For many fans of old Hong Kong films, "A Lang's Story" can be said to have definitely exceeded their expectations.
I thought that no matter what happened, I was afraid that I would be selling my dog's meat to someone else. After all, times have changed.
But the result of "Alang's Story" did give them a big surprise. What they didn't expect was that even the two interludes in the soundtrack had a unique flavor of that era.
They are all pop music, but different eras have unique marks of the times.
The two songs "Love Song 1990" and "Your Look" obviously have a unique flavor from the 1980s and 1990s, which can be said to be completely different from the styles of current popular songs.
Moreover, although the plot of "Alang's Story" is a drama about "a prodigal son returning home," it is completely different from the current "a prodigal son returns home without money".
Therefore, it makes the video more interesting.
The media is very fast. Regarding the evaluation of "A Lang's Story", both the media in Hong Kong and the mainland have given very surprising evaluations.
"Director Li Yi's new film "A Lang's Story" recreates the flavor of Hong Kong films in the 1980s and 1990s!" - "Hong Kong Island Entertainment News"
""Alang's Story" has an urban feel, but it captures the Jianghu flavor unique to that era!" - "Movies of the Week"
""Alang's Story" - Falling in love with a prodigal is like falling in love with the sea, with endless waves and joy coexisting together." - "Wen Wei Po"
At the same time, film critics from all walks of life have also joined the battle.
Hong Kong film critic A Bing wrote in his review: "I always thought that the unique Jianghu flavor that Hong Kong films once had can no longer be reproduced with the changes of the times.
However, "A Lang's Story" makes us feel like we have returned to the 1990s, just like the two interludes of the film "Love Song 1990" and "The Look of You", which perfectly recreate the flavor of Hong Kong movies in the 1990s.
The film shows what love looked like in 1989...
At that time, young people loved to dance disco, and everyone dressed like Elvis.
Girls always wear an exaggerated bow on their head.
Those who race will either get injured or die. Those who survived also spent the rest of their lives doing nothing.
The scenery in that car is a burial for the rest of my life.
Back to the movie itself, "Alang's Story", in fact, the storyline has remained unchanged for thousands of years.
The Chinese nation is a nation rich in stories, which makes sense when you think about it.
Our history is too long, our territory is too vast, and our products are too rich. In this heavenly country, we always feel that we are so small that we can ignore it. So we worked hard to create many stories to tell our children and grandchildren, and put our hope in them. We hope that when they tell them to their children and grandchildren, they will say by the way, "This is what my xx told me." We also hope that more people will tell it. , you can emit some faint light in the long river.
Just like the Eros people always give their names to each other because their winter is too long, so they call each other's long names to pass the cold time. Hence, the drivers’ full names are so long. Therefore, everyone loves to hear the love story of the prodigal son who returns home without paying for it.
Just like the current domestic family dramas, they all seem to follow the same routine: for some reason, such as infertility, financial problems, the seven-year itch, etc., the husband cheats and finds a new love, and the wife seeks a new love for the sake of family harmony. , not only did she not insult and beat her husband, but she also tolerated the scumbag with humility, influenced him with love, and negotiated with a third party. In the end, the scumbag was so moved that the prodigal son turned back and returned to the family, and everyone was happy.
It seems that the prodigal son is a rare pearl. If he doesn't look back, it's because his wife didn't manage the marriage well. Once he does, it will be a great honor for his wife. She needs to tolerate him and forgive him. Reconcile yourself with him, otherwise you will be like a viper and a poisonous woman who is trying to make a fool of herself.
It seems that women must "take a step back to open up the world" and "put family first" in order to be commendable as good wives and mothers.
But Alang said: People can't do wrong things, otherwise they will never be able to turn over in their lifetime.
The essence of "A Lang's Story" lies in this. Perhaps after watching the film, many people will rationally say, why should a scumbag like A Lang turn around?
But in fact, "Alang's Story" is not a story about a prodigal son turning back.
Alang was once a prodigal who couldn't be more promiscuous. He smoked, drank, and permed his hair, cheated on his wife, beat his wife, hit people with his motorcycle, and finally ended up in prison.
His wife Bobo gave up on him and immigrated to the United States with his parents. After Alang was released from prison, he changed his ways and worked hard to drive a big truck to support himself and his son. Unexpectedly, ten years later, he met Bobo again. A Lang tried his best to get back together with Bobo, but unfortunately the other party already had a new boyfriend and was unwilling to accept A Lang. In order to prove that he had been reborn and could take on the responsibilities of his family, Alang returned to the motorcycle racing field, but died at the finish line due to an accident.
