Korean movie New World Film Review

New World

2018-01-29 The growth history of Liu Qingdong and Qingdong

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The Korean movie "New World" is almost It is not one of the best gangster movies in the past decade. In terms of plot design, editing and music, it is difficult for other movies to match it. In comparison, "Infernal Affairs", which shocked the country, is far behind.

For movies of the same type and theme, we usually give higher evaluations to the ones we see first, and have higher requirements for the aesthetic taste of the following ones. "New World" and "Infernal Affairs" have certain similarities in terms of plot and characters. There is this in "Infernal Affairs": It was agreed upon for 3 years, then 3 years later, another 3 years, and 3 years later again, another 3 years. And Li Zicheng in "New World" was also in danger of his life, but was repeatedly delayed by his boss and was forced into the situation. It should be said that the level of Hong Kong films is also among the best in Asia. (As for mainland elements, whether directors, producers or actors, as soon as they appear, they will not be on the stage immediately). The question is, why does "New World" shock us 10 times more than "Infernal Affairs"? I'm even reluctant to call this movie the Korean version of "Infernal Affairs"?

After much thought, I think the most fundamental thing is the deepest understanding of human nature. Although "Infernal Affairs" also represents a peak in gangster movies, in terms of understanding human nature, I have to admire that South Korea has surpassed Hong Kong by a lot.

First of all, "New World" has no positional judgment on the characters, only judging from human nature. At the beginning, Li Zicheng personally killed an undercover agent (from the perspective of the subsequent plot, Director Cui, who was killed at the beginning, was probably the dissident Ding Qing purged). As an undercover agent, he must have done a lot of bad things. This is even more In line with reality and human nature, what bad things did Tony Leung do in "Infernal Affairs"? Even Si Qiang's death was due to a gang fight and had nothing to do with Liang. It shows that the director of "Infernal Affairs" did not want Tony Leung to be contaminated with evil elements, but with common sense, we know that it is impossible. So "New World" tells us at the beginning that this Li Zicheng has the blood of innocent people on his hands. Although he is a policeman, his profession is special and he needs to do many things that he cannot help but do.

In terms of the relationship with his boss, the relationship between Li Zicheng and Section Chief Jiang is also closer to the true nature of human nature. We know that Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Anthony Wong Chau-sang in "Infernal Affairs" have a close relationship. Their disputes are only verbal, but their inner feelings are very deep. However, if we put ourselves in their shoes, if we were undercover agents, we would not only have to do a lot of criminal and various things we don’t want to do, but we might even lose our lives at any time. We would be in panic all day long and have to persist for five years and ten years. Years later, if you want to quit but are forced to stay in the game, would you still like this job? Do you still have feelings for your boss who keeps pushing you under the water and doesn't let you come out for air? I think most people can't do it. And "Infernal Affairs" was designed in this way. He did not realize how the undercover's inner resentment was vented. "New World" has observed this in detail. Therefore, Li Zicheng went from anger, to despair, to murderous intention at the end, which made us feel only sigh, but not disgust or disgust. We were even a little glad that he finally brought out Section Chief Jiang. Get rid of it, because he is finally free.

In addition, the relationship between the undercover agent and his boss in "Infernal Affairs" is very close. Tony Leung and Anthony Wong absolutely trust each other. But if you look at it from a realistic perspective, is it possible? People's hearts are separated from each other, who dares to trust whom absolutely? This reminds me of what Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty did to his eldest son Liu Shi. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty watched his son grow up for more than 20 years. When the first person told him that the prince was rebelling, he said it was impossible. I don’t understand my son? The second person told him that the prince was rebelling, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was talking nonsense. It was all nonsense. When the people who went to investigate said that the prince was rebelling again, would Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty still insist on his trust? No more, three people become a tiger. This was the case between father and son before, let alone between colleagues, let alone such a sensitive profession - undercover and police? From any point of view, they cannot be trusted absolutely.

Therefore, Li Zicheng was kept in the dark about the surveillance arranged by Section Chief Jiang on Li Zicheng, including his wife and entourage. This made him feel sad again.

As for his Go teacher, he was very tight-lipped about a lot of things he said and didn't even know about his new work plan. It made Li Zicheng feel like he was someone else's pawn. He didn't even feel the warmth of the police team. He said: I can still gain trust among the gangs, but I don’t know anything about you. It's like this. Although gangsters are vicious, there is indeed a sense of brotherhood in the gang. Next, let’s talk about the main plot of this movie, the brotherhood between Li Zicheng and Ding Qing.

