Rebirth of the courtyard, the start is 80s

After the break, Cao Zhiqiang once again devoted himself to intense filming.

How should I put it, if Cao Zhiqiang was a little unfamiliar and uncomfortable with filming on the first day, then after three days of continuous filming, he has fully entered the state, and it can even be said that he is acting crazy.

That state was very strange, as if Cao Zhiqiang suddenly became two people.

One is himself, also called id, which is still his original appearance.

The other one is the character Xia Qiu in the play, a character imagined and created by Cao Zhiqiang.

Although Xia Qiu is a character created by Cao Zhiqiang, he borrowed from many film and television character designs he had seen in his previous life, but he also added something of his own.

For example, some of Cao Zhiqiang's little actions when he was a child in his previous life, as well as some sentiments he had when he was young, were all incorporated into the character Xia Qiu by him, and then released in the process of playing with Zhu Lin and others.

No wonder I saw many people say in my previous life that being an actor is fun, not referring to how much money you make, but the fun of filming.

Cao Zhiqiang doesn't know what it's like to play a supporting role and a walk-on role. Anyway, if you play the leading role, it feels quite cool.

It feels really good to temporarily substitute someone else's character design, to interpret someone else's life, and then play against a beautiful woman.

Among them, the process of playing with Zhu Lin is the most enjoyable, because acting with Zhu Lin is mainly a love scene.

The ambiguous feeling of wanting to but not daring to say it, the ambiguous feeling of wanting to see the other party more, and just wanting to stay with the other party for a while, is not an ordinary itching.

Even if it is acting, it is very cool to go deep into it.

It's just this kind of coolness, not the kind of coolness that goes all the way to the end, but a kind of dark coolness.

No wonder everyone likes to play ambiguous.

This kind of ambiguous feelings that are entangled and entangled, but are constantly being reasoned and confused, is indeed fascinating.

Apart from the emotional drama with Zhu Lin, Cao Zhiqiang's other emotional dramas are mainly family and friendship.

The family line mainly refers to the plot where he and his two younger sisters depend on each other for life, which is mainly reflected in the beginning, middle, and end of the film.

The overall role of interacting with the two younger sisters is actually not many, but they are all important.

It can be said that the two younger sisters are actually one of the protagonist's ties, or one of the obstacles.

In the drama set by Cao Zhiqiang, although there are a lot of narration, it mainly explains Cao Zhiqiang's background clearly, but the female teacher Wen Xue played by Zhu Lin is deliberately vague.

For example, throughout the film, it is only known that Wen Xue is from a family of intellectuals, but the specifics of Wen Xue's parents and whether she has brothers or sisters are not mentioned in the film.

This is mainly because Wen Xue doesn't mention it herself, she never mentions her family's affairs.

But from her words and deeds, her food and clothing expenses, it can be seen that her family conditions are not ordinary, and even from the proficient Japanese she occasionally speaks, she even knows the words in "Manyoshu" in the Japanese poetry switchboard. Poetry also has many unusual guesses.

That is to say, Wen Xue's definition is elegance with mystery. She herself looks gentle and amiable, but in fact it is difficult to get in touch with others. She is a kind of coldness in her bones.

Deliberately blurring Wenxue's background is like the blank space in a painting, which can give people more room for imagination, and also make this love more pure and elusive.

In other words, let’s not talk about the age and identity gap between the male lead and the heroine, just from the background difference between the two, the difference is not 01:30.

Normally, it is impossible for these two people to be together.

And let Xia Qiu, played by Cao Zhiqiang, have two more younger sisters as a burden, which seems to be a burden, but it is actually a step, or an excuse.

Because on the surface, the reason that prevents Xia Qiu from following Wen Xue is that Xia Qiu has to take care of her two younger sisters, but in fact it is not the case.

If you think about it carefully, you will find that even if Xia Qiu is an adult, even if Xia Qiu is single, without the burden of two younger sisters, then when Wen Xue chooses to leave, Xia Qiu will not be able to go with her.

Because Wen Xue wanted to go back to her hometown, she had to face Wen Xue's family, and a family like Wen Xue's would definitely not be able to tolerate a worthless low-level student like Xia Qiu.

It can be said that when Cao Zhiqiang made this movie, he carefully and deliberately buried many details in it, and then used family affection and love as the main line to suppress those hidden dark sides, so that the overall style presents bright colors , so that this tragic love is full of more uncertainties, or full of hope and possibility.

Therefore, in the scenes between Cao Zhiqiang and his two younger sisters, that is, Yu Feihong and Qiao Simei, he showed the image of a somewhat clumsy but very responsible big brother.

The mother died early, and the alcoholic father suddenly ran away with the widow, leaving their three children behind, forcing the elder brother to take on the responsibility of raising the whole family in advance.

Such a setting is both grounded and sympathetic.

The eldest brother knew that his father was disappointed to despair after running away, and finally he was reborn from despair. He shouldered the burden of raising the whole family, and started to repair leather shoes for others while learning. How could he not arouse sympathy and pity?