The prodigal son was not forgiven, but died inexplicably on the racing track. Stories like this are the norm in life.
When young people watch this movie, they may always be reluctant to watch it.
You may ask why Bobo is unwilling to rebuild the old relationship with the reformed Alang?
Why did Alang insist on going to the competition regardless of his physical condition?
But I believe that more mature people will understand that Alang is destined to die.
Not just because the prodigal son back then needed a heroic death...
Dying suddenly in the struggle was Alang's only chance to be forgiven and redeemed ten years later.
Alang has become a redundant person after ten years of making mistakes: his former lover has a successful career and has a gentle gentleman as a new partner; children need a complete family and good education - this movie is not like many cliche movies They also deliberately smeared their ex's new lover as a hypocrite who talks sweetly and is a secretive person. Instead, he portrays Bobo's new lover as a good man who still loves Bobo despite some hesitation and struggle and is willing to accept Bobo's son!
The child and mother's new family need each other, and Alang's position is very embarrassing. He was once just a thorn in Bobo's chaotic memory when he was young, but now he has become a roadblock in Bobo and his son's new frank life. Regardless of whether A Lang is a garbage truck driver or a strong racing driver, it is certain that he will not be accepted by Bobo. She will only forgive the dead A Lang, but will not be with the living A Lang. Alang's final struggle always contains the determination to die: if you win alive, you can prove yourself to your beloved to some extent; but what about death? Even death is a win. The win lies in helping your lover pull out an inappropriate roadblock.
So this is definitely not a so-called prodigal son returning home with no money in exchange for his film!
The story of the prodigal son can only be placed in the eight o'clock plot to deceive bored housewives. However, when we see Alang, who has to die, resolutely getting on the motorcycle, we can't help but shed tears, as if the person who regardless of the situation is ourselves. At this time, we think of ourselves and the wrong things we have done more or less, and we also need a forgiveness that we have never received. However, we have no way to die calmly like Alang, we can only die in our hearts. Put yourself into the movie and cry until you burst into tears.
In Alang's story, the thing that touches me the most is probably the motorcycle. When Chen Weijie stepped into the car, I thought of General MacArthur's words: Old soldiers never die, they just gradually fade away. Alang is not a brave warrior, he is just a prodigal, but the same thing between prodigals and warriors is that they both risked their lives for something and charged in blood.
Alang was once so arrogant and unruly that he despised everything he could see, rules, order, self-discipline, and his own woman.
Just like he was riding a motorcycle racing through the city night, he was like a bolt of lightning destined to tear apart the clouds, drowning everything in sight in his own manic laughter.
But he can't change the world, and the world won't suffer any loss, but his woman will never be able to ride on the back seat of his motorcycle again.
Sometimes I can't help but wonder, what mood did Bobo leave Hong Kong in?
The director is very smart. He turned all the plot after Bobo rolled down the stairs into a dark scene and flashed it in one stroke. The tears and pain that burst out from the sky and the earth were lightly skipped. All we saw was A Lang when he visited the prison. With a neatly cut hairstyle and a dull face, Bobo's mother could only be heard holding her child and telling him that Bobo had gone to a foreign country. So what we see is the depressed A Lang and the lovable Bo Zai ten years later. All the hardships, all the unwillingness, and all the regrets are all hidden in the laughter and play of the father and son. We cannot see it, but we feel it deeply.
Alang's story is not about father-son love, love, or family.
He tells the story of a once arrogant prodigal who realized his mistakes but did not lose his passion after his years were gone.
I always feel that if a man truly loves a woman, he will fight almost out of anger to prove the fire that is always burning in his soul - even if he is a father, old and in need of support.
But every man, no matter he is a twenty-year-old ruffian or an old man in his eighties, his heart must be burning with an unquenchable flame that has lasted for decades. Once in this life, Even if it was just once, he would get on the racing car and prove in the fast laps: I can do it.
Even if everyone understood that Bobo would never come back to him like in the fairy tale, that kiss on the beach could only be a specimen of old love. But Alang will still choose to fight once, to grit his teeth and prove once, to prove what he has loved, what he has hated, what he has regretted, what he has persisted in, all of these, even if he loses to fate, even if he can only smile bitterly, but I am still very important to myself. Even if his shoulders could not bear the ridicule of fate, he would still carry them all without frowning and smile proudly.
So speaking of it, it doesn't matter whether Bobo forgives Alang or not, because after all ten years have passed, Bobo has become so well-behaved and sensible, and the old love will always become a memory that cannot be deleted.
