I know the art and art of writing. Taking the TV series "Latent" as an example, although it uses addition in the plot, it is not as good as those spy war movies that use subtraction in the handling of spy war details. In the plot of rescuing Professor Qian, the character Li Ya's trust and blind confidence have become the only hope for the success of the rescue plan, and this way of dealing with it lacks the consideration of the second plan, once Li Ya is thinking normally, the entire rescue plan may fail, and there is no way to talk about remedial measures.
I'm a spy writer, and my work "The Last Lurker" got a 9 on the platformA high score of 1. For spy war dramas, I have always looked at them with a harsh eye, especially those works that are regarded as divine dramas. "Latent" is one such drama, and in my opinion, its performance in spy warfare is not up to par at all, and it is full of all kinds of low-level mistakes. However, the show's workplace plot is amazing, far surpassing many modern urban industry dramas.
*During the film "Above the Cliff", I once questioned the directing ability of Zhang Yimou, a top picture master, like many people. However, after watching "On the Cliff", I deeply feel that Zhang Yimou deserves his name, he is a true master of cinema. Although there are many viewers who think that this movie has many shortcomings, especially in terms of plot, such as too many story holes, unclear logic, and problems that do not match historical reality. But in my opinion, all of this can be attributed to Zhang Yimou's "blank" technique in his creation. This kind of artistic blankness is the hallmark of a master's work, and it is not easy for ordinary people to try.
For example, in the Southern Song Dynasty painter Ma Yuan's "Fishing Alone in the Cold River", almost two-thirds of this painting is blank. If you look at it from a secular perspective, you may think that the painter is lazy or blind. Why don't you fill the picture with it, like Zhang Zeduan's "Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival"?Another example is a scene in the 86 version of "Journey to the West", in which Sun Wukong became a fiery eye in the alchemy furnace of Taishang Laojun, but this plot does not exist in the original work. Is this adaptation justified?Is it in line with the spirit of the original work?These are all worthwhile questions. The story of Chen Guangrui and Yin Wenjiao, from meeting to revenge, although it is only eight minutes, the lines are very simple.
Can't Director Yang Jie afford to dub?Isn't Ma Lan's voice a waste?Not really. The blank space of "Fishing in the Cold River" provides the sustenance of the literati and artists. And the no-line review of "Journey to the West" complements the plot well, making the atmosphere of memories distant and poignant. Zhang Yimou's "On the Cliff" also discards certain elements, such as the Japanese and the beginning and end of the mission. His "blank" technique can be called a master. Why leave it blank?Because in the story, certain elements are not important, such as the Japanese in "On the Cliff". And the assignment and reason of the task only need to be simply brought over, without too much time. Why do you have to leave it blank?
Because of Zhang Yimou's story, the existing actors are enough. Too many characters and branches can weaken the tension and reduce the pace. Bai Yansong commented that there was no urine point in the whole process of "On the Cliff", and the author deeply agreed. If you add Japanese characters to it, you will inevitably add other bridges and lines, is this really a good choice?Will there be no urine spots the whole time?In spy war dramas, we can often see the plots of the Japanese and China**, and these scenes frequently appear to slap people and shout "hi" after the fight. But is such a similar plot really necessary?
It's like the heroine gets pregnant as soon as she sews clothes, which is obviously the director's incompetence. TV series directors and film directors work differently. TV drama directors like addition teachers like to add material to stories, add content to lines, and add details to actions. Film directors, on the other hand, are like subtraction teachers, who pay more attention to eliminating the details that affect the rhythm and atmosphere, making the core of the story more prominent. What is the core of "Above the Cliff"?It is the tense atmosphere, the rhythm of no urine spots throughout the whole process, the heroism of sacrifice and the brilliance of humanity. As long as these cores are highlighted, the minutiae can be simply brought over in the form of lines, narration, subtitles, etc.
In "On the Cliff", the Japanese are only briefly introduced in the subtitles at the beginning of the film, and the instructions of the superiors and the activation of the emergency plan are quickly shown through only a few lines and actions. It doesn't take much to describe for the audience to understand. After the failure of the first rescue plan, the film quickly enters the emergency plan stage, telling the audience that there is such a plan through only a few shots.
As for the blank space of "On the Cliff", I think Zhang Yimou handled it quite successfully. Other spy movies such as "The Wind" also have blank spaces, but they are not as clever as "On the Cliff". In contrast, spy war TV series such as "Latent" and "The Pretender" are more prone to mistakes because they are more spread out.
As for the audience's evaluation, I think this is also normal. "On the Cliff" has both the audience thinks it is great and the audience thinks it is bad. The blank space allows the audience to make up and imagine on their own, and to pick thorns is equivalent to finding fault in their own brains, and there is nothing to do. Therefore, it is normal for different audiences to have different opinions on the same movie. The difference in the cognitive level of the audience has a huge impact on the evaluation of the movie.
Some viewers have a limited level of cognition, and they may think that "On the Cliff" is not as good as "The Cliff", and I can only respect such a view, but I dare not agree. There are also some audiences who only stay at the superficial level of excellence in their appreciation of the film, and cannot understand the master's artistic techniques. To put it simply, director Zhang Yimou may have reached a higher level of cognition of movies, but many audiences are still hovering at a lower level. Therefore, those viewers who criticize the plot of "On the Cliff", I don't think you think too much, but too little.