I have to admit that I am a fan of the original, but in order not to be harsh, before entering the show, I reminded myself not to compare with the original, to be calm, and to see how Laomouzi tells the story.
The result...
1. The political conflict in the film was downplayed, and it was only explained as a background in the opening scene, and then jumped to the end of the Cultural Revolution three years later. In fact, the lack of a large environment has affected the film as a whole. However, in the Celestial Dynasty, I can still understand.
2. The most touching thing about the original book is the various ordeals that Lu Yanshi went through in order to escape Jian Wanyu, and the countless preparations he did. But the movie is skipped, and even the protagonist Wan Yu becomes Wan Yu, there is always the feeling of a love apartment entering into chaos.
3. The biggest character conflict after Lao Lu's return was between him and his son. There was no son Feng Ziye in the whole play.
4. Erased the details of the two people's experiences when they were young, such as Enniang's trivial troubles, Lu Yanshi's romantic life as a son, and Yanshi's change in Wanyu's feelings, etc. This love actually becomes very empty in the movie.
5. Finally, the scene is set to wait, it is better to change the title to "Waiting", after all, the word return is more in line with the end of the original work: where is the place to return.
6. Just telling a story of waiting in the 1970s and 1980s, there is no need to promote it with Yan Geling's signboard, just do your own work, and making too many gimmicks will make the audience feel that the sincerity is not enough. (Wuxi people even suspect that Laomouzi came back to earn his super-birth fine?)
Good novels and scripts need strong contradictions, otherwise it is just a footbinding cloth with little water.
Good themes are rare, and good screenwriters are too few.
Three stars, two for the performances of Chen Daoming and Gong Li, and one for the crew who worked hard.
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