This article was first published on the Barcelona Film App.
On the evening of December 15th, Zhang Yimou's film "The Great Wall" was screened nationwide in advance. After the screening, word-of-mouth came out after the first wave of screenings. It can be said that it is horrible. Moments of friends and WeChat groups are ridiculing the badness of "The Great Wall". However, in fact, as long as you look at it from another angle, you will be pleasantly surprised to find that "The Great Wall" powerfully demonstrated the strength and style of my Chinese Olympic athletes in diving, shot put, pole vault, javelin, archery, equestrianism, gymnastics and other sports. And warned foreigners: We have been a sports power since ancient times, and we will never rely on doping to compete for the Olympic gold medal!
We walked into the cinema with the idea of watching a wonderful feature film. After watching it, we were disappointed, regretted, or distressed about the ticket price. In fact, our inherent impression blinded our eyes. Maybe we blamed Zhang Yimou. Maybe he is not making a Hollywood co-production film, maybe he is just following the trend of variety show adaptation movies, making a "Olympic Opening Ceremony Movie".
Of course, the above is just a joke.
After the screening of "The Great Wall", I once saw such remarks in the WeChat group: Lao Mouzi didn't have too many stories before, just making sticks. This time the story is enough, and the rest is viewing and entertaining. If he can integrate Chinese elements into Hollywood's advanced film industry, then the commercial films handed over will be excellent. Don't be too harsh.
Exo me? Excuse me, can the story of "The Great Wall" really be awarded a passing mark?
And, Zhang Yimou, is there really no story in the previous film works?
"Alive"
In my opinion, the story has always been the focus of Zhang Yimou's movies, and it is also its advantage. Whether Zhang Yimou's early or late works, as long as the script is polished exquisitely and touches people's hearts, it will basically be a masterpiece. Don't forget "Raise the Red Lantern" and "To Live", nor can we forget "The Love of Hawthorn Tree" and "The Return". Some of these movies may not be perfect, but they are meaningless if there is no repetitive polishing and tear-jerking plot.
"Three Shots Surprise"
Commercial movies such as "Codenamed Jaguar" and "Three Shots Surprise" have a mess. Even if there are big-name actors, the reputation is not much better. When director Wu Tianming was still alive, he once angrily denounced Zhang Yimou's "Three Shots Surprise". I believe that if he could see "The Great Wall" alive, he would also glared at the crime.
Apart from the photographer Zhao Xiaoding, Zhang Yimou's old partner, the screenwriter and producer of "The Great Wall" are all foreigners behind the scenes. In the interview, Andy Lau said frankly that although "The Great Wall" was filmed in China throughout, Zhang Yimou has always been under the foreign system. During the filming period of "The Great Wall", only shooting from Monday to Friday, with a maximum of 10 hours a day, and how many shots need to be completed in a limited time. In addition to the big-tone scenes that make people see Zhang Yimou's style, "The Great Wall" is like a monster film made by a second-rate foreign director, giving people a feeling that Zhang Yimou is being emptied as a whole.
Territory Map of the Northern Song Dynasty
The most prominent is the background setting that is full of loopholes. Ignore Jing Tian Andy Lau's fluent English. In the Song Dynasty, there was no such translation of "Spain"; Zhangye, located in the Danxia landform in the northwest of the Great Northwest, could not be reached within a few days from the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, Bianliang (now Kaifeng City), and no dynasty dared to set up the capital and frontier theater in such a way. Near (not North Korea and South Korea...);
Tao Tie, read "Tao Tie" in Chinese, and "Tao Tei" in English (??) In traditional Chinese culture, "Tao Tie" is a son of the dragon. "The Chinese "hot air balloon" in the movie just pushed forward the history of manned flight by 800 years; the black powder in the movie is even more powerful than the current explosive detonator, and it can catch up with the "Blood Battle on Hacksaw Ridge". The navy shelled for cover.
In addition, there were very few established female troops in ancient times, let alone female generals. In the battlefields of Ming and Qing Dynasties, women were often used as absurd "yin gate formations". The ancients believed that female genitals, menstruation, and urinary feces could cause spells to fail. In Lu Xun’s "A Chang and the Book of Mountains and Seas", A Chang said: "When soldiers came outside the city, Chang Mao told us to take off our pants and stand in rows on the wall. If you can’t let it go, if you want to let it go, it will explode.”
Secondly, there are actors. As we all know, Zhang Yimou is very good at discovering outstanding actresses. From Gong Li, Wei Minzhi, Dong Jie to Zhang Ziyi and Zhou Dongyu, the heroines in Zhang Yimou's movies often have very good performances.
But this time, Zhang Yimou "boldly" used Ms. Jing Tian, who had never been able to act but appeared everywhere, as the heroine. Jing Tian's role in "The Great Wall" is second only to Matt Damon. However, Jing Tian's acting skills are far from those of the above-mentioned actresses, and she has no qualifications for comparison. Perhaps this should not be Zhang Yimou's decision.
As for other Chinese actors, they should not be blamed for their bad performances, but the scripts simply did not write their roles well. In addition to the fullness of Andy Lau's characters, each one is as vulnerable as a piece of paper, becoming the living props of the movie.
However, "The Great Wall" really inherited Zhang Yimou's style, that is, those foreign protagonists who were so muddled and unhappy as if they were a confidant a moment ago, they immediately became heroic and majestic, tall and majestic images after they met the heroine. Stay for the righteousness (Nv) and righteousness (Ren) against evil. Before, "Jinling Thirteen Hairpins" Christian Bell decided to stay in Nanjing City with a forehead shot, and then "The Great Wall" Matt Damon decided to stay and fight monsters with a beat on the thigh. Foreigners are all living Lei Feng.
With Zhang Yimou's ability to excavate actors and the level of training, it stands to reason that he would rather start a newcomer than let Jing Tian play the leading role. There will not be so many loopholes regardless of settings. What's more, this is a project that took two or three years to study and shoot. So this "The Great Wall", like "Three Shots", was filmed by him with his eyes closed, which is cheating money. Or, it was Zhang Yimou who was forced to take pictures in order to complete the task. In short, with Zhang Yimou's qualifications, he should be very clear about what level of things he is shooting this time.
Maybe we really blamed Zhang Yimou. Maybe, behind every frame you see, there is a person pointing a gun at his head.
Before the PS deadline, I saw an interview with Zhang Yimou and said that he hoped that the Chinese audience would feel proud after reading it.
Hmm... Let's watch the Olympics.
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