Why Wei Ai and One Step Away have the shadow of Chaplin

"Micro Love": A purely commercial film that is cute and has no depth

The reason why I chose to watch the movie "Micro Love" was originally because of Gu Changwei. Gu Changwei enjoys a high reputation in the Chinese film and photography industry and is known as "China's No. 1 Photographer". He has photographed classic films such as "Red Sorghum", "Farewell My Concubine", and "Sunny Days", and has crossed over to the "Peacock", the first film he directed after becoming a director, won the Silver Bear, the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival, which is an extraordinary move. As a classmate of Zhang Yimou in the photography department of Nortel in 1978, Gu Changwei's successful career transition from photographer to director was not unexpected. After "Peacock", Gu Changwei directed "The Beginning of Spring" and "The Favorite" one after another. These three literary films have won him a lot of praise from the industry.

More than 20 days ago, I bought coupons for the three films "Peace Wheel", "One Step Away" and "Micro Love" through WeChat Movie Tickets. I chose this one among many films. Several films are naturally due to the popularity and influence of these famous directors. I didn't think much about the release date when I bought the ticket. It wasn't until a few days ago that I realized that "Micro Love" was released on the day before Christmas. After looking at the starring Chen He and Angelababy, I thought that this must be a movie aimed at young people during the Christmas period. It's a comedy about a couple, and I instantly felt a bit regretful about it, as it definitely doesn't have much artistic value at all. I went to the theater today to watch it, and it confirmed my suspicion.

It can be seen from the Christmas release schedule that "Micro Love" is a commercial film that pursues commercial profits and targets young men, women and couples. However, it obviously lacks the domineering power to dominate the martial arts world at the box office. Because the heat of Christmas won’t last long. Compared with the first three films, Gu Changwei sheds his literary cloak and reveals his commercial nature. This also seems to show the active surrender of traditional literary and artistic film directors when the commercial tide hits. In general, this is a commercial film, and it is a very crude and poorly made commercial film. Audiences who are familiar with Gu Changwei's previous works can even believe that this film was actually made by Gu Changwei. The style, theme, and humanistic connotation , lens feel, etc. are all very different from previous works. Therefore, "Micro Love" is destined to be a movie that will not be remembered and will eventually be submerged in the endless stream of youth-themed commercial films.

Let’s talk about the actors of this movie first. I have to say that Gu Changwei was a bit lucky in choosing the male and female protagonists, because Zhejiang Satellite TV's popular "Running Brothers" currently has Chen He and Angelababy as a running boy and girl combination. The high ratings of the show are used to enhance the film's popularity. Popularity. Most viewers became familiar with Chen He because of the popular online drama "Love Apartment" series. With his shrewd little eyes, not handsome enough appearance, and the funny comedy and a bit wretched image limited by "Love Apartment", Chen He was destined to be a star. Hyuk can't play the role of a tall, rich and handsome person who is an absolute youth idol, and the role he is suitable for seems to be the funny and smart little guy at the bottom of society in "Love Apartment". Angelababy has only been popular for a few years. She was born as a young model, and she almost always shows herself in the image of a pitiful innocent girl or a glamorous and seductive image. Although she has co-starred with several big names in several well-known films, her popularity has soared, but she has not been able to successfully portray her so far. She has played a particularly influential role. "The First Time", "Tai Chi", "The Ruffian Hero", and "Once Upon a Time: Heroes Have Dreams" are her masterpieces in recent years. Most viewers know that the baby has undergone plastic surgery, and has had multiple surgeries on his face and body, but they have to admit that the baby's plastic surgery is very successful. Compared with the sausage mouth before the plastic surgery, the baby today is more beautiful and charming, yet innocent and cute. She is particularly photogenic and has great flexibility in front of the camera, so much so that all her fans, the male god Huang leader, fell under her pomegranate skirt. Whether today's "success" can erase yesterday's "failure", judging from the baby, it seems to be the case. Why do so many girls want plastic surgery to enlarge their breasts and buttocks? Behind the pursuit of physical beauty is still submission to the patriarchal society - with a face and a body, there is a better chance of promotion to the top. Who makes this a "face-based" society!

