Huayu: From an ordinary person to a happy director

Chapter 134 Opening up a new schedule
Because the difference between "Curse of the Golden Flower" and "Ran" lies in the grasp of scale.

It lacks the breath-holding, still-as-a-mountain temperament of “Chaos”.

But the extreme accumulation of colors is not just for show.

This neat, rigorous and luxurious setting and lens belong to the Baroque art that symbolizes power.

It can be said that Zhang Yimou combined Chinese and Western art for the purpose of cultural output.

As it turned out, he was very successful.

The reputation of "Curse of the Golden Flower" abroad is not bad.

If we say that "RanL" depicts the desire and killing in human nature.

"Curse of the Golden Flower" is immersed in a strong Confucian fatalism, intentionally or unintentionally.

The prototype of the character Wang is Meng Zhixiang, the founding monarch of the Later Shu during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period and the son-in-law of Li Keyong, the Prince of Jin.

Qian Mu called this era the darkest era in China.

Wars are raging everywhere, human nature is degenerate, intrigues and deceptions are rampant, and everyone may be alienated by the desire for power.

"King" is the pinnacle of the pursuit of power.

It is precisely because “there is no law in troubled times”.

Wang Cai has always emphasized "rules".

This passage, interpreted in Confucian terms, means the ruler should be a ruler, the minister should be a minister, the father should be a father, and the son should be a son.

"Rules" are the king's way.

To be precise, it is the way of ruling after becoming an emperor.

Ironically, the king's throne was obtained through "treason".

This is why those who break the rules regard "rules" as the truth.

To put it bluntly, the king himself is the "rules".

No matter how ridiculous the reason, "rules" are rules.

Even if the queen took a few sips of the medicine less, she would be forced to take it again.

This kind of "male power" and "patriarchy" oppression of women still has a market today.

The arguments made by the “Women’s Virtue Classes” are already eye-catching enough.

Many things can be changed
Mao Zedong once said: Where there is oppression, there is resistance.

The queen’s “rebellion” was not surprising.

Although on the surface, the queen wanted to rebel.

It was because of her affair with the Crown Prince.

Judging from the queen’s background, her marriage to the king was a “political marriage”.

That is, a "parentally arranged" marriage.

Under the guise of "chaos", the queen is actually declaring war on traditional customs.

Her positioning is "ideological liberator" rather than "Pan Jinlian".

If she were a villain, it would be especially ridiculous to say something like "I won't kill him."

Anyone who has watched the film carefully knows that the Queen has a complex but upright personality.

This is seriously inconsistent with the "troubled times" in the film's background.

The Queen-character implies the initial innocence of the rebels (revolutionaries).

But she is not only a liberator of thought, but also a guide.

Why I say Zhang Yimou is a "master".

Because this part was handled quite cleverly by Zhang Yimou.

Like "breast squeezing", "messing around" is intended to increase commercial topics.

In essence, the queen's "unusual actions" led to three schools of thought.

The first type is the "escapists" represented by the prince.

He left the palace to guard the border, requested a change of crown prince, took a knife to injure himself, and told his father about the incident. He kept escaping from beginning to end, and was finally wiped out by reality.

The second type, represented by the third prince Yuan Yi, is a "utilitarian".

Unfortunately, this boy has mediocre intelligence and cannot see the reality clearly. He wanted to fight back, but he ended up digging his own grave.

If Yuancheng had done nothing at the time, he would have become the ultimate winner. This is the hidden irony.

The third type is the "idealists" represented by Yuanjie.

The rebellion was only for "preventing the mother from taking poison", not for power.

The end of this naive idea is "suicide".

Finally, Zhang Yimou casually reveals the cruelty of reality to "idealists".

The moment Wang said this, Huang Chao's words "The fragrance of the sky permeates Chang'an, and the whole city is covered with golden armor" (from "Ode to Chrysanthemums after Failing the Imperial Examination") were about to come out, and the air was filled with murderous intent.

Some people have never understood why Zhang Yimou had all the imperial guards wear "golden armor" in the decisive battle on the Double Ninth Festival night.

Yellow is the color of the earth, unchanging from time immemorial.

Therefore, only the emperor could wear the "golden armor". If you think of Zhao Kuangyin's coup at Chenqiao, you will understand.

In troubled times, anyone can "rebel".

