Chinese dramas in 2024 have completely entered summer.
From the New Year's Eve " Blossoms " to " and Feng Xing " and "Storm Chaser", to the recent record-breaking " Celebrating More Than Years 2", each hit is more popular than the last.
CCTV dramas are still constantly refreshing the popularity limit of national dramas.
has entered the summer season, and the next upcoming releases include "Tang Dynasty Strange Stories: Journey to the West" and "White Night Breaking Dawn" ("White Night Chase 2") that has been waiting for 7 years. As long as it is released as planned, it will definitely become popular. Hold fast to word of mouth.
However, we have to wait a little longer for these two major dramas. Many people have also discovered these hits that have already been aired. Period dramas, spy dramas, fantasy dramas, and costume and conspiracy dramas have appeared one after another.
is missing one person - a suspense drama.
suspense dramas have once made a mark in Chinese dramas. Works such as "White Night", "The Hidden Corner" and "The Silent Truth" have all caused a craze and are well-known.
But in the past two years, there have been only a handful of excellent ones. Except for " The Long Season ", which was not very popular but was well received, the audience rarely saw a decent suspense drama. "The New Life" starts off well, but ends poorly.
It seems that CCTV has to break this situation.
This June, another 16-episode suspense drama "Once Upon a Time in Bianshui" will be released on CCTV. The new CCTV drama that will take over the ratings of "Qing Yu Nian 2" should be between it and " The Story of Rose" 》. What is the origin of
? The original work of documentary literature is ruthless enough.
producer Cao Baoping is a well-known ruthless person in the domestic film and television industry.
The two leading actors, Guo Qilin and Wu Zhenyu, are a bit interesting. Together with Jiang Qiming, You Yongzhi, Wang Xun and Qi Xi, it is even more exciting.
There is no doubt that this is a tough dish that focuses on adventure, suspense, and is highly stylized.
Spicy hot pot, you must eat it in summer. Can
really revive domestic suspense? Let's follow Dalinzi together, instead of going to Southern Qing and Northern Qi this time, we will go to Sanbianpo, where crime is rampant, to have a look.
01. Story: A young man was trapped in northern Myanmar for more than 300 days. This desperate adventure made people sweat.
One second, he was having a late-night heart-to-heart talk with the boss played by Wu Zhenyu. The next second, he was directly ordered to Kneel down, your life hangs by a thread.
And right in front of his eyes, human life was lost directly. A look full of stories.
These two scenes are from the upcoming "Bianshui Past".
Guo Qilin plays the core character, the male protagonist Shen Xing.
Compared with Fan Sizhe in "Qing Yu Nian 2", Shen Xing is not so lucky, but has more adventurous experiences.
"Once Upon a Time in Bianshui" is adapted from the documentary literature of the same name written by Shen Xingxing. It tells the story of the author who accidentally entered the Golden Triangle in northern Myanmar for more than 300 days and was forced to "fight" for drug traffickers.
Bian Shui is a truck driver who delivers fake daily necessities to drug dealers.
The whole drama is about Bai Shen Xing, a young worker who accidentally lives in Sanbipo, and meets Uncle Cai, a Sanbipo peacemaker who wanders among many forces, and embarks on a life and death adventure.
After watching the trailer, the most direct feeling is just one word: intense.
The intensity of fire is also the intensity of strong wine.
This fierceness is first reflected in the prototype of the story.
Many people say that the original work is not as real as it is made up, because it is not a novel, but documentary literature. The author of
was really forced to stay for nearly 400 days, working with drug dealers, gamblers and gangsters, and witnessed all kinds of tragedies.
Compared with the movie "All or Nothing", which is also about northern Myanmar, the author's experience is even more tragic. Life there seems to be the most worthless thing.
The drama adapted from the original work creates a terrifying alien world, Three Slopes.
A young man is taking risks while making a living in a strange environment. From being ignorant of the world to seeing the fickleness of human nature, he encounters dangers all around. He is like the protagonist in a level-breaking game. He passes all the levels and finally gets three rewards for passing the level. Words: Survive.
In addition to one main line, the male protagonist's escape journey, the story should have at least two sub-plots: one is the experience of the boss Guaishu played by Wu Zhenyu, and some kind of short-lived alliance between him and the male protagonist.
The second is the suspenseful murder case that runs throughout the story, which is the suspenseful story line outside of the adventure.
Under this fast-paced plot, the audience's hearts are in their throats.
As a rookie, Shen Xing also experienced the most tragic growth and completed a great escape on three slopes.
Secondly, this "violence" is also reflected in the scale of the story.
