This year's Spring Festival box office hit a new high, breaking through the 8 billion mark in just seven days. Among them, "Hot and Hot" occupies the top spot at the box office with its strong influence, which has reached 3.4 billion as of today.
followed by "Flying Life 2", the box office has exceeded 3.2 billion. It can be said that the investors behind several films in this Spring Festival file can be said to have enjoyed a bumper harvest and won a big victory.
At the beginning of March, a dark horse unexpectedly appeared in the film market - "Removing Three Evils Around the Week". Although the investment is only 10 million yuan, and the initial theater schedule is only 3%, copy resources are still flowing into the network too early.
However, despite the difficulties it faced, it eventually became popular, with a bumper harvest at the word-of-mouth box office, and even CCTV spoke out for it. This is in stark contrast to the mainland's large-scale productions with hundreds of millions of investments, and it can be said that this time the capital has been slapped in the face.
Seeing these comments on the Internet, we have to reflect on the fact that mainland directors need to think about it.
The film's success isn't just because of its bold scale and gore. Even if you think of it as a hunting movie with dark humor and sexual elements, then you couldn't be more wrong.
In fact, director Huang Jingfu is known for his storytelling skills, especially those stories about "limits". His first film, Falling in Love with the Faucet, tells the story of a fetish patient who sews a faucet onto his body.
And the pinnacle of his career is 2004's "Jianghu", in which the two protagonists in the story think they are gangsters, spend their lives in the scenery, and finally die on the street in the most "Jianghu" way.
Going from one extreme to the other is the ultimate pursuit. From gaining to losing, this is the portrayal of life. In Huang Jingfu's films, they are often full of metaphors, and "Removing the Three Evils Around the World" is no exception.
The five metaphors in the film, in these seemingly absurd details, the audience can feel the vastness of the world and see the vastness of all beings. In the end, it is reflected in the depths of one's own heart.
It is foreseeable that once this movie is released, the capital community will be amazed.
The virtual and real of the funeral **At the funeral of the dragon head Hong Ye, although there were many people, many of the younger brothers present were not to express their "righteousness", but for the tip of 300 yuan.
And Hong Ye's heir, Tietou, although he made the funeral grand and full of aura, was not just for the glory on the surface, but to give himself courage.
Tietou previously issued the "Jianghu Pursuit and Killing Order", vowing to find and punish the **Guilinzai who killed Hong Ye. However, Guilinzai's strength is too strong, and the iron head is afraid of Guilinzai's revenge.
Although he recruited many younger brothers to help him and tried to build momentum to overwhelm Guilinzai, he was eventually ruthlessly killed by Guilinzai with several shots. After Guilinzi finished solving the iron head, he left the scene leisurely.
The little brothers at the scene were all stunned, some were dumbfounded, some fled in all directions, and no one dared to stop him.
Some people say that this scene is too idealistic, as if the underworld elements have extraordinary courage and perseverance. But in reality, the real underworld life is not as passionate and bloody as in the movies.
In their hearts, righteousness is everything, but if they just fight for 300 yuan, is it really worth it?
Metaphor 2: The Cycle of Life and Death and the Symbol of the Three Poisons In the English title "The Pig, the Snake, and the Pigeon", the pig, the snake and the pigeon are used to symbolize the root of the cycle of life and death - greed, hatred, and ignorance.
These three animals are known as the three poisons in Buddhist culture, and there are two interpretations of naivety, namely "I know" in Hinayana Buddhism and "I don't know" in Mahayana Buddhism. In the movie "Hong Ye's Funeral", Guilinzai is the manifestation of these two idiots.
When he had a boxed lunch with another yellow-haired brother at Hong Ye's funeral, he patted his younger brother on the shoulder and told him, "Don't call me Guilinzai, I also have a name."
My name is Chen Guilin. This scene aptly shows the "I know" in Hinayana Buddhism and the "I don't know" in Mahayana Buddhism, and also reveals the impermanence of the cycle of life and death and the deep understanding and warning of the three poisons in Buddhism.
The "idiot" in the title of the film has been perfectly interpreted in Chen Guilin. He is obsessed with fame, pursuing personal likes and dislikes while ignoring right and wrong. However, a twist of fate has changed his life dramatically.
The death of his grandmother and the diagnosis of terminal lung cancer left him in deep despair. Under the persuasion of the female doctor Guiqing, he decided to go to the police station and turn himself in. However, when he arrived at the police station, he found that he also had to wait in line to turn himself in, which made him even more desperate.
