◎Liang Kun
Director Zhang Yimou's new work " Article 20 " will be released in the 2024 Spring Festival. It has only been more than four months since his last work " is as solid as a rock " was released. Zhang Yimou's prolificacy is obvious to all, especially starting from 2022, he has directed four films in three years. Zhang Yimou, who is 74 years old this year, is worthy of the title of "model worker" director.
At present, the cumulative box office of "Article 20" exceeds 1.6 billion, ranking fourth in the box office of Spring Festival movies. The top three are " Hot and Spicy ", " Speeding Life 2" and " Bears Infested·Reverse Time and Space" 》——Their entertainment attributes are obviously better than "Article 20". As a realistic-themed movie, "Article 20" has achieved good box office results.
Judging from the Douban score, "Article 20" scored 7.7, "Hot and Spicy" scored 7.9, "Flying Life 2" scored 7.7, and "Bear Infested: Reverse Time and Space" scored 6.9. After comparing the scores, "Article 20" did not lose, but the audience's evaluation of this movie is indeed polarized. Why is
a comedy?
"Article 20" is a story about law and reason. There are three narrative clues in the film: the first clue is that middle-aged prosecutor Han Ming is working in the Municipal Procuratorate and encounters a difficult intentional injury case; The second clue is that Han Ming's son, Han Yuchen, in order to stop bullying on campus, injured a classmate who was bullying, and this classmate was the son of the school's dean; the third clue was that Zhang Guisheng, the person involved in the case that Han Ming had handled before He refused to accept the verdict of intentional injury and firmly believed that he acted bravely. Despite Han Ming's dissuasion, he appealed repeatedly until he died in a traffic accident, leaving behind a minor daughter.
The three clues of the story all point to the same question: Were they doing intentional harm, or was it self-defense? The title of "Article 20" comes from Article 20 of the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China", which is a provision about legitimate defense. The Film and Television Center of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, one of the producers, stated that the story of this film refers to real-life cases such as the Kunshan anti-murder case. The original intention of the film is to promote the concept of "the law cannot give in to the law" and activate dormant legal provisions. , stop illegal infringement, and promote the spirit of justice and courage. Zhang Yimou used three narrative clues to strengthen this theme from different angles, and also triggered people's thinking about fairness and justice from different dimensions. The core and structure of the entire movie are very stable.
"Article 20" is a theme-first movie, and it is scheduled to be released during the Spring Festival. This is Zhang Yimou's confidence. What kind of "Article 20" do you want to see? Even with Zhang Yimou at the helm, would you be dissuaded by the seriousness of the subject matter? The genre of this movie is set as drama or comedy. Although there is a contrast between the serious and profound themes and the humorous expressions, it is not inconsistent. I also saw the laughter and tears of the audience around me in the theater. Zhang Yimou accurately grasped the scale of creation. While discussing the rule of law and fairness, the film also includes some aspects of middle-aged life: the struggle in the workplace, the pressure of children’s education and further education, the banter and true love between husband and wife’s battle of wits and courage... The short scenes between parents make the first theme fall behind. The earth has fireworks. The growth and mutual help of the female characters not only adds warmth to the narrative, but also further enriches the connotation of the film.
doesn't look like a movie?
Some viewers questioned that this movie is not like a movie, but more like a TV series, and even seems to be a collage of sketches. It is understandable that some TV dramas are now trying to approach the quality of movies, such as last year's hit " The Long Season ", but TV dramas should not be synonymous with being careless; it is also understandable that audiences have concerns about the "baggage" design of laugh points. Different opinions, but the comedy elements of sketches may not be imitated by movies. For example, Happy Twist's early film " Charlotte's Trouble " also received good box office and reputation.
"Article 20" brings together many actors from "Hurry Up" and "The Long Season". All the acting skills are online. Only when the characters and actors are solid and weighty can the content and theme be effectively conveyed. Lei Jiayin has always been good at dramas where little people come back against the odds; partner Ma Li is well versed in comedy effects and vividly interprets the subtleties of middle-aged couples' tricks; Chen Minghao, who is popular with the audience, wanders around in the reliable "Team Li" " and the unreliable older brother-in-law contributed a lot of laughter; "Sister-in-law" Gao Ye is still full of aura, interpreting a prosecutor who is loyal to his duties and sincerely pursuing questions, and the special identity of "ex-girlfriend" It also created misunderstandings; Zhao Liying, who suggested changing her role to a hearing-impaired person, used her explosive acting skills to create a convincing and distressed victim character. Only by truly feeling her despair can the audience Understand Han Ming's words, "What we handle is not a case, but other people's lives."
Why is Zhang Yimou?
's criticism of "Article 20" is more concentrated. He believes that Zhang Yimou's stylized performance cannot be seen in the film, and the audio-visual methods are mediocre. What should Zhang Yimou's movie be like? If you pursue Zhang Yimou's signature look, this is his usual style of play that has been tried and tested. There is no difficulty for him. The question is whether it is suitable.
From the perspective of image style, he has indeed concealed his previous techniques. There is no beautiful design throughout the text, and a strong documentary style has been replaced. But given the subject matter and content of the film, this should be a more appropriate approach. Regardless of the strong formality of the picture or the prominent color emphasis, it is inevitable that there is a suspicion here. The music design of " " is very distinctive. It may be suitable for "Azo", "Three Guns to Surprise" and "Qiu Ju's Lawsuit". But "Article 20" makes the audio-visual means disappear and the story and characters stand out, so that the audience can more easily get involved in the drama, and the joys and sorrows on the big screen can be closer to life.
"Article 20" is not a film with Zhang Yimou's watermark throughout, but some of the flashbacks (callbacks) in the film also record some of his own persistence. For example, in the face of Han Ming's sincere words, Zhang Guisheng used one sentence to defend his constant petitioning: "I just want an explanation." Qiu Ju also said the same thing more than 30 years ago. Some people interpret this as Zhang Yimou's legal popularization complex. I think it is debatable whether it should be defined like this. However, he has responded to the simple expectations of the people with his works many times, and he still practices his responsibilities as a Chinese filmmaker. For another example, he used Lei Jiayin's impassioned passages in "The River Is Red" to create a contrasting comedy effect in "Article 20" - he completely let go of his idol baggage, and in order to satisfy the audience's need for joy, he showed his "self-consciousness" that he was willing to poke fun at himself. "Black" spirit. This is also the Zhang Yimou that people are familiar with.
Zhang Yimou's last film "Solid as a Rock" and "Article 20" are both realistic themes. The former is about anti-corruption and gangs, while the latter is a law-themed film focusing on the issue of "justifiable defense". Zhang Yimou, who started with the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival, has gone from art films to commercial blockbusters, covering a wide range of subjects in the past few decades; in recent years, he has returned to realistic subjects, and dared to touch on socially sensitive topics and pain points - this is already another somewhat unfamiliar film. The same Zhang Yimou.
"Article 20" is not perfect. Some people pointed out that certain plots in the film are contrary to the law. In addition, the final paragraph of the film is about sublimation and sublimation. Han Ming's concentrated output at the hearing was a bit intense. It made sense, but it was a little too hard. However, as a realistic-themed movie, "Article 20" has made breakthroughs in the depth and breadth of the subject discussion, and is still a rarity in the market. We need joy in movie theaters, and we need people who care about how close we are to fairness and justice. Everyone longs for the perfect protection of the law and the warmth of people's hearts. This is both idealistic and realistic. Zhang Yimou uses his films to question and pursue this. During this year’s Spring Festival, isn’t it worthy of praise for you to see such a slightly different Zhang Yimou?
