Overall, through this film, I saw the continued loss and first out of control of director Zhang Yimou.
Director Zhang was lost in an era dominated by box office, lost in an era where "the richer the director's resources, the less able to make movies" that seems to only appear in China, and in a creative atmosphere that deliberately pursued "star combination + video style" , lost on a false roadmap that ignores the story of the movie itself and only relies on the accumulation of novel scenes to make it successful. This kind of loss is manifested in the movie, which is the lack of profound and great actor performances, the lack of emotional touch that directly hits the soul, and the lack of meaningful storytelling. In such a loss, Liu Heng's joining did not make the film's dialogue any brighter; in such a loss, Yan Geling's efforts failed to make the film have the strong dramatic tension of the novel.
No matter how much you dislike "Three Guns", no matter how unsuccessful you think "House of Flying Daggers" is, no matter how strong you think "Golden Armor in the City" is, you will point the finger at the script and the criticism of the story itself. But this time, sitting in front of the big screen, I really felt Director Zhang's loss of control and the decline of his skill. A film director is nothing more than telling stories with film lenses, and Director Zhang's loss of control is manifested in his failure to tell the story of "The Thirteen Hairpins of Jinling". First of all, the film is obviously tight and loose. It seems that when Tong Dawei is dead, the whole film has no story soul. The three dark lines that support the story in the novel---covering Officer Dai and the wounded, Shujuan and Yumo's heart knot, Pu Sheng and Cardamom's love and the main line protecting female students complement each other and complement each other, while the film deletes the first two dark lines and weakens them. The third line was drawn, which resulted in a pale six-headedness throughout the second half. The love between Bell and Ni Ni cannot be overwhelming, which weakens the war theme of the film, and Zhang Xinyi's visual clues are superficial due to Bell's addition of drama. There is a plot where Japanese soldiers break into a church to chase a female student. When I see this, my heart breaks. The greatest charm of the novel is to get rid of the way that Chinese movies in the past were too straightforward to describe the beastly behavior of the Japanese invaders. It was puzzling that he still joined this scene like a curiosity, and then Director Zhang was dizzy again. He wanted to show humanity too much, and he wanted to tell us that some Japanese invaders also had a bit of humanity. After playing the Japanese ballad, I suddenly realized that after the director did these two things, the most serious consequence was that it strongly weakened the sadness at the end, when the schoolgirls have already experienced those terrible things, when the Japanese seem to It is also quite civilized. It seems that going to a dinner party is not as trembling and frightening as it is depicted in the novel. Losing this terrifying trembling, the generosity of the thirteen hairpins seems to lack the kind of "windy Xiaoxiao" at the end of the novel. Yi Yi Shui Han" unique taste. Again, the characters in the whole film are pale and lacking in depth, flat and not three-dimensional. In order to welcome the arrival of Christian Bale, the role of John was set up, and frankly speaking, Bell's acting skills and the money for new pictures (in fact, the fans' money) were wasted. Robert McKee said: A story cannot be built on pure chance, no matter how deeply loaded it may be. The character of John unexpectedly came to church, unexpectedly became a priest, and unexpectedly changed from a slutty alcoholic and a satyr to an internationalist who protected students. The film did not explain this change in depth, which led to the image of Father John as a towering, pale, and indifferent character. Although Bell is powerful, he is helpless and unable to support himself. Ni Ni, the actor of Yumo, looks like Chen Shu, not to mention the bright spot, but she is still outstanding. Judging from the appearance, Yu Mo is indeed suitable for her, but due to the script, her personality has not been maximized. In the novel, the uniqueness of Yumo lies in its intimidating power. It is still tenacious until the end of the appointment to go to the Japanese. At the end of the film, it focuses on the tenderness of the thirteen hairpins, and even adds the determination of the little mosquito. I really can't think of a scene where the screenwriter and director are out of order. This setting makes the whole thirteen hairpin's tragic going to the meeting and the humble people at the bottom of the society who regard death as home and go to the meeting calmly. His power was greatly reduced, and I have to say that Director Zhang was completely out of control.
Today's Director Zhang is chaotic and charming. He has Oscar-winning superstars, Hollywood special effects teams, outstanding technical craftsmen in the Chinese film industry, and strong financial support. The soul theme of Sanchai's "Little People, Atmospheric Festival", the Chinese film industry once again missed the opportunity to contribute a classic war epic that shines through the history of the world film history, which is a pity for Director Zhang, a pity for Chinese movies, and even more It is a pity that Jinling's Thirteen Hairpins is a novel.
However, I am still willing to give this film four stars:
one for Director Zhang, who I have always admired, although I am mostly disappointed after "Hero", but because you have greatly influenced my youth and dreams, I will give one star ;
one for Batman, for my beloved dark night knight and deadly magic;
one for Yan Geling, for your fascinating and moving novel;
one for Qin Huaijing at the end, which is likely to be this one The most memorable scene of the movie.
Director Zhang, part ways with Zhang Weiping, businessmen are businessmen after all, how can he understand the value of art and the beauty of dreams;
Director Zhang, say goodbye to the box office, let others do those things that contribute to GDP;
Director Zhang, Let's be a real Zhang Yimou!
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