It turned out that they had come to repay the money, not to hijack the cash truck. Chen Guilin stubbornly believes that all this is because he is ranked third on Taiwan's wanted list. Although he wanted to cut the line and turn himself in, the police told him to step aside.
Although Chen Guilin didn't have much education, he remembered the allusion in "The World Says New Words": Eliminate the three evils everywhere. The paranoia of evil in his heart recurred, and he decided to do something big before he died.
He wants to prove that even if he is evil, he can realize his worth by destroying more evil people. The idea is both contradictory and absurd, but when you think about it, it seems somewhat plausible.
In Metaphor 3, Chen Guilin chooses the "snake" as his hero to save beauty. The interaction between Uncle Snake Aberdeen and Xiaomei is full of sexual innuendo, and they boldly challenge on the verge of passing the trial.
When the audience first sees this scene, it may feel slightly awkward. Even some netizens brought their partners and children with them when they were in this movie, but the moment Xiaomei lowered her head, they actually had the urge to find a crack to get into.
However, if we can continue to look down, we will find that these scenes are not just to satisfy some curious moviegoers, but contain far-reaching meanings.
After learning about Aberdeen's medical needs, Chan Gui Wai found him through Xiaomei and has been keeping a close eye on his actions. After following him for a few days, Chen Guilin decided to go to the barbershop he opened himself.
The original plan was to take strong measures to solve the problem, but Aberdeen saw through it, and the two sides fell into a tense standoff. Just then, the sudden appearance of the police disrupted their rhythm.
Chen Guilin successfully caught the first villain and saved an innocent girl by the way. If the movie only goes so far, it would be too cliché, and the sex scenes implied earlier would lose their meaning.
On the way to escape by car, the director cleverly asked Xiaomei a question through Chen Guilin's mouth. Chan Guilin asked Xiaomei if she had any family, and Xiaomei replied that Aberdeen was her only relative.
It turned out that Aberdeen was Xiaomei's stepfather, and Xiaomei's mother took the charge for Aberdeen and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Chen Guilin was puzzled, why Xiaomei's mother was willing to bear the charge for such a scumbag?
Mei replied softly that her mother was voluntary.
Xiaomei and her mother serve Aberdeen unconditionally, even selling their own bodies, just because Aberdeen once saved her mother. But behind this seemingly romantic act, there is a cruel reality: the hero who saves the beauty may not be as noble as imagined, and may even become a trash.
In this dramatic moment, we see an impact on the preconceived mind, which appears not only in the play, but also outside the play. This impact puts the climax of the film on the horizon, hinting at the complexity and depth of the story.
Another important metaphor is demonism, divinity, and humanity. In the process of looking for Lin Luhe, Chen Guilin came to the Penghu Sanatorium. The filming technique of this scene is similar to that of "A Midsummer Night's Terror", both of which tell the story of a cult, the background is brightly colored, and the characters' behavior seems normal but with a hint of weirdness.
This metaphor reveals the complexity of human nature, as well as the existence of demons and divinities. In this story, the goodness and ** of human nature coexist, while the demonic and the divine represent the two extremes of human behavior.
Overall, the film reveals the complexity and depth of human nature through a variety of metaphors and dramatic moments, giving us a deeper understanding of the story of the hero's rescue of beauty.
The difference is that the former wants your life, and the latter not only takes your life, but also squeezes the property of the **. Chen Guilin was misled by His Holiness's deception and mistakenly thought that Lin Lu and himself had died, and felt deeply guilty.
Therefore, he decided to endure the pain of caning and join the church. ”
When Chen Guilin first arrived at the sanatorium, he was dressed in dark colors, while the parishioners wore light-colored clothes. This contrast of tones subtly hints at the extent of the poisoning of the congregation.
Even when Chen Guilin purged the infidels, the first to flee were the dark-clothed congregants.
The false prosperity will be shattered, and Chen Guilin finally realized that the so-called self-healing of cancer and the so-called escape from the world turned out to be a **. And the initiator of all this is Lin Luhe, who he has been looking for, the first evil with a pigeon tattooed on his back, and the pigeon represents one of the three poisons of greed.
So, Chen Guilin retrieved the pistol, but this time, he did not immediately eliminate Lin Luhe.