The Golden Triangle is a nightmare place full of drug trafficking, killings, fraud, and human trafficking.
According to Shen Xingxing's description in the original work, there are scenes of street vendors making soup from poppy shells and drug addicts lying on the roadside covered with needles. There are also scenes of people pretending to be beggars and joining the ranks of human traffickers. They bumped into the Golden Triangle, but the drug addicts disappeared. There were dangerous scenes such as a friend being shot to death by an extremist, a local boss having his throat cut in public by his subordinates, etc. In the trailer of
, it is not difficult to see the ultimate presentation of the original work by producer Cao Baoping.
The male protagonist played by Guo Qilin went from being imprisoned to kneeling down at gunpoint, and even experienced a panic escape. All kinds of dangers in the screen fell out, which is a reproduction of the original work.
Finally, this "violence" is also reflected in the shooting technique.
In addition to the sensory shock the story itself brings to the audience, "Once Upon a Time on the Edge of Water" also uses many common techniques used in thriller shooting in the presentation of suspenseful adventures.
For example, as shown many times in the trailer, some Southeast Asian folklore elements, weird masks, and underwater faces often scare the male protagonist into confusion. The whole environment is curious and dangerous, making the audience feel the same way.
Especially when filming thrilling encounters from the perspective of the male protagonist, the shooting technique is almost the same as that of a thriller.
For example, "Escape" is a symbiosis of tension and suspense.
Life and death battle of wits scenes, etc.
The trinity of story, scale, and shooting together constitute the strong drink-like taste of "Once Upon a Time in Bianshui".
Looking at it as a whole, this 16-episode suspense drama contains a lot of information and has many interesting points, including suspense, adventure and thriller.
Cao Baoping's personal life story of a young man in northern Myanmar certainly reflects the fate of various "border water" characters, and the standard is not low.
But the standard is not the goal. What it wants is to regain the long-lost soul of the suspense drama under the premise that the standard is full.
02. Starring cast: gathering young and senior actors, can it be popular?
In recent years, it is not unusual for domestic suspense dramas to have a "younger" lineup.
But "Once Upon a Time in Bianshui" did not find a popular star, and added old drama stars to match it.
instead adopted the "young and old pairing" of Guo Qilin and Wu Zhenyu. At present, there is not even a female protagonist in the whole drama.
This is interesting.
Let’s talk about Guo Qilin first.
There are always viewers who say with prejudice that Guo Qilin can appear here because he is a second-generation star.
But there are so many second-generation domestic entertainment stars, why is Guo Qilin the only one standing here? It's not because he is anyone's son, but because he has starred in several dramas one after another, all of which were successful. Capital is very realistic, and if it doesn't succeed, it won't be easy for anyone to save face.
After "Celebrating More Than Years" and "The Son-in-law", Guo Qilin's comedy performances have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and he has established a firm foothold in the role track of talkative and mean-spirited characters.
Last year's CCTV drama "The Ordinary Road" showed that Guo Qilin is not just a comedy actor.
Cao Baoping asked Guo Qilin to play the male lead in his drama, of course there is another reason: suitability. Shen Xing in the original work of
is not a traditional hero. He just wants to make money and find a way to escape. He is an ordinary person who mistakenly falls into danger.
It is inappropriate for a popular celebrity who cares more about styling than acting, and cares more about messy hair than whether the role is right.
Most acting talents have a temperament that is too tough, such as Ou Hao and Huang Jingyu. Once this face appears, it is not that they have mistakenly entered a desperate situation, but that they have taken the initiative to go deep into important places and sooner or later uproot the criminal organization.
Guo Qilin's performance as Shen Xing is right at first sight. It makes the audience believe in the character's situation and also see the character's inner struggle.
This drama is the only one with drama.
ranked second, Wu Zhenyu.
Uncle Chai, a gangster in northern Myanmar played by Wu Zhenyu, is not a traditional ruthless and murderous gangster, but a peacemaker who has inextricable relationships with the local police, smugglers, and gangs. In the special produced by
, Wu Zhenyu said something: He has many faces, and you can’t figure out which face he is.
In the trailer, he sometimes chats and laughs with his brothers, sometimes looks fierce, and sometimes talks to Shen Xing late at night, and their relationship is both enemy and friend. The role of
will certainly make people believe in Ni Yongxiao from " Infernal Affairs 2".
To be honest, no one will question Wu Zhenyu’s acting skills, but in the past ten years, Wu Zhenyu has almost no role with room for performance, but I don’t believe that this time, Cao Baoping invited him here just to go through the motions and act in a few scenes. Soup play.
