"the past by the water": curiosity, fear and dissolution
2024-08-31
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"border water past" had a "low start", but the plot in the first half was quite exciting, and with the blessing of high reputation, it gradually became popular, and its popularity also increased significantly. the plot in the middle and second half was slightly weak, and the ending was not bad. overall, it is a suspense drama with good watchability.
poster of "borderwater past"
if we want to be more specific about how "a time to live and a time to die" attracts audiences, there is a very easy-to-understand explanation: this is how "gone girl" and "all or nothing" achieved high box office results, and "a time to live and a time to die" is essentially the same path.
"border water past" is adapted from real experiences. the original author shen xingxing created this memoir-style novel based on her personal experience in myanmar. although the background of the series is changed to a fictional burma federation and even a burma language is created, the audience can easily associate the burma federation with "southeast asia" in domestic film and television creations.
book cover of "bianshui past", author shen xingxing
the protagonist shen xing (played by guo qilin) accidentally enters the "sanbianpo" (corresponding to the "golden triangle" in reality) of the bomo federation in order to find his uncle. the sanbianpo in the play can be described in one word, which is "lawless", which is what shen xing asked: is there no law here?
shen xing (played by guo qilin)
it is almost equivalent to nothing, so sanbianpo is essentially a jungle society.
law and order are non-existent, and the strong are kings. the "strong" gradually consolidate their position through monopoly, illegal activities, collusion with political forces, and constant struggle. the weak are at the bottom of the food chain, and they either rely on the strong for protection or try to turn things around in their constant struggle.
the struggle for resources is a daily occurrence in sanbianpo. due to the lack of an effective resource allocation mechanism, the powerful will use all means to obtain and monopolize resources (from timber to ore), and will do anything for the sake of profit. any dispute will quickly escalate into violent conflict.
morality and justice are both rare and luxurious. in the absence of legal guidance, people's behavior standards are either for self-protection or for profit. some behaviors that are considered immoral in normal society may be considered necessary means of survival here. the line between loyalty and betrayal has become extremely blurred, and everyone is ready to choose to sell out or betray for the sake of profit.
after mao pan (played by xin haojiang) appeared, he became the most disgusting character in "the past by the water". mao pan is a spoiled young man with super male syndrome characteristics. he enjoys hurting others and regards other people's lives as worthless. for example, he forced lao li to put a king cobra on shen xing's bed in an attempt to kill him. when lao li refused, he hanged lao li; he used a dirty trick to crush shen xing to death with a newly cut tree... mao pan is not only a manifestation of individual malignancy, but also a reflection of the local "lawlessness".
mao pan (played by xin haojiang)
guo limin (zhao runnan) represents another type of person. he was initially just a small person struggling to survive in this complex and dangerous place. fate was particularly harsh on him. his mother's serious illness required a huge amount of surgery fees, and he himself was repeatedly bullied and oppressed... guo limin eventually embarked on the path of evil.
guo limin (played by zhao runnan)
guo limin's darkening did not happen overnight, but gradually accumulated and gradually sank. this is actually a helpless response to the local "lawlessness". in a jungle society where the strong prey on the weak, kindness and justice often cannot get the due rewards, which led guo limin astray. he thought that only by becoming stronger and more ruthless could he protect himself from harm, and he "drew his blade against the weaker ones."
but tuo is one of the most charming characters in "the waterside". he has a tenacious, loyal and hardworking side, and a hidden and mysterious side. more importantly, in this "lawless" place, he can stick to the bottom line and always be loyal to his family, brothers and friends. unfortunately, it is too difficult to be a good person here. the price is either conscience or life.
dan tuo (played by jiang qilin)
uncle cai (played by francis ng), who is the most far-sighted, must have a soft spot in his heart, such as when he let shen xing go. however, how can he be clean if he wants to gain a foothold in sanbianpo and become the leader of sanbianpo? whether uncle cai was involved in drugs earlier, and whether he will continue to be involved in drugs in the future, the answer is probably yes.
uncle guess (played by francis ng)
in short, "past events by the edgewater" has repeatedly verified one point through its rich group portraits: in this "lawless" land, evil grows rampantly and good is difficult to survive.
the evil guo limin can only "rot" together
wang anquan (played by jiang qiming) also completely gave up on himself in this "rotten" environment.
in this "lawless" state, drug trafficking, human trafficking, gambling, murder and robbery seem so commonplace, bringing a strong curiosity effect to the audience, continuing and strengthening the impression of "gone with the wind" and "all or nothing" about the chaos in certain foreign regions.
