of becoming a soldier again.
But seeing Gou Sheng return, the platoon leader who had "led the team to escape" not only used a clever excuse to deduct military pay, but also backhandedly labeled Gou Sheng a "deserter."
Good guy, if you don’t have money, your life will be at stake.
Behind the trapped life of the unlucky Gou Sheng reflects the helplessness of the little people of the era.
In the follow-up, how this common man who "just wants to live a good life" grows up and plays a role in the anti-Japanese process will also become the core suspense of this drama.
02. There is a lot of joy, and every episode has a laugh.
Judging from the protagonist Gou Sheng’s various experiences, his character is indeed very unlucky.
However, judging from the previous episodes, the audience did not feel much tragic temperament from Gou Sheng.
The reason is simple. The director
added a lot of comedy design into the play to downplay the tragic core of the work itself.
And this is also a distinction made by the director team from the movie version 10 years ago.
This "Gou Sheng Run" has an adaptation model. It is a remake of the 2014 Golden Rooster Award-nominated movie " I am not Wang Mao " .
also tells the story of the protagonist Gou Sheng who joins the army out of love, but the direction of the film shows a trend of three points of happiness and seven points of sadness.
The black and white images throughout the film echo the tragic fate of the characters, creating a strong sense of tragedy.
In essence, the movie version of "I'm Not Wang Mao" is a "black comedy" that makes people unable to laugh.
In the drama version that was remade 10 years later, although the script was still written by the screenwriter Li Haijiang, the latter significantly adjusted the tone of the work with the expansion of the script to 24 episodes.
also tells the story of "dog left to join the army", but the audience experience of this drama version is not as heavy as the movie version. The most prominent change in
is the increase in comedy plots and hilarious characters; the few funny plots in the
movie version are enlarged and displayed in the drama version.
For example, when Gou Sheng returned to the village and "showed off his talents" in front of the neighbors, this set of tricks made people laugh.
For another example, the scene in which Gou Sheng furiously chases his love rival Yang San was extended to 3 minutes in the drama version, and the laugh line is equally simple and direct.
In addition, the screenwriter also added a hilarious character line in the original version of the drama.
The heroine Taozi, played by Shi Ce, is an original new character in the drama version.
The "formal encounter" between Tao Zi, an anti-Japanese young woman, and the male protagonist Gou Sheng began with a ridiculous misunderstanding.
The occurrence of this toilet incident also allowed the heroine to appear in a joyful style.
In addition to the comedy setting in the plot, the details such as lines are also designed with a touch of comedy.
For example, the quarrel between the righteous squire played by Liu Peiqi and the old village chief played by You Yongzhi,
the childish exchanges of "Why don't you go to heaven" and "Why don't you go to the ground", you can also feel the joyful style of the characters.
In Qingshi’s view, even the different expressions in the same scene can intuitively feel the difference between the drama version and the film version. In the two works of
, there is also a plot where Gou Sheng was unexpectedly tested for hearing by the platoon leader when he signed up to join the army. In the
movie version, the platoon leader used a simple and crude scare to achieve the detection effect arbitrarily.
In the drama version, although the method of testing the hearing of the platoon leader is simple and crude, the accompanying grimace style adds a full sense of joy to the scene.
The content of the drama is the same, but the drama version is obviously more cheerful.
03 and Qin Hailu were willing to act as co-stars, but they gave the stage to these five new comedies.
After talking about the plot, it’s time to talk about the lineup.
Compared with other dramas such as "Flowers" recently launched on CCTV, the cast of "Gou Sheng Run" is obviously "not enough to watch".
Except for actress Qin Hailu and two veteran actors You Yongzhi and Liu Peiqi, the other leading actors in this drama are mainly young actors with relatively low reputations.
From an acting perspective, as the second female lead, Qin Hailu obviously feels a lot of pressure to handle the drama.
Judging from the previous episodes, this actress’s performance is indeed impressive.
In the drama, she plays the role of the mistress of Lao Wang's family and the godmother of the male protagonist Gou Sheng.
In her interpretation of this role, Qin Hailu can be said to present the "Chinese-style mother" image like a textbook.
Internally, is a mother who always puts her children first.
Whether it is her two biological children or her adopted son Gou Sheng, she treats them equally and tenderly.
pays attention to every detail, and gives all kinds of distressed looks to the children, all of which highlight the character's tenderness and motherly style.
Externally, the role of also embodies the tough attitude of "being a mother and being strong".
When he heard that his stupid son Wang Mao was put on the "conscription list", although the character said nothing, the murderous anger was clearly felt.
When Yang Sanshun was about to propose marriage to the Wang family, she went straight to Yang San's mother for the sake of her children.
In her words and deeds, Qin Hailu acted brilliantly as an old mother who protects her calf.
However, despite her outstanding performance, Qin Hailu can only be regarded as the second female lead in terms of proportion of roles.
This actress's supporting role is actually to provide "acting support" for several other young leading actors.
