Text: Xu Xinying.
I remember that the last time I came to Shanghai was in 2018 before the epidemic, and I came to Shanghai again a few days ago. This time, we chose the "Renaissance Yu Garden Hotel" because the hotel is close to the famous Yu Garden and the Old City Temple, and is only a stone's throw away from the Bund, Nanjing Road, Xintiandi and other tourist attractions. From the window of the room, we can see the City God's Temple, where the "Yu Garden Lantern Festival" is being held, and climb to the top floor of the hotel to enjoy the gorgeous city skyline, and we deeply feel the prosperity and development of Shanghai.
In Shanghai, I have endless topics to talk about with old friends and new friends I have not seen for many years, but what is special is that the newly released "Flowers" TV series has become a hot topic for us.
The TV series "Flowers" is directed and produced by the famous Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai, and written by Qin Wen, the best screenwriter of the Magnolia Award at the Shanghai TV Festival. "Flowers" is a successful fusion of high-quality film and television resources from the mainland and Hong Kong, and Dragon TV and the Shanghainese version of "Flowers" are a perfect combination of the same frequency resonance.
As early as March 2019, at the Spring Tea Party of the Hong Kong Film Writers Association, Wong Kar-wai had revealed that "Flowers" would be the "third part" after "In the Mood for Love" and "2046", which had been in preparation for 4 years at that time. Finally, "Flowers" started filming on September 10, 2020 and will be released on December 27, 2023. The main scenes of the series, "Yellow River Road", Zhizhen Garden, etc., were filmed in Shanghai Film and Television Park (Chedun Film and Television Base) in Songjiang District at a 1:1 scale, and the crew spent a huge amount of money to build a real scene to restore the Shanghai style in the 90s.
"Flowers" has a strong Wong Kar-wai aesthetic color - the moving camera picture, the editing method of cross-flashback, plus the scenery such as Ambilight and red lights, build an artistic Shanghai in the 90s of the last century, and also make "Flowers" have a little more regional characteristics.
About a century ago, in the thirties of the 20th century, Shanghai, as the largest metropolis in the Far East, was a very cosmopolitan and open city. At that time, Shanghai's urban development was far ahead of Hong Kong's, and the cultural relationship between the two was mainly Shanghai's influence on Hong Kong.
After the outbreak of Japan's war of aggression against China, a large number of Shanghainese began to come to Hong Kong, especially in the 20th century, when many industrialists and cultural people from Shanghai moved to Hong Kong, bringing with them a large amount of capital, resources, and technologyThey also took root in Hong Kong and have had a significant impact on Hong Kong's economy, culture, cityscape and daily life. In the 50s and 70s of the 20th century, Shanghai's economic, social and cultural development lagged behind, while Hong Kong made a huge leap forward due to its openness to the world.
In the 20th century, Hong Kong was far ahead in terms of economic capital, social development, urban renewal, and popular culture, and became a model for Shanghai after the reform and opening up. During this period, Hong Kong culture played a positive role in promoting the revival of Shanghai's culture, from popular songs, popular **, film and television works, to costumes and entertainment forms. Hong Kong's economic capital and cultural trends have also had an all-round and multi-layered impact on Shanghai. Shanghainese people learn Cantonese through Hong Kong pop songs, appreciate Hong Kong's surging economic vitality, abundant material life and hard-working spirit, and are also a treasure trove of resources.
"Flowers" not only has director Wong Kar-wai's distinctive artistic style, exquisite and in-depth depiction of the complex emotions of the characters, but also presents an obvious consideration of the market and the audience's interest that has not been found in previous works. Wong Kar-wai recreated a Hong Kong businessman "Shanghai Bao", highlighting the tumbling changes of the times in Shanghai. The story of "Flowers" is set in Shanghai in the late 80s and early 90s of the last century, telling the story of the unknown little man A Bao who came to Shanghai from Hong Kong for fame and fortune, and joined the shopping mall with the guidance of a master, and how to climb on the Yellow River Road. At that time, it was not easy and remarkable to be able to gain a foothold on the Yellow River Road in Shanghai.
"Flowers" not only writes about infatuated men and women, nor does it just write about spiritual growth, it also writes about shopping malls like battlefields, and writes a moving chapter of the high-spirited and lonely, throbbing and struggle of an era.
The plot of "Flowers" is based on the capitalist and businessman Ah Bao played by Hu Ge, and through the story of Ah Bao, the audience is led to a glimpse of the boom and ups and downs of Shanghai and Shenzhen after China's reform and opening up, and also allows the audience to see the fashion ready-to-wear war ignited by the department stores on Nanjing Road in Shanghai after China opens the doorIt drove the manufacturing production of the coastal provinces south of the Yangtze River, thus laying the foundation for China to become the "factory of the world" in the next 30 years. The story of the heroine and several supporting characters around Ah Bao also presents the atmosphere of the whole people being displaced in the great waves of the times when China shifted from a socialist economy to a market economy.
