The artistic blooming of actresses starts from middle age, with 63 year old Hui Yinghong and 60 year old Ye Tong performing eye-catching actresses at the film festival | middle-aged and elderly | Ye Tong
At the 25th International Film Festival, there was a very eye-catching performance of love and marriage between middle-aged and elderly people in "I Love You". 63 year old Hui Yinghong and 60 year old Ye Tong played the female lead, together with Ni Dahong and Liang Jiahui, portraying the love pursuit and perseverance of middle-aged and elderly people in the entanglement of aging and disease. I am delighted to see middle-aged and elderly actresses as the main characters on the big screen. This phenomenon has been rare in recent years. Last year, the collaboration between Wu Yanshu and Xi Meijuan in "Mom!" also featured strong female lead roles, adding attention to the middle-aged and elderly population to the current Chinese screen. Especially for Wu Yanshu, an elderly woman born in 1938, whether she plays the rural grandmother who has been with her husband for a lifetime in "Love and Family" or the Chinese foster mother who went to Japan to find her adopted daughter in "See Nara Again", her performances are meticulous and profound. The fine and deep wrinkles resembling Buddha reveal the characters' rich inner emotions, and viewers will be brought in and understand, feeling the artistic aesthetic appeal conveyed by good actors.
Actresses are not necessarily young and beautiful
In recent years, most of the female protagonists in domestic film and television dramas tend to be young and beautiful girls, with middle-aged female characters mostly being mother-in-law, mother, and aunt. The character designs are often rebellious and noisy, as if middle-aged women are not good at speaking. This leads to some good actors not being able to play more suitable roles and can only create a "don't be awkward" image. For example, Pan Hong, who is so outstanding, has mostly played the role of "evil mother-in-law" in recent years and has not fully demonstrated her acting talent.
In the larger environment, there is a certain aesthetic that goes against the laws of life and nature, known as the "girlish feeling" of actresses. Girls are naturally full of vitality and beauty at the beginning of life, but isn't it that girls are not good enough? Stars in their 40s are trying their best to play youth idols. You should know that the dust of the years cannot be removed by pulling skin, the vicissitudes of time cannot be covered by foundation make-up, and the filter cannot filter out the experience of life. It is conceivable that the screen will roll over if it is so hard.
Only when the actor presents the natural state of life can the character shine. Of course, the board cannot be solely targeted at the actors. Bai Youxi's distorted aesthetic in film and television, as well as the lack of full respect for the social and cultural background of women's various stages of life, may be the source. Many middle-aged actresses have no acting, and most of them are supporting role. Supporting role are always stereotyped. No wonder actors like Lian Haiqing are a little embarrassed when they reach the age of "unable to grasp the tail of youth". In public, they call the director to find her for filming.
But should it be like this? Can an actress's artistic life only stay at the stage of a young girl? I believe that it is the middle-aged actress who gradually enters a better stage of acting, with artistic vitality flying with time, and more able to bloom with the charm that may not have been present in her youth.
For example, Song Chunli. In terms of appearance, there are many actors who are more beautiful than her, but her sharp and angular face carries a sense of confidence; In terms of acting, the older she is, the better her acting skills become. He played the roles of mother-in-law, mother, and female cadre with ease, playing one "live" role at a time. For example, in "The World," Jin Yueji's sense of propriety in her multiple identities was appropriately grasped by her. She was majestic but not strict, and kind but fierce. The scene of arguing with her daughter was extremely angry and restrained, leaving a deep impression on people. For example, in "Our Days," grandma's emotions are expressed in a layered manner on her face. Her beloved grandson called from Beijing, and after answering the phone, she froze on the side, wishing to say a few more words of concern that almost overflowed the screen. Without this supporting role grandmother, the life of joys and sorrows and mixed feelings would be greatly reduced.
Even if there are not many scenes, they can still be remembered, which is the charm of a good actor. Actors immerse themselves and their characters completely, and even without speaking lines, body language can bring out a sense of character.
