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Author | Weinika

Editor | Li Chunhui

If you really putReverse Scale》If you watch it as a gangster crime film, you may lose a lot of interest.

On the surface, "The Wrath of the Titans" is set in Macau before the handover, where several gangs compete for the business of dance halls and casinos.Shen TengThe big brother Zunfei, played by the actor, mediates between various forces and constantly faces choices between friendship, morality and emotion. These plots are easily reminiscent of Hong Kong gangster films in the 1980s and 1990s.A Better Tomorrow》《The Killer》and a large number of pirated VCDs whose names we have forgotten.

On the other hand, we can also regard "The Wrath of the Titans" as a parody, ridicule and sentimentality of classic gangster films. In its Hong Kong-style scenes, there are almost no Cantonese lines, and all the dialogues are full of the flavor of Northeastern scum. A group of Northeasterners seem to be performing "Rebirth: I'm a Horseman in Macau Casino". This is a Northeasterner's remake of an old-school gangster film. Imagine Chow Yun-fat saying "Don't show me your face".

It is like the once popular "Wild Wolf Disco", which seems to be an imitation and rustic, but a closer look reveals a slightly sad black humor. "No matter how hot it is, I can't take off my fur coat", when we exaggerate and imitate to the point of being artificial, we are sincere and have dreams. It is the desire to stand out and want to "live decently", which is even more important than money and the opposite sex itself.

Zunfei and his brothers are a microcosm of the Northeasterners who went south to pursue their dreams in the 1990s. At that time, the Northeastern youth listened to Hong Kong and Taiwan pop music, watched Hong Kong gangster movies, and yearned for everything prosperous in the south. But after arriving on the other side, what awaited many small people was often not fame and fortune, but a heroic dream that was doomed to be shattered.

This is also the special feature of "The Infernal Affairs". Under the standard gangster film narrative, it is full of self-mockery of the little people, which forms a sharp contrast with the heroes in classic gangster films. In the chaotic era, it is better to say that the little people are intoxicated by the style of "being a big brother" rather than being fascinated by the various benefits of "being a big brother". Zun Fei, played by Shen Teng, always talks about "women" and "respectability", which is more like his imagination and conscious performance of the image of a "hero". The stage will eventually end, and all this is like a flash in the pan.

A gangster movie with a Northeastern flavor

Every young man has had a dream of being a gangster. The reason why classic gangster movies are so popular is not because of the violence and cruelty shown in the movies, but because they show the "morality" struggling in the grudges of the underworld. Before doing anything, don't ask right or wrong, just talk about the loyalty of the underworld, which is the orthodox value of classic gangster movies.

The story of "The Wrath of the Titans" is no exception. In the movie, Zun Fei only works as a lackey for the big boss Huang Chaojin for the sake of justice, and never covets too much; for the sake of justice, he can sacrifice the money he earned for retirement; in the end, for the sake of justice, brothers, and lover, he gambles his life to fight his way out.

From Zunfei and his brothers Yaowu and Xilai, we can see the classic gangster brotherhood, with a kind of "brothers say a word, I will go through fire and water". The movie takes the audience to experience the long-lost classic gangster story. The hero rose in the chaotic 1990s, tried his best in the treacherous world, but in the end he could only accept the tragic ending of fate.

However, the Northeastern flavor of "The Wrath of the Dragon" brings a strong sense of humor to the film, giving people a strange sense of freshness. As we all know, the Southern gangsters and the Northeastern gangsters are two gangster schools with completely different styles. When it comes to the Northeastern gangsters, it is easy to think of big gold chains and small gold watches. Many times, they fight "just because someone looked at you more in the crowd."

In the movie, Zunfei and his brothers are dressed in flowered shirts, small suits, and small leather shoes, dressed like southern gangsters, quite particular about style. But after watching for a long time, you will find that they are still the familiar northeastern flavor inside, simple, straightforward, and clear-headed. It has been said since ancient times that southern gangs are more fierce than northern gangs, not because they fight fiercely, but because they are good at planning and management.

As depicted in the new Northeast wasteland literature, in the 1990s, people in Northeast China faced a wave of layoffs and frustration in life, and many had to leave their hometowns. The same is true for Zunfei in the movie. He has no money and no connections. He just wants to live a decent life, so he took his brothers to Macau. Unlike the Young and Dangerous, Zunfei from Northeast China joined the gang not because he was bullied and wanted to treat others in their own way, but because he was brave enough to do something righteous. Zunfei accidentally saved the big boss Huang Chaojin, and Huang Chaojin solved his employment problem.

Huang Chaojin, played by Taiwanese gangster professional Gao Jie, is a typical southern gangster boss. He is good at calculating and treats everyone as a chess piece, paving the way for his own escape.

The Zunfeis encountered the best of times, but also the worst of times. They tried to stay awake in the midst of decadence, but they had no choice but to turn from pawns into abandoned pieces. The whole movie is like the lyrics and melody of "Wild Wolf Disco", a mix of the human relationships of the Northeast market and the fantasy of Hong Kong and Taiwan, using a retro and retro style to describe the frustration and setbacks of the little people in the Northeast.

The boss of the uncle flavor

Netizens jokingly called Shen Teng's version of the gangster boss the godfather of Xihong City. Shen Teng did not create a stereotypical gangster boss in "The Wrath of the Titans". But Zun Fei does not have the flavor of a twisted dough stick, but is more like a classic gangster in the style of Kitano Takeshi. He has the wisdom of the underworld, the self-deprecating and transparent handsomeness, and the idealism under the slick appearance. In the context of Northeast China, he is the image of an "uncle".

