“Blossoms Shanghai” Makes a Dazzling Premiere
Starring He Ge (胡歌), Ma Yili (马伊琍), Tiffany Tang (唐嫣) and Xin Zhilei (辛芷蕾), Blossoms Shanghai <繁花> makes its premiere with stunning visual. Based on drama is based on a novel, the drama takes great effort to deliver a cinematic experience filled with charming details that embodies the sophistication of Shanghai in the 1990s.
Hu Ge stars as Ah Bao, a young man who accumulated extreme wealth in a span of 10 years by relying on the stock market. Known as Mr.Bao, he is a well-respected icon in the Shanghai’s era of ambition and wealth. In front of the public, Mr.Bao knows how to navigate the business world and earn favors.
The transformation of the humble Ah Bao to the wealthy Mr.Bao is credited to his uncle, played by You Benchang (游本昌). As a mentor, his uncle’s famous quote set the theme of the drama: “You know the Empire State Building in New York. It takes an hour to run from the bottom to the roof, but it only takes 8.8 seconds to jump from the roof.” Despite Mr.Bao’s quick rise to wealth, there are crises around every corner.
Although Hu Ge’s character carries the limelight, the female cast does not disappoint either and their characters each bring in their own charm.
Ma Yili plays Ling Zi, the owner of the Night Tokyo restaurant. While her character is described as aggressive and sharp, she presents herself cleverly and has strong business acumen. She uses Mr. Bao’s reputation to attract business while collecting information for him.
Tiffany plays Miss Wang, the only employee of Mr. Bao and his confidante. In the novel, the character has a complicated and bumpy storyline but in the first few episodes, she appears weak in comparison to the other characters. The character may undergo major changes as the series progresses and become one of the key figures of the era.
Xin Zhilei plays one of the most eye-catching characters in the drama as Li Li. Unlike the rest of the characters, Li Li does not speak Shanghainese as she originated from another city. Despite her background, Li Li is not one to mess with. The character arrives in Shanghai and buys a restaurant and quickly threatens to steal Mr. Bao’s business.
The drama was filmed in Shanghainese and this is posing a challenge for the audience who are not familiar with the dialect. In fact, some Shanghainese may even come across phrases in the drama that are not often used in the modern times. Despite these challenges, the drama opted to stay true to the Shanghainese culture to provide a taste of the city’s most vibrant time.
Source: HK01
This article is written by Sammi for JayneStars.com.
Anyone catches this? Any good?
Curious about it since it’s WKW’s production but hesitate to try for the same reason. Fear to burn too many of my brain cells trying to understand the plot.
I am quite a coward at watching new dramas…lol. I will wait till it completes, watch the end then decide if I will watch from beginning… I just hate sad ending…
But this drama sound interesting…to take 3yrs to film…I cannot imagine just how tiring that can be on anyone. Such dedication to produces a good project, I have huge respect for all involved.
It does not surprise me after this project, Hu Ge had to take time off, film a environmental documentary… He needed to be away in the wilderness and be free….
@BearBear @Hohliu
It’s a strong cast, but to me the story is weak. All I can say is that I watched six episodes and I dropped it. Basically I dragged myself to finish those six episodes. Hopefully you will like it more than me.
I am unsure too…can I watch thru this drama in the name of art?
@Hohliu
You are much nicer than me. I can’t do it. 🙁
@Dramas4me I like actress XZL, as for the rest of the cast, ok with them. Is Tang Yan any better here with her acting?
I’m still hesitating since WKW is the only pull and push factor, just like his movies though I like the movies OSTs and cinematography has always been artistically interesting.
@BearBear
I don’t like Tang Yan’s voice. It’s kind of high pitch.
@Dramas4me ya her voice is not at a comfortable pitch and her acting isn’t known to be good either (though I like her role in Chinese paladin).
Wishing the best New Year to everyone!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
Thank you! 🙂
A good 2024 to you.
I am up to ep 8 at the moment and due to the clothing and nightclubs, I keep getting the idea the story takes place in old Shanghai and not new Shanghai and it has the old Shanghai feel to it. The storyline is OK, we hardly know the characters yet. Some of them haven’t even reveal their full name yet. Camerawork is good. Acting is good. Right now, I think Xin ZhiLei is shining in her role. She has the sophistication and screen presence. There are a few guest stars that can be interesting. At the moment, I am watching it just to see what is going on. But I am not loving it and I am still a bit lost with the Shanghainese dialect – lucky for subtitles.
@elizabeth
You can watch this version – it’s in Mandarin:
https://tv.gboku.com/voddetail/4184.html
Thank you so much for the link.
@elizabeth
You are welcome.
@Coralie and all Hongkong movie lovers!! Do watch Carol Do’s interview with Tony and Andy…It is a good interview. Wong Kar Wai have been mentioned in their interview!!
The interview popped up in my YT recommendations. Guess that’s why Tony is always in WKW’s movies since they both seem to share common interests and understand each other when most of the actors and actresses, if I recall correctly, used to voice about not understanding what the director wants.
Tony may be a lone ranger but he does have his own circle of closer friends (Alex Toh, Kenny), just not his ex TVB colleagues of 4 tigers.
I watched the interview, really well done. Do Do as always is a great interviewer. Just watching the interview, I can sense Tony enjoys working with Andy. That is good. Both seem to have a respect for each other and both are very hardworking when filming. I really enjoy how both of them do not talk over each other. 40yr ago, Andy was the more famous of them, now Tony is more famous only because he has very sound international exposure. But both are still very humble towards each other. Tony admires Andy’s endless energy. Apart from the back accident Andy had years ago, I dont think he ever really rested.
@Hohliu would also think Carol’s status helped for the HK celebrities esp Andy’s generation to respect her to share more.
Ya it’s good for the two actors to feel the rapport though they aren’t always working together or the best of friends.
One wonders how Andy finds the energy and time. Being passionate at work helps but he seems to have the energy to keep up with it as well. The concert he mentioned he will be doing and his first movie as a director that he thinks he will be taking on next year……
Which interview is that? Can’t seem to find it on YT
@Hohliu where can I find the interview clip? I can’t find it on YT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPfCuXFl0Vc&ab_channel=TheDoShow
Youtube channel: The Do show…
You must watch!!! It is so fun to watch. You can see just how much respect Andy Lau gives Tony Leung… To think when they debut, it was Andy who had lead roles and Tony was just support role actor… Time flies…
@Coralie, in case my YT link is deleted. Search under YT channel: The Do Show. Do Do Sister has a new YT channel…I enjoy her interviews..
The producer made a very bold move to enlist wong ka wai as the director. Three years to film the drama is considered god speed because it took 4 y to film 2046
2046 was a movie too so 3 years is not bad in his book. LOL