Diao Yinan is back with his new work. The title of the film is very attractive, "The Party at South Station".
In 2014, he won the Golden Bear Award for Best Film at the 64th Berlin Film Festival with the film "Fireworks in the Day", and the name of director Diao Yinan also entered the eyes of more audiences with his strong personal narrative style. "The Gathering at Southern Station" was shortlisted for the main competition unit of the 72nd Cannes Film Festival, and it is also the only Chinese film selected for the main competition unit this year. .
Aside from the "three major" honors, Milk Tea believes that "The Party at Southern Station" may be slightly inferior in terms of the quality of the work itself compared to its predecessor. Although the style of the video is equally gloomy, the story structure of "Fireworks in the Day" is at least outstanding. The film not only has topical elements such as murder and eroticism, but also has several reversals in the plot, and the atmosphere of suspense is sufficient; Liao Fan and Gui Lunmei, as male and female lead actors, The grasp of the role is convincing, the undercurrent of Gui Lunmei's indifferent mask is surging, and Liao Fan's last solo dance is a commendable plus point for the movie "Fireworks in the Day". On the other hand, the main plot of "The Gathering at Southern Station" this time basically takes place at night. The setting of a small town in the south makes the overall atmosphere more gloomy, which also makes the director's image style more prominent. But other than that, the performance of other aspects of the film always makes people feel bad.
The beginning of the story originated from the "Robber Games" of a group of "social youth" in a small southern town. Several factions stole battery cars in the streets, and the one with the largest number won the "stealing right" in the prosperous area. Zhou Zenong, the protagonist played by Hu Ge, was wanted by the police for the manslaughter of a police patrolman. Facing high bounties and entanglements in power and love, the protagonist's former colleagues, friends, wives, the "swimming girl" and the police and others, etc. There is a hunt for each other with a purpose, and the protagonist still yearns for redemption in the process of escape.
This is actually a story with a lot of room for expression. Facing the temptation of money and vital interests, how complicated human nature can be, and how dazzling light of life can a villain accidentally ignite in despair. These are all worthy of the director, Writers and actors to think about it. But until the story is finished, these high-light moments that Milk Tea is looking forward to have not yet come. In some places where the movie could have done more in-depth, it just stopped at the end, and even the theme of "redemption" that we wanted to express was simply and rudely handled as "cheating the bounty for the wife and children", we I can't see any sparks from the protagonist after falling into the abyss, as if the motives of the characters are just plain settings, which is really regrettable.
In fact, how much resonance can the audience have with the role of Zhou Zenong? The movie only explained that he is a gangster, with good skills and can use a gun, but what about his personality? How about brother? How about your wife and children? These informational films that highlight the image of the characters do not mention a word. In the end, the audience's impression of the protagonist can only stay on his sloppy dress and tired makeup. Hu Ge is indeed trying very hard to express the helplessness, confusion and despair of the character, but of course it is not enough to support a character only by relying on the Taoist uniform.
As for the other protagonist, Liu Ai'ai, the "swimming girl", Gui Lunmei's performance towards her is significantly better than that of Hu Ge. Compared with "Fireworks in the Day", Gui Lunmei's grasp of the role is more mature this time. This is due to the fact that the role itself has more scenes and more space for expression. On the other hand, the actor's own spirit and even the expression and tone of the All are internal reasons. When this Taiwanese girl appears in a corner of the screen with a pair of rustic makeup and Wuhan dialect, you will find that this character is three-dimensional and stands out on the screen. And the doubt about Gui Lunmei is: Does the director have any special complex, otherwise why would she be [—beep—] every time she cooperates with her character? "Fireworks in the Daytime" can be said to be necessary for the plot, so why does Huang Jue have to [—beep—] her in "The Party at Southern Station"?
Of course, at least in the next few years, the film "The Party at Southern Station" will still have a place in the history of mainland films. The scene where the umbrella wears the intestines, its unique violent aesthetic style is expected to be talked about by fans and friends for a long time. But if the director wants to go further, the story of the next play must be deeper and deeper. After all, dozens of shots were fired and several people died. In the end, if it was just a bloody case caused by a battery car, I would be so sorry for the audience. .
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