"Shadow": No matter how gorgeous the scene is, it's not as touching as the real thing.
There were several movies during the National Day period that made me want to go to the cinema. In the end, I chose "Shadow" just because I wanted to see the artistic conception of ink created by Guo Shi.
This time, the National Master made a subtraction in the colors. Instead of piling up bright colors as before, he used four colors: black, white, skin, and blood, creating a depressing, dull, humid, and gloomy atmosphere. The world tells a story of master and shadow, enemy and friend, king and minister.
It can be said that Guoshi has great ambitions for the film, not only to maintain the beauty of the picture, but also to tell a profound story. Therefore, we see mist and rain like silk, distant mountains like black clouds, and scenery like thick ink entering the water, gradually blurring out; we also see the plot reversal and the ending being left blank, expressing how complex human nature is at every turn.
In this way, "Shadow" should be worth watching, but after watching the movie, I can only give it a 3 points. I always feel that there is something missing under its seemingly low-key and gorgeous appearance.
In terms of scene, it is as beautiful as an ink landscape painting, but it is always like looking at flowers in the mist, failing to enter people's hearts and leave lasting memories; in terms of plot, its pattern is placed above human nature. , expresses people's obsessions, desires, dilemmas, and choices everywhere, but it always gives people a deliberate feeling. Even the final reversal is actually expected. It is neither brain-burning nor hearty enough.
Generally speaking, the film is too ambitious and appears to be deliberate, not logically rigorous and full of absurdity.
On the contrary, I was a little surprised by the violent aesthetics presented in the film. The killings were splattered with blood, and the sound of throat slits and seppuku could be heard. It gave people a sense of realism both visually and aurally. So here is a high-level warning: This is not a movie suitable for children to watch. Please do not bring children into the cinema.
Ordinarily, I watched this film mainly for the ultimate beauty expressed by the National Master in the camera. I shouldn’t always find faults in other aspects, but maybe it’s my fault. My expectations are too high, I always hope it can do better, so I want to record this awkward feeling while watching the movie.
So, you should have noticed by now that this is actually a movie review complaining about.
Next, the complaints begin:
Ziyu (actually the shadow Jingzhou) went to Jingzhou (the prototype is Jingzhou) to find Yang Cang to invite a fight. After returning, the lord Peiliang wanted to test He asked him to play the duet with his wife, Xiao Aiqinse, but Jingzhou couldn't do it, so they staged a "battle of wits" in this scene.
But wait a minute, since Jingzhou was raised as a shadow since he was a child, and he resembled Zi Yu to the point that he could confuse the fake with the real one, then Jingzhou can’t play the piano that Zi Yu is best at? After twenty years of acting, I haven't been taught the skills that my master often shows in front of the world. Are you kidding me?
In addition, there was a stab wound on the chest. It had been a year since Ziyu was injured, and the stab wound had turned into scars. Peiliang had also started to suspect the piano incident, and then he remembered to give him a knife. Jingzhou suffered a stab wound, and Pei Liang asked him why it was a new injury. This brain circuit is also long enough. Wasn't it the first day when Jingzhou stood in front of the world that the stab wound should have been there?
I have not read the original work "Jingzhou Killing" and I don't know how it is described in the novel. The movie script writes this to promote the development of the plot. First, it makes Peiliang begin to suspect that Jingzhou is not Ziyu. The second is to let the subsequent piano practice and medicine enhance the relationship between Jingzhou and Xiao Ai, but these two flaws are too untenable!
If there is a shadow, then he must be very similar to the owner, including the accent, birthmark and other identifying characteristics. It is not just a young man who has been trained for twenty years. It's really heartbreaking to leave such a flaw.
The palace of Pei State was built on the waterside. You can see the distant mountains surrounding it. With the rain that has not stopped, it can be said that it is misty and rainy, and the mountains and rivers are like a painting.
When I saw this scene, one feeling was that it was beautiful, and the other feeling was that it was fake - it is impossible for a palace (especially the meeting hall) to be built by the water, let alone in the embrace of mountains.
Chinese people pay attention to Feng Shui. In the film, the National Master embodies many concepts about Tai Chi and using softness to overcome strength. However, in the entire environment, he also shows his obsession with mountains and water, so he is everywhere There are landscapes, just like people in paintings.
However, a building needs to consider not only its beauty, but also its practicality. Although people often say "sitting on a mountain and facing water", if it is a palace, more considerations are needed. If it is built in a low-lying The location is so close to the water. Once the water rises, the palace is at risk of being flooded.
The heavy rain lasted for seven days, so Ziyu and Xiao Ai thought of letting the dead men sneak into the state while the rising water was rising. But as an audience, when I saw the rising water, I thought of the most dangerous place, not the green mountains on both sides of the bank facing each other. The exit from Jingzhou City Pass is the Peiguo Palace on the other side of the water.
There are also mountains surrounding the palace. You are beautiful, but have you considered the safety of the capital? This terrain is completely easy to attack but difficult to defend. If someone attacks the city, under the cover of the mountains, the enemy is in the dark and I am in the light. The enemy is above and I am below. Before you can make a move, you will be instantly killed by the enemy.
The people of Yan State did not invade the capital of Pei State, but were attacked by Pei State people from the sewers into Guangzhou. This was too honest.
This is the most incredible scene in the film. Yang Cang, the general who defended the city, went undefended to the water below the city to challenge others during working hours. In the end, he not only lost the city, but also his father and son. Regarding human life, should I say you are stupid, or should I say you are stupid?
As a martial arts master, it is okay for you to make appointments with others in your personal capacity. What is important in martial arts is to be able to communicate with each other, to study and polish, and to have people of equal strength to fight with you. A few tricks are really the joy of life.
