This film has two important elements, one is the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and the other is Yang Yuhuan. The word "prosperous Tang Dynasty" is not only the concept of a historical period, but also a perfect fantasy era with strong surrealism and romanticism, because it has outstanding civilized atmosphere and prosperous style, as well as many masterpieces of poets. This era satisfies all the beautiful imaginations of people who are busy in gray life, as if it were a paradise where people danced lightly, indulged in poetry and painting, and people were carefree.
This is the most prosperous era, the most emotional era, this mirage-like fantasy and beauty, and it is the most beautiful memory and affection for Chang' an's old dream. In the film, director Chen Kaige intends to show such a brilliant and dreamlike Tang Dynasty, while the color-exhausted Feast of Blissfulness is a high-altitude portrait of the heyday of the Tang Dynasty. This may not be the most true, but it is destined to be the most poetic. "Everything is not as good as a cup in your hand, and life depends on a few months." The prosperous Tang dynasty has long been lost in silence by the heavy historical sandstorm, but this fantasy can last as long as it lasts.
If the prosperous Tang Dynasty is an unattainable paradise, then Yang Yuhuan is Hera sitting next to the highest position of power. She is the most dazzling jewel in the legendary crown of the Tang Dynasty. "When the world of mortals rode the princess, no one knew it was litchi." As the most beloved imperial concubine, she has all the tenderness and treasures of the country's supreme king, which is loved by 3 thousand people, and clusters of peony flowers are open for her. Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, was willing to do anything for her to make her smile. This is a noble woman who is destined to shine with low eyebrows and big eyes. Yang Guifei, played by Yang Rongrong, has a unique face in the film, which is impressive. Her exotic face and soft and affectionate eyes all show the breathtaking beauty of Yang Guifei to some extent.
In the film, the prosperous Tang Dynasty and Yang Yuhuan are the beautiful fantasies that Bai Juyi, a poet in the middle Tang Dynasty, yearns for. The lush poems in the prosperous Tang Dynasty and the love between Xuanzong and the imperial concubine are persistent. Bai Juyi lived in a peaceful Tang Dynasty. He regretted missing the most glorious period of this dynasty and wrote Song of Eternal Sorrow to commemorate this prosperous love. However, when the creation was completed, he was confused and at a loss about the ending of this relationship. What happened to Maweipo on the night of the mutiny? How did Yang Guifei die? Bai Juyi, played by Huang Xuan, has a yearning for the truth when describing this love tragedy involving politics and military affairs. At the same time, a demon cat with strange whereabouts appeared in the capital with the answer of the past and bloody and cruel blood fog, which attracted the attention of Bai Juyi and the Japanese monk Konghai who came to China to seek Taoism. Together, they knocked on the door of history that had already been settled and locked, unveiled the dream veil hanging over the surface of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and saw a dream.
The overall framework of The Legend of the Demon Cat is very grand. No matter the conception of the story or the setting of the plot, there can be a sense of historical vicissitudes and disillusionment like a dream, as well as the sadness of the intense love of the royal family and the mixed interests, as well as the silent sigh of the people. As a matter of fact, the portrayal of Tang Dynasty and Yang Yuhuan in the film does not need much historical revision. After all, this is not a historical documentary, it is the prosperous Tang Dynasty in the eyes of Chen Kaige, and it is also the beautiful and desolate prosperous Tang Dynasty in the eyes of poets. You can't avoid poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and you can't avoid Li Bai in poetry. "Wine into sorrow, three differentiation moonlight, seven points into a firm but gentle roar, embroidered mouth spit, half prosperous Tang Dynasty". Li Bai's "Drunk Life and Dream Death" is the most romantic symbol of the free atmosphere in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
In the film, when Li Bai didn't see Yang Guifei, he made an aura sentence of "clouds need clothes, flowers need capacity". After writing the last sentence, the poet Li Bai slowly left a tear. Why is he crying? Is it the sensitive poet who heard the fading weather in this dynasty at the prosperous and luxurious "bliss feast", amid the joyful music and bamboo sound? Or did the poet himself shed sentimental tears for this beautiful era, for this magnificent palace, for this life of free drinking, and for this poem inspired by wonderful hands? Or the sadness that everything in front of us will eventually pass away like a passing cloud and never come again? In fact, Li Bai's tears impressed me the most in the whole film. Those tears are not only the happy indulgence of the beautiful prosperous Tang Dynasty in the long years, but also the tragic desolation of the short prosperous Tang Dynasty in its circulation history.