As for the two sisters, they are different.

The eldest sister Xia Hua played by Yu Feihong is a very sensible character from the beginning.

After my father ran away with someone, I accidentally learned that my elder brother secretly went out every night to set up a stall to repair leather shoes in order to support the family.

However, after knowing that her eldest brother was shining shoes for others, Xia Hua didn't say anything, and she didn't feel ashamed. Instead, in order to save face for her eldest brother, she kept pretending not to know, not only helping her with housework every day, but also helping her to cover up. A confidant who understands elder brother's pain and often chats with him.

The younger sister Xia Yue, played by Qiao Simei, is a hairy kid who didn't understand anything at first.

Because when my father ran away with the widow, he was still young and ignorant next month, so whether it was the eldest brother or the second sister, they lied to her all the time, saying that his father had gone to other places to do big business, which made Xia Yue think that his father was very powerful. .

Because she was protected so well by her elder brother and second sister, Xia Yue didn't know how to restrain herself at first. She spent a lot of money on food and drink, and cried at every turn, saying that she was going to Zhao's father.

To put it simply, Xia Yue was an annoying character at first.

But soon, following a conflict, Xia Qiu told the truth in frustration, and then Xia Yue ran out of the house crying, and then the whole family looked for her sister together.

When you find your sister, it will be a story of the family reconciling and overcoming difficulties together.

It can be said that the interaction with the two younger sisters is an interaction of family affection, and it is also the process of Xia Qiu gradually becoming an adult from a child.

If we say that the meeting and acquaintance with Wen Xue made Xia Qiu understand the dedication in love.

Then the interaction and communication with the two younger sisters made Xia Qiu understand the responsibilities in the family relationship.

When there is a conflict between love and family affection, how to choose is a difficult problem.

From a personal point of view, of course Xia Qiu likes Wen Xue more and desires love more.

But from a family point of view, Xia Qiu cannot give up his two younger sisters, he must take on the responsibility of supporting the family.

On the surface, this is a conflict between family affection and love, a conflict between personal desire and personal responsibility.

But in fact, the conflicts in it are not limited to this, but also include conflicts of status and sophistication.

It's just that the conflict of status is hidden, not as obvious as the conflict between family affection and love.

In the interaction with the two younger sisters, it was actually Yu Feihong who played the most with Cao Zhiqiang, not Qiao Simei.

Apart from the fact that Qiao Simei is too young, has no acting experience, and is not suitable for too many scenes, it is mainly due to the relationship between the characters.

Qiao Simei's setting is to be a naughty child first, and then a sensible child. She is a simple child, highlighting her cuteness and simplicity.

Yu Feihong is different, she is set as a precocious girl, and is the military adviser behind the big brother Xia Qiu, and she will tell her many things that Xia Qiu can't tell others.

Therefore, there will be a lot of individual dialogue scenes between Cao Zhiqiang and Yu Feihong, highlighting that Xia Hua, the big sister, is a big kid and smart and cunning.

For example, supporting the eldest brother to bravely pursue love, supporting the eldest brother to confess to the other party, supporting the eldest brother not to care about worldly views, etc., are all spoken through the mouth of the eldest sister.

To some extent, the eldest sister Xia Hua is actually the mouthpiece of some viewers, saying what many people wanted to say.

Moreover, there are frequent golden sentences in it.

For example, Xia Hua encouraged her elder brother Xia Qiu by saying: "If you don't try it, how will you know it won't work?"

There are others like: "As long as you persist and don't give up, there will always be hope for success!"

"Does it have to be so troublesome to like someone?"

"Brother, come on, I will always support you!"

In fact, Yu Feihong didn't have so many roles in the first place. Yu Feihong requested to add more scenes, and Cao Zhiqiang also felt that adding some family scenes would not only extend the film time, but also enrich more content and make the characters appear fuller, so he agreed.

Therefore, Cao Zhiqiang and Yu Feihong had more scenes.

Even Cao Zhiqiang still has a feeling.

That is, if you continue to add dramas to her like this, then this drama may become The Story of the West Chamber.

He is a scholar, Zhu Lin is the lady, and Yu Feihong is the matchmaker.

Therefore, in order to make this drama less lengthy, not to overwhelm the guests, and let the family part take over the love, Cao Zhiqiang later resolutely rejected many of Yu Feihong's requests, reducing the family interaction between him and his two younger sisters.

After all, the theme of this drama is still pure love, not family affection.

Adding a little bit of family drama is okay, but adding too much is not good.

As for the friendship, that is, the friendship between classmates and neighbors, the portrayal here is relatively light.

Moreover, Cao Zhiqiang did not deliberately portray the friendship as grand, but more down-to-earth, or more realistic.

Movies of this period often like to portray how kind and friendly the neighbors are and how they like to help others, but this is not the case in reality.

Just look at the situation in the old courtyard house. That kind of situation of mutual defense and mutual calculation is the real world.