In the special episode, Cao Baoping said one word to Wu Zhenyu when directing the on-site shooting: broken.
This is also my expectation for Wu Zhenyu in this drama.
ranked third, Jiang Qiming.
Yes, it’s Jiang Qiming again.
Some netizens joked that the trailer seemed to have no time to cut Jiang Qiming into it.
is a joke, but it is most likely true.
He has risen too quickly, and he has truly risen based on his role.
After "The Long Season", there is a glimpse of Tian Xiaojiang in "Harbin 1944". In "My Altay", he is Gao Xiaoliang who makes people want to beat him up, but cannot be cruel.
Jiang Qiming seems to have a kind of acting magic, that is, he can subvert his past roles every time. Every time he plays a small supporting role with a small role, he performs the character's charm and human tension that are unforgettable.
He is a rare good actor in the new generation of domestic entertainment.
What he plays this time is probably another ruthless character in San Biangpo. The last thing to worry about is his acting skills.
In addition, there is the veteran actor You Yongzhi who won the Best Supporting Actor in Magnolia for "Love Between Mountains and Seas" and "The Stage".
Qi Xi, the Golden Rooster Award winner for Best Supporting Actress, has been in excellent acting form in recent years.
and the character in this drama are hidden. It is probably Wang Xun who is hiding the big boss.
Looking at this lineup, coupled with Cao Baoping's ability to train actors, the acting skills of this drama are stable.
03, Guo Qilin: The biggest variable of this drama
is a suspense drama that can stand the test of the audience, and naturally the creative team cannot hold back.
The director of this drama is a wise man and not very well-known, but the writer and director of "The Beginning", the hit drama at the beginning of 2022, can take the leading role in writing and directing a drama so quickly. He must have something.
's producer is Cao Baoping, a master in the crime genre.
Cao Baoping is recognized as a master of the domestic crime suspense genre. Not only are " The Burning Sun is Burning the Heart " and " The Pursuit of the Murderer Also " are masterpieces, but they also produced excellent performances by Duan Yihong, Deng Chao, Zhang Yi, and Liu Ye.
's " Crossing the Angry Sea ", released last year, won both word-of-mouth and box office, and Zhou Xun and Huang Bo's acting skills were amazing again.
Cao Baoping's characteristic is that he can not only delve into the suspense crime genre, but also be better at shaping the people behind the story, so every time he plays, he always has a best actor.
But this time he made a very risky decision-let Guo Qilin be the male protagonist.
Guo Qilin's strengths are his lovable character interpretation and sharp tongue, but they are not used in "Once Upon a Time on the Edge of Water".
Shen Xing's character is a young man who was forced to live on a three-sided slope for more than 300 days. His background is tragic and not funny at all.
Cao Baoping likes Guo Qilin not because of his second-generation star status or his ability to be funny, but because of his little-person temperament.
If this role is completed, the play will be completed, and Guo Qilin's career as an actor will also be completed.
04. Domestic suspense: Can the game be broken? Let’s watch this time
"Once Upon a Time in Bianshui". As a prepared drama of Kubaiye Theater, it is undoubtedly the main focus of "suspense".
But why do domestic suspense movies over the years always fail?
Because of domestic suspense dramas, it fell into mass copying and self-imitation of past successful cases.
Domestic suspense dramas are not lacking in intrigues, strange cases, large-scale, well-produced, and intriguing starts, but they often get discouraged after just a few episodes.
What this domestic suspense drama lacks most is the confidence to innovate.
It seems that only by imitating past successful cases, characters, and lens designs can we feel safe.
But Cao Baoping, the producer of "Bianshui Past", cannot imitate anyone.
He has long been accustomed to leaving the story space to the empty space of Chinese dramas, accustomed to focusing the camera on the hesitation between good and evil in human nature, accustomed to putting black and white crimes on the surface, and burying the trials of human nature in the story. .
Cao Baoping's suspense drama is a suspense drama that understands human nature better.
This is why "Bian Shui Past" is worth looking forward to.
is not a large scale, nor is it just a collaboration between Guo Qilin, Wu Zhenyu and Jiang Qiming.
is expected to regain the taste of domestic suspense failure.
allows viewers of suspense dramas to follow Shen Xing to a desperate place, experience a thrilling journey, and have a hearty meal of spicy hot pot.
The audience has been suffering from the drama for a long time.
is close to the large platform of CCTV and is expected to receive the ratings bonus of "Qing Yu Nian 2". It will not be difficult for "Once Upon a Time in Bianshui" to become a hit.
But what I’m looking forward to more is that this drama can break the boundaries of domestic suspense dramas.
