2024-08-20
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
Text丨Ah He
Editor: Ai Luo
When the box office fails, the director goes crazy first. Director Hu Mei, who left a message at the premiere saying "Let the box office be whatever it wants, let it be", is no exception.
After the postponement of the release date, the film "Dream of Red Mansions: A Perfect Marriage” (hereinafter referred to as “A Marriage of Love and Fortune”) finally met with the audience at the end of the summer season. In terms of box office, “A Marriage of Love and Fortune” only earned a mere 4.3 million in box office revenue in 4 days, and its share of the screening schedule dropped to 1%; in terms of word of mouth, Douban’s short review area was flooded with one- and two-star negative reviews, and it was ridiculed that “the only beneficiary of this movie isLi Shaohong", "Waiting to be criticized by bloggers for team building."
Faced with such a situation, director Hu Mei posted a series of posts on August 19 to respond to the negative reviews: "It's just a movie that has just been released. Where does the deep hatred come from, my friend?" She directly pointed out that the bad reviews received by this work, which took her 18 years and the most effort in her life, were deliberately done by someone.
Director Hu Mei responded with a post, and shortly after posting the post, she selected the comments section
As a classic IP, every adaptation of "Dream of Red Mansions" will be subject to strict scrutiny by readers. The focus of discussion extends from casting and acting to plot setting, picture quality, costumes and props, which are destined to be accompanied by heated discussions and controversy. As a work presented to the audience of the 2020s,How to make contemporary adaptations of classic masterpieces is both a difficult problem and a challenge for creators.
But unfortunately, the answer delivered by director Hu Mei was a ridiculous work.The adaptation of the work only made a bold response to the distortion and misunderstanding of market preferences, but lacked quality in key aspects such as the core of the work, narrative rhythm, and production level.Not only can the audience not seeDream of the Red Chamber》 is not what it should be, and there is no sign of the director’s understanding of the work. It is not unfair that it lost both at the box office and in terms of reputation.
It has always been an indisputable fact that "the Dream of the Red Chamber is difficult to change".Among the four great classics, Dream of the Red Chamber is the most difficult to adapt. The other three works all have independent and rich unit plots for screenwriters to adapt, such asJourney to the West》is composed ofHavoc in Heaven》《Three Strikes on the White-Bone Demon》and many other popular unit stories.But "Dream of Red Mansions" is different. Its narrative is slow and peaceful, and the plot clues are often subtle and cryptic.If "Dream of Red Mansions" is to be adapted, one can either choose to adapt the entire novel into a film or select individual chapters or characters to make a movie.
andIt would be easy to "bite off more than you can chew" by cramming multiple classic plots from "Dream of the Red Chamber" into one movie.This is particularly evident in the 116-minute "A Dream of Red Mansions", which faces a problem from beginning to end - how to make the bulky "Dream of Red Mansions" "thin" to make it look more simple and easy to understand.
The film deliberately breaks the chronological order of the original work, and tells the whole film in reverse order from Jia Baoyu's becoming a monk, and traces Lin Daiyu's return to Suzhou to attend the funeral in the form of memories, as well as the love-hate entanglement between "Bao Dai Chai". Wang Xifeng embezzled Lin Ruhai's property to build the Grand View Garden, and finally betrayed Bao Dai's love with a "switch plan", which constituted the core conflict and turning point of the whole story. The film tried to explain the main story of "Dream of Red Mansions" in a limited time, but the final result was shallow and fragmented.
The jumping feeling in the plot makes people feel very uncomfortable. For example, in the first half, famous scenes such as Jia Baoyu's wandering in the universe, Xue Baochai's coincidental recognition of the psychic, Lin Daiyu's angry purse cutting, Liu Laolao's visit to the Grand View Garden, Jia Mu's birthday celebration, and the Begonia Poetry Society are restored one after another, but it looks likeIt's a whirlwind tour with no continuity. Most of the famous scenes are just passed by, and the plot is just followed.