curiosity is part of human nature. people are always curious about unknown, mysterious and strange things. if the story takes place in china, there will be certain restrictions on the creation and presentation of curiosity. in order to meet this challenge, many stories choose to be set in southeast asia, or so-called "fictional".
on the one hand, this is not completely contrary to reality. some countries or regions outside the region do face a series of social problems, such as war, poverty, fraud, drug trafficking, human trafficking, etc. these problems provide a large number of realistic themes for film and television creation, allowing the works to touch on a wider range of realistic issues.
on the other hand, the large scale of the fictional background can safely pass the censorship and fully satisfy the audience's curiosity. for example, the "lawless" jungle state, the extreme presentation of human evil, the cruel killing method, the weird sacrificial ceremony and other scenes not only challenge the audience's psychological endurance limit, but also give a strong visual impact, allowing the audience to feel the tension and excitement that domestic stories do not have.
therefore, the first level of why "waterside story" is so good is the same as the "good" aspects of "gone girl" and "all or nothing": it turns out that place is so messy and scary!
stills from "borderwater past"
along with the curiosity, "past events by the waterside" stimulates fear in the audience.
the sanbianpo in the play is a world full of threats and insecurity. every inch of land exudes a dangerous atmosphere. the people here live on the edge of a knife, ready to face sudden crises or death at any time. although this is far from the audience's daily life, shen xing's perspective as a chinese, as well as the ubiquitous chaos, blood, killing and death, easily bring the audience into the atmosphere created in the play, creating an immersive sense of fear.
the sense of fear has two directions. first, by placing the audience in an extreme environment, it not only stimulates the audience's instinctive fear of the unknown and danger, but more importantly, it prompts the audience to think about the root cause of this state. the "lawlessness" of sanbianpo is not accidental, but the result of institutional deficiency and corruption. this can inspire the audience to reflect on the relationship between the environment, the system and human nature, and whether there are similar hidden dangers in real society.
"the past by the waterside" contains such thoughts, but they are relatively limited, mainly because of some flaws in shen xing's character setting. for example, this is clearly a "lawless" jungle society, but shen xing is still willing to stay here. should there be a more reasonable motivation?
shen xing came back smiling
if it is because some of the dark sides of shen xing's humanity were aroused, or he was attracted by a kind of illusory "lawlessness", so that he lost himself for a while, then the relationship between the bad environment and bad human nature should also be more fully demonstrated, so as not to make shen xing's character in the second half appear frivolous, greasy and exaggerated. once shen xing's actions lack rationality, the plot's thinking about the relationship between the environment and human nature will become empty.
shen xing persuaded dan tuo to leave uncle cai. but his character is a bit "split" and his acting is superficial. there is a risk of life at any time here. shouldn't shen xing have known it long ago? didn't he come back with uncle cai with a smile?
the second direction of fear is similar to that in "gone with the wind" and "all or nothing" - creating fear is to dispel fear and to remind the audience: we are safe.
at the end of the plot, tuo and shen xing have such a conversation.
but tuo said to shen xing: "i envy you."
shen xing wondered: "what do you envy me for?"
but taku said, "lucky."
shen xing smiled slightly, "am i lucky?"
but tuo said, "you were born in china, so your life is not good?"
stills from "borderwater past"
from "the vanishing girl" to "the waterside story", the chaos and danger of those virtual locations in the works are particularly prominent compared to the stable social order in china. we can experience the excitement brought by fear at a safe distance without worrying about the real consequences. this experience not only satisfies the audience's curiosity about the unknown, but also provides a way to escape the pressure of daily life; the dissipation of fear makes the audience cherish and appreciate the safe environment in china more, and to a certain extent strengthens the audience's national pride and sense of belonging.
therefore, although "past events by the edgewater" is very large in scale, it is actually quite "main theme".
many people look down on "gone girl" and "all or nothing", but to be fair, it is not easy to make a curious story fascinating. for example, the mist theater once had a film "gold rush" that touched on this issue earlier, but it was filmed in a foggy way. "waterside" is a commercial success because it is "good-looking" and can keep the audience watching.
what's more, with the supervision of producer cao baoping and the advantage of the series' greater narrative capacity, the story of "past by the border water" is richer, the scale is more vivid, and the group portrait is more three-dimensional.
however, due to various subjective and objective factors, the value of "waterside memories" is basically the same as "the vanishing girl" and "all or nothing". they all come to the same conclusion: the outside world is too chaotic, and we are so safe and happy.
zeng yuli
(this article is from the paper. for more original information, please download the "the paper" app)
