Original title: Time is the Protagonist Behind the Blossoms. The inspiration from breaking out of the circle in novels to leaving the circle in dramas.
I thought about meeting her again countless times, but I never thought it would be like this.
In the trailer of the 30th episode of the TV series "Flowers", Mr. Bao's deep and deep voice moved many people. The neon lights on Yellow River Road are flashing, and Shanghai is bustling with traffic. For a while, it was a long-distance sight, and coming in for a cup of tea became an invitation from an old friend.
The drama "Flowers" is adapted from Jin Yucheng's Mao Dun Literary Award-winning novel of the same name. 2023 is the 45th anniversary of China's reform and opening up. Shanghai, as one of the frontier cities of reform and opening up, has experienced earth-shaking changes. On December 27, 2023, the series was launched at this special time point, and the word "Flowers" instantly hit the screen. As the river of time flows down the river, the audience looks back at the prosperous era of China's reform and opening up in "Flowers". In the play
, Uncle Grandpa wisely told Po: It takes an hour to run from the bottom to the roof of the Empire State Building in New York, but it only takes 8.8 seconds to jump from the roof. The torrent of time rolls by, some people ride on the wind and waves, and some people return to zero after half a day. How to seize the opportunities of the times and rewrite individual destiny is the expectation of every generation of young people.
The complex strings are urgent, the light and shadow are colorful, but what can never be given up is hope.
一
Jin Yucheng wrote the novel "Flowers", which started in 2011.
At that time, as the retiring editor of "Shanghai Writers", he posted the first draft of "Flowers" one after another on the Shanghai Alley Network in his spare time from boring work.
html Six years later, Jin Yucheng recalled in a creative talk: At noon on May 10, 2011, I wrote the opening line of the novel under the name "Alone in the Attic". From that day on, I started posting, three times a day. Four hundred words, five hundred words, six hundred words, the stage where I couldn’t stop, and I wrote six thousand words in one day. It was a very strange experience.
There are few successful examples of modern and contemporary Chinese novels written in regional dialects, but "Flowers" has become an exception. The first half of "Flowers" is very Shanghainese. About a quarter of the way through writing, Jin Yucheng suddenly realized that it was a novel, so he began to outline, structure, and create character lists. What he thought in his mind was that it could not be read only by Shanghainese people. The text improvement of "Flowers" has finally made it a bilingual state. People who understand Shanghainese can guarantee that they will read the novel in Shanghainese after reaching the fifth sentence. Readers who do not understand Shanghainese, as long as they have patience, It’s completely understandable, because I revised one sentence in Shanghainese and the other in Mandarin.
Jin Yucheng is a latecomer in literature. Literary critic Cheng Guangwei once lamented: He may have taken more of the curved paths of life than his contemporaries. In 1988, Jin Yucheng was transferred to "Shanghai Literature" and began to get in touch with literature. He never expected that he would be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with those famous writers in his lifetime.
What Jin Yucheng never expected was that a novel that started on the Internet would not only become popular in Shanghai, but also become popular all over the country. As soon as "Flowers" came out, it won the first place among the novels in the 2012 Chinese Novel Ranking. It received an enthusiastic response and was widely praised. "When I opened the text, I felt as if I heard the sound of a starting gun, and ten thousand good stories rushed to start and sprint towards the finish line." 'The end of that immeasurable life. Literary critic Zhang Pingjin wrote this.
In 2013, the novel "Flowers" was officially published by Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House. In the past 10 years, "Flowers" has been reprinted 54 times. It can be said that the flowers are everywhere. Precisely because the novel originated from the Internet, Jin Yucheng's original intention was just to be a storyteller with a very low position, "I would rather be complex than brief, and low-level than high" to please my readers. Every Suzhou storyteller in the old days paid great attention to According to the audience's reaction, my husband said on the stage that he found someone yawning and being absent-minded, so he went back to the cabin or under the vegetable oil lamp of a small inn to change things overnight. My old father said that this is called ‘changing books’. Can it be said that the novel author should also have his own readership in his heart and serve them sincerely? I am in awe. Therefore, I hope that "Flowers" will bring readers the life in the novel and the vitality of language.