After reaching a consensus with His Holiness, I promised that if this gun jammed nine times in a row, it would be the result of my seeking answers from the gods. Why nine? Because before Chen Guilin went to turn himself in, he had conducted nine cup divination in front of Guan Gong.
This is how believers communicate with the gods and seek guidance. The cup has two sides, yin and yang, the protruding side is yin, and the flat side is yang. If a yin and a yang are thrown, it symbolizes the appearance of the Holy Grail and signifies the consent of the gods.
Chen Guilin threw the Holy Grail nine times in a row before he was convinced that he should indeed turn himself in.
The gun jammed twice in a row, and a smug smile appeared on His Holiness's face. But when the third shot rang out, he was shot in the head. After eliminating the evil, Chen Guilin felt relaxed and was about to leave, but as soon as he turned his head, the chant of the cult sounded behind him.
followed by the climax of the whole play. Chen Guilin returned to the church, this time no longer bothered by the stuck, he gave the believers a minute to let them evacuate, if they did not go, they would be shot.
A minute later, he did what he said he would, and as long as he didn't leave, he would really hit the head with one shot.
Despite the fact that countless lives were ended and blood was shed in the battle of the Final Templar, the audience did not feel uncomfortable, but felt extremely thrilled and happy.
Chen Guilin's transformation is not from demonic to divine, but from knowing oneself to not knowing oneself. His magic lies in the fact that he used to be a killer, killing people like hemp. However, in his later years, he used the wrong method to fight evil with evil, and under the banner of doing the right thing for heaven, he claimed to be a god, but he was not a real god.
The director is not promoting wrong ideas, but wants to tell everyone that God itself is false, just like the Venerable who teaches the people to collect money. God is not absolutely right or wrong, but only acts according to his own view of good and evil.
Therefore, the world does not need God, but should recognize and act on its own good and evil views.
Towards the end of the story, Chen Guilin returns to Hong Kong by boat and surrenders to the police officer he nearly blinded. Facing the heavily armed police, Chen Guilin laughed loudly and shouted his name, hoping to be remembered by others.
At this time, he is no longer an evil leader, but like a hero, a real hero in his heart.
If the plot comes to an abrupt end at this moment, it will be a wonderful and exciting work. However, the biggest turning point in the whole play happened, and it was this turn that made Chen Guilin really become a person.
Metaphor 5: From chasing to giving up, Chen Guilin was finally sentenced to death, and before leaving, the female doctor Guiqing went to visit him. He was surprised to find that Guiqing had turned into a bald head.
It turned out that it was not Chen Guilin who was diagnosed with cancer, but Guiqing. Guiqing just wanted to persuade Chen Guilin to turn himself in, but he didn't expect this kid to do something earth-shattering.
After reading this story, I felt angry and helpless. It's like reading a counterattack ** with ups and downs in the plot and full of surprises, but the end tells me that everything is a dream that the protagonist has before he dies, and it's just a fantasy of a dick.
But Chen Guilin accepted this fact, and thanked the female doctor for lying to him and giving him a chance to reform himself. It can be seen that he has been looking for a sense of identity, including his imitation of the three evils around him, but he is actually also seeking that recognition.
It's a pity that he has done so much, but he can't ask for it. This is a situation that we often face in life, and despite our efforts, it always backfires.
At the critical moment when Chen Guilin was about to be executed, the director revealed the reason for his sudden enlightenment through a detail. This detail is that Xiaomei helped him shave off the beard that he had never finished shaving.
When the two were separated, Xiaomei once asked Chen Guilin if they could see each other again, and this shaved beard may be a signal that they will see each other again.
The feelings between Chen Guilin and Xiaomei were cleverly and implicitly expressed by the director, they redeemed each other, and their wordless thousand words were full of deep emotions. Chen Guilin shed a tear, which represented the last time they saw each other, and at the same time his expectation for a free life.
Xiaomei gives Chen Guilin a sense of final identity, and she will always remember him and think that he is a good person. Chen Guilin happily went to his death because he knew that as a human being, mistakes should be punished.
The whole play ends with their affectionate farewell.
Conclusion: Through the five metaphors in the film, as well as Ruan Jingtian's excellent performance, we can easily understand why this film has received such enthusiastic praise on the Internet, and even attracted the attention of CCTV.
See heaven and earth, see all beings, see yourself. And the metaphors and spicy black humor in the whole movie are even more evocative, as if you are immersed in a theater, and it is still difficult to calm down for a long time after leaving the theater.
This is the real movie, which is deeply shocking and moving.