Let’s talk about the plot of “Wei Ai”. The “Three Musketeers of Dreams” (those who flaunt their dreams all the time are often diaosi) Sha Guo, Huang Xiaogua, and Ma Dai are diaosi screenwriters from Beidiao respectively. , photographer and actor, Shaguo spent several years writing a script called "Werewolf Love" and preparing to make it into a movie. In order to cater to the investor, the rich lady Ma, and make the script look more commercial, Shaguo will The title of the script was changed to "Living with Werewolves."

After securing 8 million yuan in sponsorship from rich lady Ma, the three of them moved their residence to the CBD (Central Business District) in Shuangjing. Ms. Ma kept asking for new commercial elements to be added to the script, so the script was successively changed to the Little Man Niu version, the Little Fresh version, the Wang Baoqiang version and the thriller version. Due to the pressure of life, he could only cater to Miss Ma's will and change the script on the computer over and over again. After moving to a new residence, Chen Xi met car model Chen Xi through WeChat. The two became connected because of Mochou, a Shar-Pei dog adopted by Chen Xi. Chen Xi is also a Beijing drifter. He relies on his good face and body to continue to star in various auto shows, prints and advertisements to pay off his mortgage and improve his life. The two people gradually developed love in the subsequent contact. Later, because the investor changed the actor and then the script and screenwriter, Shaguo and Huang Xiaogua's dream of changing their lives by scripting and making movies was shattered. This also included the betrayal and abandonment of Ma Dai and Xiao Qing. The two were in extreme sadness and despair. Later, Huang Xiaogua sold the house in his hometown and prepared to adapt "Werewolf Love" into a drama, but Huang Xiaogua accidentally jumped off the building and committed suicide. Sha Guo was disheartened and his financial situation became increasingly dire. At the same time, Chen Xi flew around the world and did not reply to his WeChat messages. Sha Guo deleted Chen Xi's WeChat address book and reluctantly gave up his career as a screenwriter and left Chen Xi anonymously. I worked as a waiter in a noodle shop at the foot of Mount Wutai. After Chen Xifei came back, he found that Shaguo had disappeared, so he changed his WeChat name and successfully "hooked up" with Shaguo again on WeChat and found Shaguo. When they met, he slapped him three times. The two reunited and Chen Xi drove her luxury jeep. Carrying Sha Guo back to Beijing. The story ends here. At the end of the film, Shaguo was invited to shoot a Chaplin-style black-and-white silent film for Chen Xi's wealthy friend Monica and her husband, implying that Shaguo is still continuing his dream of screenwriting and movies.

"Micro Love" is a comedy-romance film in terms of genre, but due to changes in the script, elements such as horror and spoof are incorporated into it. Due to commercial needs, Jiang Wu and Stars such as Tong Dawei and Wang Baoqiang make guest appearances, as well as directors Gu Changwei and Jiang Wenli, who play the deaf-mute roast duck restaurant master and landlady respectively. Although it is a comedy, "Laughing Fruit" is not outstanding. After all, I am used to making literary films, and I am a little confused when I first switch to making commercial films. In the film, product placement advertisements for WeChat, Apple mobile phones, Red Bull drinks, Jiannanchun, etc. appear many times, which is surprising. The film also mentioned five high-grossing films: "Let the Bullets Fly", "Pi", "One Step Away", "33 Days Old" and "囧", which shows that some high-grossing films in recent years, especially low-cost High-grossing films are still very tempting for directors who are good at making literary films, so much so that even senior filmmakers like Gu Changwei have given up their position and ethics in literary films and defected to the field of commercial films. Although the film touches on the living conditions of the diaosi class in Beijing, the temptation of money, the betrayal of friends, etc., due to its commercial and comedy style positioning, these contents are not developed in depth, so that the entire film lacks the depth and depth of the theme. Highlights. The film mentions the living conditions and problems of the diaosi class, but does not give a way out or answer to the problem. It only ends with the hero and heroine reuniting at the end of the film. As for how the future life situation should be changed, it does not mention a word, leaving questions and answers. Thoughts are thrown to the audience. Movies are dream factories, and good movies should give hope to the people at the bottom, but "Micro Love" failed to do that. It just shows us how a diaosi screenwriter who has always failed successfully pursued a car model who was originally a diaosi but gained fame and wealth with her figure and face, or how a male diaosi finally fell in love with a female model. . The jokes are not outstanding, even vulgar, and the theme has no depth. These are the film's most serious failings. Deliberately creating jokes for naked commercial purposes and catering to the public's vulgar taste, even if it can get high box office, it will definitely lose the audience's reputation and attention. How to calculate this account in the long run, I think "Micro Love" will Teach Gu Changwei and those directors who are eager for quick success and extremely impetuous a lesson. Looking forward to the return of Gu Changwei’s artistic film!