From the first time I watched Ding Qing, I felt that this guy was a bohemian character, much like Da Fei in "Young and Dangerous". In fact, this side of Ding Qing was entirely due to seeing Li Zicheng, that kind of joy and happiness. He bought a counterfeit product from Shanghai and gave it to Li, but Li immediately exposed it to his face and refused directly. If this kind of thing happens to people with a normal relationship, it is impossible to happen, and it will immediately hurt feelings and ruin the relationship. The relationship between Ding Qing and Li Zicheng has already exceeded this level. No matter what happens between them, it will not affect their relationship with each other.

The closest relationship between a man and a woman is through the naked body; and the closest relationship between a man and a man is through the naked mind. Ding Qing had been keeping his heart naked to Li Zicheng for six years. Although he later learned that Li Zicheng might have betrayed him many times, his brotherly love for Li Zicheng was very difficult to break. Ding Qing looks wanton, but he is very sophisticated in his heart. From the plot point of view, it was Ding Qing who killed Chairman Shi Dong of the Kinmen Group. First, he was in Shanghai and seemed to have nothing to do with the current situation; second, the plot clearly explained that he At that time, ousting Li Zhongjiu had been successful. He clearly shows strong leadership qualities in his judgment and arrangement of various matters. And therefore more ambitious. Of course, Li Zicheng's talents are also very outstanding. He is one of the most powerful candidates for the president, but his task is only to provide intelligence for the police, so he has no intention of thinking about this. So everyone regarded him as Ding Qing's younger brother. Despite this, Ding Qing also attaches great importance to Li Zicheng's talent. Ding Qing treated him completely like a brother, not an ordinary assistant. So when Ding Qing learned Li Zicheng's identity, he first used the lives of his Go teacher and Shi Hu (Zicheng's follower) to scare him, but at the same time asked the hacker to destroy his identity information, so that he would be of the same mind as him. In the process of killing the Go teacher, Ding Qing fully confirmed that his brother had been deceiving him for many years and would probably kill him. But Ding Qing's brotherhood at this time prevented him from attacking Li Zicheng.

But after Ding Qing knew that Li Zicheng was an undercover agent, his anger was understandable, so he cut off Shi Hu's head with his own hands. He said to Li Zicheng, "They have been playing tricks on you for so many years!" In fact, another meaning is, "Brother, you have been playing tricks on me for all these years!" Li Zicheng quickly reacted and thought that Ding Qing only discovered the Go teacher and Shi Hu. , did not find himself. So I personally shot the Go teacher a few times, firstly to show that I had nothing to do with him, and secondly to silence him. However, think about it from Ding Qing's perspective: Li Zicheng's teacher is an undercover agent, his entourage is an undercover agent, and his file information is conclusive. No matter how much Ding Qing believes in him, it is impossible not to know Li Zicheng's true identity.

The parting scene between Ding Qing and Li Zicheng in the hospital is the finishing touch of the whole play. These few minutes of dialogue and shots best reflect that the director is not telling a story, but "human nature and reality":

1. Ding Qing's first sentence after seeing Li Zicheng was: "Relax your face, damn." This is what Ding Qing often talks about. Because Ding Qing was happy to see Empress Li, he hoped that Li would open his mind. Of course, when he knew Li's true identity, he naturally knew why this guy was unhappy. It should be said that this was not the case in Li Zicheng's early days as an undercover agent. We can see that from the last explanatory shot of the movie.

2. "I thought I would never see you again, so damn happy." Ding Qing, who was dying, wanted to see his brother again, but he thought the policeman would not come. Yes, their identities are opposite. However, in his heart he wanted Li Neng to come. So he was "so damn happy" to see Li.

3. "Brother, you look tired, don't be like this." At this time, Ding Qing fully understood the psychological pressure Li Zicheng was under.

Mainland film and television dramas usually vilify bad guys, and this trend exists even in Hong Kong. The description of Li Zhongjiu in "New World" is very simple. He knows that he is walking on the edge of the law and will die sooner or later. He is not a street gangster. He is a person with identity, status, culture and taste. He has a very early age. I just thought about how to face death. Before he died, he accurately judged the situation: Kinmen already belonged to Li Zicheng. He also expressed his best wishes to Li Zicheng in a gentlemanly manner, after all, we are colleagues.

In fact, the best themes for gangster movies are in the mainland. Many real-life things in the mainland are much more thrilling than the movies. But mainland directors are really far behind in their understanding of human nature and artistic techniques. Finally, the film music is also great. It complements the story beautifully, especially the music in the scene where Li Zhongjiu died was very well matched. The superb acting skills of several leading actors, including the supporting roles, are impeccable. Today's Korean culture has reached a peak period.