Once upon a time, there was a small town with a post office, a clothing store, a blacksmith shop, a police station, and even a small hotel called the "Golden Lion Hotel". The people in the town are living a life that is better than the others. The ladies are drinking afternoon tea, chatting about gossip, and taking care of the big, small and even small things that they should not be in charge of themselves; the men are not busy working with due diligence. , is to fall in love in a romantic relationship, or, like the postman named Thomas, pray to God in earnest and earnest.
This small village is called "Queqi Township", this town is called "Candle Town"; and this "old time" is called "late Victorian" or "late nineteenth century". In short, it was a time of change in the world, but, in the south of England, between villages and towns eight miles apart, the pastoral tragicomedy was played out without surprise. Change is indeed taking place, but in such a gentle way that it seems that God does not want to disturb the peace of life in the rural and small towns of southern England. The story of this village and town was recorded by a girl named Laura, so there is this TV series that we are seeing today-"Queqi Township to Candle Town".
How would you describe the style of this show? --beautiful? Sophisticated? Pretty as a postcard? Neither seems appropriate enough. I want to describe it with one food, and that is, maltose syrup. Those delicate and lovely small towns and country houses like gingerbread houses, those wheat waves swaying and rolling in the breeze, that yellow sunshine from the shade of aqua-green trees - sweeter than maltose, isn't it? Although everyone knows that such a picture must have been processed by computer special effects and CG color correction, but when we are indulging in this idyllic Victorian scroll, who would think about such an unpleasant problem? In the hustle and bustle of the city, don't we all yearn for such an idyllic corner, even in fantasy, we can go in and hide for a while, avoid all the turbulence of the world, and seek a moment of peace of mind? I think this is the purpose of the filmmakers and directors to shoot this play, to provide a beautiful watercolor painting, a cup of warm barley tea, or chicken soup for the soul for the tired worldly people.
I have always liked the Victorian country mansions in England. Not to mention the quaint exterior walls, just the half-old small rose jacquard sofa and armchair, as well as the peonies and forget-me-nots in the vase, as well as those with The delicate china on the pink-green shelves in Chinese style is enough to make us accustomed to the reinforced concrete jungle to imagine. If the utensils are in the store, they are just utensils. But when it is bought back from different stores and displayed one by one in your own home, you can see the owner's life taste and personality charm from it. I watch plays and like to pay attention to details. I don’t know if you have noticed that even in places like Queqi Township, where people live in embarrassment, there are usually one or two sets of exquisite ceramic tableware or tea sets in their homes. Etiquette items for hospitality. I thought that this represented an attitude towards life, in the most simple and popular terms, that it was not suitable. I appreciate this kind of inconvenience. I always think that some people say that they are not in the mood for petty bourgeoisie, and the so-called "mood" is just an excuse. Petty doesn't mean spending more, it's a life attitude of discovering and pursuing romance in small places. You don't have an attitude, so where do you start with the word mood?
——Let's go too far, now let's talk about the characters I like in this play. There are quite a lot of lovely characters. For example, Thomas, the pious but embarrassed postman in Candletown, and the Pratt sisters, who are always gossip and vain, and dress like peacocks, run a clothing store. There is also the old couple Turster Turrell, who is a good-natured friend. Mr. Turster is a little old and confused, like a grumpy old child. And his wife, Queenie, is a kind old lady. Although she has no children, she takes care of every child in the neighbor's house wholeheartedly. If the neighbor is in trouble, Queenie will help without hesitation. There is also the grumpy old maid Gila in the Candletown Post Office, Sir Timothy who is impartial in handling government affairs but is emotionally hesitant, and Mrs. Adelaide who has the arrogance of a nobleman but is full of tolerance and love... etc. However, the three most impressive and representative ones are a father and daughter, and an old lady.
Father first. His father's name was Robert Timmins. He was not originally from Quqixiang. He stayed in Quqixiang because he fell in love with Emma, the daughter of a coachman, and he became a famous mason. He is the spiritual leader of the people of Queqi Township. Once the people of Queqi Township have conflicts with people from other towns or Candle Township, he will definitely be pushed out to stand up for everyone and speak up. He is full of justice and sympathy, but his stubbornness and extremeness sometimes push himself and others into a very dangerous situation; fortunately, his daughter's cousin Dorcas intervened and his wife Emma was kind to comfort him. Will pull him back from the horns of the road. But in general, he is a very good father. He treats children with strictness and leniency, and roughness with finesse. He can be regarded as a good teacher! Playing him is Brandon Coyle, a friend who is familiar with British dramas and should be impressed by his supporting roles in "South and North" and "Downton Abbey". He always plays the lower class with culture and dignity, but every performance has breakthroughs and surprises, which is very rare, and I look forward to seeing his more wonderful performance in the second season of "Downton Abbey".