Only one step away from becoming a god

I can probably understand why there were so many bad reviews after the premiere two days ago. Personally, I feel that it is below average among director Jiang Wen’s works. One piece.

The opening salute to "The Godfather" made me a little worried. Because it was so deliberately imitated, no matter the costumes, makeup, props, or even the camera position, the tone of the lines were almost the same. It's rare to encounter such an embarrassing opening of a movie, which inevitably leaves people with a lump in their throats.

As a Godfather fan, I have to give the opening a negative review. However, imitation aside, this section itself is pretty good. As the opening of a movie, it can quickly create an atmosphere, and at the same time, it is both funny and simply explains the cause of the incident. Therefore, it would be great if "The Godfather" could really be localized. Who makes the protagonist Zhang Muzhi in "Let the Bullets Fly" look like the Godfather himself? Maybe the film, which has always been called a sequel, can continue to give some surprises.

Then, the style suddenly changed, and it immediately strayed into "Moulin Rouge". This and that are completely incompatible with the Godfather style just now. This piece of singing and dancing occupies a considerable space. Although it is indeed presentable, and the costumes, stage design, and camera scheduling are also very beautiful, but looking back now, this part has little to do with the plot itself. It can be completely compressed. It is basically just singing and dancing for the sake of singing and dancing. However, I personally feel that this section is the most outstanding part of the film, including the 3D effect, which is also the best part of the film. If it's a song and dance style all the way to the end, it would be pretty good. Although it is not as good as "Moulin Rouge" and "Singin' in the Rain", it is quite pleasing to the eye and is rare to see in domestic films.

It’s a pity that the beauty pageant has to end eventually, and the plot has to move forward, and it will take advantage of the situation to enter the most common love scene. It seems that Jiang Wen can no longer find the feeling of secret love and hormones intertwined in "Sunny Days". The love scenes are really lackluster, boring and pretentious, and they are about to fall to the level of Guo Jingming's "Little Times" Yes, it's secretly worrying. The most unbearable thing is why Jiang Wen's Ma Zouri didn't agree to Shu Qi's Wan Yanying's expression of love. Is there something unspeakable? I kept thinking about this question while watching the film, but unfortunately I couldn't find the answer. In the film, Ma Zongri only expresses his regrets through dialogue in a hurry, saying that he should have bravely agreed to Wan Yanying in the first place, so that he would not have caused this mess later. This, that, if there is nothing unspeakable, he is clearly a scumbag, I really can't bear it. I went to bed like a dog at first, but now I want to leave as soon as I'm done. I originally illuminated my heart by the moon, but the bright moon illuminated the ditch. I have deep doubts about this person's character. Apart from the pretentious plot, there are a lot of special effects in this section, but they are all iconic domestic scum special effects, which seem a bit fake. Fortunately, the special effects of the moon roll are quite good, making people feel like their money was well spent.

