Chen Kaige: A person who wanders between fame and fortune and ideals

Sonia 2022-01-22 08:03:18

After watching the movie, my first feeling is that this is a magnificent author movie. However, doesn't the "magnificent author's film" sound contradictory? This is where the flaw of this film lies.

I have seen a report before that "The Promise" was screened secretly in Beijing. The viewer felt that the scene was spectacular enough, but the plot of the story was very ordinary. Unexpectedly, after watching it, it really felt very strong.

But you find it strange again. The screenwriter is Chen Kaige himself. Whenever a deep entertainment reporter discusses the creative intentions of this film with him, he says that he is so philosophical and admirable. It is broadcast on the movie channel. When shooting the "Promise", you can also see how carefully the director is telling the actors, breaking apart and crushing passionately, the actors also listened deeply and nodded frequently... But why the film came out, Chen Kaige The enthusiasm and three years of hard work, as well as 300 million running silver, suddenly make people feel light and light?

In fact, it is because the author's movie scene is too grand. He wants to make his own stories, and he wants to make commercial blockbusters, he can't control it.

In other words, the director’s attention is constantly being widely distracted. He has to take into account the visual effects, communicate with top filmmakers from all over the world, and concentrate on his inner story. This, unless it is a god, it is difficult. Everything is covered. It's not that everything is not the worst result. The worst result is that, because you want to be comprehensive, you will lose your spirit, and you will not be able to express even the most basic and core things. If the eyes are the window of the soul, and if the movie has its own eyes, its eyes are scattered.

The most basic and core thing is the psychological story of Chen Kaige. He must have been moved by himself, but just like the most common truth in life, sometimes your goal is so clear and you are so determined to get it, but In this pursuit of your goals, you are lost. Chen Kaige neglected that people's energy is limited, and being talented does not prevent you from neglecting one another.

What's more, the structure of the story itself is very ordinary. Similar screenwriting wisdom can be found in many other literary and artistic works, so what he has to do is how to add more details to perfect the story, using the identity of a narrator Express the philosophies in your heart more in place.

But maybe, I'm just saying maybe, Chen Kaige wants to tell a story, he is very confident in his ability to tell a story, so he ignores the meaning of "concentrating on" storytelling.

Because he is too confident, because although he is brilliant, he is not a determined person.

The momentum of this film as a commercial blockbuster, international standards, and Oscar ambition distracted him. It is a metaphor for Chen Kaige’s film career. When he wants to make a good film, He always thinks too much. Box office, audience, Americans, international awards, overseas markets, and public opinion are all things that are related to fame and fortune. Therefore, he will linger and use his cleverness and cunning to come up with a one-size-fits-all solution, at least not losing everything. In this way, he tends to ignore a truth, a good movie is to go all out from the heart, it is the clear purpose of the director who only wants to make the movie according to his own intentions when making the film, not a "one-size-fits-all strategy." . He has forgotten even more that if he only concentrates on making movies, he can make excellent movies, because he is a great director after all.



Looking at an interview, Chen Kaige said that the characters in his movie mirrored many typical characters in modern China. He said that you can find people like Qingcheng, Guangming and Wuhuan in our real life. In fact, it was only after watching the movie that "The Promise" alluded to the director's own mentality.

It is said that the relationship between Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou has faded to a normal "classmate relationship", but these two people do have the same goal by different means, that is, they are both off track. As the saying goes, I have endless hopes for life, don’t see that they have been pushed to the point where they want to stand up, they hope to get more, and this more is not a good movie, but it looks like a movie. Things that have nothing to do with the movie. It is too straightforward or not so accurate to say that it is fame and Leviticus, but in their request, they can feel their inner loss, the more serious point is the "magic wand", and they can also feel the lack of self-confidence in their bones. .

Because only people who are not self-confident like to do something "really happy". And deep in their hearts, the thorns that can't be removed are nothing more than the vanity of Hollywood and the vanity of Oscars.

And think about it, what are their contributions to Chinese films? Do you just keep making movies that are really meaningless? What new film directors have they fostered? Have they produced those small-cost but very Chinese movies? Have they survived filmmakers other than actors?

If Chen Kaige is someone in "The Promise", then I would say that he is the light. A conceited hero, with the spirit of genius, but because of his desires, he is always unable to be upright and honest, and ultimately is difficult to do the right way.

Of course, maybe his ideal state is Kunlun, but he can never be because he can't let go of too many things. Between fame and fortune and ideals, between the easy and the right, there is often a battle between heaven and man.

There is a line in the movie that says, "The real speed is invisible, just like the four seasons change, like the sun rises and the moon sets." Yes, the real speed is both invisible and irreversible, unconsciously In the meantime, Chen Kaige changed from Chen Kaige in Farewell My Concubine to Chen Kaige in Promise, and Zhang Yimou changed from Zhang Yimou in Alive to Zhang Yimou in Ambush. None of them could go back because they were very interested in the movie. The desire for creation itself is not strong enough.

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Wu ji quotes

  • Goddess Manshen: Once you have accepted your destiny, nothing can alter it unless time flows backwards, snow falls in the spring, and the dead come back to life.