Appraisal target: "Storm Chaser"
Broadcast platform: CCTV 8, iQiyi
Breaking away from the traditional narrative paths of the Republic of China themes such as "family disputes", "romance" and "spy war", "Storm Chaser" focuses on the financial field , taking the master-disciple relationship between Wei Ruolai ( Wang Yibo ) and Shen Tunan ( Wang Yang) as the main line, and outlines the transformation process of the patriotic young Wei Ruolai through stylized lens language.
In the play, Wei Ruolai was born in poverty and followed his brother to Shanghai to make a living. With his superior memory and computing power, he was deeply appreciated by Shen Tunan, the consultant of the Central Bank of the Kuomintang, and was hired as a personal assistant. It is difficult to rise from the bottom to the elite circle on your own. If the depiction of this kind of leap-frogging growth is not realistic enough, it will give the narrative a layer of coolness. The treatment of the
episode is: there is a coincidence - Wei Ruolai accidentally meets Shen Tunan's sister Shen Jinzhen and helps her escape the pursuit; there is also real talent and learning - he sneaks into the banquet and gets the opportunity to talk to Shen Tunan again, and in Shen Tunan’s trading intentions were explained within a few minutes. It is the combination of the two that makes Wei Ruolai's soaring fortunes not deviated from the logic of the characters and the background of the times.
The most eye-catching thing in the drama is the master-disciple relationship between Wei Ruolai and Shen Tunan. They went from not knowing each other to cherishing each other and then parting ways. These three turning points clearly anchored Wei Ruolai's growth nodes and made his transformation more profound: initially, under the leadership of Shen Tunan, Wei Ruolai's financial talent was brought into play; Later, Wei Ruolai went through fire and water for Shen Tunan many times, and the two worked together to promote financial reform; finally, after witnessing the deep-rooted corruption in the counterfeit currency and treasury bills incident, Wei Ruolai devoted himself to the New Democratic Revolution, and the master and apprentice broke up.
Usually the narrative of the master-disciple relationship will start with the two going through various tests, and finally understanding and achieving each other. "The Storm Chaser" incorporates the setting of severance and righteousness in this emotional line, clearly outlining Wei Ruolai's independent personality in the process of growing up. He respected his mentor, but he did not follow him unconditionally.
When his mentor gave in on key issues involving the people's vital interests, Wei Ruolai decisively found a new path. As a bright line, the master-disciple line depicts the ups and downs of the relationship between the two, and also explains the reason for Wei Ruolai's every turn.
opens up the narrative vision of the Republic of China drama series from a financial perspective, which can only make the audience's eyes shine. What can really impress the audience is the rationality and logic of Wei Ruolai's transformation. This is what "Wind Chaser" did.
text | Zhan Xiwei
