Dong Bing'er's Nie Xiaoqian is popular.
It had been kept secret for so long, and it was naturally impossible to keep it secret after it was released.
Even though it hasn't been officially released yet, some things can be released.
When the poster for Nie Xiaoqian played by Dong Bing'er was released, it can be said to be completely convincing.
At the same time, film critics' evaluation of the film has further boosted people's expectations for the film.
The famous film critic Du Xianghai wrote: "This is really a perfect commercial movie!"
Yes, if we say that before the millennium, domestic films were called commercial films, it was really not a compliment, because the domestic market had not yet been formed at that time, and domestic films were mainly literary films.
After all, what is a commercial film without a market?
But now it's completely different, and the audience is no longer a novice who doesn't understand anything. How can a commercial movie be called perfect?
“All the elements that make up a commercial film are close to extreme perfection in this film:
It has to be said that Director Li Yi is excellent in casting and has a vicious vision.
Judging from the actors and character settings, it goes without saying. I believe that as soon as you see Nie Xiaoqian and Ning Caichen, their images are almost fixed. In addition, the wild and uninhibited yet simple and kind-hearted Yan Chixia is androgynous. The tree demon grandma and even some supporting characters such as the female ghost Xiaoqing, the county magistrate, etc. are all vivid and vivid on the page. You will never forget them after watching the movie.
The art props, costumes, etc. are all very sophisticated, even the special effects. In this film, the special effects are not as big as the current mainstream, but they just highlight the effect of the film.
Special effects have never meant that the bigger the scene, the better, because special effects only serve the plot of the movie.
Let's talk about Nie Xiaoqian's bun and Ning Caichen's scholar's scarf. It can be said that they are absolutely exquisite. I can even bluntly predict that once "A Chinese Ghost Story" comes out, all the "female ghosts" and "scholars" in the future will All shapes will be cast in its shadow.
The costumes inside are not the heavy and realistic opera style in traditional costume dramas, nor are they the exaggerated and tacky shapes that are full of chemical fiber gauze. Instead, they are simple, elegant and full of ancient flavor. It can be said that it is very consistent with the movie's "classical + legendary" style. " style.
Talking about the soundtrack, it is definitely a highlight. "The Road Follows the People", "Don't Come at Dawn" and "Tao Dao Dao" are all amazing. What's even better is that every interlude is both melody and The lyrics perfectly fit the corresponding plot, and the style is grand, distant, melancholy and romantic. It is a genius work that cannot be copied in today's era.
Let’s talk about the plot. The plot is the best part in my opinion. If I ask you now, what kind of film do you think "A Chinese Ghost Story" is? Is it a tragedy or a comedy? Is it a romance movie? Or a ghost movie? Or is it a more relaxed entertainment film? Different people may have completely different answers. Because the style of this movie itself is a mashup. As a viewer, your emotions will always be pulled by various elements, which is fascinating and never wanders away for a moment. At the same time, it takes into account the aesthetic taste of the vast majority of ordinary viewers. The atmosphere of this movie switches freely between three completely different styles: romance-funny-horror!
These three elements overlap and blend with each other like a layer cake, and are extremely natural. They are all run through the plot and are very balanced. This not only requires that kind of commercial film to be meticulous about the "industrialization" of the script, but also requires that kind of "industrialization" of the script. The "talent" of side leakage.
Let's talk about "funny" first. I think the so-called "funny" element has always been an iconic and popular style of Hong Kong movies, but it is also quite difficult to describe. In Hong Kong films, first of all, everyone wishes they could learn martial arts, and secondly, they wish everything could be funny, but those who are truly funny are very few and far between. It is much harder to make people laugh decently than to make them cry. Many so-called comedies adhere to the "clown" and "lower three-way" comedic styles, or they are unrestrained and nonsensical and play with popular memes.
Although Director Li Yi is also a director from Hong Kong, he did not follow the rules in "A Chinese Ghost Story" and did not do it purely for the sake of being funny. The funny or humorous elements in "A Chinese Ghost Story" not only promote The plot and character creation are full of cunning and irony. After watching the film, you will remember many hilarious plots, but they are not just funny for the sake of being funny!
For example, at the beginning, Ning Caichen had a "dummy challenge" with passers-by. Later, when Ning Caichen accidentally broke into Lanruo Temple and was held up by two swords, he made a cowardly declaration of "love & peace"; or was Ning Caichen afraid? The wolf lit three lanterns while walking at night and recited Tang poems to strengthen his courage, but all the lights were instantly extinguished amidst the howling of the wolf; or when he first met Nie Xiaoqian, he said, "Miss, why are you so heavy? I can't hold you!"
