This year's New Year's Eve is in full swing, and the popularity of the Spring Festival Gala and movies has not completely faded away. New dramas with various themes have been launched online, but there are very few works that can really bring the whole family together.
Just when everyone feels that this Spring Festival schedule lacks a bit of warmth, CCTV 8 officially launched 30 episodes of the nostalgic youth drama "When the Years Are Loved" today.
This drama directly filled the gap in family-friendly period dramas and captured the hearts of audiences of different age groups in just 4 episodes.
Period dramas produced by CCTV have always been synonymous with quality. From the restoration of Feng Hua Dao to the polishing of the plot, every aspect is rigorous, and "The Love of Time" is naturally no exception.
This drama is adapted from the famous novel "Children" and is directed by director Huang Wei, who directed the industrial line of "Dajiang Dahe". It is jointly created by two screenwriters, Bian Zhihong and Zhang Dahai. From the perspective of the team, it has a hit gene.
"When Time Has Love" sets the background of the story in Tiexicheng, Northeast China in the 1990s, focusing on three generations in a large factory.
The orphan Zhang Xiaoman grew up eating the food from the factory and became a "son of Tiexicheng" who values love and righteousness. The factory director's daughter Yan Xiaodan is brave and courageous, carrying dreams and responsibilities in her heart. Xia Lei, a top student, is steady and down-to-earth and is the "Dinghaishenzhen" of the trio.
The story of them going from passionate young people in the factory to going their separate ways to explore the world, and finally reuniting due to nostalgia to protect their hometown, is full of fireworks.
There are many old objects in the play, such as 28-year-old bicycles, old-fashioned machine tools, and retro floral skirts. Each one of them accurately touches the nostalgic nerves of the audience.
Zhang Xiaoman, played by Huang Jingyu in the play, completely broke his previous tough guy image.
Most people's impression of Huang Jingyu is that of a special soldier in military dramas or a boss in modern dramas. His role is very single.
This time, in order to play the role of Zhang Xiaoman well, he went to the Shenyang factory one month in advance to experience life, and learned the gestures of old workers when cleaning machine tools.
When his grandmother died unexpectedly, he slumped to the side with wet eyes, his face turned sideways and unable to breathe, his hands tightly grasping the cold machine tool casing, his brows furrowed, and his lips trembling as he said, "If the factory is gone, the family is gone."
The confusion, reluctance and helplessness in his eyes are intertwined. There are no exaggerated body movements, but he vividly interprets the pain of the little character facing the family accident.
This scene also allowed the audience to see that Huang Jingyu is no longer an actor who only "plays cool". He has successfully broadened his acting career and his acting skills have become more mature and stable.
Guan Xiaotong's performance in the play dazzled all the audiences, and it can be called another peak of her acting career.
The year before last, she played the role of Zhuang Xiaoting in "Alley People" and received numerous praises for her natural and down-to-earth performance. This time, Yan Xiaodan has a bit more sassiness and tenacity of a Northeastern girl than Zhuang Xiaoting.
In order to get closer to the character, Guan Xiaotong deliberately lost her star aura. In the play, she wore white washed overalls, a simple ponytail, and a bare face, completely integrating into the image of a female factory worker in the 1990s.
In the neighborhood dinner scene, Yan Xiaodan walked to the yard with a bowl of stew, smiling and passing chopsticks to the elders. The pear dimples at the corners of her mouth were looming, and her eyes were full of agility and cleverness.
But when someone questioned the decision to reform the factory, she straightened her back and argued hard. Her speech speed became faster, her eyes became firm, and there was no sense of contradiction between the two states.
The audience expressed that Guan Xiaotong's performance this time did not have any idol baggage. She brought Yan Xiaodan's vivid and three-dimensional performance to life. It is not an exaggeration to say that she "kicked open the door to Chinese period dramas".
As a powerful veteran actor, Guo Jinglin's performance in the play is still rock solid. The old factory leader he plays is the "backbone" of the entire factory area.
When Guo Jinglin had a scene where he stood in the factory broadcast room and spoke, he was wearing a straight Mao suit, holding a microphone in his hand, and his voice was deep and powerful, and every word revealed his love and reluctance for the factory.
There are stories hidden in his eyes. When he looks at the workers, he has the care of the elders for the younger ones. When he looks at the factory gate, he also has emotion about the years.
There are no unnecessary expressions. Just his eyes and tone of voice establish the image of an old worker who sticks to his job. Every shot is full of appeal.
The joining of Jia Bing adds a lot of warm and bright colors to this drama. He plays the eighth-level fitter Ding Guoqiang in the drama. This character is cold on the outside and hot on the inside, with a hot temper but extremely protective.
When a young worker made a mistake while operating a machine tool, Ding Guoqiang rushed over and turned off the power immediately. He frowned and scolded the young worker loudly. The expression on his face was so serious that he was so frightened that the worker did not dare to look up.
But after turning around, he silently picked up the tools and helped the young worker repair the machine tool. He also whispered, "Be careful next time, safety first."
Jia Bing performed Ding Guoqiang's "sharp mouth and soft heart" just right. He was strict when reprimanding and gentle when caring. The two contrasting emotions were handled naturally and smoothly by him, making this character particularly vivid and three-dimensional.
"When Time Has Love" has only been airing for 4 episodes, and it has already soared in popularity.
After watching it, some netizens said that this drama reminded them of their parents' youthful years. They could chat with their parents non-stop while watching the drama. Moreover, the drama was so realistic that it took people back to the 1990s in a second.
Some netizens bluntly said that the actors' acting skills were all on point, and there was not a single crotch-stretching role.
Now it is only the first day of broadcast. It has no gorgeous special effects or bloody plot. It has captured the hearts of the audience just by its true period restoration and the actors' heartfelt performances.
This drama is not only a tribute to the factory years in the 1990s, but also a celebration of human friendship. It tells us with a warm story that no matter how the times change, friendship will always be the basis for us to move forward.
I wonder if everyone has watched this drama? What do you think?