Zhang Zhihua, who excels in portraying Shanghai aunties, is a popular little flower from the 1980s. Although her appearance is not particularly outstanding, she excels in portraying the vibrant Shanghai people in daily life. In works such as "Love Myth" and "The Bell on the Bund", she pouts and stares, her body language flows smoothly, and her whole body is full of drama. In my opinion, after middle age, she actually has a beauty that has been experienced and accumulated from life. This kind of beauty is not the typical elegance in mainstream aesthetics, but rather one's own style and characteristics. Like Song Chunli, it is an artistic beauty that starts from "finding its own self" and can shape characters. What kind of beauty can be more abundant than the lifelike beauty that actors bring to their characters?
The growth of life can make characters take root and take root
Many actresses are sensitive to the roles of aunts and mothers, either indicating that they are not the main female lead, or suggesting that they are older and generally unwilling to take on such roles. In fact, there is a collective subconscious here that only sees aunts and mothers as mother-in-law. Auntie and mother are both middle-aged girls, while mother-in-law has a variety of flavors along the way. I remember many years ago there was a TV drama called "The Empty Mirror", in which Peng Yu, the mother, played a vivid role. In one scene, she not only portrayed the sadness of her husband's death, but also suppressed the sadness of her daughter who was afraid of going to the United States, causing the audience to cry. This mother's role has made people remember this actor.
Good actors make characters take root, that's the fundamental. Fortunately, in recent years, some middle-aged and elderly female actors in China have dared to face the blessings of time and live up to its blessings. Even if they don't play the lead role in the play, they will still add color to the play. There are no small roles, only small actors, of course. The author happened to see a TV play "The Awakener", which shows the innovative diagnosis and treatment of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine. Regardless of the success of one western medicine and one traditional Chinese medicine played by two young actors, at least supporting role such as Wang Zhiwen, Jiang Shan, Liu Jia and others can make people bear to look at it. Jiang Shan and Liu Jia are obviously middle-aged, but Jiang is still old and spicy, closer to the role than young actors.
Yongmei, who won the Best Actress award at the 69th Berlin Film Festival for "Eternal Love", is also an actress without age constraints. In her early years, she played the role of Sun Yuejian, the wife of Zhou Yi, in "Cliff". However, due to their hidden relationship, the two could only occasionally meet. Yongmei conveyed through her eyes and body language that they were both gay and married, and could only meet cautiously, with a deep sense of restraint, leaving a lingering impression. Recently, I have been paying attention to Wu Yue, but I haven't really watched her youth scenes. I saw her portraying He Yun, the deputy director of the Public Security Bureau, as an "inner ghost" in "Sweeping the Black Storm". Although her role is still relatively thin, it is probably due to the intentional expansion of the career path of white-collar female elites in the past. Later, in "County Party Committee Courtyard", the female deputy county mayor has become much more mature. The combination of lines and character performance is quite good, especially showing the female cadres' unique meticulousness towards their subordinates. Unlike some actors who become familiar with certain types of roles and constantly repeat them, this approach is certainly easy to please, but it also narrows the actor's life.
So, Hai Qing's shift from the traditional "national daughter-in-law" persona to the disabled peasant woman in "Hidden in Dust and Smoke" is indeed a breakthrough in the actor's self and artistic life, a deeper expression of the artistic attitude of various characters.
Such a sincere approach to age and role, such a sincere approach to art and aesthetics, such an actor will go further. Wrinkles and slack are, in a way, "babes" that nourish the soul and the growth of artistic perception.
"Mother!" Xi Meijuan, who co-starred with Wu Yanshu, said a word after Wu Yanshu won the Best Actress Award at the Temple of Heaven Award at the 12th Beijing International Film Festival for this film, to the effect that this award is an affirmation of our middle-aged actresses. The words were heartening to hear. In other words, there are too few good roles for middle-aged actresses to play, and too many middle-aged and elderly actresses are ignored. However, it is plagiarized that middle-aged actresses should be confident. Looking around, many middle-aged and elderly actresses, such as the late Japanese tree Schilling, South Korea Yin Ruzhen, European and American "Aunt Mei", "Aunt Yu" and Kate Winslet, are more and more mellow as "Daughter Red.
"Mei Yi" in the movie "Little Women"
Face up to and let go of age anxiety, and embrace each role wholeheartedly. The leading role and the supporting role are rooted into solid and refined roles. Perhaps it can be said that the artistic blooming of actresses starts from middle age.