Of course, I think the most classic one is the part where "a scholar who didn't know the truth found an inkstone and killed a room full of ghosts." The audience who had just been scared to death by these zombies felt extremely sympathetic to these poor little people at that moment, and that Duan Ningcaichen went to sue the official, the county magistrate who used dramatic accents to exaggerate. This scene of a corrupt official asking for bribes was very interesting, and the phrase "quit for free" was really impressive.
And the most amazing thing is that a movie that is already so interesting, so magnificent and wonderful, you can't imagine that it can be made into an extremely romantic and gorgeous movie. The so-called "antique romance" in the minds of our contemporary young people is actually a very modern product, and it can be said to be fully demonstrated in this film - from the small pavilion in the water, the beauty in white playing the piano on a moonlit night, to the song "Ten Miles of Flat Lake Full of Frost" In the sky, every inch of blue hair is worried about the past years. Looking at the moon shape to protect each other, I only envy the mandarin ducks but not the immortals.
This widely circulated "ancient poem" about love, at first I thought it was a reprint of an ancient poem, but I didn't expect it to be original to the movie!
Of course, I believe that young people will never forget the beautiful "underwater kissing" scene after watching it!
Even better is that compared to the original version of "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" where the relationship between Ning Caichen and Nie Xiaoqian was driven by "virtue", this "A Chinese Ghost Story" highlights the role of "love and desire": Ning Caichen After falling into the water, Xiaoqian stretched out her jade feet to pick him up; in the bathtub at Xiaoqian's house, Ning Caichen saw the half-naked Xiaoqian, and was kissed by Xiaoqian in the water, and was confused and infatuated; the two met in the bathtub the next day. When they met at the small pavilion in the water, Xiaoqian said that she would go there tomorrow. As she said that, she lay softly in Ning Caichen's arms...
Up to this point, Xiaoqian took the initiative in their relationship, but these extremely fragrant plots did not show her frivolity at all, but her charming charm and purity. At the same time, I can even bluntly say that the passionate scene between Nie Xiaoqian and Ning Caichen in the film is the most beautiful of all the "sex scenes" I have ever seen. I can't even find another movie that can make the "climax" as "lustful" as it is. "It is also "beautiful" and has a kind of ritual holiness.
Therefore, those literary and artistic directors should really learn more. Sometimes, the more you reveal, the more "lustful" you become!
All of the above, it can be said that it is difficult for any audience to say: "it doesn't look good" when the movie reaches this point!
Throughout the past 30 years, it can be said that there are very few people who can achieve such perfection in all elements of the film!
Of course, is this movie really just a commercial movie?
As I deepened my understanding of the film "A Chinese Ghost Story" and related information, especially after I read the original work of "Liao Zhai", I felt that the connotation of this film is not only that, but there are many ideas behind the shell of a commercial film. What I want to express is something that has been ignored by the public for so many years.
what is it then? First of all, the whole movie has a strong "apocalyptic plot"!
Yes, apocalyptic plot!
From the beginning of the road to the killing, the two parties in the killing just stole the wallet of the other party, so a killing was staged.
The key is that the murderer didn't have any other attitude towards it, as if that was the way it should be.
In the county town, indifference and depression pervade this chaotic world, with brutal gang members, soldiers, etc., all of whom are obsessed with money.
Xinyi is worthless here. The innkeeper, paper shop owner, painting shop owner, etc., these people are all very unified in their settings. Even the county magistrate is "Desperate for money!"
Except for money, other things here, including propriety, justice and integrity, seem to be worthless. In addition, the demons in Lanruo Temple are rampant, which depicts a disorderly and chaotic ancient apocalypse.
Therefore, in such an apocalyptic world where no one cares about propriety, justice and integrity, Ning Caichen appears to be so precious, as bright as a firefly in the dark.
Talking about the negative characters, most people think that the protagonist of "A Chinese Ghost Story" is the female ghost Nie Xiaoqian, but in fact, the entire movie, both from the main perspective and the director's emotional projection, falls on the Confucian scholar Ning Caichen. What the director wants to portray is not a cute poor scholar, but a "Confucian-Xia" image who still sticks to himself in the end of the world when etiquette has collapsed and music has collapsed.
Yes, although Ning Caichen has no power to tie a chicken, the so-called chivalrous person does not lie in his strong martial arts, but in being able to "help each other when the road is rough" and "even if there are thousands of people, I will go there" is a chivalrous person. Ning Caichen was so small and downtrodden at the beginning. Later, when he learned the truth and swore an oath in front of Xiaoqian's grave, Ning Caichen used his mortal body to fight against demons and save Xiaoqian from reincarnation. He was so tall and shining. Therefore, corresponding to Ning Caichen's difficult journey alone in the windy and rainy wilderness at the beginning, he evolved into a chivalrous posture and carried Xiaoqian's ashes, while he and Yan Chixia rode horses in the windy and rainy wilderness.
