Chapter 24 On the Pros and Cons of "Fire Dragon"

Pu Yi is a historical figure, but also a legendary figure.This person is absurd, strange, interesting, incredible; rich in farce, tragedy, farce, comedy and even drama.I had a long talk with him for 80 hours, which was unforgettable. "Fire Dragon" writes that the second half of the last emperor's life started as a prisoner and ended as a commoner, which is itself a challenge.Because, the first half of his life was the most glorious time for Pu Yi.Whether it's Xuantong who ascended to the throne at the age of three or stepped down at the age of six (I would say he is the emperor in open crotch pants), or nine.After the 18th Incident, he first ruled in Manchukuo for two or three years and then as a puppet emperor for twelve years; it doesn’t matter if he is a real emperor or a false emperor; it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t have the slightest regal aura; he is different from Kangxi, Qianlong or even Guangxu. He is better than any emperor in a foreign country, but he has a sense of mystery.What's more, in the first half of his life, Zhang Xun was restored, Feng Yuxiang forced the palace, Zheng Xiaoxu came out of the tiger's den holding the emperor's son, and the empress's wedding was registered, and Zhang Yuanyugong in Tianjin was interspersed with various strange and bizarre events.

Therefore, from one perspective, Puyi's dramas are almost all in the first half of his life, or the whole life from the emperor to the common people.However, from another perspective, the second half of life is not without drama.Human nature in the first half of life is distorted, although it is beautiful and not happy; it is only in the second half of life that human nature returns to normal, the so-called return from splendor to mediocrity, even though it is ordinary and ridiculous, I feel happy.It is easy to write about scenery, but it is difficult to write plainly. After all, the director Li Hanxiang is a master. He uses Puyi's widow Li Shuxian's dictation of the latter half of his life as the scriptures, and uses the three women who have a husband and wife relationship with Puyi as the latitude to unfold the story.Although the second half of life is the focus, the first half of life also has a brief account. As for the lively scenes of the big wedding, the turmoil when Manchukuo disappeared, etc., through the experience of Queen Wanrong and Fugui Li Yuqin, it can still be presented on the screen. The entertainment of the film And the drama is greatly increased. Although "Fire Dragon" is packaged by disclosing the secret history of the last emperor's boudoir for the first time, the director's vision is very broad.

Li Hanxiang is also good at capturing details.For example, the depiction of Wanrong's cool addiction to opium and sexual distress, and Pu Yi's overly polite jokes on the streets of Beijing in his later years actually make the characters' characteristics and personalities more three-dimensional. The cast is neat, with Tony Leung Ka Fai playing the role of Pu Yi, Pu Yi's unique temperament is very similar, but it is a pity that he is a little older.Pan Hong played the role of Li Shuxian as the actress, her acting skills are subtle and delicate, but she is too young and beautiful, but this is not a shortcoming, the audience only thinks it looks good.Queen Wanrong (Li Dianlang)'s aristocratic demeanor, and Fugui's Li Yuqin (Li Dianxin)'s civilian status are both very competent in their performances.As for Wang Tiecheng playing Zhou Enlai, he is the ideal candidate.The fly in the ointment is that both Wanrong and Premier Zhou Enlai think they are a little fat.Wan Rong's mother should be the old actor Lu En.

"Fire Dragon" is interspersed with the scenes of the Cultural Revolution, which is very necessary.In order to be faithful to Puyi's experience in the second half of his life, these scenes are absolutely indispensable. Overseas audiences should be shocked when they experience it for the first time.The fact that Puyi did not die during the Cultural Revolution and was able to die on the sick bed for a long time is not related to fate, and there are very important human factors in it. In addition to "Fire Dragon", there are several Puyi films co-produced by China and the United States, and by China and the United Kingdom. Li Hanxiang's cleanliness stands out, which is also an achievement.

