Chapter 118 Hot Review Storm
Chapter 118 Hot Review Storm
"From the popular movies, we can see the "retreat" of the new generation of Chinese directors!"
This was a post that suddenly went viral online the day after "The Fatal Call" was released. It can also be said to be the fuse for the box office explosion of "The Fatal Call".
"Just yesterday, I had nothing to do, so I walked into the cinema.
I originally wanted to watch "Huo Yuanjia", but a poster aroused my interest.
The slogan on the poster made me sneer.
'Chinese people's own science fiction movie', this kind of words are really laughable.
Are there any science fiction movies in China?
And for the author, Hong Kong movies are more exciting than mainland movies.
Take Huo Yuanjia, which was released at the same time, for example. It has the advantages common to all Hong Kong films:
The rhythm is brisk, the camera moves smoothly, the dubbing is friendly and pleasant, the dialogue is refined and powerful, the soundtrack is fashionable and infectious, and the music and plot are closely integrated every second. The overall feeling is immersive and involved. Even if the canned music is a bit repetitive, the effect is outstanding.
These advantages, coupled with a compact plot and exciting moments, as well as crisp action scenes and the conflict between good and evil, are enough to quickly catch the audience's attention.
Even though the performances of the characters in those movies are somewhat formulaic and stereotyped, the sophisticated techniques have greatly lowered the threshold for audience understanding, making it extremely easy to appreciate and highly entertaining.
It's like eating fast food, canned food and instant noodles: although they are not top-notch dishes, with a strong MSG taste and many additives, they can easily allow most people to get a pretty good viewing experience.
The above-mentioned advantages are almost all lacking in mainland films, whether they are old films in the past or blockbusters made by big directors today.
They all have almost the same problems, that is, the camera movement and composition are rigid, the atmosphere is dull and rustic, the music is old-fashioned, and even if the subject matter is light-hearted, they often have a stern face and pretend to be profound. They like to tell big truths, treat the audience as their students and subordinates, try to cram their own thoughts into the audience's minds, and at the same time tell you how advanced they are.
If watching Hong Kong movies is like having a colorful dream, it is like traveling in the world of cartoons and video games, or like eating cakes, drinking soda, tasting hamburgers and visiting Disneyland.
Then watching mainland movies is just like strolling in the small commodity world at the fringe of urban and rural areas. Even those so-called big scenes and big productions cannot conceal their pale expressiveness and hypnotic effect.
However, the above concepts and views have changed a lot after I watched "The Call", which is known as a science fiction film.
Perhaps my ideas still have their own limitations. At least after watching this movie, I feel that the new generation of directors in the mainland has begun to "regress".
Yes, I used the word “regress” here.
This is not a disparagement, but a compliment.
Perhaps my previous remarks will make many related filmmakers unhappy, and many people will criticize me, saying that the advantages of Hong Kong films are actually a kind of backward aesthetic that is not worthy of being presented in high-end theaters, nor can they win awards at major film festivals.
But there is a saying that goes, 'If you don't like what the people like, who are you?'
Yes, in some people's mouths, movies are high art.
Yes, the taste of the mature assembly line always makes people feel that it lacks sincerity and cooking skills, and the delicious instant noodles also have a cheap taste that is not suitable for banquets.
But instant noodles allow most people to get a high degree of refreshment in the easiest way, and the taste and aroma of instant noodles are also the result of a mature industry. It is not as easy as imagined to surpass them. Fortunately, I saw this kind of gratifying "retreat" in the new generation of Chinese directors yesterday.
The director of "Fatal Call" is named Wang Hao. According to the information I found, he is only 24 years old this year.
Yes, you read it right. This director who can shoot blockbuster movies for theaters was born in 81. He just graduated from the directing department of Beijing Film Academy last year. Before that, he shot two excellent TV movies, "Buried" and "The Shallows", on the movie channel.
"Fatal Call" is his third film and his first theatrical blockbuster. It belongs to a series called "Labyrinth of the Heart" with his first two films.
Obviously, this new generation director is very ambitious and has demonstrated his strength perfectly.
At least in the movie "Fatal Call", I did not see the shortcomings of those mainland movies. Instead, I found many advantages that are the same as Hong Kong movies and even Hollywood movies.
The rhythm is tight, the suspense is full, the camera movements are crisp, and the music is harmonious...
While watching the movie, I even thought I was watching a Hollywood blockbuster. The chase and gun battle scenes made my adrenaline rush.
As for the ending of the movie, I cannot spoil it, but I dare say that the imagination of this young director Wang Hao is absolutely unique among Chinese directors.
These are the new generation of directors in China, and these are the new generation of films after China’s opening up.
In him, I see the technical 'retreat' of the new generation of young Chinese filmmakers, but this also means their 'conceptual' is more inclusive and modern 'progress'.
I hope that there will be more young new generation directors like him in China, leading Chinese films onto a broader and more hopeful path!
A cabbage, written on January 2006, 1.
This post by a film critic named "A Cabbage" has caused a huge uproar on the Internet and also pushed "The Fatal Call" to the forefront.
Regarding his view that "stepping back is progress", netizens are divided into several camps.
Some agreed with him, some opposed him, and of course there were also those who just watched the fun and did nothing to help either side.
Those who agree with him think that today's mainland films are indeed not good to watch, the aesthetics are too old-fashioned, the texture of the films has a sense of "rustic", and they are not trendy and modern enough.
Those who oppose him believe that the so-called commercial blockbusters of Hollywood are actually just industrial garbage and modern saccharin. They lack the most important "thoughtfulness" of art and humanistic care. They will not last long, will not make people savor them for a long time, and will not touch people's hearts.
Such a film review also involves the big question of whether movies should be commercialized or artistic, making the Internet much more lively during this Spring Festival.
Regardless of whether you agree with it or not, "The Call", as the main subject of the argument, has finally become a small hit.
In particular, this film review gave Wang Hao the title of "China's New Era Filmmaker", and some people even began to call him the "Seventh Generation Director".
Wang Hao did not speak personally about this title.
But when this name spread from the Internet to reality, some people could no longer sit still.
(End of this chapter)