That prodigal son with long hair, smoking, drinking, and riding a motorcycle and dancing the Cha Cha. The scars he caused on his heart have begun to scab with the passage of time, and they have lost their pain.
When I hugged Bo Zai on the runway, faced with the blazing fire in front of me, faced with the child in my arms who had no mother for the first ten years and no father for the rest of his life, faced with the flight back to the United States that might be coming the next day, There is nothing she can't forgive, and there is nothing she can blame. Just like Li Taibai said: "But when I see wet tears, I don't know who I hate."
In the wilderness of time where weeds are everywhere, we have nothing to believe in. But when the song full of melancholy sounds, those injuries that have been washed away by the years and those nights filled with the smell of alcohol all disappear, leaving only The hollow roar of the motorcycle still echoed in the city.
In fact, Alang has been a prodigal son from beginning to end. What kind of person is a prodigal son?
The prodigal son is romantic and passionate, the prodigal son is unruly and rebellious, and the prodigal son goes his own way. A Lang, played by Chen Weijie, is a prodigal son. He lives in his own world and does everything according to his own preferences.
If you like racing, do it; if you like picking up girls, do it; if you like a different style, then look different, like a libertine, free and unrestrained. He also remained unchanged after meeting Bobo. He doesn't accommodate others, he always lets others accommodate him. He clearly cheated on her before, but has no intention of repenting. Instead, he blames Bobo, which shows his prodigal nature.
In the movie, Alang has two racing events, and these two racing events occur throughout the movie. Alang lost Bobo in his first race car. The second time he raced, Alang lost his life. These two races were worth pondering.
When he first started racing, Alang was still a prodigal son. He raced just for excitement. He wanted to experience speed and passion, so he rode the motorcycle crazily with the girl behind him, sprinting gracefully. He feels that this is the life he wants, exciting, fresh and passionate. The feeling of freedom made him feel like a hero and a king.
But what he didn't expect was that the fast-moving king would be imprisoned for this. His former good friends no longer interact with him, and he gradually understands what is right and what is wrong. Alang's first racing experience not only put him in jail, but also caused him to lose Bobo. Nothing makes you wiser, and it was precisely because of this that Alang began to look back.
When racing for the second time, Alang was already a truck driver. He changed his mind, worked hard to earn money, and raised his son Bo Zai well. He never touched a motorcycle again. Even though his friend Aaron kept trying to persuade him, he remained unmoved. It wasn't until Bobo came back and he wanted to win over Bobo that he went on the track again.
But times have changed, and he is getting older, not to mention still suffering from old illnesses, which is very detrimental to Alang. But Alang wanted to start over, to prove himself, and to let Bobo know that he had really changed, so he resolutely entered the game. What kind of person would prove themselves in this way? In fact, in his heart, he is still the prodigal son. Even if he wants to turn back, he still does not change his prodigal nature. Therefore, even if he has not practiced for many years, his sword is still young and he is still far ahead.
How similar was the second racing process to Alang's life as a prodigal son?
The wind ahead was fast and high-spirited, but he was extremely happy and sad. Although he climbed up with difficulty and continued to sprint with scars all over his body, he was still buried on the track, explaining at the cost of blood how difficult it is for a prodigal son to turn back. .
Maybe those with regrets are the most beautiful? If the three of them reunite happily, it seems a little too easy, and it always feels like something is missing.
If Alang successfully reaches the finish line, he will no longer be a prodigal son.
At the expense of A Lang's loss of life, leaving more room for the audience's imagination seems to be a kind of perfection.
For his own dream, Alang, I think he must have left with a smile at that moment.
Bobo can take her child back to the United States without any worries. She has a career in the United States, and Bobo also has a better growing environment.
This choice no longer comes at the cost of heartbreak. One person's withdrawal makes two people happy. Of course, happiness comes with regrets.
It's just imagination, giving a meaning to the ending.
The story is like this. If you don't experience disaster, everyone will be happy and happy, which will always make people feel unsatisfied. This shock, this impact, this tragedy, this change should make it even more unforgettable for the audience.
I have to say that the music of the movie always sounds at the right time, pushing the plot to the climax and enhancing the atmosphere. As soon as the chronological songs "Love Song 1990" and "The Look of You" played, I immediately felt connected to them.
Sometimes you will fall in love with a song because of a movie, and sometimes you will have a new understanding of the song or a deeper understanding of the song because of the song that appears in the movie. Alang's story has ended, and the real life story is still unfolding.
In fact, it's the same thing, the movie is fake. Who knows when you will suddenly discover that your life is just a movie. "
