's major-themed TV series " All the Way Forward " will premiere on CCTV8 prime time on February 26 and will end on March 9. The broadcast cycle of the play is highly consistent with this year's "Two Sessions". As a main theme work related to national memory, this schedule arrangement also highlights the historical and cultural significance of "All the Way".
This theme work, which took three years to produce, has a different halo from commercial dramas. It is not only a major literary and artistic support project of Sichuan Province and a key support project of Chongqing City in 2021, but also a special cultural fund support project of the Central Propaganda Department in 2023.
"All the Way Forward" is directed by the famous director Xi Xin, starring Li Jian, Lian Lian, Zhang Su. Taking the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway, the first railway built after the founding of the People's Republic of China, as the background, and taking the heroic deeds of the protagonist Luo Xiangqian and other first-generation railway pioneers as the main line, the history of the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway is lovingly reviewed, fully demonstrating the 130,000 The noble spirit of self-reliance and hard work among the military and civilians.
Exploring the characters’ personalities from a human perspective
For a work with the main theme, how to make it “better-looking” is an inherent problem.
"In the final analysis, the core of the play is the characters. For the "Little Dazheng" play, how to make the positive characters "upright but not stiff, tall but not arrogant" is what I value particularly. We must look at it from the perspective of human nature To explore the character's personality and make him 'both high-level and down-to-earth', otherwise the audience will feel that the character is too superficial and seems to be fake, which is bad." Xi Jinping, director of "All the Way" Xin said.
The director took Luo Xiangqiang, played by Li Jian in "All the Way" as an example. To be fair, this character is indeed difficult to portray because his character attributes are too positive, as if there is an invisible and positive frame that defines the character's background. "What should we do? We have to make this character interesting and vivid enough, so that he can be both good and evil." Xi Xin said. The "evil" of
is actually to inject reasonable and appropriate comedy elements into Luo Xiangqian while emphasizing the layering and life-oriented character of the characters.
For example, Luo Xiangqian, as a reconnaissance company commander, was upset because he was left to build railways and could not go to the Korean battlefield; as a combat hero, he even felt that this was an insult in his heart.
Faced with Luo Xiangqian's emotions, the regiment leader Ma Zutang gave explanations and advice from all aspects, until he issued the fatal order "As soon as the railway is repaired, you will go to the battlefield." In fact, Luo Xiangqian didn't listen at all to what the regiment leader said before. He only firmly remembered the sentence "The day the railway is built is the day of war."
"This paved the way for Luo Xiangqian's adventurous mentality and irritable emotions that appeared from time to time in the specific work of building railways. Reflected in the specific image, the character was not so 'upright'." Xi Xin said .
Being anxious will make mistakes, and being anxious will lead to conflicts in the relationships between characters. Being anxious also means that there is room for correction and growth in the future. "So the characters have also changed and had a sense of layering."
Let's look at the comedy that appeared in Luo Xiangqian. feature.
Regarding the group leader’s persuasion, Luo Xiangqian’s attitude was “If you understand, you must implement it, if you don’t understand, you must implement it.” When he couldn’t sleep at night, he wiped his gun under the moon and looked in the direction of North Korea, sometimes frowning, and sometimes his eyes widened. Light.
Like Luo Xiangqian, who did not understand "why a good man should be left to build the railway" was his comrade Zhang Biao. As a superior, when Luo Xiangqian was working on Zhang Biao's negative emotions, he had no so-called deep understanding or understanding at all. He just stammered and mechanically told Zhang Biao what the then group leader had advised him. .
"It's clear that he doesn't take things seriously, but he speaks with sincerity and sincerity." Xi Xin said that this "contrast scene" established Luo Xiangqian's comedic characteristics.
"The sense of atmosphere at that time" is extremely important
In addition to shaping the texture of the characters, "All the Way" also puts great effort into the sense of atmosphere. The story of "All the Way" took place more than 70 years ago, so the buildings and other spatial backgrounds required for filming are preferably centuries-old.
In the play, many important scenes are placed in a martial arts hall in Neijiang. Although more than 100 years have passed, the facilities used for infantry training are still there. The rusty discus and the charred black single-plank bridge are all silently telling the history; on one side of Lecture Hall Square, there is a two-story building with an all-wood mortise and tenon structure, and it feels like walking into it. Step into a parallel time and space 100 years ago.
"The 'sense of atmosphere of the time' exuded by a TV series is extremely important. The relationship between the characters in the drama and time and space must be supported by precise costumes, culture, and Tao, especially the architectural environment where the characters live. It seems speechless, but in fact it speaks everywhere." Xi Xin said.
This is why the main creator of "All the Way" visited century-old buildings in Chengdu and Chongqing during the preparation process. The filming locations selected for the drama include the century-old Catholic church, school, Dazhai and compound in Neijiang.
It is understood that the items range from a map, a stack of letter paper, a pictorial, a raincoat and a shop front, to rows of thatched mud huts, dozens of stone houses, and hundreds of old firearms. A total of more than 60,000 pieces of various costumes, props and other objects used in "Previous". These scenes and objects used strictly in accordance with historical facts provide a solid guarantee for the "sense of atmosphere at that time" in "All the Way Forward".
"The texture and atmosphere of a TV series is actually the aura formed by the convergence of various relationships, such as the relationship between people, the relationship between people and scenery, and the relationship between people and things." Xi Xin said.
It is particularly worth mentioning that the three-month filming of "All the Way" was completed against the background of a serious epidemic. In order to ensure the smooth filming of this major-themed TV series, all walks of life in Neijiang and all citizens of Neijiang gave the crew their greatest support. Xi Xin said: "Behind every frame of "All the Way" there is the good intentions and full affection of Neijiang people."
Red Star News reporter Zhang Shihao editor Li Jie