二
The story in the novel "Flowers" made director Wong Kar-wai not only fall in love at first sight, but also fall in love at first sight.
Wong Kar-wai, who was born in Shanghai and grew up in Hong Kong, has a special liking for Shanghai. Previously, Wong Kar-wai's masterpiece "In the Mood for Love" was inspired by Hong Kong writer Liu Yichang's novel "The Fall". In "Flowers", Jin Yucheng filled in the gaps in Wong Kar-wai's memory of Shanghai.
At the Hong Kong Book Fair on July 18, 2014, Wong Kar-wai responded for the first time that he had purchased the copyright of "Flowers". It was also on this day that he made no secret of his love for this work: Whether writing a book or making a movie, the essence lies in how to create this artistic ‘flavor’, and the ‘flavor’ of “Flowers” is very distinct. I don’t think story integrity is the most important element of a novel. This work is more than a story.
From the big screen to the small screen, what was Shanghai like in the 1990s through Wong Kar-wai's lens? Among the topics with over 670 million views on Weibo, too many people are waiting to come in and enjoy the scenery. In Wong Kar-wai's view, Jin Yucheng wrote everything he wanted to say in his life, like a pot of thick soup. The novel does not have a beginning, development, climax, or end in the traditional sense, and relies on dialogue to advance the plot. This is similar to Wong Kar-wai's films that do not use a single axis of narrative and rely on monologues and narrations to connect the stories.
Produced in Shanghai, it must be a high-quality product. This drama, directed by Wong Kar-Wai, written by Qin Wen, and with Bao Dexi as the visual director, takes the audience into the turbulent 1990s. Well-known actors such as Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Tang Yan, and Xin Zhilei jointly performed the changes of the times and the vicissitudes of China's social transformation period. Characters such as A Bao, Ling Zi, Miss Wang, and Li Li all appeared in the lingering fragrance of petals and the warm atmosphere of the land. It tells the past events of Shanghai in the changing times. With his unique visual style, Wong Kar-wai has successfully turned the series "Flowers" into an excellent work with cinematic quality.
In "Flowers", which was filmed only four years ago, Wong Kar-wai used the authentic Shanghai flavor to interpret the iconic Wong Kar-wai style of romance, elegance, low-key, alienation and fragmentation. In the more than 3 years since "Flowers" was launched, Wong Kar-wai has only released three trailers, "Time is Like Water Po Chapter", "Flowers Are Eyes Full of Treasures" and "Flowers Era". Wong Kar-wai explains that from the penniless Po to the all-powerful Mr. Bao, in the great era, everyone strives for the top. The era is the protagonist behind the flowers, and it is the hand of the era that holds the destiny of the individual.
The little characters represented by Abao in "Flowers" seize opportunities and display their talents under the tide of the times. They rely on the courage to face difficulties and down-to-earth determination to rewrite their destiny and grow themselves. With the spring breeze of reform and opening up, Abao, who had nothing, turned around in 10 years and became the well-known Mr. Bao on the Yellow River Road, high-spirited and full of ambition. At the same time, Lingzi, Ms. Wang, Li Li, or hotel waiters, retail store owners, factory owners, foreign trade agents, car drivers, etc., every ordinary person among them chose to challenge business opponents and technological changes. Challenge individual destiny, never give up even if you fail, and face the ups and downs of life with a smile.
In the series, Wong Kar-wai condenses the Shanghai style into three typical representative locations: the bustling Yellow River Road, the international Peace Hotel, and the small and exquisite Night Tokyo on Jinxian Road. Through a layered environment setting, the play combines Shanghai-style accents and urban atmosphere to form a three-dimensional network structure, allowing the audience to feel the urban spirit of Shanghai from the large environment; and experience the vibrant human fireworks from the small environment.
