The HK Phil is undoubtedly the memory of many people.
And it's not just star singers and songwriters who have created the golden age of the HK Phil.
Excellent HK Phil lyricists are also an important piece of the puzzle of people's memories.
From Huang Zhan Zheng Guojiang in the early days to Pan Yuanliang in the later days.
They have written countless catchy and meaningful lyrics.
Huang Zhan and Tsui Hark
Today, however, the HK Phil is on the wane.
Not only is it difficult to reproduce the glory of the past, but there are few excellent lyricists.
This year's Hong Kong movie presents such a status quo.
There is not only nostalgia for the past, but also reflections on the present, as well as a vision for the future.
Where does the HK Phil go from here?
Perhaps, we can find the answer in this movie.
"Lyrics L"
The first thing that caught my attention in this film was director Huang Qilin.
She is not a name familiar to the public, but her directorial strength cannot be underestimated.
5 years ago, she came up with her debut novel "Golden Capital".
With "marriage" as the starting point, he carries out in-depth thinking and exploration of contemporary society.
The open-ended ending corresponds to the reality that there is still no clear answer.
"Golden Capital"
Although it is a debut novel, and the cost is not high, it can make people's hearts tingle faintly.
At the 39th Hong Kong Film Awards, Huang Qilin won the "New Director" award for "Golden Capital".
As a result, it has gained more attention and expectations.
In 2019, he won the Netpac Award at the Golden Horse Film Festival
After 5 years, her second feature film "Lyrics L" is still closely connected to reality.
The film is adapted from her autobiography "I Want to Be an Illiterate Lyricist", which tells the story of her experience of wanting to be a lyricist when she was young.
And many of the characters and plots in the film come from Huang Qilin's personal real experience.
With "Jindu" in front, Huang Qilin has a lot of confidence.
In the preparation of the film, she decided that instead of spending time lobbying investors, she would invest on her own.
She paid out of her own pocket and took out 2.8 million Hong Kong dollars as the entire budget for the film.
The shooting was very fast, and it took only 15 days before and after.
And almost one person contracted the lyrics of all the songs in the film.
The final result was also impressive.
It received a box office of 7 million Hong Kong dollars in two months after its release.
At the same time, it was also selected as the closing film of the 20th Hong Kong Asian Film Festival and the competition film of the 19th Osaka Asian Film Festival.
And the reviews given by the audience and critics are good.
The protagonist of the movie, Luo Yingshi, can be seen as Huang Qilin in middle school.
She loves to write lyrics.
Since middle school, I have devoted myself to studying the skills of Cantonese word filling.
Compared with Chinese songs, English songs, and Korean songs, Cantonese is more difficult to fill in words.
Originally, there are many tones, and the pronunciation, rhyme, and so on should be considered when writing words.
I wanted to take my friend to participate in a music writing contest, but I planned to give up because my friend was going to study abroad.
However, Luo Yingshi has always adhered to her dream of being a lyricist.
She will enroll in classes in the summer.
Learn techniques from professional tutors.
From the very beginning, she was told by others that this line of work is not easy.
It's hard, and it's not profitable.
But Luo Yingshi didn't care, thinking that it was the dream she had been pursuing.
After being admitted to the Chinese University of Hong Kong, she recommended herself to major record companies.
Most of them sink into the sea, and occasionally the composer sends back the music demo and asks her to help fill in the lyrics.
Later, she went to Taiwan to sell her original songs to record companies in person.
He also participated in the lyricist contest and successfully won the championship.
I joined the company and signed a contract.
I am full of confidence that I will have a "street song" that symbolizes my foothold in the industry.
Unexpectedly, the follow-up development was far from being as smooth as I expected.
It can be said that the whole movie is the story of Luo Yingshi pursuing her dreams all the way.
Watching her constantly suffer all kinds of blows, and watching her stand up again and again.
The ups and downs and hardships have made us see the difficulties of this industry.
With the introduction of Lo Yingshi into the profession of lyricist, we have also seen the current chaos of the HK Phil.
For example, after Luo Yingshi signed with the company, she quickly handed over her first results.
She was full of interest and dragged her family together to wait for her name to be announced on the radio.