The Image of Qin Keqing in A Dream of Red Mansions
The relationship between the characters is also unclear.For example, as Mrs. Wang's maid, Zhou Ruijia's deep friendship with Mrs. Wang was not revealed in the film, and their relationship was no different from that of an ordinary master and servant. The existence of lower-class people such as Granny Liu and Jiao Da also seemed quite abrupt in the film. When 97-year-old Lu Yan's mother said to Granny Liu, played by 64-year-old Ding Jiali, "You are a few years older than me," the sense of humor was almost ready to burst out. As for the famous scene of "Jiao Da's drunken scolding," it flashed by in the film. Jiao Da appeared like a grassroots righteous man, and after being taught a lesson, he quickly "went offline", leaving Baoyu's inquiry echoing in his ears: "What is stealing ashes?"
The same is true of Baoyu and Daiyu's relationship, which progresses hastily. Because the film deliberately skips the "first meeting between Baoyu and Daiyu" and starts from Daiyu's return from the funeral, the emotional intensity of Baoyu and Daiyu as soon as they meet again is seriously exceeded - they hold hands and look at each other affectionately. The relationship between the two develops rapidly, but there is a sense of "love without knowing where it comes from". The cause, occurrence, and process of love are all ignored. The lack of foreshadowing in the early stage also directly leads to the lack of strength of Daiyu's tragic ending in the later stage:From reading The West Chamber together to Daiyu burying flowers to Daiyu burning manuscripts, famous scenes were thrown out one after another, but they could not shake the audience's emotions at all.
It is said that director Hu Mei originally planned to adapt the original novel into a trilogy, but due to limited funds, she failed to do so. However, facts speak louder than words. As for the quality of "A Dream of Red Mansions", it seems that its failure has only verified a simple truth: using the length of a single movie to present the entire "Dream of Red Mansions" is a joke in itself.
Baoyu and Daiyu's meeting in A Dream of Red Mansions
Compared to the love line in the film,The controversy over the adaptation of "A Perfect Match" mainly lies in the conspiracy line.Compared to the original novel, the plot line in the film does not seem like a conspiracy, but rather an open conspiracy. Many obscure clues in the original novel have been brought to the surface for explanation.
Film and television adaptations don’t have to follow the original work, and deconstructing classics has always been a huge challenge for directors and screenwriters. However, the impression delivered by this adaptation of the conspiracy line is contrary to the original intention. The "deviant" interpretation not only fails to highlight the depth and boldness of understanding, but seems to misread market preferences, appearing shallow and exaggerated.
Soon after the film begins, the problem of the Jia family's shortage of silver is mentioned - they owe the court official silver. This is a very secret clue in the original novel, and it is almost not made clear because it involves the court's "face project".Yongzheng DynastyHu Mei, who wrote "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", made "A Marriage Between Love and Fortune" and "Yongzheng Dynasty" a "dream linkage" and directly pointed out this hidden line. The men of Rong and Ning Mansions gathered together to discuss countermeasures like gangsters.
"Jia Tun Lin Cai" adapted from "A Dream of Red Mansions"
Compared with previous adaptations of A Dream of Red Mansions, the most daring aspect of The Golden Marriage is its"Jia Tunlin Wealth"In the movie, Wang Xifeng and Jia Lian and his wife had two late night discussions about this matter, and after Wang Xifeng made up her mind to swallow up the Lin family's property, she also got Jia's mother's tacit approval.
Little did people know that the "Jia swallowed up Lin's wealth" in the film has been controversial since the publication of "Dream of Red Mansions" in the Qing Dynasty. From a serious perspective, this matter itself is groundless. In the original novel, Jia Lian just casually said "Where can I get another three or two million silver coins?" There is no evidence to prove that the "windfall" Jia Lian mentioned is the inheritance left by Lin Ruhai to Daiyu. Later generations only speculated based on this, believing that Lin Ruhai was a salt inspector during his lifetime and should have left a large inheritance, but these inheritances disappeared later and were probably swallowed up by the Jia family.