In Wong Kar-Wai’s view, the drama “Flowers” introduces the times, because our story tells how Po, who had nothing, became the all-powerful CEO in just 10 years. In addition to personal struggle, he also needs the blessing of the times. "Flowers" is based on the spirit of the times of bravery and tenacity, optimism and positivity, using a small incision to observe the new era, and writing a new journey with ordinary people, hoping to resonate with the struggling contemporary young people.
The diachronic perspective adds a sense of history to "Flowers". Shanghai in the 1990s was like a giant ship riding the wind and waves, standing on the cusp of the storm, full of infinite vitality and vitality. Every corner of this city contained a unique The charm attracts countless people to explore and discover. Under the wave of reform and opening up, Shanghai's economy has developed rapidly and has become an important economic center in China and even the world. From traditional textile, light industry and other industries to modern finance, technology and other industries, Shanghai is at the forefront of the times. Many world-renowned companies and institutions have set up headquarters or branches here, attracting a large number of domestic and foreign talents. From a synchronic perspective, the No. 27 Foreign Trade Building on the Bund and the Shanghai Stock Exchange constitute the main battlefield for the male protagonist Abao in the play; three come and one supplement, foreign exchange earning, stock subscription warrants, revolving letters of credit, etc. are now Words that may seem unfamiliar constitute the most authentic memories of that era. The careful depiction of historical details gives "Flowers" a realistic creative spirit. The reality of art and the reality of life are intertwined, and the delicate brushwork reflects a hopeful 1990s.
三
The drama "Flowers" is the Shanghai era through Wong Kar-wai's lens. On the surface, it is about men and women eating and drinking, but inside, it is the mountains and rivers, the years and the changes of the times. Abao grew up on Sinan Road. The nearby Gaolan Road and Xianglan Road are named after writers. One of them is good at writing comedies, and the other is good at writing tragedies. Abao said that he has been in and out of joy and sorrow since he was a child. There is also a statue of Pushkin here. Pushkin said that everything will eventually pass, and what has passed will eventually become beautiful memories. This sentence became the memory in Abao's heart and the background of his struggle.
Rich colors, character monologues, irregular compositions, subtitles with white text on a black background, foreground occlusion of the composition, ambiguous light and shadow, slow motion wrapped in music, and neurotic lines constitute the unique sense of form of Wong Kar-Wai's lens. , and also presented the audience with scenes of urban stories that were speechless.
Nostalgia for the city and attachment to old things are also the aesthetic interests that run through Wong Kar-wai's works. In the two metropolises of "Blueberry Nights" and "Chungking Express", New York and Hong Kong, people are equally alienated from each other. According to the Liberation Daily, as early as 2015, Wong Kar-wai once said that the reason why he adapted "Flowers" is that American movies are a tale of two cities, with Los Angeles (Hollywood) on the west coast and New York on the east coast; Hollywood produces works, and New York produces authors, such as Wu Dee Allen, Martin Scorsese. Beijing is the base of the Chinese film industry, and Shanghai is the birthplace of Chinese films. It has the ability to become China's New York. It needs its own story, and "Flowers" is Shanghai's "Along the River During the Qingming Festival".
An important reason why this drama can resurrect Shanghai more than 30 years ago is the ultimate pursuit of details. According to the crew, in order to ensure realistic props, there are more than 3,000 props and more than 2,900 costumes in the play from the Shanghai Film Group's prop library. These props are all originals from the 1990s, which are enough to truly restore the life of Shanghai people at that time. For example, the neon lights on Huanghe Road were an iconic symbol of Shanghai in the 1990s. There are 24 large-scale neon lights and more than 50 shop signs installed on the Yellow River Road of Shanghai Film and Television Park. These neon lights are all produced on-site at the Chedun Base. The on-site neon light manufacturing workshop exceeds 1,000 square meters.