What should a despot do?
Four words: slaughter them all.

Sometimes, people are really not used to the truth behind the absurdity.

From corpses piled up everywhere to chrysanthemums everywhere.

Pouring water to wash the ground, this is a prosperous era.

This is the peace whitewashed by feudal despots.

This scene is particularly chilling.

In the last scene of "Curse of the Golden Flower", the queen waved her hand to overturn the medicine, and the "gold" corroded by the poison turned into a chrysanthemum.

At the end of "RanL", the Buddha statue falls, sad and desperate.

The idea is almost the same.

Therefore, the tragedy of "Curse of the Golden Flower" can also be interpreted using a line from "Ran":
Don't blame the gods and Buddhas! Even the gods and Buddhas cannot save the evil humans! Don't cry, this is the world. We don't seek happiness but sorrow, we don't seek peace but pain!
He couldn't see these things in his previous life.

He actually saw it in this life.

Of course, ordinary people may not be able to see so deeply and understand the connotation of "Curse of the Golden Flower".

It is estimated that no audience will seriously analyze the connotation of the film, thinking that the full screen of "squeezed" benefits has labeled the film as "vulgar", so they will not watch the film seriously.

Therefore, most viewers only saw the surface plot and felt that the story was poor.

But there is a reason why "Curse of the Golden Flower" earned 06 million RMB at the box office in 2.91.

First of all, the protagonist Jie Lun has a lot of fans, and the fans support him.

Secondly, the production of "Curse of the Golden Flower" is very good, reaching the master level of Zhang Yimou.

The overall advantages of the use of colors in "Curse of the Golden Flower" outweigh its disadvantages.

For Zhang Yimou, who started out as a photographer, using colors to express himself is his instinct and also a way for him to release his emotions.

You can compare the color language in "Hero":
Red represents fiery, bewitching and confusing, and symbolizes killing, desire and death.

Blue is the coldest color, symbolizing spirituality and reason, mind and determination.

Green is a state of life, symbolizing simplicity and comfort.

White, simple, unique, uncompromising and inviolable, also symbolizes death.

Black has a strong and resolute side, but also a cold and dark side, just like the King of Qin, aloof, cold and difficult to understand.

The main color tone setting of "Curse of the Golden Flower" is much simpler than that of "Hero".

It is mainly made of "Shihao Gold" and is extremely luxurious.

In this regard, public opinion at the time mocked Zhang Yimou's "vulgarity".

Now, looking back, who is mocking whom?
Shi Lei believes that the impact of the "rich gold" all over the screen is absolutely of practical significance to Zhang Yimou, who is already adept at playing with colors.

It implies that the ruling class's decadent life is just a superficial appearance.

He was satirizing the shallowness caused by the accumulation of material things in this materialistic age.

Strictly speaking, as the plot progresses, there are only three key color switches in the entire film.

The first time, at the beginning, Wang Tieqi returns.

The colors are mainly gray and black. Under the depressing and gloomy sky, the reflective armor exudes murderous intent.

—A feeling of "dark clouds press down on the city, threatening to destroy it, while armor shines in the sun, with golden scales."

The second time, Wang sent assassins to kill his first wife's entire family.

Black is a color that conveys hostility, and also represents conspiracy, cruelty, and deceit.

The third time, Wang purged the "rebel" third prince Yuanjie (played by Jay Chou).

The black armored troops gathered together, exuding a murderous aura.

All three transformations create a sharp contrast with the "main color".

Moreover, the three color changes are all related to the king. Why?
Because "rich gold" is the face of the Wang family, and "dark human nature" is the inside of the Wang family.

As the saying goes - success is achieved with the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers.

Behind the magnificent "rich gold" is a bloody price of countless bones.

Each change of color symbolizes the decline and struggle of human nature.

The clever color transitions and grand war scenes prevent the audience from criticizing too harshly.

Simply put, many viewers will say that a movie is not good, but they will feel that it is worth buying a ticket.

At least the color transitions and grand scenes are good, just like watching a Hollywood special effects blockbuster, and the audience is willing to pay for "Curse of the Golden Flower".

Not like "The Promise".

Shi Lei looked around and made his own decision: "I want A World Without Thieves to be released on September 9th."

If you can’t make it into the Lunar New Year period, then change to another period, and the National Day period is a period worth developing.

(End of this chapter)