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"the treasure land in front of the door": it turns out that we are part of the play between guo biting and xiang zuo

director xu haofeng finally has a new film released!

i use the word "finally" because the last movie he directed that was shown to audiences in theaters in mainland china was "the last airbender" in 2016.the archer liu baiyuan》。

in 2017, his work "hidden blade" premiered at an overseas film festival, but has not yet been released in mainland china; the official announcement of "poetry eyes tired of the world" in 2018, after a batch of stills were released after filming many years ago, there has been no news of its release or screening at a film festival.

for many years, the film industry has only heard of xu haofeng but has never seen any of his new films.

the film "the treasure land at the doorstep", which was finally released, was written and directed by xu haofeng and his brother xu junfeng, continuing the director's unique narrative and visual style.

however, what everyone is more curious about is probably the main actor.xiang zuoperformance.

"treasure land at the doorstep"

the film revolves around the struggle for leadership of a martial arts school in tianjin during the republic of china period, and the story framework conforms to the routine of traditional martial arts films.

the master passed away, the eldest disciple(played by andy on)with the master's son(played by xiang zuo)a duel broke out to compete for the position of head of the martial arts school.

the eldest disciple's new practices caused unrest in the industry, and everyone invited the old director's son to come back for a competition.

in order to prevent failure in the competition, the eldest disciple took extreme actions, which caused changes in the martial arts world that would never have happened in the previous generation.

xiang zuo and the eight-cut knife in "the treasure land in front of the door"

this film not only tells a martial arts story, but also explores the collision between the world, human nature and historical culture.

the 51-year-old director xu haofeng has made a number of films, includingthere is her place》《traces of japanese pirates, to the later "master" and "archer liu baiyuan", the style is always unique.

his works are a fusion of traditional martial arts spirit and realism. they trace back to the traditional martial arts spirit and present a stern view of reality, forming a unique martial arts aesthetic with a literary temperament.

xu haofeng's films have become a "treasure land" in contemporary martial arts films, providing audiences with a new way to interpret martial arts and reality.

"the treasure land at the doorstep" reflects the joys and sorrows of society in the republic of china through the conflicts between martial arts groups, allowing the audience to feel the unique customs and martial arts spirit of that era.

the scene arrangement and narrative style in the film also continue xu haofeng's elegant aesthetic style.

the whole film has a cold tone, and the scene layout is simple and rustic, adding a sense of desolation to the world of martial arts.

the director is good at using fixed shots and long shots to highlight the continuity of fighting, which is also fully reflected in "the treasure land in front of the door".

there was news that the film was completed in 2022, and the trailer at that time showed the actress who played xiang zuo's mother.joey wong, which also caused fans to speculate whether wang zuxian decided to make a comeback after 18 years of retirement.

after all, xu haofeng has said many times that he is a super fan of joey wong.

this "still" of joey wong is actually from the movie "ashes of time, but the director at the time, wong kar-wai, chose to delete all of her scenes.

joey wong

"the treasure land at the doorstep" was finally released more than two years after it was filmed, which is considered a very fast process for xu haofeng in recent years.

the biggest highlight of this film is undoubtedly xiang zuo's performance.

how brilliant is it? at first glance, the audience would think that the script was written by xiang zuo himself and the heroine is xiang zuo's wife.guo biting, and this film is the first collaboration on the big screen for this couple who have been married for 5 years.

combined with the fact that xiang zuo wore a bright shirt at the premiere (literally "bright", while his wife guo biting was as low-key as a staff member who couldn't wait to get off work), and passionately spoke about how he was the producer of "the land at the doorstep" and that this film was his "destiny", and from time to time he demonstrated on the spot the "wing chun eight cuts" that he had practiced for months specifically for this film, there is of course no doubt about the actor xiang zuo's sincerity towards this film.

xiang zuo and guo biting at the premiere

meeting louis koo offline was a very strange experience. 99% of movie actors are more attractive in real life than they are in movies - the harsh big screen will erase some of their beauty, which is nothing new.

however, seeing xiang zuo in real life, one can't help but sigh how much an actor's image will be enhanced by having professional makeup and the cold and fierce fighting scenes that suit him.

the premiere also invited the action director of "the treasure land" liang shaohong.the grandmasteras wing chun consultant of "the last airbender", direct disciple of ip man, and junior fellow of bruce lee, liang shaohong's martial arts design complements director xu haofeng's "hard-core martial arts" style.

the collaboration between xu haofeng and liang shaohong began with "the grandmaster", when liang shaohong taught actor tony leung chiu-wai wing chun kung fu and formed a bond with xu haofeng.

afterwards, liang shaohong promised xu haofeng that if he could fully comprehend the essence of martial arts, he would teach him the real "eight cuts sword".

"the treasure land at the doorstep" took this as an opportunity to exchange "master" for "real kung fu" and presented a unique world of martial arts to the audience.

liao fan and the eight-chopping knife in "the master"

as mentioned above, xiang zuo not only plays the leading actor in the film, but also serves as the producer for the first time.

in order to film the eight cutting swords part, he went to liang shaohong's martial arts school in zhuhai two months in advance to study and undergo special training, striving to present the master's unique martial arts skills with real martial arts moves.

the fierce, swift and powerful punches he displayed in the film made him look even more fierce and faster than liao fan in "the master".

although the film's hard-hitting martial arts scenes are still at the top level among chinese-language films, there are obvious shortcomings in the narrative and character creation.

the narrative is fragmented, with the characters' logic and motivations often serving only to introduce the next fight scene, lacking coherence.

in the emotional scenes, xiang zuo's performance was rather awkward and his emotional expression was poor. it was hard to imagine that he could only make such incomprehensible expressions to his wife.

guo biting plays a mixed-race girl, and her performance is as out of place as her role and her identity as a mixed-race girl in the film.

every time she appears, it's like she's performing a wonderful advertising show. her perfect and delicate face, even if she says she's in "tiny times》 "put on some clothes!" doesn't distract from the show at all - the audience isn't likely to get into the show anyway.

the superficial literary scenes only make people look forward to the fierce and powerful martial arts scenes.

as an actress who started out as a dancer, tang shiyi is unexpectedly stunning.

in 2018, she collaborated with director xu haofeng on the yet-to-be-released film "the eyes of poetry are tired of the world". later, in order to film "the treasure land at the doorstep", she also went to zhuhai for rigorous martial arts training.

her fighting scenes in this film combine strength and beauty. while people are looking forward to her unreleased works, they are also full of longing for her identity as the new generation of "fighting girl".

tang shiyi

after watching the movie, shiguang discussed the film with his colleagues.

——"if a different director is directed, will "the land at the doorstep" be better?"

——"the film's existing realistic, concise, textured action style and unique aesthetic characteristics will definitely vary depending on the director."

——"if we change the lead actor, will "the land at the doorstep" be better?"

——"if xiang zuo was replaced, there might not be a movie called "the land at the doorstep"."