Looking at the list of young actors, it is not difficult to find one thing in common.
They are all emerging comedians "selected" from the same variety show.
2021 On the popular comedy variety show "Annual Comedy Competition", many comedians with outstanding performance abilities were discovered in the form of sketch competition, and many of them became emerging forces active in film and television works in recent years.
The starring team of "Go Sheng Run" has "introduced" a large number of outstanding contestants from the show.
After watching the first few episodes, at least 5 comedians stole the show.
The first "Annual Comedy Conference" champion Jiang Long is now the actor of the male protagonist Gou Sheng in this drama.
Jiang Long, who often plays the "unlucky guy" on the sketch stage, also integrated the character's cowardly temperament into the interpretation of the male protagonist Gou Sheng in the drama version.
And Jiang Long's lean and small body coupled with his "suffering" expression does not lose a bit of humor.
Shi Ce, who won the top three female contestants in the "Annual Comedy Convention", plays the heroine Taozi in this drama.
Although the character's character is a young woman who promotes resistance against Japan and national salvation, Shi Ce's interpretation of the character is not serious.
On the contrary, while showing the patriotic attributes of the character, she also performed a down-to-earth performance that is appropriate for her age. That tenderness and youthfulness.
In addition to the male and female protagonists, the male lead Jiang Yi who plays the villain Yang San, actor Ye Liu who plays his follower, and Song Muzi who plays the corrupt platoon leader are also contestants in the finals of the "Comedy Contest" .
And they also each had outstanding comedy performances in the previous episodes.
Judging from the comedy effects of the previous episodes, the performance of these five comedians is indeed worthy of the support of the actress Qin Hailu.
Of course, the current drama is still in the "comedy comfort zone" of these five new actors.
But when the plot needs to be serious in the later stage, whether they, who are accustomed to comedies, can withstand the pressure to switch images will be a big factor. The degree will also determine the subsequent reputation of the work.
04. Rejecting the "anti-Japanese drama", "Gou Sheng Run" is on the right path
In Qingshi's view, anti-Japanese comedy is a difficult subject to shoot.
After all, under the serious and profound theme of anti-Japanese war, how to insert "entertainment effects" without affecting the main theme is a technical task.Among
's past anti-Japanese works, many works have strayed from their themes due to their "excessive pursuit of entertainment or topicality" and have become anti-Japanese dramas.
Before that, "The Anti-Japanese Heroes" added a fantasy plot of "tearing the Japanese apart with hands" to make the plot entertaining, and it is still regarded as a "legend" in the thunder drama industry.
Later, there was the Chinese drama "Fighting the Japanese Together" which featured the curious "thunder hidden in the crotch". The strange lines and plot changed the "tragedy" of the character's sacrifice.
In Qingshi’s view, it is difficult to increase the “entertainment effect” of anti-Japanese works, but that does not mean that it cannot be achieved.
Many of the excellent Anti-Japanese War works in the past have produced good entertainment while retaining the core theme of the Anti-Japanese War.
In the national drama "Little Soldier Zhang Ga", borrowed the gags of Zhang Ga and other children to bring many funny plots.
But behind the laughter, Baiyangdian F4’s passionate anti-Japanese theme has not faded at all.
And in the movie "Hands Up" , a more accurate demonstration of how to insert "advanced laughter" into anti-Japanese works.
In the film, the old man played by Guo Da scolds a donkey and insinuations about "beating up" a traitor. With the actor's brilliant performance, people can't help but laugh every time they watch it.
While unlocking the laughter, the old man’s tongue-in-cheek scolding also made us clearly feel the national integrity of the older generation of Chinese people.
And in the movie "Gou Sheng Run" we talked about today, the intensity of the laughter is of course far less than that of masterpieces such as "Hands Up",
but at least Qingshi is pleased to see that the drama's laughter settings are not Expression is not neglected for the sake of entertainment.
Behind some of the hilarious moments, the creator also injected some core elements worth thinking about.
For example, the heroine Tao Zi’s anti-Japanese fundraiser was met with failure;
After the charity performance was messed up due to the heroine’s broken voice, the scene of the heroine “asking for money” in embarrassment is certainly hilarious, but the scene of the audience scattering in confusion also implies that The anti-Japanese enthusiasm of the village people needs to be strengthened.
Another example is the various military scenes the male protagonist encounters when he first joins the army;
Although the actors' joyful performances are amusing, the soldiers' lax military discipline is also touching.
The huge contrast between the scenes of the Japanese troops marching into the front line is even more thought-provoking.
Although "Running Dog" has just been aired not long ago, the lack of acting experience of the protagonists may still be a hidden danger in subsequent works.
But at least from the current point of view, the drama does not ignore the Anti-Japanese War in its pursuit of comedy effects. Thinking and expression, at least currently, do not tend to be "theatrical".
But this time, I chose to believe in "Gou Sheng Run", and I chose to continue to believe in CCTV's vision!
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