Niu Xiaowei in "A Northeastern Family" is a typical "street-dwelling" uncle. He is a laid-off old worker who has no money to mess around. He looks like a naughty boy, but he is a real man at the critical moment. When the grandmother sees the child's glib words, she will definitely criticize him without hesitation, saying "You learned it from your uncle." In the Northeast, uncles can indeed be regarded as godfathers. Calling them uncles is a great respect. In that era, although uncles were not successful, they did not accept their fate. They had big back hair, wore big leather jackets, and carried big mobile phones. They used exaggerated appearance to disguise their inner frustration and used face to support their inner self.

The same is true of Zun Fei in the movie. As a boxer, he never resigned himself to his fate and often said, "As long as I am alive, no one can defeat me." Rules are dead, but people are alive. Even though the intrigues among the upper interest groups forced Zun Fei to sink deeper and deeper into the quagmire, he still had a sense of pride. Even in the face of death, he had to use his own way, and no one could succeed.

If you look closely at Shen Teng's performance, you will find that the two sides of his face seem to be different. One side is the familiar friendly face, and the other side is the unfamiliar cold face. It is not surprising that some viewers always feel that the whole film is a comedy, because Shen Teng's face is indeed a bit confusing. There are many god-level actors who perform differently on both sides of their faces, such asGe You, Kitano Takeshi. Kitano Takeshi was caused by a car accident, half of which is chilling and half of which is smiling. Like Kitano Takeshi's movies, sometimes it is extremely explosive and sometimes extremely calm.

But Shen Teng's performance is different from this extreme aesthetics. He seems to want to give the audience a sense of alienation, so that some audiences can interpret his detachment and his helplessness from half of his face. It's like a little person who sincerely plays the hero in his heart, chasing the dream of rivers and lakes seen in stories, legends, and movies. The free soul is bound in a cautious body, which inexplicably brings a sense of tragic joy to the audience, and at the same time resonates with the life background of the little person.

In the end, Zunfei's rescue of the woman is more like a heroic image than a pure love warrior. In essence, Zunfei realized his heroic dream of "loving the country more than the beauty". Humans are animals hanging on the web of meaning they weave. When the movie exaggerates our imagination of the rivers and lakes in a romantic or tragic form, it allows us to see our own fantasies and clear the confusion.

Realistic absurd black humor

Although it has a Northeastern flavor and an uncle flavor, it does not diminish the brutal gangster aesthetics of "The Wrath of the Titans". In the movie, there are headshots and head twists that kill people without blinking an eye, and Zun Fei transforms into "Little Brother Ma" to recreate the scenes of machine gun fire and killing madly in a pool of blood.

What is even more special is that under the cruel aesthetics of "The Wrath of the Titans", the core is extremely realistic black humor. Each character has a contrasting side, breaking some of the audience's stereotypes. For example, Yaowu, a brother who has followed Zunfei for many years, seems to be a ruthless character. He was blamed for being released from prison and went through a lot of trouble. Everyone thought he was asking for money because of the uneven distribution of benefits. It was not until the moment before his death that he told the truth. He just complained that his elder brother did not visit him enough and wanted to hear an apology from his elder brother. What a sickly brother!

Zhang YuqiSu Xiao, played by Su Xiao, appears to be a mistress who depends on a gangster boss, but in fact, she is independent, dares to love and hate, and only wants to leave her hometown. Facing Zun Fei's advice, she directly retorted to him: Even if I can't take the property with me, I will leave by myself. In contrast, it is the man's feelings for her that are sticky and dragging.

Zun Fei seems to be unconventional and ambitious, but he sticks to simple principles. His younger brothers are arrogant and want to make a big fortune, but Zun Fei never forgets to remind them of the "law of the jungle". The meat on the top of the mountain is watched by the big tiger, and interests that should not be touched should never be touched. Even on the boat, he will never let his men gamble. He must fulfill his promises to others, even in the most tragic way. He can break his promise to Su Xiao for the sake of brotherhood, and he can also sacrifice his life to fulfill his promise to Su Xiao.

People live in this world, fighting for their lives, and they must abide by the principles they set until death. Zun Fei is like Fan Debiao in "Marshal Ma". Even though he is rolling in the quagmire of life, he never forgets to resist fate and maintain his dignity. This is the "stubbornness" engraved in the bones of Northeastern people.

Zun Fei's principles are like his "reverse scales". The term "reverse scales" comes from "Han Feizi·Shuo Nan Chapter 12". According to legend, there is a white scale the size of a palm under the neck of a dragon, which is in the shape of a crescent moon, commonly known as the reverse scale. Once a person touches it, he will be hurt by it. The big boss Huang Chaojin can use him, but he cannot touch Zun Fei's principled issues. Touching the "reverse scales" triggers Zun Fei's anger mechanism.

The last part of the movie is likeLong seasonBiaozi in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" drove a car with no way back, heading straight to the end of his life. He realized his wish and fulfilled all his promises. Fate has already written the fate of the little people, but Zunfei and Biaozi, even if they are covered with wounds, will fight to the last moment.

To only view "The Wrath of the Titans" as a clichéd crime and gangster film is like viewing "Wild Wolf Disco" as a local rock film. They both inject the Northeastern people's era tragedy into the parody of Hong Kong style. Shen Teng's version of the gangster boss is not Chen Haonan, nor is he Xiao Ma Ge. He is just a stubborn uncle who refuses to admit defeat.