In the drama "Flowers", the audience was pleasantly surprised to find that Jin Yucheng's "Flowers" was reborn under the lens of Wong Kar-wai, rather than a simple reproduction. Literature and film and television dramas achieve and complement each other, which is what attracts the audience the most A place to look forward to.What surprises the audience even more is that the nostalgic sense of oriental artistic conception in "In the Mood for Love" and "2046", Maggie Cheung's cheongsam, Tony Leung Chiu-wai's novels written with pens, and the cigarettes on his fingertips have become a treasure of image details with a Shanghai flavor. The tea-zuke rice that she always chews slowly, the fragrant gray trousers of Palis, Reiko's professional women's clothing full of contemporary colors, Li Li's beautiful accessories with a sense of the times, Miss Wang's old-fashioned thick frames, Jin Meilin's crab roe steamed buns Fighting with hibiscus and crabs in Zhizhen Garden, as well as the bells of the Customs Building, the ringing of bicycles, and the swishing of stock purchase certificates on the assembly line of the money printing factory.
Subjective memories and objective objects coexist in "Flowers". In order to film "Flowers" well, the crew restored the Huanghe Road and Sinan Road more than 30 years ago in a 1:1 real-life setting, in order to condense the modern show and the rhythm of the times of the fate of the characters in the play. Kim Yu-cheng, Wong Kar-wai, and Hu Ge, who plays Mr. Bao, also successively donated their personal belongings to the crew: the red cardigan jacket worn by the bride when she got married in 1984, Shaoxing rice wine from the Goddess more than 30 years ago, and the Feiren brand sewing machine, in order to call on the audience to pay attention to the 20th century. The rich memories and grand imagination of Shanghai in the 1990s.
The Shanghai in "Flowers" is by no means a simple geographical location, but a symbol of an era that pulses with social vitality and is full of cultural integration. The city is known for its inclusiveness and innovation, and as the series artistically demonstrates, it not only attracts talents from all walks of life, but also gives birth to countless characters and stories with distinctive personalities.
Chinese film and television adaptations of literature have a long history. In 1956, "Blessing" appeared on the screen as the first film adapted from a literary classic in New China, and since then it has opened a glorious road of mutual achievement between literature and film. From 1981 to 1999, in a total of 19 Chinese Film Golden Rooster Awards selections, 12 award-winning works were adapted from novels. Almost all the works of the fifth generation directors who have created the glory of Chinese cinema started from the adaptation of literary works. For example, Zhang Junzhao's "One and Eight" was based on Guo Xiaochuan's poem of the same name, and Chen Kaige adapted it from Ke Lan's novel "Echo of the Deep Valley" "Yellow Earth". Since then, Zhang Yimou has focused on the loess sorghum, the sky and the river, and shot works with great personal style and symbolic meaning such as "Raise the Red Lantern" and "No One Left Behind". Chen Kaige continued Ansai waist drum, paper-cutting, and window grilles, and produced works with different themes, such as "King of Children", "Walking and Singing", and "Jing Ke Assassins the King of Qin", but with similar spiritual cores and profound humanistic care. Starting from the fifth generation of directors, Chinese films are oriented to the general public, to complex life, to all things in the world that can be conveyed in dramatic light and shadow, to the power of human nature that contains rich possibilities, and to the subtle and eternal relationships between people, thereby expressing Complex China is rich and colorful. At the same time, there are also countless classic dramas adapted from literary works. The four famous TV dramas that have become childhood memories of many people, "The Mansion Gate" based on the story of the Le family of Tongrentang, and the popular "In the World" and "Dawn in the East" in recent years. The dramas adapted from literary works tell the story of China. long history and changing times.
Literary works that can withstand the test of time and readers have always been an inexhaustible source of inspiration for film and television creations. From literature to film and television, it is a process of breaking out of the circle and leaving the circle. We have reason to expect that "Flowers" will make a good start for film and television adaptations in 2024. (Author: Li Fang)
"People's Daily Overseas Edition" (January 11, 2024, Page 11)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-