Speaking of daughter. The daughter, Laura Timmins, is also the narrator of this story. Innocent, kind, and helpful, but sensitive and affectionate, she is often caught in emotional trouble, and it is thanks to the enlightenment of her parents and Miss Dorcas that she can get out of the shadows. I like the talking eyes of the actor Olivia Harlene. Although she is nearly ten years older than the character, those eyes are really clear eyes like a girl. When you see a woman with such a pair of eyes, you won't have any thoughts of deceiving her at all, only admiration and love. I have to say, I like Laura and the way she shakes her head playfully when she talks, even if some people say it's an actor pretending to be tender, I like that kind of "pretending to be tender"!
Finally, the "old lady". This old lady, Dorcas Ryan, is not an "old" lady in our usual sense, with a cold face and hard movements, who can only read or sew alone in the dark bedroom. In fact, although she didn't get married for various reasons, her optimistic and playful personality, enjoying life, still gave her something to do. The post office is the link between Queqi Township and Zhu Town and the outside world. As the master of this link, she herself has become the moral guide, social center, and fashion vane between the village and the town. The most endearing thing about her is her catchphrase, "So-and-so is my weakness." She has many weaknesses, such as food, dance parties, and even cute children - of course, the biggest weakness is the attractive single men. Her first relationship was a love triangle that ended in her quitting, leaving both her and Sir Timothy devastated. The second time, it was because of her own emotional refusal to give up, and even her sturdy walls and wilderness, which made another single man who fell in love with her, Mr. James Dowland, to leave the country with love and sorrow. Although Mr. Dowland's past is not a blank sheet of paper, he has made such a great sacrifice for their relationship. As a woman, can't she be tolerant and understanding at all? I think that sometimes, when both men and women encounter emotional problems, they really need to consider the problem from the perspective of each other's gender and position, and give each other a step. In this way, no matter how difficult the problem is, there must be a solution. ——Let's go too far, back to the topic, the actor who plays her is called Julia Savaha, and she is also a familiar face in classical dramas. She is really an acting school. You can compare her role of Dorcas with She played the lively, frivolous and daring little sister Lydia in the 95th edition of the TV series "Pride and Prejudice", which is completely different. The power faction is the power faction, nothing to say.
Back to the plot - in such a heartwarming story, there are no absolute good people and absolute bad people, only good people who do wrong and ridiculous good people, and good people who are always in trouble and hate. I once saw someone analyze this play from the perspective of class struggle, raising the contradiction between Queqi Township and Zhuzhen Town to an inexplicable height, which really made people laugh. The people of Queqi Township are simple and rude, but they are dignified and knowledgeable, while the people of Zhu Town are reserved and snobbish, but they are also kind and tolerant. Their philosophies of life are actually very similar, that is - accept what you can't do as reality, and then calm down and change what you can. This attitude towards life seems conservative and negative, but it is actually the most reasonable. Whether it's the disparity between rich and poor in the Victorian era, the rigid hierarchy, or the motor car accidents we are seeing now, there are many things in it that are beyond our control. then what should we do? You can only calm down, be yourself, and try to help and change the people around you. People with great ability do big things, people with small ability do small things, people do what they can and make the best use of things, as long as they don't make it difficult, the way of life is just that.
Today, when the whole country is concerned about the accident of the motor train, I am still writing a film review of the romantic scene, which seems to be a little out of time - no, I don't think it is out of time, because what is happening is what I can't change, since I can't change, then only I can change my own state of mind and put my feelings on the romantic scene. During the Anti-Japanese War, Mr. Liang Shiqiu wrote a series of essays on "Ya She", which was quite criticized. At this time, I understood him a little bit. It is impossible for a person to be concerned about the national crisis and the righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period all the time. That will exhaust himself and others. Writing "Ya She" is leisurely, but it does not mean that he does not support the War of Resistance. Not patriotic. I have requirements for my own morality, but I hate the moral kidnapping of me by others, and I also hate the moral kidnapping by some angry youths who randomly find objects on the Internet.
——It's too far away, there's no way. All in all, if you want to change your mood when you are distracted by watching Weibo, and can endure to taste the Victorian country style, "Queqixiang to Candletown" must be your best choice!
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