On the evening of April 21, the TV series "Harbin 1944" premiered in two episodes on Jiangsu Satellite TV. This TV series stars Qin Hao , Yang Mi and other actors, and tells the story of the Harbin spy war in 1944. Based on the current plot of the premiere, this spy war is between our party and the Puppet Manchukuo Secret Service. At the script level, the play is very professional, laying the groundwork and transitioning from beginning to end. It can be regarded as a model for the creation of spy war dramas. In terms of shooting, it is even more fast-paced, exciting, and very story-telling. The acting skills of all the actors are even more layered, exciting and full of tension. This drama already has the image of a high-quality spy drama.
Why "Harbin 1944" is so good to watch, and why it is so valuable as a spy war drama, needs to be analyzed from multiple angles. In this article, let’s try to analyze it from several perspectives such as script, filming and actor performance. One family speaks and looks forward to criticism from the Fang family.
Let me talk about the script first, which is amazing at the script level.
TV dramas are a form of artistic entertainment that tells stories. What is a story? In the script creation of film and television dramas, story is conflict. Only when there is conflict, and there is a conflict that begins, changes, and ends, can an effective story be formed. Therefore, in order to respect the story attributes of the TV series, it is necessary to establish two contents among the conflicts. First, the narrative line. Second, character characteristics.
In the opening two episodes of "Harbin 1944", among the many conflict stories, a main narrative line was first clarified. In Harbin in 1944, our party wanted to deliver intelligence, but encountered the Puppet Manchukuo Secret Service. Intercept, our party comrades are going to have a battle of wits and courage with the enemy agents. On the basis of this main narrative line, the pros and cons are clearly defined, and both sides are not vegetarians. They are both high-intelligence battles. This determines the conflicting nature of this TV series and makes it more brain-burning than the later spy dramas. Attributes.
At the script level, if a spy drama is to be enjoyable, it needs to have multiple conflict climaxes in the opening plot. "Harbin 1944" basically achieved the climax of the conflict in the first episode. The plot failed and a gun battle began. Our party’s traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture rescued comrades. Our party transferred the intelligence, and the enemy agents followed them to the train station and launched a shootout pursuit. The male protagonist played by Qin Hao starts the mode of breaking into enemy agents and so on. In these conflicts, the narrative thread is clearly defined.
At the same time, there are two aspects of "Harbin 1944" that are very worthy of praise at the script level. The first one is that the start is crisp. The first big plot at the beginning is that the heroine tried to break into the comrades of our party and intercept intelligence. After being discovered, the two sides started a confrontation. Some comrades of our party escaped and some comrades were captured. In the face of this clear conflict content, the male and female protagonists and all the characters are all unfolded. This is a simple and straightforward way to establish a character, without any sloppiness. In the conflict of the story, staying true to the characters is the most advanced technique in TV drama script creation. The screenwriter of the play is indeed Wang Xiaoqiang! This big gun really knows his stuff.
The second one is the ability to shape tense and exciting plots. Here is an example. After our party comrades were "stabbed to death" by acupuncture, they were thrown into a mass grave. The comrades then launched a rescue operation - in the car, the acupuncture comrades had to pull out the needles and continued to insert acupuncture to rescue them. At this time, the audience knew that when acupuncture was administered , need to be stable. However, the car is bound to shake. The faster you want to escape, the more it needs to shake. Between stability and oscillation, a confrontational relationship is formed. This confrontational relationship makes the play full of excitement and excitement. Script narrative is really a technical job that requires knowledge and professionalism.
Let’s talk about the director’s fast pace when shooting.
There is a way to analyze good TV series and bad TV series that may not be valid, which is to see whether each segment of the TV series "moves". A truly professional director's lens language is dynamic and streamlined, allowing the audience to see a clear dynamic trajectory. This dynamic trajectory finally coincides with the main story line of the play. On the other hand, in TV dramas that are not good-looking and of low quality, the lens language is often dull and non-dynamic.
In the two episodes of "Harbin 1944" premiered on Jiangsu Satellite TV, director Zhang Li's lens design can be seen in basically every scene. In these designs, the dynamic trajectory of the character story is very clear. The plot of the first two episodes, especially the heroine's line, is full of dynamics. For example, in the first episode, the heroine was injured, her arm was bleeding, and she actually sat in the driver's seat in the car. This scene was designed with a tense lens language, leaving enough suspense for the audience - the heroine is obviously On your own chassis, why not go to the hospital for emergency treatment?
A good TV drama narrative rhythm is not only dynamic, but also allows the audience to take a breather after the intense and exciting plot. In the first two episodes of "Harbin 1944", amidst the intensive conflicts, there are also "memory moments" where the male and female protagonists meet. These moments not only tell stories, but also serve to relieve the tense rhythm. The pause is for a more intense start. Director Zhang Li's lens language and narrative rhythm make this "Harbin 1944" a huge attraction.
Next, let’s talk about actor implementation.
Qin Hao, there is no doubt that he is already a popular and powerful male protagonist. Of course, it’s still the same sentence. A good role means not only a good performance by the actor, but also a sufficient space for the actor to perform. For example, the male protagonist meets the female protagonist’s brother at a dinner party. This scene, at the script level, leaves enough room for Qin Hao to perform. The male protagonist does not know this younger brother, but he needs to show his calmness at this moment, and change his emotions as the younger brother's emotional drama appears, maintaining the illusion of acquaintance and emotional intimacy. In this scene, the audience can see Qin Hao's multi-level acting skills. This kind of powerful performance is something you can't see in many ordinary TV dramas.
Yang Mi is definitely a well-deserved bonus in "Harbin 1944". In the scene where the heroine is injured and bandages herself, Yang Mi showed the character's feminine "killing feeling" with great intensity. Later, our party comrade was arrested, and the heroine asked, "How did you find out?" After this comrade informed him, he said, "You are just stupid." The heroine talks and admits that she is stupid. Yang Mi realized this scene with curiosity, fierceness, anger, and recognition and self-blame for his own stupidity. This kind of performance is very worthy of praise.
Finally, let’s talk about some scraps that you may not pay much attention to.
In spy war dramas, what should actually be solved the most is: why we fight. "Harbin 1944" bears the brunt of the problem of "why we fight" through some detailed stories. After our party comrade was arrested, he told the heroine that there is a place where rice is divided into three grades! This sentence is really the finishing touch.
Later, in the train station square, the Japanese were allowed to do business, but our Chinese were not allowed to do business, which was another deal. Even later, the business woman was assaulted by the Japanese invaders, which is the best explanation of "why we fight". On the surface, these plots are stories, but on the inside, they are emotional foundations.
Based on the above, I think that "Harbin 1944" can be called a model spy drama and is worth continuing to watch. As a senior editor, I will continue to follow the drama and follow the broadcast rhythm of Jiangsu Satellite TV to talk about the plot with everyone. What I say is just my personal opinion. Please leave your comments and I will read and study it carefully. (Text/Ma Qingyun)