Well, the subsequent accidental death, escape, self-rescue, arrest, and multi-party negotiations are like returning to the feeling of "Let the Bullets Fly", with many and fast lines, frequent camera switching, and the relationship between all parties. It's complicated, and everyone has their own calculations in mind for their own interests. It’s still the original recipe and still has a familiar taste. Unfortunately, the plot is not solid enough, lacks enough convincing, and is a bit pretentious. In particular, I can't understand why I would choose to escape instead of adopting other options. From the opening scene of The Godfather, I thought that Ma Zouni was a powerful and domineering character, but I didn't expect that he would return to his original form as soon as he encountered trouble, and he would become a living little red guy on the beach. From the perspective of the plot itself, this section should have been the most outstanding part of the entire film, but I didn’t expect Jiang Wen to handle it so sloppily, deducting points almost all the way. If it had been shot by the Coen brothers and David Fincher, it would have been taken to a higher level.

Seeing that the movie was on the verge of getting out of control, I no longer had any hope. Suddenly, the colors on the screen became richer and more brilliant, and the lines became more and more out of tune. Well, if you are familiar with Jiang Wen's work, this is clearly a condensed and refined version of "The Sun Also Rises". For some reason, this paragraph reminds me of Wes Anderson's "The Grand Budapest Hotel" for no reason. If handled properly, it can be enough to save a declining plot. It's a pity that Jiang Wen doesn't seem to have made much progress or improvement compared to the time of "The Sun Also Rises". Fortunately, this section is quite interesting and good-looking, with a hint of Chaplin's comedy, although it's not exactly hilarious.

The ending is the most confusing part, just like "The Sun Also Rises" a few years ago, with all kinds of wonders, illogicality and inexplicability, but there is no explanation and you are allowed to go by yourself. Guess and feel. I deeply felt Jiang Wen's dark side. This is obviously because he wants to take revenge for the past. "Let the Bullets Fly" copied Hisaishi Joe's soundtrack from "The Sun Also Rises", but the scene couldn't be used, so I think he used the same style at the end of "One Step Away" Pay tribute to yourself. Capricorn men are indeed shady and stingy.

Finally, let’s comment on the actors.

Although generally mediocre, if I really had to choose, I personally think Wang Zhiwen and Shu Qi performed relatively well, but they had too few scenes, and Shu Qi's dubbing was a bit strange and out of place. Jiang Wen, Ge You and Zhou Yun all performed normally. The article was too noisy, which annoyed him. Hong Huang and Liu Linian performed better than expected. Naying is just a play, but not bad. I can't help but say, Zhou Yun is so beautiful. To be able to photograph his wife so beautifully, he must love her very much. Also, there are too many narrations and it would be nice to streamline it a little more.

Summary. Jiang Wen's performance this time made me quite hopeful. Sure enough, you will have to pay it back sooner or later. He was held on such a high pedestal in the past, but now he can only accept how miserably he fell. It seems that the only Chinese director who can consistently maintain high standards is Ang Lee. This film is to Jiang Wen what "Three Guns" is to Zhang Yimou, "The Promise" is to Chen Kaige, and "The Banquet" is to Feng Xiaogang. However, if calculated based on the standards of domestic films, I personally think that the minimum score is 7 points, and the highest score can be around 7.5 points. 8 points is probably out of the question. Congratulations on this film being included in the watchable or not watchable series. Of course, it may also be because I only read it once and missed too many details and metaphors. Maybe I can really interpret something profound and connotative.

So, who is the happiest person tonight? I think it must be Tsui Hark, maybe he was snickering in the middle of the night, this is God's help in "Taking Tiger Mountain by Wisdom". Because the box office of "One Step Away" was previously estimated at 1.8 billion, according to the current situation, it should be lowered to less than 1 billion, and most of the missing box office will be collected by the latter. Therefore, the naming is quite clever. You see, Hao Duan Duan was once sure to win the box office crown among domestic films, but now the only one left is "One Step Away". And Master Jiang is only one step away from becoming a god. Alas!