Text | Wang Chongyang lp
"I told you earlier that if you conjure, you will conjure, and if you practice martial arts, you will practice martial arts. If you have to conjure and practice martial arts…" I have memorized this line for many years.
The one who said this was called "Wheel King", a big villain in a movie. While he taught his "anti-water" subordinates a lesson, he looked like he "hated iron but couldn’t make steel".
The actor who played the "Wheel King" was Wang Xueqi, and his performance was very distinctive. When he said his lines, his eyes would "move" and his facial micro-expressions were also rich, so the villain must also be the kind of unfathomable and powerful person. Although the protagonist was not him, his acting made this already wonderful martial arts movie even more charming.
"Sword Rain" was released on September 28, 2010. The director and screenwriter is Su Zhaobin, and the producers are Woo Yusen and Zhang Jiazhen. The lead actors are Yang Ziqiong, Zheng Yusheng, and Wang Xueqi. The leading actors also have some characteristics, such as big S Xu Xiyuan, Yu Wenle, Lin Xilei, Jiang Yiyan, Guo Xiaodong, Li Zonghan, Bao Qijing, Wu Peici, Jin Shijie, and the pure cameo "Jigong" You Benchang, etc.
In addition, Wu Yuesen’s daughter, Wu Feixia, also played a female killer in the film. Within ten minutes of her appearance, she was killed. Before "dying", she also said a line to Zeng Jing, the heroine played by Yang Miqiong:
"I’m on the road (Huangquan Road), waiting for the driver"…
Chinese film and television dramas were popular, and there were also beads. Some movies seemed to have a mediocre reputation and box office at the time due to the market environment, audience preferences, and other factors. After a few years, people often rummaged through the situation of "seeing too much and eating too much", and only then did they find all kinds of beauty.
one
A sword to be reborn
There are two main reasons for this film’s admiration:
One is that there are many characteristics of John Woo’s work in this film –
It pays great attention to the instantaneous movements and expressions of the characters, and gives close-ups. And the story also follows the thinking of "Face Change". The male and female protagonists are all people who have undergone "cosmetic surgery", and they all have profound martial arts.
The second is that the director and screenwriter Su Zhaobin is also a "strange person" –
In addition to "Sword Rain", there is also "Tricks", which is also a horror film that breaks the rules. The screenwriting works are more "strange", in addition to this film, there are "Double Eyes" and "Three Updates to Go Home". Unfortunately, there has been no news since 2014.
Together, the two men created a wonderfully conceived and exciting martial arts movie.
"Sword Rain" began with a very short freeze frame, while arranging several assassins to assassinate court officials, while introducing the background of the film:
In the Ming Dynasty, the Assassin Organization, code-named "Blackstone", spied and killed everywhere in order to seize the body of the Tianzhu god monk Patriarch Rama. The leader of the organization was the "Wheel King" mentioned at the beginning.
The most outstanding assassin in "Black Stone" is called "Drizzle" (Lin Xilei, played). When she meets the monk Lu Zhu (Li Zonghan, played), as an "enhanced Tang monk" who is not inferior to the "Wheel King" in martial arts, Lu Zhu haunts her for a few days, and makes the female killer realize her martyrdom, and decides to quit the world. Under the arrangement of Li Guishou (Jin Shijie, played), she upgrades to "Zeng Jing" (Yang Miqiong, played), and goes to a city with huge wealth in her hands to change her life.
In the paragraph before the "face change", it revolved around the description of the female killer’s mood change. After seeing Lu Zhu die, she threw him to ask the crazy monk (You Benchang, played) and asked a question:
"What did he mean by turning into a stone bridge before he died?"
The old monk said, "Because he likes you!"
When Ananda described to the Buddha how he liked someone, he said, "I would like to become a stone bridge and be exposed to the wind for 500 years, the sun for 500 years, and the rain for 500 years. I just want her to pass by the bridge."
That’s why Lin Xilei "became" Michelle Yeoh, and then asked the old monk a question:
"How should I become a new person?"
This plot arrangement was great. It should be said that the core of the whole film was "reborn because of love", which could make a murderous female assassin put down her butcher knife and decide to return to the world, relying solely on "enchantment". This was also in line with Su Zhaobin’s "routine".
Then came the rebirth of the heroine –
Return to the world as an ordinary woman, and rejoice in having good neighbors and relatives.
I also saw that A Niu had a good relationship, but he changed his whereabouts.
Simply put, "I want to live a good life, but they won’t let me." The former Assassin "colleague" didn’t care, but the "Wheel King" who trained her alone couldn’t. Knowing her whereabouts, she had to use her skills to find Morrow’s body "to help her practice", so "good and evil have been separated since ancient times, and both husband and wife have been exposed."