As for the friendship between the classmates, Cao Zhiqiang or the male protagonist Xia Qiu is set as a person who doesn't like to socialize and usually has few friends. The only friend around him is a junior and classmate who has a decent relationship.

And through the mouth of his classmate, he also talked about the reality of the school.

That is, in the school, only those students who study well are the influential figures in the school and the class. Whether it is a teacher or a student who is not good at study, they usually hang around those students who study well.

As for students like them who don't study well, naturally no one cares about them, no one pays attention to them, most of them are left to fend for themselves.

Teachers in this period may have good public morals, but teachers also have preferences.

Students who study well and talk sweetly, the teacher will naturally care more.

And for those students who don't study well and are usually bored, the teacher will naturally care less.

In other words, in school, students are also divided into ranks.

Maybe everyone is not very stratified by the status of parents, but they will be stratified according to your academic performance.

The best learning is one level, the next learning level is another level, and the poor learning level is another level.

Different classes are distinct, and it is basically more difficult for the lower circles to integrate into the upper circles.

These things are actually real.

It's just that Cao Zhiqiang was very cryptic about the presentation of these realities. He didn't say it explicitly, but quietly revealed this reality through small and unconvinced rhetoric and real examples one by one.

For example, after Xia Qiu found out about the male classmate who framed Teacher Wenxue, she mustered up the courage to go to the other party and ask the other party to tell the truth and apologize, but was immediately ridiculed by the other party.

The biggest reason is not that the male student is shameless, but that the male student is a good student who studies well, and his class is very different from Cao Zhiqiang.

So even for the sake of face and identity, the male student who stole Teacher Wenxue's bra and caused Teacher Wenxue to fall into rumors and slanders would not agree, and after Xia Qiu kept mocking him, he became angry and asked someone to beat Xia Qiu together .

During the whole process, the cowardice and hypocrisy of that kind of students were vividly displayed.

At the same time, it also shows that students who study well are not necessarily students with good moral character.

In other words, Cao Zhiqiang buries metaphors everywhere in this movie. If this is changed to the 21st century, it must be the rhythm of a big bad movie.

But in this era, it is synonymous with rich content and profound meaning.

Today's movies, especially feature films, are all about depth.

If you don't have any metaphors, you would be ashamed to tell people that you are a feature film.

Of course, what Cao Zhiqiang hides is not just ordinary moral problems, but also the seven deadly sins of arrogance, jealousy, rage, laziness, greed, gluttony and lust, which are more Western metaphors.

For example, the father of that bad classmate is a big fat cook who likes to take home food from the public house.

And the bad classmate's mother is obviously synonymous with rage and arrogance.

As for the bad classmate who stole Teacher Wenxue's bra and didn't dare to admit it afterwards, it was obviously lust, jealousy and laziness.

In short, Cao Zhiqiang never thought that he could express what he wanted to express in a movie, just like writing and painting, and let each actor express it through performance.

This feeling of directing others and performing what you want is really not ordinary comfort, and even has a feeling of controlling life.

No wonder it is said that movies are the world of directors, as expected.

The reason is that the plot of the movie is more condensed and coherent, and it belongs to a coherent viewing experience, so it is more of the director's integration ability.

Unlike TV dramas, where episodes are filmed intermittently, it depends more on the screenwriter's script ability. It can't be said that the quality of the director is unimportant, but it's not that important.

Movies are different. The director controls the camera and can change the script and character settings at will, holding absolute power.

But the most dominant one is Cao Zhiqiang's state, that is, producer, director, screenwriter, starring, four in one!
Among them, the most inconspicuous but most important role is actually the producer.

Because he, the producer, is responsible for distributing the money.

And everyone who is willing to come to shoot is mainly for making money, and has no other superfluous ideas.

In this situation of controlling the money bag, Cao Zhiqiang has the highest decision-making power, and naturally has the right to speak on the entire set.

When you have the right to speak, there are good directors and actors to assist, and other film crew members are obedient, then it will naturally happen.

Therefore, even though this is Cao Zhiqiang's first attempt at filming, since he belongs to a high-rise building from the very beginning, he has a different status from the beginning, so he also enjoyed the supreme treatment from the beginning.

As a result, the entire crew seemed to be revolving around him alone, as if he supported the entire crew by himself.

This is of course an illusion, not the reality.

But to a certain extent, it is not unreasonable to say that one person supports the entire crew.

After all, from the very beginning, Cao Zhiqiang was responsible for all the expenses of the entire crew.

The one who gives the money is the uncle, sincerity does not deceive me.

This also reminded Cao Zhiqiang of Aunt Ximen.

No wonder Mrs. Ximen had such hot eyes at that time, and she was able to play with a group of young fresh meat at that time, playing the number one beauty. Isn't it because she is the gold master?
The gold master's father is the real father!

In this way, in this situation where there is almost one voice, or a crew revolves around one person, the shooting process is quite fast.

It was originally planned to take one month, but in fact it only took 21 days to complete the filming of the entire film.