Unexpectedly, it was another unfamiliar name that came out.
Only afterwards did she realize that it has long been the norm for newcomers to fill in words and sign other people's names.
Others also advised her not to pay too much attention to it.
Because that's how everybody came here.
After she became a lyricist for the record company.
only to find out that the record company only buys songs and not lyrics.
The other party often just understates the sentence "I don't like the original word, so I just write it myself".
This also made Luo Yingshi never have a commercial song.
ran into walls one after another, making Luo Yingshi increasingly disheartened.
After a lot of twists and turns, she decided to go to work for a friend's company.
Temporarily let go of the dream of writing lyrics and turned to writing advertising songs for the company.
At first glance, it has the meaning of overtaking in a corner.
Unexpectedly, the company was banned by the government because of business model problems.
As a result, Luo Yingshi lost her job and her dream was completely shattered.
It can be seen that Luo Yingshi has the persistence of a young girl to her dreams.
She can't fight to death, she doesn't retreat.
Hard enough, serious enough.
For the dream, steadfast.
To a certain extent, she has a sense of pure blood that is rare in current youth films.
However, what she didn't expect was the various "unspoken rules" in this industry.
Even if she is talented, she can't withstand the irresistible pressure.
Director Huang Qilin once said that she has worked far more on "becoming a lyricist" than "being a director".
The persistence of becoming a lyricist actually reflects the persistence and nostalgia of many people for the golden generation of the HK Phil.
In the past, there have been countless top lyricists who have worked together to create popular Hong Kong pop music.
With the advancement of the times, the HK Phil has gradually become a nostalgic hit.
Like those who always miss that era, Luo Yingshi longs to be one of them and reproduce the glory of the past.
Unfortunately, that was always just a dream.
The various obstacles at the moment have doomed her to be unable to make a living by filling in words.
It is even more destined that the golden age of the HK Phil is completely gone.
At the end of the day, this is the story of an ordinary Hong Kong girl chasing her dreams.
But the movie doesn't try to create a fairy tale of counterattack.
Rather, it focuses on showing how young people in Hong Kong can hold on to their dreams of the HK Phil in an era that has declined.
In the movie, it is clear that the two generations have different preferences for pop music.
For those who lived through the golden age of the HK Phil, the HK Phil may have declined.
But for today's young people, this topic has to be marked with a big question mark.
Hong Kong music has not stood still, but has taken a completely different path from the golden age of pop.
For example, Luo Yingshi's father is very traditional.
He would watch the music awards ceremony now and reminisce about the past.
Speaking of young singers nowadays, singing is not good.
If you want to say that you are really a good singer, you have to be the former Li Longji, Luo Wen, etc.
And the daughter doesn't care what her father thinks at all.
In her room, posters are up-and-coming music groups to inspire her dreams.
In the past, the popularity of the HK Phil was largely complemented by the boom in Hong Kong films and dramas.
For example, the theme song of "Hero Huo Yuanjia" "The Great Wall Will Never Fall".
is that with the popularity of the show, it has become a household name.
Another example is the theme song of "Smiling Proud Jianghu" "A Laugh in the Sea".
Music and movies have become classics together.
However, around the turn of the millennium, Taiwan pop began to set off a new trend.
It has gradually become the center of the Chinese music scene.
The decline of Hong Kong films and Hong Kong dramas has also further reduced the influence of the HK Phil.
Therefore, what "Lyrics L" really wants to tell is the state of mind of many young people in Hong Kong today.
The golden age is gone, and Cantonese songs, which are becoming more and more niche, can they still be a young person's life's work?
Such a dream is a projection of the desire of Hong Kong's young people to revive Hong Kong's cultural and entertainment industry.
They went through the most glorious stage of the Hong Kong entertainment industry as a child, only to find that everything was declining when they grew up.
Therefore, their hearts are both lost and unwilling.
I really want to revitalize the Hong Kong film and music industry with my own hands.
And this movie is like the director wants to use his own experience to give some spiritual comfort and encouragement to contemporary Hong Kong young people.
Rooted in the present and guarding your dreams may be the best choice.
As the lyrics written in the film -
"In my dreams, I was happy that day."