China News Service, Beijing, March 10 (Reporter Gao Kai) Not long after the lively Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon ended, the movie "Zhou Chu Removes Three Evils" named after the historical allusion "Zhou Chu Removes Three Evils" was somewhat surprising. In early March, when the movie market is the coldest every year, this movie theater ignited.
From the rising box office to the continuous discussion of various topics after watching the movie, this crime action film without large investment has undoubtedly become one of the brightest memories of the big screen this year.
The movie "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils".
Photo courtesy of the film crew
The movie "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils" constructs the storyline by quoting the historical allusion "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils". The original text comes from "Book of Jin: Biography of Zhou Chu" and "Shishuo Xinyu": The ancient boy Zhou Chu was originally a He was a tall, powerful young man, but he behaved badly and ran rampant in the countryside, and was deeply hated by the locals.
Later, Zhou Chu realized his mistake and decided to change himself. He single-handedly killed the tigers and evil dragons that harmed the village, finally achieving self-salvation and eliminating the three evils in the local area.
In a modern version of the movie story that quotes traditional allusions, Ethan Ruan plays the underworld killer and wanted criminal Chen Guilin. After learning that he is terminally ill and about to die, he vows to "do something big and let everyone on the street know that I am Who is it?" By accident, he found himself ranked third on the wanted list. He was determined to find out the whereabouts of the top two wanted criminals and get rid of them to "leave their names."
However, during the journey of eliminating evil, a series of experiences made Chen Guilin, who initially blindly became famous to prove his worth, finally truly see "evil" from another perspective, feel the subtleties and complexities of human nature, and realize the ultimate face of life. The right crime and punishment, thus facing death at the end of the film, completing the complete narrative of "eliminating the three evils".
As a crime action film, "The Three Evils" has given the audience a full visual impact. In the process of Chen Guilin's elimination of evil, the picture exceeded the scale, and the action scenes were vigorous and exciting, as if the audience was involved together, and the immersive "elimination of evil" "The plot, coupled with the actors' excellent interpretation of the characters, makes you hooked.
On this basis, it should be noted that the film's clever use of allusions, the traditional narrative characteristics of Chinese folk tales presented in the entire narrative, and the humanistic spirit behind it also add color to this unprecedented work. many.
"Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils", starting from the title, historical allusions have already started to support this screen work.
On the one hand, the relevant folk tales have long been known to many audiences. They are very attractive with their rich meanings and the attractive and outstanding personalities of the vivid characters. At the same time, although the big story frame is obvious at a glance, this point The suspense of the film has not been diminished at all, and its "new theory" has only aroused more curiosity from the audience: What kind of person is a "contemporary Zhou Chu"?
The new "three evils" must be neither tigers nor dragons. What kind of evil is this?
How to act?
As the core of the whole story, the successful portrayal of Chen Guilin, who corresponds to "Zhou Chu", can be said to determine the success or failure of the film. In folk stories, Zhou Chu's charm lies in his coexistence of good and evil and his frankness. From the perspective of character setting, Chen Guilin almost completely contrasts his grandma, Xiaomei, and the mother and son involved in the cult, all showing the character's unknowing "good nature". At the same time, his admiration for violence and blurred self-awareness are... Gathered into the simple and crude "evil" in him.
But because of his "goodness" and his straightforward nature, Chen Guilin finally "awakened" during the "Journey to Eliminate Evil", truly saw "evil" and saw the complexity of human nature, which ultimately made this journey a "redemption". journey of".
Among them, Ethan Ruan's accurate grasp and performance of the characters have been unanimously recognized by the industry and outside. Without too many dialogues and monologues, Chen Guilin's "madness", "madness" and "awakening" are all vividly displayed on the screen, making "Zhou Chu" feel The process can be felt and believable, becoming a real living person.
The movie "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils".
Photo courtesy of the film crew
With a strong plot, fast pace, and ultimate visual expression, it should be said that the plot of the movie "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils" has the characteristics of a contemporary genre movie. Behind this series of modern audio-visual language, in its narrative In terms of characteristics, we can still see a lot of similarities with traditional folk tales.
Emphasis on morals is a major feature of traditional Chinese folk stories, and this aspect has even been highlighted and extended in the movie "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils".
The film extends to the concepts of greed, anger, and ignorance under the Buddhist concept through "Zhou Chu eliminates the three evils", and these three poisons correspond to three different animals: the pigeon symbolizes greed, Lin Lu with the pigeon tattoo on his back, and greedy and cunning. And is good at disguise; the snake symbolizes anger, and the Aberdeen with the snake on his arm is insidious and vicious; the pig symbolizes infatuation, and Chen Guilin, who wears a pink pig watch, is the representative of infatuation. He is aggressive and fierce, but he is trapped in it. The dilemma of life without distinction between good and evil.
The movie "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils".
Photo courtesy of the film crew
In addition, there is a balance between hardness and softness in the plot design, which is layered in depth.
If Aberdeen, the first stop for eliminating evil, shows evil that can be seen at a glance, then when it comes to Lin Luhe in the cult, everything is covered up by "goodness", and the language of the camera changes from dark to bright and warm. "Evil" has been observed from more angles, and the discussion of human weakness and value is also worthy of further consideration.
As for the last "first evil" of the "three evils", Chen Guilin, who has been living in confusion, deeply felt the conflict and entanglement between good and evil, crime and punishment during the journey of atonement, and also completed the "ignorance" in his heart. Awakening and finally dying calmly, it corresponds to the protagonist's repentance in the old allusion, forming a perfect contrast and echo.
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