Before commenting on the shortcomings of "Fire Dragon", I would like to talk about the situation between Puyi and his wife that I know. Thirty years ago, I had a ten-day talk with Puyi, the last emperor, at the Fushun War Criminals Management Office, during which they talked about their wedding at the age of seventeen (later I found out that it was December 1, 1921, that is, the eleventh day of the Republic of China). October 13th of the lunar calendar, Friday), Empress Guo Boluo.Wanrong (19061946), a Mongolian, was the same age as Puyi. Her father Rong Yuan (the subtitle of "Fire Dragon" was wrongly named Rong Yuan) was one of the four ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.In fact, according to the ceremony system, it was Concubine Shu Wenxiu who entered the palace one day earlier than the queen.Puyi told me that he first selected Wenxiu from the photos, a Manchu, but some of the four concubines thought she was too poor and not beautiful, so they picked her again, picked out Wanrong, and made her the empress.Li Yuanhong, President of the Republic of China, sent a commissioner to congratulate him, which is very funny.

The emperor's wives and concubines in the Qing Dynasty were divided into eight levels: empress, imperial concubine, noble concubine, concubine, concubine, nobleman, always present, promised.In Beijing and Changchun, Puyi successively had Empress Wanrong, Concubine Shu Wenxiu, Qing nobleman Tan Yuling (a Manchu, daughter of Yulang, surnamed Tatara), and Fugui nobleman Li Yuqin.Finally, in the 1960s, Puyi married Li Shuxian, a female nurse, at the age of fifty-six.Incidentally, according to the "Four Genealogies of the Qing Imperial Family", the Empress Dowager of the West was elected to the palace in the first year of Xianfeng, and she was first given the title Yiguiren, and she is also a nobleman.Puyi also said that he had never traveled in his life.

"Fire Dragon" is a biographical film mainly focusing on the second half of Puyi's life. The emperor's life as a couple with five women runs through the overall situation for more than forty years, and the script is completely based on the dictation of the last widow. This is expected, not surprising.Or the director fully understands it, but it is not impossible to make a trade-off. According to Puyi's face-to-face report, he was close to Wenxiu in Tianjin and neglected Wanrong. As a result, Wanrong was dissatisfied and Wenxiu begged to leave.This is the reason why Wanrong was later put under house arrest by Puyi in the Puppet Palace in Changchun, and the reason why she suffered from the loneliness of the boudoir and finally had an affair with her servant.And Puyi actually kept Tan Yuling's relic nails in the wallet given by his English teacher Sir Johnston, which also shows that he has a terrible infatuation.After visiting Puyi, I visited Li Yuqin again.She was twenty-nine years old that year, and she had been waiting for twelve years, eager to know when Pu Yi would be free. Unexpectedly, when she was thirty-one, he was suddenly released from prison.

She is 22 years younger than Puyi, from Changchun, and her family is poor.When he was in primary school at the age of fifteen, he was selected as a nobleman and entered the false palace.When fleeing, she met Wanrong and praised her beauty.In the early 1950s, Li Yuqin visited Fushun repeatedly.When she wrote to Puyi, the first sentence was always dear Puyi, which was enough to reflect the great changes in society. It is said that Li Shuxian met Pu Yi at a ball in the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and finally got married.The period from 1962 to 1967, when Pu Yi passed away, was actually only six years.Of course, she knew the second half of Pu Yi's life (except Li Yuqin) best.

Puyi’s English name is Henry, and Wanrong’s is Elizabeth; she was also the one who taught Puyi to eat Western food in the Forbidden City (it was called (foreign rice) at the time). But in the film, there is a scene of Wanrong swearing in English while fleeing in Jilin. Although it is a gimmick, it is impossible At the ball, Puyi met two daughters of Manchu aristocrats, and some people attacked them. It was impossible to see her dress, speech and behavior in Beijing in the early 1960s. I mean, since Puyi is written For family life, it is best to express both the personality of the characters and the characteristics of the times through the conversations and actions of the characters, like Lao She's "Tea House". This may be demanding, but Pu Yi, the last emperor, is a modern historical figure after all. Biography Sexual movies can have hypothetical stories and fictitious characters, but the imagined people and things are conceived from the real. Only after the real foundation can you imagine. The overall performance of "Fire Dragon" is very good, but individual The imagination of the place seems to be let loose. It is no wonder that the director has lived overseas for a long time.

(1986)