Under the direction of Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai, the whole play is full of strong Hong Kong style. In the 30 episodes of the TV series, a total of 57 popular songs from Hong Kong and Taiwan appeared at that time, including Zhang Yusheng's "My Future Is Not a Dream", Ye Qitian's "Love Fights to Win", Beyond's "Glorious Years", Wang Jie and Ye Huan's "You Are the Eternal Pain in My Chest", Jacky Cheung's "Stealing the Heart", Faye Wong's "Obsessed and Unrepentant", etc.; The camera scenes, especially the neon signs of the restaurants on Yellow River Road, look like the bustling streets of Hong Kong in the past. It seems that there is a kind of magic, a few notes, that can pull the audience back to that era, the old days, and let us reminisce about the past. One sound after another, the veins are thousands of miles, all of which are pulling the strings of the times. Sometimes when I get distracted, I suddenly think that I am ** Hong Kong TV series in the 1980s.
Wong Kar-wai uses exquisite pictures and the rhythm of the film to reproduce the life history of Bao, the trendsetter of the market economy in the 90s of the last century, and tells this story in the way of a stylized Hong Kong-style Shanghai dream. This way does not make people feel disagreeable, because this kind of expression presents the self-confidence and tenacious spirit of the trendsetters of the market economy to the audience and resonates.
In the most prosperous time and space of Shanghai Tangtou seen in the TV series "Flowers", the Yellow River Road is a golden and splendid, neon tube, flashing with the prosperity of Shanghai. Regardless of whether we have experienced that era or not, "Flowers" arouses people's common nostalgia and longing, during which the "timeless" past attracts our eyes and thoughts, which is the "tone" of audio-visual art? Is it the "charm" of the characters in the story? It is the "soul" of literary creation!
Many of the plots in Blossom are driven by food. The unique food of Shanghai and Hong Kong in the play is even more mouth-watering. "Flowers" 10 tempting dishes, including pork rib rice cake, pickled rice, Dingsheng cake, Chuansha chicken feet, dry fried beef river, Wei Zongbawang farewell concubine and yellow croaker noodles, Xianhe Shenneedle Boat King fried rice, flame king snake, hot mutton hot pot, each dish has unique Shanghai and Hong Kong characteristics.
The scenery, characters, and food in the play "Flowers" all reveal the connection closely related to Hong Kong, and the neon streets of the Yellow River Road remind people of Nathan Road and Lan Kwai Fong, which are also endlessly lively, and keywords such as foreign trade, reform, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic also show the interweaving and integration of Hong Kong and Shanghai. Most of the actors in the play are Shanghainese actors, and there are also many actors from or with Hong Kong.
Blossoms is a combination of the memories of Shanghai people and the nostalgia of Hong Kong people. In the stunning and confusing picture of "Flowers", Wong Kar-wai presents the original Shanghai in the 90s of the last century, but Wong Kar-wai's Shanghai life and urban atmosphere outlined through the "Hong Kong filter" have reached the psychology of Hong Kong people through 30 years, which has resonated with Hong Kong people. The flower craze has continued since the beginning of 2011. With the drama, movie, and TV series "Flowers", it is expected that this craze will continue for a long time to come. In the near future, the sixth cooperation conference between Shanghai and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will be held in Hong Kong, and "Flowers" will undoubtedly create a strong atmosphere of cooperation between Hong Kong and Shanghai, revealing the close connection between "Flowers" and Hong Kong.
In fact, Shanghai and Hong Kong have a deep and long history, and Shanghai and Hong Kong, the two "Oriental Pearls" that interact with each other, will surely weave brilliant brilliance in the torrent of the new era!
Published in the March issue of the Mirror Newspaper).
*觧 said:
*1: From the window of the hotel room, you can see the brightly lit City God Temple "Yu Garden Lantern Festival".
*2: "Flowers" started filming on September 10, 2020, and was successfully integrated on December 27, 2023.
*3: The TV series "Flowers" is directed and produced by the famous Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai.
*4: Under the direction of Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai, the whole play is full of strong Hong Kong style.
*5: The night view of Hong Kong with brilliant lights.
*Six: The Moss Shengyuan Restaurant on the Huanghe Road Food Street (the prototype of Zhizhenyuan in the TV series "Flowers") attracts many citizens and tourists to check in and take pictures.
*7: Many of the plots in "Flowers" are driven by the food, scenery, and characters that are closely related to Hong Kong.
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