Special feature of 1905 film network Directed by, starring,,, and, the anti-Japanese war drama was shown in domestic cinemas on November 19th, 2021. The film tells the story of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression’s heroic "railway team" in Zaozhuang, Lincheng, crossing the tracks and picking up trains, intercepting weapons and materials, fighting the enemy to the end with courage and wisdom, defending their homeland to the death, and making important contributions to the victory of the Anti-Japanese War.
The film is based on the true stories of Hong Zhenhai, Wang Zhisheng, Du Jiwei, Liu Jinshan and other members of the "Railway Team" which took place between 1935 and 1945. Since the film was released, its reputation has been unsatisfactory. As of November 23, 2021, Douban scored 6.5 points. Many viewers think that the rhythm of the film is not good, and most of the characters are flat. However, Lao Wang, played by Fan Wei in the film, was well received, and it was evaluated that he interpreted the little people under the hero’s face quite vividly. Why did Fan Wei’s performance win unanimous praise from the public?
The brilliance of an actor’s performance is inseparable from the role shaping itself. The role of Lao Wang in "Railway Hero" is described in six words as "a little man and a big hero". First of all, he feels like an ordinary person. At the beginning of the film, he appeared as a traitor and left a negative impression on the audience. Under the ordinary and negative image, the heroic side of Lao Wang slowly emerged, and finally, near the end, the plot reversed, and the heroic side of Lao Wang was completely displayed, allowing the audience to get an emotional release. The layering brought by this role-building is the place where it shines.
From the perspective of public cognition, Fan Wei has always appeared as a simple and honest person. The appearance of Lao Wang has brought some contrast to the audience. Fan Wei also made full use of the characteristics of his appearance, first to arouse the audience’s emotions through the audience’s solidified impression of the traitor role, and then to guide the audience to understand the role in depth through various performance details, which aroused strong resonance among the audience in the final reversal. Fan Wei’s performance also has a sense of hierarchy, which has a good positive effect.
Wang Nan, a teacher of the Performance Department of the Central Academy of Drama, said: "The Lao Wang played by Teacher Fan Wei, to whom I gave a six-word evaluation, is a nobody but a hero. Such a person is a real hero, because heroes are not written on his face, but heroes are actually both good and evil. He may have a very un-heroic face, but he is doing something very heroic. This is the role of Lao Wang, with a face that is not heroic, but doing something very heroic. "
Fan Wei endowed this role with the most impressive attribute, which is forbearance. Fan Wei is good at creating forbearing characters, such as Du Hongjun in the movie and Lao Cui in the movie. In these films, Fan Wei plays a person who is overwhelmed by life and unable to resist. In Railway Hero, Lao Wang endured both the oppression of the enemy and the misunderstanding of his compatriots, but he finally released this oppression as a hero.
Fan Wei’s performance is as easy as lifting weights. A few lines can let us see the emotional changes in this character’s heart. Wang Nan thinks: "Fan Wei is a great master in my mind. He will show such a figure incisively and vividly through meticulous micro-expressions and micro-movements. Why is such a figure difficult to play?"? Because you can’t have big body movements, you can’t be such a passionate externalized performance. Such a character has his limitations, but you need to show that this person is fluctuating, so you need to make full use of micro-movements, micro-expressions and props to let us experience the ups and downs and surges of this person’s inner feelings through the external physical changes of this character. "
From the sketch "The Kidnapper" to the TV series "Ma Dashuai", Fan Wei has created many comic characters that are deeply rooted in people’s hearts. In everyone’s impression, he is more honest and honest, and he has to say thank you after being fooled. This kind of intimacy is loved by everyone. Many viewers felt that Fan Wei was covered with jokes as long as he stood there without opening his mouth. With the serious roles such as Ding Wuyuan in the movie, we are less and less likely to equate Fan Wei with "making people laugh". Through his solid performance, we can feel the joys and sorrows of small people.
Fan Wei’s vivid portrayal of little people comes from his profound understanding of little people and his belief in performing little people. The core of performance is not to make the audience like it, but to make the audience believe it, which first requires the actors to convince themselves. The characters created by Fan Wei are full of life on the screen, which is worth studying and learning by every actor.
The director’s observation of today’s film review;About the movie "Railway Hero", what touched my mood most was Lao Wang played by Fan Wei. In the movie, Lao Wang touched me many times. He was grovelling when he worked for the enemy, neither humble nor humble after his identity was exposed, and he died when he faced the enemy. All these descriptions of Lao Wang are in Fan Wei’s casual actions of lighting a cigarette and sending peanuts. With thunder on his chest, he looks like a lake, a little person and a great hero, which Fan Wei presented to the audience with acting skills. (Yuan Danyang, director of Today’s Film Review)