As for Yan Chixia, Ning Caichen's auxiliary character in completing the "Tao of Chivalry" is a typical Taoist character, or the image of a Taoist swordsman. He is very talented but aloof from the world, even cynical.
But Yan Chixia not only bears the force value of the righteous side, but is also a key figure in the plot that connects the two realms of Yin and Yang, "humanity" and "ghost realm". The director expresses the core idea through his mouth from time to time: In fact, humans and ghosts are not the same. There is no innate distinction. Ghosts can be better than people, and people can be worse than ghosts. The flash of swords and blood and the human world without warmth and order at the beginning of the plot even hint that the apocalypse under the director's lens is actually a real Shura hell. And in the end of the world, those who abandon human nature and choose animal nature are the real ghosts!
In fact, once the main theme is revealed at this point, we can easily discover the core of the tragedy of "A Chinese Ghost Story". This is Nie Xiaoqian’s true life experience.
While watching the movie, I couldn't help but think about a question: There is no problem that Dryad Granny needs to suck the blood of living people to practice, but since she is so powerful, why should she raise two girls to seduce innocent passers-by while they are still having sex? Time to start? Just lock it with one tentacle and start eating. And Xiaoqian, a female ghost who seems to have "superpowers", still only uses the body and sex to deal with her victims. If we put aside the fantasy setting and look at the essence through the phenomenon - an evil old woman controls several girls and asks them to seduce men to have sex with her at night - in fact, this is a typical case of forcing girls into prostitution.
However, Nie Xiaoqian, who has fallen into prostitution, is not like the kind of woman who engages in flesh and blood business. She is more like a lady. She behaves elegantly, speaks softly, can play the piano and compose poems, and has a kind nature. However, she is forced to use her body to seduce her every night. The passers-by lived a miserable life, and were given as gifts by their grandma to the powerful "Black Mountain Master".
The film clearly states that she was the daughter of an official family, died on the road, and her soul was controlled by a tree demon. However, the strange thing is that this official never came back to bury his beloved daughter's ashes. If we combine it with the background of the previous troubled times, we will know that Xiaoqian's life experience is the epitome of countless miserable women in every troubled times.
The real Nie Xiaoqian in the world may have been a lady of an official family, but during the war, her father and brother were killed or died in battle, and the family was scattered. She, a weak woman, could not escape the fate of being kidnapped and sold, and eventually fell into prostitution and lived a miserable life. Life.
There were countless such characters in the troubled times of ancient times! Look at the daughter of an aristocratic family in Huali, the noble lady of Chang'an in the chaos of the late Tang Dynasty, the princess of the Northern Song Dynasty in the shame of Jingkang... The peerless beauties watered by poems, books, rituals and music are like famous flowers in the greenhouse, needing the care of civilization, but when When the apocalypse comes, gentlemen can still choose to fight to the death or live quietly. However, these women who have lost the protection of their families can only become slaves, concubines, and prostitutes, just like those exquisite civilizations that have been torn apart and trampled by barbarism.
Therefore, "A Chinese Ghost Story" is essentially a story about "two Confucian and Taoist heroes saving Feng Chen". If we put aside ghosts and gods and return to the human world, this will be a cruel and helpless story: In the troubled times of "blood smeared with weeds and wolves wearing their crowns", a scholar who has the ambition to save the world but struggles helplessly in reality, and A woman who came from a noble family but fell into prostitution met in the rivers and lakes. They shared similar poems and fell in love with each other.
The scholar hated himself for being incompetent and unable to save the country, but he thought that at least he must save this woman himself, so with the help of his friends, he went through all kinds of hardships to sell the girl who was about to be sold to a bully (perhaps a traitor who sold himself to the enemy for wealth and wealth, and wanted to seize her). However, in the troubled times, everyone is precarious, and the scholar cannot give the girl a home and a stable life. After a brief love, the two can only fall in love again. Separated, forgotten in the rivers and lakes, never to see each other again. The bones are as white as a mountain and the surname has been forgotten, nothing more than a young master and Hongzhuang!
In this way, you can deeply feel the helplessness of life in the wind and rain. People cannot escape the times. Every ordinary person struggles hard in the world for their dreams. As a result, a big wave of the times comes and everything is gone. So some people sink with the tide, while some people still stick to the light but have to fall into the inner world. Painful, so that the beautiful things in those people's hearts, such as youth, love, integrity and virtue, generous ambition, and chivalrous spirit, are fleeting like a dream, becoming more and more blurred, leaving only the former youth in the rugged vastness. Walk alone on the road in this world! "
(End of chapter)