Filming this incident explicitly would inevitably involve certain risks and be criticized by readers. So why did Hu Mei, knowing that it was "impossible to do it", insist on putting this incident into the film and making a big fuss about it? The reason is simple, because making this incident explicit can enhance the drama of the film and the tragedy of Daiyu - she is alone and helpless, being plotted against, and finally dying alone.
Wang Xifeng's "switch plan" was adapted to be more blatant, and it was clearly aimed at the Xue family's property. In the original novel, Wang Xifeng's "hiding the news and making strange plans" were not revealed too much in the film. Instead, in order to facilitate the marriage of Jia Baoyu and Xue Baochai, many characters in the film were "redesigned". For example, Mrs. Wang and Aunt Xue's disgust for Daiyu was very direct. Mrs. Wang bluntly said that Daiyu "looked like a poor woman", and Aunt Xue looked disdainful after hearing it, which was very different from the original novel's "Auntie's loving words comforted the foolish girl".
Lin Daiyu in "A Dream of Red Mansions: A Perfect Marriage"
The most direct problem brought about by "conspiracy turning into open conspiracy" is that the story becomes more secular, which erodes the pure charm of the original work and turns the entanglement of "Bao, Dai and Chai" into a family-oriented painful love story of youth, which is shallow and vulgar.
This feeling of "youth pain" also permeates the young actors' understanding of the characters. The three actors who played Bao, Dai and Chai in the "Golden Marriage" road show talked about the regrets of their characters, "Not marrying Lin Daiyu as expected" and "Two soulmates didn't end up together"... The answers are not out of place when transferred to the costume idol drama. But how can this be blamed on the leading actors who were only 16/20/17 years old during the filming? Even netizens in the comment area saw that the director and the entire crew did not do a good job in guiding the actors.
Audience comments in the roadshow video comment section
This shallowness and misunderstanding is also directly reflected inMovie TitleThe title of "A Marriage of Love" was inspired by the movie "A Marriage of Love" (1977) directed by Hong Kong director Li Hanxiang. Both Li Hanxiang and Hu Mei intended to highlight the love element through the title. But in fact, such a name is controversial. Because the "A Marriage of Love" in the original work symbolizes Xue Baochai's "golden lock" and Jia Baoyu's "spiritual jade". The real reference to Baoyu and Daiyu's feelings is actually "wood and stone alliance".
Fans of the book generally believe that the opening of Dream of Red Mansions writes "The Former Alliance of Wood and Stone" to oppose "The Perfect Match of Gold and Jade", which points out the usurpation of "The Perfect Match of Gold and Jade" - "Everyone says it is a perfect match of gold and jade, but I only think of the Former Alliance of Wood and Stone". Even so, the film still does not name it "The Former Alliance of Wood and Stone", which is probably becauseDue to market considerations"A Dream of Splendor" is less popular and not as catchy as "A Dream of Splendor".
Such a "bold" adaptation not only fails to offer a modern interpretation worthy of appreciation, but also weakens the interpretation of the core of the original work. It can be said to be a failed adaptation.
The "vulgarity" of "A Marriage between a Golden Flower and a Jadeite" is far more than this, and is more directly manifested inMakeup, camera movement, musicAnd so on.
Long before the movie was released, the film had aroused the disgust of netizens due to its overly strong makeup. For example, in the scene of "Baoyu and Daiyu first met", Baoyu's face was covered with heavy makeup, just like a New Year's picture doll. But the film is far more than that. After watching it, you will find that the characters in the film not only have strong makeup, but also the makeup of the same character in the same scene fluctuates. For example, in the scene of "Daiyu cutting a sachet", Daiyu and Baoyu quarreled, and Daiyu's makeup was sometimes light and sometimes heavy. Her face was pale in the close-up, but slightly gorgeous in the middle. It is obvious that the scene was shot twice with makeup, and the script supervisor was not careful enough, resulting in the difference between the makeup before and after.
After the 2010 version of Dream of Red Mansions was aired, it was criticized for its low saturation of filters and spooky background music. Learning from the previous experience of the TV series, A Perfect Match took a completely different approach - the color palette was mainly high saturation to highlight the magnificence of the Jia Mansion, while the background music was mainly grand narrative symphony to set the mood.