But in all fairness, apart from these magnificent and romantic color borders and overall architecture, The Legend of the Demon Cat is not very brilliant in hardware. The narrative of the story is not strong, the details are not exquisite, and it has not reached the height it should have. The setting of the story is that the demon cat guides Bai Juyi to pursue the truth of the past, but to be honest, this "guidance" is really far-fetched. In fact, in the original plot, I think the black cat is just doing what he wants to do, and there is no intention to guide Bai Juyi at all. Isn't the intersection of Bai Juyi and Qin Chun a simple coincidence and curiosity? In the subsequent plot, the so-called "guide" of the demon cat just read a poem and said a few words that seem to be hidden mystery (to be honest, this mystery is not very advanced as a suspense reasoning factor ...), and this is still realized by Konghai. Bai Juyi's main task seems to be to popularize the historical knowledge of the Tang Dynasty to the empty sea. And the white-headed maid-in-waiting said that Yang Guifei was more beautiful after her death than before. This is also a subjective lyric. Why did it become a breakthrough clue that immediately frightened Bai Juyi and Konghai's face? (And Yang Guifei was not killed by the white silk she knitted at all, so why did the demon cat kill her ...) The description of the last feast and Yang Guifei's death was mainly based on the diary, which revealed most of the truth in one breath. It should be a surprise step by step, not as a mystery film. Finally, the demon cat's confession is a bit too straightforward. As a mysterious role setting, it's a bit too straightforward. Speaking of the setting of the demon cat, I think the movie doesn't give the demon cat enough mystery, and talking too much is an important failure of the cat not being demon enough.
Personally, I think there is something wrong with this film as a whole, but there is not enough white space. In literary criticism, "the implication between the lines is unexpected", so you don't have to say everything, but you should leave a aftertaste, so that readers can feel the unexplored situation themselves, and the same is true of movies. But "The Legend of the Demon Cat" always seems to worry that the audience can't understand it, and everything should be made clear. For example, Bai Juyi and Konghai are opening the coffin that once sealed Yang Guifei, covered with red handprints. In fact, the message conveyed by this lens is very clear and has a sense of shock. However, the lead actor has to make it clear that this is Barabara that Yang Guifei caught when she woke up. In fact, I think it is needless to say, as long as you make an incredible and sad silent expression, "what they say silently is more than what they say with sound"! Another example is what the demon cat said before she died. I know she is dead, but she just doesn't want to give up. It's really redundant, losing the beauty of her disillusionment. For example, in "Painted Skin 2", Xiao Wei said before he died that "the heart is warm, the tears are bitter, and the azaleas are really fragrant." This montage-style confession is the most touching and has infinite beauty.
The picture of this film is very beautiful. The white crane boy, the blissful feast, the sad singing in the moonlight, the bleak death, and many montage shots and exquisite and changeable pictures are all impressive and have a strong aesthetic feeling. In history, Bai Juyi's Song of Eternal Sorrow contradicts the consistent theme of such poems condemning Yang Yuhuan's disaster to the country and the people, but focuses on the infatuation between Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan that "spring night is too short, but the rising sun is too short, and the emperor has given up listening early". Bai Juyi described a beautiful love in plain language: "On the seventh day of July, in the Palace of Eternal Life, we secretly told each other in the silent midnight world. We hope to fly in heaven, two birds become one, grow on the earth, two branches of a tree ... the earth lasts forever, and the sky lasts forever; One day, both will end, and this endless sorrow will continue forever. "In this poem, it is difficult to see too many political metaphors, but more is just a lament for the royal family. In the movie, Bai Juyi, played by Huang Xuan, feels sad and disillusioned with the contradiction that Xuanzong gave his beloved woman the death, but he still doesn't change the original poem, probably because Bailong's deep attachment to Yang Guifei still makes Bai Juyi see the passionate love in his poem that "I don't know how to start, but it's gone forever". Although it's actually a ghost cat's love in reality, the core essence of love remains the same.
Perhaps both Tang Dynasty and Yang Yuhuan are just an illusion in the movie, an illusion that confuses the world. We can't let history go unscathed. "Mob" said that truth often hides more truth than truth. Yes, after all, there is only one truth. If there are a thousand readers, there are a thousand Hamlets. Everyone has the ability to create illusions, and there are countless illusions and endless truths.