Fight!
two
The rain falls and the dust can eat melons
The most reversed part of "Sword Rain" is not "Zeng Jing"’s husband – the true identity of the honest-looking "Jiang A Niu", nor is it his domineering way of taking out a rusted sword from his floor tiles and sharpening it 1V3 after his wife was knocked unconscious, although this part looks very classic today.
After all, as soon as Zheng Yusheng appeared, I knew that he must be the male protagonist, and he must not be so mediocre and useless at the beginning.
What surprised me the most was the reason why the "Wheel King" took Rama’s body:
When I thought he wanted to practice martial arts to "dominate the world", I found out that he was looking for Rama’s body just to "be a man" again, that’s right. The boss of the so-called Ming Dynasty’s strongest assassin Heavenly Group was actually a eunuch, and he was an old eunuch who was called "old slave" by the young eunuch.
Although the old eunuch possessed peerless martial arts, he could not enjoy the joy of fish and water except for silver.
This setting is very similar to the dwarf boss of the "Black Silk Army" in the famous Japanese anime "Dragon Ball" – so many people died, so much effort was spent, and in the end, the dragon ball was snatched just to make a wish to grow taller in front of the dragon…
In this way, all of her subordinates collapsed, and even "Ye Shuqing" (played by Xu Xiyuan), who had always loved him, also collapsed. I don’t know what it feels like for an idol to collapse, but she must be in a very miserable mood. What’s more, Ye Shuqing herself is also an extremely perverted female killer. She said a few words in front of the "Wheel King", "You are useless for giving you a chance," and successfully angered the "Wheel King", and they simply buried her under a stone bridge, and buried her alive.
This episode formed a sharp contrast with Lu Zhu, who the heroine met before "changing her face" and Jiang Aniu, who was willing to single out "Wheel King" for her after "changing her face".
If the heroine’s emotional experience is "becoming a Buddha through love", then "Wheel King" as the "all-round villain" of this film is "becoming a devil through hatred". The wonderful thing is that when he buried Ye Fuqing alive with his own hands, he actually had some sympathy for this villain:
The unparalleled martial arts, the wealth is comparable to the country, and the martial arts genius is just "a little bit", almost perfect.
In this story, Su Zhaobin obviously used the character of "Wheel King" to compare with the life after "Zeng Jing"’s "reform", and also told the people to eat melons a truth:
People are the product of their environment. What kind of environment they live in and what kind of people they meet, life will become.
This is Su Zhaobin’s hidden creative intention on the dazzling screen of "sword rain" in the sky, which is reflected through the wonderful performances of all the actors in the film.
three
When will the knight return with his sword?
In fact, there are many things that can be said about "Sword Rain", Yang Ziqiong and Zheng Yusheng don’t need to say more, the ending of the film is definitely justice defeats evil, "Zeng Jing" fell into Jiang Aniu’s arms and said, "The silver is hidden somewhere, you can marry a good woman in the future." Jiang Aniu smiled, "Don’t be stupid, it’s just a grudge against killing your father…"
Funny, funny, good-looking.
The film is very "realistic" around the acquaintance, love and marriage of the couple. There is no "born extraordinary" or "loser counterattack" in traditional martial arts movies and TV dramas. If the special identity of the two and the subsequent struggle between good and evil are thrown away, they can be regarded as a life film.
If you look closely, you will find that almost everyone in the film is desperate for a "normal life":
When she was not an assassin, even Ye Fuqing, who looked quite perverted, wanted to find a man who could conquer her. The general sense of "dominate the world, who would leave me" did not exist in this movie, which also made "Sword Rain" a little more "popular", and also made the subsequent husband and wife "I don’t pretend anymore, I have a showdown" even more amazing.
Here is not a detailed guide, only for friends who have not seen it carefully.
It can only be said that it is not only a complete "anti-hero", but also a five-point "On a woman’s emotional path". Several times in the film, the "bridge" is the background, highlighting the theme of "love":
Show grievances in rivers and lakes, show love in sword rain, talk about people’s hearts with "face change", and talk about love with "stone bridge".
The "bridge" and "love" in "Sword Rain" were both very intoxicating, and the concept of the story was rather interesting. Compared to the simple "life and death", "Zeng Jing" repeated the words of "Lu Zhu" when she left "Jiang Aniu" without hesitation:
"I wish to become a stone bridge…"
It seems to be more in line with the deep emotional expression of the Chinese people.
As an "old movie" nearly 12 years ago, "Sword Rain" won the Best Film Award at the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards that year. In addition, there were many nominations.
At this time, martial arts films are coming to an end, and since 2012, comedies in the Chinese film market have taken the lead. This "share", I don’t know when other genres will make a comeback.
I hope that one day will come.
It’s just that today, when the screen is full of hippies or hot blood, I vaguely remember that there was a movie of men and women who looked very interesting, pretending to be stupid under the lights of thousands of houses, and carefully caring for the hard-won new life.