Despite their different paths, the two works have the same end result, and have not won the audience's favor with their audiovisuals. The audiovisual affectation of "A Marriage of Gold and Jade" is obvious:
On the one hand,The studio feeling is too strongThe frequent overhead shots not only lack aesthetic appeal, but also expose the shortcomings of studio shooting. The meaningless appearance of CG empty shots brings out a cheap online game texture, especially the scene of "Daiyu burying flowers", which is simply soul-stirring.Eternal Love》；
On the other hand,Although BGM appears frequently and densely, but there is nothing memorable about it. It is grand just for the sake of being "grand". It is not at all as memorable as "Song of Burying Flowers", the soundtrack of the 1987 version of "Dream of Red Mansions".
The visual setting of Dream of Red Mansions: A Perfect Marriage
I thought that, like most adaptations of Dream of the Red Chamber, casting and performance would be the fatal flaws of The Golden Marriage.After counting all the shortcomings of the adaptation, casting and performance have become the least noteworthy flaws of the film.It can be seen that the actors in the film tried very hard to play their roles well, but due to the fact that the overall framework of the film was not properly built and the character settings were off track, most of the characters were not ideal in the end.
Take the role of Lin Daiyu as an example. Before entering the Jia Mansion, she knew that the relationships in the Jia Mansion were complicated and she "dared not say a word", but what she did in the Jia Mansion was that she became petty and became the norm. Because Baochai's palace flowers were sent around before finally being given to her, she directly tore off the palace flowers and threw them away in front of Zhou Rui's wife; when she first met Baochai, Daiyu ran into Baoyu and Baochai's "affectionate" moment, and she acted petty and teased Baochai in front of her, and then left in the rain angrily.
This image of Daiyu is more like a restoration of the image in the book.Restoring Daiyu's "stereotype"In fact, Lin Daiyu in the original novel is not only yandere, but also humorous and multifaceted. Baochai once placed Daiyu's high-level humor above Wang Xifeng's street humor.
The same problem also occurs with Baochai. The film deliberately magnifiesThe “Female Competition” between Baochai and Daiyu, and instead ignore the "enemies and friends" of the two in the original book - sometimes subtle hostility, sometimes mutual appreciation. However, Baochai in the movie always shows a petty air in her micro-expressions such as pouting and frowning, which is far from the generous Xue Baochai in the minds of book fans.
RatherDirector Hu Mei is facing a huge mountain of adapting famous Chinese novels, but it would be more accurate to say that she is facing a huge mountain to climb over herself.
Just as netizens are keen to compare "The Legend of Mi Yue" with the TV version of "A Dream of Red Mansions" (2010) directed by Li Shaohong: Hu Mei and Li Shaohong are classmates in the directing department of the Beijing Film Academy in 1978, and both are influential female directors in China; Hu Mei has a close connection with the TV version of "A Dream of Red Mansions". Before Li Shaohong took over, she was in charge of this project. During the preparation period, she had a disagreement with the investors and withdrew from the project. Only then did Li Shaohong "save the day" take over; before the release of "The Legend of Mi Yue", "A Dream of Red Mansions" directed by Li Shaohong was regarded as the worst adaptation in history, with a Douban score of only 5.8. The audience can't help but wonder whether the reputation of "The Legend of Mi Yue" will further bottom out.
In the end, from the characters to the plot, "A Marriage of Gold and Jade" has many flaws in all aspects. Rather than saying that Hu Mei is recreating the "Bao, Dai, and Chai" in the book, it is better to say that she is recreating the "Bao, Dai, and Chai" in her own understanding and even imagination.
Perhaps, from the moment the film was named "A Marriage of Gold and Jade" to flatter the market, it had already deviated from the original work. And it is understandable that the public is unwilling to pay for such a work.
Rather than letting it take advantage of the summer season and bring distorted, one-sided, and thin adaptation information to young audiences, it is better to let it flood the market and stop the damage here, avoiding misleading and ambiguous remarks on classic masterpieces in a greater sense.
Collect and organize the latest news information and make it available for free for everyone to read
