"I'm Very Good in a Foreign Country" shoots the realism and sharpness, and also gives people's experience and compassion.
A ray of warmth to all those who are facing difficulties
■ Chief reporter Wang Yan
Without warning, "I'm Fine in a Foreign Country" caught on.
There is almost no pre-publicity, this 12-episode short drama debuted in the first week, and more than 20,000 people have scored a high score of 8.4.
Not only did the "applause" sound high, the show was also very "popular." According to data from the Mango TV platform, four episodes have been online for seven days and have been viewed more than 250 million times.
There are no famous directors, famous screenwriters and heavyweight actors to join. The most familiar names in the main creator list are Ren Suxi and Bai Yufan. The former was nominated for the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress with the film "Half Comedy", and the latter was awarded for "Mountain Sea Love". "Ma Debao was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in Magnolia.
Why does the seemingly unpretentious creative team have been booked by the audience as one of the best of this summer?
"Simpathy" is the most important answer.
Surrounding the four small town girls, Qiao Xichen, Ji Nanjia, Xu Yan, and Hu Jingjing, "I'm Very Good in Another Country" uses a lot of close-to-real scenes, real details, real emotional logic, and real character states to reflect people. The daily life in a foreign country and in a metropolis.
The play has a sharp and realist character, does not conceal the various difficulties of being alone in a foreign land, and does not shy away from the endless hurdles on the road of life. The creative attitude of "knowing you" has created the resonance of many "drifters". The audience watched the play. Middleman, it's like seeing myself.
But it is not so fierce, and it does not convey anxiety or pessimism. Instead, it uses many unexpected details to invert a ray of warmth to those facing difficulties.
Works that take into consideration the "human situation" and empathize with each other, and achieve their realist duties, are of course moving.
Appeal to the real details of the well-known "struggle in a foreign land"
"North, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen" seems to be a magic word, and every day young people say goodbye to their hometown and embark on a journey.
The opportunities and challenges in big cities are endless.
Therefore, under the strong appearance of the "Drifting Clan", there are always difficulties for outsiders.
Long commutes, bad renting, competition in the workplace, feeling of loneliness, etc., these are the normal life and human nature when going out, and they have been more or less portrayed in urban dramas.
"I'm good in a foreign country" can break through, not because of the adversity pioneered in the play, but because the script applies highly general terms to details that are close to reality, simple and appropriate.
During the morning rush hour at work, Hu Jingjing was almost squeezed into sardines in the subway.
As soon as she looked up, someone was chewing on the buns. Seeing that the stuffing was crumbling, the girl didn't speak, but frowned quietly.
The old lady beside her was staggered by the crowds getting in and out of the car, she stretched out her hand to help her, and didn't say a word.
With just a few shots, the typical scene of commuting on the Beijing subway during the morning rush hour was certified as "my daily life" in the barrage.
Not only did the commute road be as realistic as a documentary lens, but the problem of renting a house in a foreign country also awakened the common memories of many viewers when they were struggling when they left their hometown.
When the landlord came to the door, Qiao Xichen learned that the black intermediary had embezzled the rent for half a year and made trouble at the police station. In the end, the girl had only three days to move, and the money and the house were gone.
Ji Nanjia is one of the four girls who has a successful career. She started a business and lives in a prosperous area. However, after a toilet leak, the problem of not being able to repair authorized by the owner still trapped her.
The endless trivial troubles caused by "renting a house" belong to the people in the play, and countless ordinary people in front of the screen empathize with them.
More details of "Know You" are scattered in the workplace scenes in the play.
Hu Jingjing is a member of the product development department of a tourism company. She always works diligently to complete the work on time. However, she was interviewed by personnel on her birthday and required her to resign voluntarily.
The high-sounding rhetoric is "work overtime and don't work hard," but the subtext is "inferior to other people's connections." The personnel are well thought out, but it is to save a sum of compensation.
Qiao Xichen works in the marketing department of a coffee company.
Sales Director Ning Jie was in a meeting with the department to discuss the release of new products in the fall. During the talk, the amniotic fluid broke and the last sentence was still instructing work before being sent to the ambulance.
