"The truth is demonstrated in words. - Tang Lei"
The great director Li Hanxiang once commented on Chow Yun-fat.
He said, "When Chow Yun-fat was at his most unhappy, he might be the best movie actor in Chinese history."
This sentence refers directly to Chow Yun-fat's "dark years" in the commercial box office.
debuted for several years, but he couldn't even produce a movie with a box office of over 10 million, and he was called "box office poison".
It is a coincidence that after the commercial blockbuster "Thunder" ranked sixth in Hong Kong's top ten box office rankings that year, Aaron Kwok has not had another movie on this list for nearly ten years.
His name did not appear again until 2009's "The Murderer" and "The Storm 2".
This situation may not be much better than Chow Yun-fat's "miserable situation" in the past.
Of course, there is nothing new under the sun. Like Chow Yun-fat, these "most unsatisfactory" years have leisurely turned into nutrients for Aaron Kwok's self-improvement. When the darkness fades, he will soar into the sky again.
Everything in the world is indeed the same.
The Hong Kong film industry is full of talents.
Whether it is talking about qualifications, awards, quantity, "impression" of acting skills, or even the popularity of his works, Aaron Kwok may not have any absolute advantage among the general casual Hong Kong film fans.
But he has always been one of the actors who has received more praise from the industry for his performance.
From Tan Jiaming, Zhang Shuping, Chen Musheng, Peng Shun, to Yao Shuhua, Gu Changwei, Wu Yusen, Yan Hao, as well as Weng Ziguang, Zheng Baorui, Zhuang Wenqiang, Zheng Danrui and others, they all gave him high praise.
But we should note that the first person on this list is Hong Kong film star Tam Jiaming.
What does this mean?
Obviously, from the perspective of performance alone, the first film in which Aaron Kwok truly transformed and gained widespread recognition was "Father and Son", his collaboration with Tam Jiaming.
Of course, what this article will talk about is the third stage of Aaron Kwok’s film career.
The time division should probably be from 2002 to 2010. In these nine years, Aaron Kwok made nine movies, including four commercial films and five niche films.
can be said to be a hidden dragon in the abyss.
talked about before.
In the late 1990s, Aaron Kwok had actually found his own career path in business, and rose to the top of the Hong Kong film industry with "The Storm".
But after the battle in "Thunder Men", it immediately fell.
Wen Jun once wrote an article about this matter.
On Aaron Kwok's 40th birthday, he wrote a column.
After talking about the other three kings "each having their own wonderful moments," he said this, "Aaron Kwok is the only one who looks haggard! I have to admit that my career has been at a low point since filming "The Thunderbolts"."
However, if we review it again, this evaluation may not be fair.
enters the new century.
After winning the "Most Popular Male Singer" award in the Top Ten Golden Songs for the third time, Aaron Kwok gradually faded out of the music award ceremony. Of course, the film production was low as usual.
And he is unparalleled in the field of advertising endorsements.
Whether it is bringing the little-known clothing brand "Metus Bonwe" to the front line, sales soared 600% in one year, or being the spokesperson for Pepsi-Cola for several years, its status continues to rise rapidly, and it has been awarded the Pepsi Music Hall of Fame and the Pepsi Market The two awards for contribution and honor are enough to illustrate this point.
During this period, he once again appeared on the Spring Festival Gala stage and sang "Move", which was heard throughout the country.
The only thing that can be criticized may be the poor sales of the "Karate" album.
This album is his first time as a producer. It is not only unwise to give up the signature of "hard singing and hot dancing" to produce such an album with all "slow songs", but it may also be the main reason for the poor sales.
But looking at it more deeply, it actually coincides with the decline of the Chinese music scene.
It may be down to luck.
But some people labeled him the "King of the Bottom".
years later, he was still very unhappy every time he talked about this matter, just like Jacky Cheung when he mentioned the "cake incident", but at that time, he could not defend himself.
Of course this is life.
At this time, he signed a long-term contract with Universal Films and took the lead in filming "The Charge".
Frankly speaking, the quality of this movie is very average.
However, perhaps the negative voices among the public are too exaggerated. Film critic Shi Qi wrote a special film review column, quietly praising Aaron Kwok.
Looking at it on the other hand, Aaron Kwok is also getting out of his confusion and at a loss.
In this movie, he calmed down his expression and "fixed" his eyes again, laying a good foundation for the subsequent years of experience and transformation in the film industry.
then ushered in the "Judo Dragon and Tiger List".
is well known.
Johnnie To not only has outstanding film quality and is good at "setting up situations", but he is also an expert in training actors. Aaron Kwok benefited a lot from his collaboration with "Barefoot Boy" many years ago.
Of course, the prerequisite for "training" is that the actor must first have talent.
Although this "Judo Dragon and Tiger List" is a movie tailor-made by Johnnie To for Louis Koo, Aaron Kwok still benefited a lot.