But General Yang, you are not a young and Dangerous boy, you are a general guarding the city, and you are still at work. They brought a boat over to invite a fight, and turned the away game into a home game. You clearly knew that it was possible. There would be a scam (even if you didn't expect it, your Yang Ping would remind you), but you still had to skip work and challenge others without hesitation.
Okay, let’s go to a one-on-one fight, at least leave someone on duty at the city gate. When people compete on the battlefield, there must be someone in the base camp, right? Well, you arrived and left without making any arrangements. In the end, you lost the city and your life. No wonder Pei Guo cheated.
Here, General Yang was fighting happily under the city, while over there, the enemy's dead soldiers sneaked into the city and started a fierce street battle with the officers and soldiers defending the city. When the news arrived at the city gate, no one rang the golden bell to tell General Yang to end the duel and instead direct the battlefield to defend his homeland. Even if he didn't have the equipment, it would be fine to just yell! In the end, everyone was stunned and left the general to fight alone. All the troops were dispatched to regain the ground with the enemy's dead soldiers, and no one was left to garrison the city gate again.
Is this too confident? Or do you want to take credit? I think there is only one reason - too stupid!
The officers and soldiers who defended the city in Jingzhou were extremely weak. The regular army that trained every day should have numbered at least 12,800 people. In the main battle, they were completely wiped out by less than a hundred enemy dead soldiers. The sacrifice is neither great nor glorious, leaving the audience messy in the wind.
It was only then that Yang Cang learned that his son was dead and that he had fallen into the trap. When he went berserk and the small universe exploded, his throat was cut by Pei Umbrella's blade.
So, Jingzhou, was defeated; Yang Cang, died.
It feels like the emotional entanglement between the two is also very deliberate, as if it was forcibly added to advance the plot.
There are many people arguing whether the two fell in love with each other at the last minute, but I don’t think so.
Let’s analyze the relationship between these two people. There is no relationship between the two people who have never met before, but they are both arrogant people. One is full of contempt and makes harsh conditions to make the other side retreat, while the other is strong-tempered and submissive on the surface but secretly looking for opportunities. I swear to take revenge. At least in the film, I can't see the love between the two. At most, it's just unwillingness and unexpectedness.
Regarding the young city defender Yang Ping, when the enemy invaded Jingzhou and the commander had no time to escape, he did not sit at the city gate to form his troops, but instead personally fought with the enemy's dead soldiers in street battles. How talented he was. We won’t talk about boldness, but let’s focus on Qingping, the princess of Pei Kingdom.
Princess Peiliang loves her younger sister Qingping very much, but the closeness between the siblings is greater than the desire for power, so Peiliang hopes to ease the conflict with the Yan Kingdom by sending Qingping to make peace. The object of the marriage is not the royal family, but the son of the general who defends the city of Yan Kingdom. The royal family of Yan Kingdom are all freeloaders, but the person in charge is actually a general?
Qingping accepted the humiliating conditions to get married, but she refused in her heart, so she secretly sneaked into the team of dead soldiers attacking Jingzhou and personally killed the person who humiliated her.
But Qingping, aren’t you a princess? Haven't you ever received death soldier training? How is it that you can dive when you are in the army of dead soldiers, and you can fight in the streets when you say it, and even the newly invented Pei umbrella can be used so smoothly without ever having been exposed to it before? Can it even cause Yang Ping, who has mastered the essence of the Yang family's sword skills, to be seriously injured and finally die under his own sword? Are you a martial arts prodigy with excellent bones, or a peerless master hidden in the world?
Speaking of which, I have to complain about Pei Umbrella. The oil-paper umbrella used during training was light and elegant, but during the siege, it immediately blinded my eyes. One opened like a drop of blood, and two opened Combined with the iron top, when I saw the tops all over the ground spinning through the streets of Jingzhou, I could only admire the imagination of the art director and martial arts director.
The funniest thing is the instruction manual for the Pei Umbrella. Since you are a weapon, just treat it as your weapon. Why do you need to specify the actions to use it? It is extremely awkward and laughable to see that both men and women must first carry the umbrella, sway their body, and twist their waist and hips when using an umbrella. In a real duel with swords and guns, there is a time when you are showing off those useless and even ridiculous tricks, and the enemy will knock you out with one move in the morning.
Finally, let’s talk about the film’s acting and lines.
The overall acting skills of the actors are online. Although they are not amazing, they are still quite satisfactory. Especially Peiliang, played by Zheng Kai, I didn't have much hope for his acting skills, but he ended up being a dark horse.
The protagonists Zheng Chao and Sun Li have good professionalism and acceptable acting skills, but they need to pay more attention to details. For example, Liang Liang’s nude pink nail polish, I really can’t bear to look at it.
The acting skills of the new generation of national daughter and brother Sanshi really need to be improved. I was very impressed by the two of them, especially brother Sanshi. If it weren't for Hu Jun's resistance, the characters would not be able to stand up at all.
The acting is not actually a flaw in the film, but the lines are a bit divisive. In many scenes where the protagonists confront each other, a strong drama style has always filled the whole scene, but when the camera turns to other actors, this drama style is gone again. Sometimes I wonder, did I watch a fake drama movie?
Okay, I’m not being critical when I complain so much. After all, Guoshi is a director I admire very much. This "Shadow" is also much better than Guoshi's previous commercial blockbusters. progress. However, I would like to see Chinese films be more down-to-earth, and stop thinking about big productions, winning awards, and competing for Oscars. If you have the time to think about these, why not just lower your head and think about how to make the film fuller? into the hearts of the audience.
No matter how beautiful the castle in the air is, it is not as touching as the people and things with flesh and blood and self-consistent logic.
Do you think so?