The TV series "Flowers" directed by Wong Kar-Wai and written by Qin Wen, starring Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Tang Yan, Xin Zhilei, Zheng Kai and other actors, finally started broadcasting tonight. This is also Wong Kar-wai's new work released 10 years after "The Grandmaster" in 2013.
From preparation to start-up, from completion to launch, "Flowers", which has always attracted much attention, was broadcast on CCTV's eight channels for only 10 minutes, and the ratings exceeded 2. On the Weibo hot search list, related topic words accounted for 7! As a video platform that broadcasts exclusively on the entire network, Tencent directly gave a big topic, which was broadcast in two versions: Mandarin version and Shanghainese version. It was recommended at the top of the entire home page, which gave it enough ranking.
The play is adapted from writer Jin Yucheng's "Five One Project" and the Mao Dun Literary Award-winning novel of the same name. It focuses on Shanghai during the period of great changes in the times. It revolves around A Bao (played by Hu Ge) and tells the story of Shanghai's ups and downs in the early 1990s. In the business world, the ups and downs of the children's lives are on the rise.
Judging from the first episode, the camerawork, composition, color, soundtrack, scenery, props and trailer of "Flowers" are all of a movie level. Except for Tang Yan, who was a bit unexpected because of the modeling required for her role, most of the characters were filmed well. Extremely beautiful/handsome, including passers-by. You Benchang, the "Ji Gong" who is familiar to Hangzhou people, also played the role of the master's uncle in the play at the age of 90. What also attracted the attention of reporters is that Wong Kar-wai gave a lot of shots to unknown little people, and often explained the background of the story through dialogue between the little people.
Wong Kar-wai also interspersed historical scenes in the play, which is full of texture. However, the director did not use traditional linear narrative techniques (neither forward narration nor flashbacks, nor parallel narration), but added a lot of flashbacks and multi-line narrative techniques. Taking the car accident as the starting point, we flash back to the opportunity when Po bravely entered the stock market and became Mr. Bao, and then investigate the cause of the car accident and explain the important figures one by one. The identity of the characters is not directly stated, but is revealed through the characters' lines and flashbacks. The threshold for watching the drama is a bit high.
Even if you have read the original work, you may not understand it because Wong Kar-Wai basically rewrote the story. Film critic "Luo Beibei" complained directly: "This drama is the same as the original script. Why buy the original work by Jin Yucheng? You made another drama by yourself, and the male protagonist is called A Bao. No one can imagine the level of "Flowers"... "
However, many netizens said that Wong Kar-wai is like this, "That's Wong Kar-wai, how could it be filmed according to the original work!" ""Ashes of Time" has nothing to do with Jin Yong, no one really thinks that Wong Kar-wai will film according to the original work." …
Overall, it is clear from "Flowers" that Wong Kar-Wai's deep affection for Shanghai and his ambition to show an era.
Wong Kar-wai once revealed in an interview that he was born in Shanghai and went to Hong Kong with his parents in 1963. "In the following decades, I kept coming and going. My sister and I have been in Shanghai, and I have more than 20 Cousins, they are basically the same generation as the characters in "Flowers"." Therefore, in Wong Kar-wai's eyes, the novel is about his brother and sister. "I really want to know what they went through, so I decided to adapt this novel."
Wong Kar-Wai has also made it clear that it is impossible for him to copy the original work. "I only talk about what I can say, what I want to say, and what I say well. Words have the advantages of words, and images have the advantages of images."
Therefore, the TV series version of "Flowers" is actually about how Abao became the all-powerful CEO in just ten years and the era behind it.
In Wong Kar-wai’s view, “As a drama, the most ups and downs and most representative character should be Po. In the original work, Po has two identities, one is Po, a worker in the 1960s, and the other is Po. One is Mr. Bao, who lived among the flowers in the 1990s, never letting a leaf touch his body. What made Po become Mr. Bao and become a trend-setter of the times overnight was not written in the novel. Although the original work "doesn't sound", the TV series It can be filled in. We don’t have the ability to complete the full version of "Flowers", and we will definitely give you a Shanghai Po that you can’t see in the original work."
For book fans, Wong Kar-Wai's advice is, "Everyone has his or her own "Flowers" in their heart. I am just a reader like you, and my interpretation is just my family's opinion. For viewers who have not read the original book, this TV series is just a cake. After reading one of the pieces, I felt that I still had more to say than I wanted to, so I decided to read the original work again.”
Have you watched Wong Kar-wai's "Flowers"?