Many people are only concerned about the "position" battle between Louis Koo, who just took office in the past, and the king Aaron Kwok, but they have not noticed that the movie has quietly washed away the "rank" that has been on Aaron Kwok for some time. "Artificial" feeling.
For Aaron Kwok, this matter is very important.
Because when you are "in Lushan", if no one helps you to clear away the fog and "know" the true face of Lushan, you may never see the real problem.
At this time, he had made all preparations for the next transformation.
is not far away from the stage of "transforming into a dragon".
In 2005, "Sanchakou" was released.
Police, lawyers and killers cannot see each other in the darkness, but their fates are intertwined. The screenwriter
Anxi has given each of the three characters their own inner demons and fates that cannot be escaped. The policeman became decadent because of the loss of his beloved, the lawyer became a demon because of helping evil, and the killer became entangled in an unexpected incident.
Aaron Kwok stands out.
Not only did he dominate the audience with his performance, he also defeated the veteran actor Tony Leung Ka Fai in a battle and won the Best Actor Award for the first time. Many people are amazed by
, and many people are puzzled by it.
Once upon a time, Aaron Kwok was just an idol actor. How could he be able to overpower Tony Leung Ka Fai, who came with "Underworld", and become the best actor?
Performance actually requires layering.
The first level is naturalness, the second level is proficiency in copying ability, and the third level is depth of immersion in the play and interpretation of character emotions, including but not limited to the first two levels, as well as empathy, layering and explosive power.
Take Aaron Kwok in "Sanchakou" as an example, the military edge of his performance is directed towards the third level.
Underneath the tears flowing down the night, looking at the sky and crying when the car landslide, lies the ultimate tragedy of the character Sun Zhaoren, like a mighty river that no one can control.
Therefore, Liang Jiahui was not unjustly accused of "drinking hatred" this time.
The following year, "Father and Son" was released one after another.
There are actually some intriguing stories behind this movie.
producer Eric Tsang once said that Director Tan Jiaming is very "stubborn". He doesn't care about money, but he is very picky about the actors who participate in the movie.
What is very interesting is that at the beginning, Eric Tsang actually preferred Andy Lau to play the role of the father.
You can also search for a piece of news now, the title is "Andy Lau is addicted to being a thief and experiences the fun of thieves in three new films", which mentions "In "Father and Son Thieves" directed by the famous director Tan Jiaming, Andy Lau will play the role of a thief Dad', Wong Kar-wai's teacher Tan Jiaming has been preparing for this film for many years and is currently perfecting the script. "
This news appeared in 2004.
It also shows that at the beginning, Tan Jiaming actually had no idea of "changing actors".
But with the appearance of "Sanchakou", things changed.
Director Tan Jiaming keenly captured Aaron Kwok's plasticity, especially his "explosive power", and "hand-picked" Aaron Kwok to star in "Fathers and Sons".
Later, Aaron Kwok achieved an astonishing record as the best actor in the series.
Afterwards, Tan Jiaming commented that Aaron Kwok "has a primitive explosive power" and can touch the pulse of the audience. He also sent a message to Aaron Kwok, "You must choose more difficult roles to play."
This sentence had a profound impact on Aaron Kwok, and he is still benefiting from it even to this day.
What are the more difficult roles?
Those roles that require deep immersion and empathy, and involve dramatic emotional ups and downs due to fate, can be said to be difficult movie roles.
The role of "Father and Son" can actually serve as an example.
html Many years later, Zhuang Wenqiang said that he noticed Aaron Kwok when he acted in "Father and Son" because he was able to play such a complex and difficult role so well.So in the following years, we can see that Aaron Kwok almost completely stayed away from conventional Hong Kong-style commercial movies, because in terms of plot and character design, these movies could not satisfy him. At that time, Aaron Kwok was focused on polishing his acting skills. Heart.
For example, "c+Detective", "Silver Empire", and "The Murderer" are all unconventional and unusual.
These films, together with the previous ones such as "Sanchakou" and "Father and Son", enabled Aaron Kwok to receive seven Best Actor nominations at authoritative film festivals in six years, and set a rare record of consecutive wins.
However, from a personal point of view, although the films after "Father and Son" have been recognized by many people, and even the film "The Murderer" has surprised and approved many people, but for Aaron Kwok In other words, it should still be attributed to "exploration" at the performance level rather than "accomplishment".
This view may not be widely supported.
I speak from the bottom of my heart.
How to evaluate Aaron Kwok?
is emotional, highly talented, self-disciplined, sincere and particularly good at thinking.
These qualities are almost completely reflected in his film career. If you are a fan who has seen his journey and is familiar with his works, you will know that what he said is true.
After nine years of "hidden dragon in the abyss", its peak is approaching.
In the next decade, he will shock the entire film industry with his performances, works and commercial value.
However, that is another story.
will be discussed later.