It can be turned around, and the new director arranged in advance by the company will take office in the afternoon, seamlessly connecting, as fast as the development rhythm of a big city.
Enterprise competition in big cities is as sharp and ruthless against foreigners and natives.
Who has never left their hometown and lived a "single-faced" life in an unfamiliar place, and who did not grow up in society, so it is inevitable that the girls without the "protagonist halo" in the play will inevitably be lived. The dust raised up choked, when they failed to help the "nobles" in their mediocre work and life, the audience believed that they were us who were looking for a sense of security in a foreign land and a sense of belonging in the crowd.
The first step for "I'm So Good in Another Country" is to accumulate the phrase "understand you" with one observable little thing in life.
Add a sugar to the "bitter coffee" of life with the simplest affection
From the perspective of people, "I'm Good Away from Home" doesn't have too many dramatic tags that burst hot topics.
The protagonists in the story are all hardworking workers. "Beijing", "Struggle" and "Ordinary" are their common features.
But it is undeniable that the beginning of the story is an extremely dramatic crit: Hu Jingjing jumped down from the overpass, and his birthday became the anniversary of his death.
How to stimulate the charm of the story from the ordinary life, how to prevent the extreme points from falling into the blood of the dog, is still effective in the creative concept of realism.
Hu Jingjing's unexpected death not only surprised her best friends, but also caught the audience by surprise.
In order to convince the characters of the audience, the play starts with real emotional logic and plain life details. Through the pursuit of girlfriends, a living person is pieced together with the traces of the deceased's life.
She resembles many people in the real world. She is not so outstanding in appearance, but has a kind heart and a hearty personality. She is willing to stand up for her friends, but she would rather digest it alone when she is in trouble.
Until the accident happened, the people around him suddenly realized that she or he still had many secrets.
It also relies on logically self-consistent derivation. The script uses Hu Jingjing's tragedy to interpret the embarrassing adult collapse. It seems to be sudden in an instant, but under the strong appearance, long negative emotions have accumulated for a long time.
It can be said that "I'm Very Good in Another Country" confronted the difficulties in life and touched the hearts of thousands of people.
What’s more rare is that the script doesn’t use "difficulties and hardships" to create anxiety. In many cases, the play exhibits a neutral and peaceful realistic aesthetic style, using the most simple affection for everyone to taste the "suffering" in life. Coffee" with a sugar added.
The mother who was far away in her hometown felt sorry for her daughter who worked overtime and sent a WeChat red envelope to Qiao Xichen to let her take a taxi home. The little red envelope of dozens of dollars was full of family affection.
The doctors who have been following up for five years feel distressed for the "workaholic" Ji Nanjia. He is obviously the doctor and patient in charge of the tumor, but he feels like a sister.
Colleagues who are not usually close friends also have unexpected surprises. Qiao Xichen stayed up in the warehouse alone and worked overtime, passing by "coincidentally", which became a tacit secret to everyone.
According to “Office Politics”, the new boss who seems to be aimed at also gave unexpected tenderness. It turned out that he had already broken through the huge sufferings of his subordinates due to the departure of his girlfriends. It turned out that every time his "you have a good rest" did not bring implication.
The role of the play is inverted time and time again to highlight the sincerity of the people around, and to give some comfort to those in trouble.
More than that, there are also many unknown people in the play who also gave the "small luck" of mutual support between people: The police who met for the first time learned of Hu Jingjing's birthday from his ID card, and the phrase "happy birthday" must be She left warm feelings at the end of her life; the moving master "handled" to help repair the damaged suitcase, and the insignificant kindness can actually illuminate others a long way.
Director Li Mo said: "Each character in the play lives hard with dreams and hopes, and hopes to pass it on to the audience, no matter what difficulties or adversity they face, they can live stronger and full of hope in life." Just like there is a line in the play, there are of course all kinds of difficulties to fight in a foreign country. There are thousands of reasons to be discouraged, but to stay, only one reason is needed, "In this tolerant city, a group of like-minded partners."