text | Muran
editor | Sanyuan
" A Dream of Red Mansions: A Good Marriage " directed by Hu Mei has been waiting for 20 years, and it is a big surprise for the audience.
Let me talk about the conclusion first. After filming this ghostly look, the director and screenwriter can find a factory to work.
Before the film was released, director Hu Mei and the major creators emphasized many times that this film version of "A Dream of Red Mansions " was hard-won.
Since 2005, Hu Mei and the screenwriter have been discussing the script. After continuous revisions, it took a full ten years before the script was approved in 2016.
The next step is to select actors, identifying 70 or 80 people from 20,000 people, and training for nine months.
In order for these newcomers to better present their roles, we also specially invited acting teachers from Beijing Film Academy to strive for excellence.
The entire training process was conducted under strict confidentiality. The filming was completed in 2018, and the visual effects were completed in 2019. It was not until this year that I saw everyone.
Seeing this result, I recalled that this movie version of "A Dream of Red Mansions" spent huge sums of money to build more than 40 courtyard pavilions such as Yihong Courtyard, Xiaoxiang Pavilion, and provincial villas, as well as every fake stone in the background, and even fallen leaf dust. All are carefully crafted.
is simply unnecessary!
And the one-star negative reviews from the audience are all over the place, which already shows that Hu Mei has completely overturned this time, and the oriental aesthetics has been ruined by her new film!
One, use famous scenes to piece together the movie, the story is piecemeal, and the characters are magically modified.
Before the movie was released online, the official promotion used various famous scenes in the original work to attract everyone's attention.
As expected, in the feature film, most of the main characters appeared, and even scenes like Jiao Da's drunkenness were restored.
However, the film version of "Dream of Red Mansions" condenses all the plot into two hours. It is conceivable that the only way is to pick the essence from the essence and select one of the story lines to film.
Judging from the overall story structure, this is indeed what Hu Mei envisioned for this work.
It begins with a flashback of Jia Baoyu becoming a monk in a snowy day. The main plot begins with Lin Daiyu returning home for the funeral, revealing the clues that Wang Xifeng embezzled Lin Ruhai's property to build a grand view garden, and betrayed Baodai's childhood sweetheart love, supporting Baoyu to marry Baochai. The story of Daiyu dying from tears.
It is not difficult to see that the whole story revolves around Bao Daichai's love story.
Then, just tell this part of the story.
But Hu Mei wanted to have both, the Lunar New Year wedding, the story of Taixu Fantasyland, and the story of Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden.
There are many people in the Jia family, for fear that the audience will not know that there are so many people in "A Dream of Red Mansions".
This directly leads to a movie that is pieced together with famous scenes in a limited time, with a messy timeline, fragmented stories, and no integrity.
has also made a lot of magical changes to the plot and characters.
Lin Daiyu, who is supposed to be frail and sentimental, is portrayed in the film as a girl who bullies everyone indiscriminately as long as she is unhappy.
No matter what it is, as long as you don’t like it, just do one thing: throw it away! Losing temper all the time.
Is this still Sister Lin created by Cao Xueqin? Even if a thousand readers have a thousand Hamlets in their hearts, it wouldn’t be enough to change Hamlet into Harley, right?
It’s okay to make Wang Xifeng a villain, but does she have to show her scheming on her face at all times?
Including Xue Baochai, who was directly photographed as a jealous wife.
The characters of Jia Zheng and the Jia family can make fans of the original novel laugh out loud. They either steal things from the kitchen when they don't have enough to eat, or they have to take off half of their clothes to wash their faces.
When he saw his daughter who had become a royal concubine, she blurted out "Son" without any courtesy.
Even if some people are incompetent, the story takes place in Jia's house after all, not in a brothel.
In front of the whole family, her brother spoke frivolously about his brother's wife. Did Hu Mei think it was a visit to a brothel?
The girls are more powerful than the other, the middle-aged and elderly characters are more like the madam than the last, and Jia Mu has a shrewd look on her face. I always feel that this old lady is holding back something bad.
This plot makes people feel on pins and needles, like a thorn in their backs and a lump in their throats. It’s really bad!
Second, the shortcomings of casting appeared. The newcomers could not support the role and the Internet feeling was too heavy.
After the film was launched, the shortcomings of casting were also completely revealed.
Although many viewers were dissatisfied with the casting of the movie version of "Dream of Red Mansions" through the trailer before it was released, it is only when you actually see the roles presented by these carefully selected actors that you know what it means to be eye-catching.
In the scene where Lin Daiyu first appeared, I don’t know whether Hu Mei wanted to express that she was shining in Baoyu’s mind, or whether she was simply guilty of a guilty conscience, which made Lin Daiyu have a halo around her.
But apart from this layer of light, shadow and special effects, Lin Daiyu actually looks like this.
Whether it's a beautiful woman or a frail person, Hu Mei didn't care about that at all and directly found an actress with an ordinary appearance and a face as round as a steamed bun.
looks like she has a good meal, and she exudes the temperament of a maid.
Looking at Xue Baochai and Lin Daiyu together makes people face blind, and looking at their facial condition and body shape, they look like they have eaten too much at the same restaurant.
Jia Baoyu also has no nobility at all. He is so thin that he would fall apart when the wind blows. He occasionally behaves stupidly, and he also feels a little confused.
Wang Xifeng is played by Lin Peng, who has a background as a martial arts actor. He is more suitable for playing sharp and capable roles, but he wanted to try a role like Wang Xifeng, who is graceful and luxurious, but has a snake-like heart.
Whenever I see Lin Peng squinting his eyes and pretending to be cruel in a video, it's like having the words "excessive force" plastered on his forehead.
The imperial concubine played by Guan Xiaotong also looks like a child wearing adult clothes. She is not like the empress who came out of the palace at all. She has an aggrieved expression at all times, as if she has just been scolded by a parent.
In addition to the other actors, they seem to have been found in big Internet movies. They have a heavy Internet feel and are unrecognizable. Especially characters like Qin Keqing, who are deliberately shot very explicit, which makes the movie even more confusing. This version of "Dream of Red Mansions" has an extra layer of Internet atmosphere.
Conclusion
Based on these points, even though "A Dream of Red Mansions: A Beautiful Marriage" has the blessing of a big IP and a famous director, it is not unfair to only get 3 million at the box office in two days.
Judging from the initial investment in this movie, it may be difficult to recover the money at the final box office.
This also serves as a reminder to the next domestic film directors, don’t think that the audience is so easy to fool, just pick a gimmick subject and think that you can make a lot of money at the box office.
Instead of being opportunistic, it is better to put more thought into your work.
What do you think of the film version of "A Dream of Red Mansions"?
