Episode 1: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Ep 1 exam room before the fire.jpg|alt=A photograph of five ranks of four rows of desks in a sunlit room, with young men and women seated at them. Wei Ruolai (Wang Yibo) is in near the centre of the picture, in the third rank of desks, hands clasped, looking forward expectantly.|thumb|Candidates for positions at the Central Bank of China]] | [[File:Ep 1 exam room before the fire.jpg|alt=A photograph of five ranks of four rows of desks in a sunlit room, with young men and women seated at them. Wei Ruolai (Wang Yibo) is in near the centre of the picture, in the third rank of desks, hands clasped, looking forward expectantly.|thumb|Candidates for positions at the Central Bank of China]] | ||
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Revision as of 10:52, 27 May 2024
Summary
Wei Ruolai introduces himself in a voice over. Then we meet him doing some accounting work for Mr Qian, a fellow townsman from Jiangxi and leader of an organised crime gang.
Shen Tunan arrives by train to take up his position as senior advisor to the Koumintang controlled Central Bank of China. He immediately undergoes an assassination attempt by way of car bomb, which he survives.
Ruolai's landlady Aunt Zhou bullies him into going to the stock exchange with her to buy shares in the Imperial Bank. Although the share price initially rises, Shen Tunan's interference sees the price plummet, and she loses money.
Meanwhile, an exchange of communist prisoners is interrupted by a rooftop sniper. The prisoners die and Shen Jinzhen (the sniper) is hurt but escapes with Lin Qiaosong, a Captain of the Shanghai military garrison, in pursuit.
Wei Ruolai tries to hail a rickshaw to take Aunt Zhou home, but the rickshaw is commandeered by Shen Jinzhen, and they leave together. Picking up that something is amiss, Wei Ruolai manages to talk the two of them through a police checkpoint. Shen Jinzhen thanks him for his help and promises a favour in return.
At the Hong Fang Clothing Shop, Jinzhen is treated for her injuries by Xu Nuo, a Communist Party underground leader. Elsewhere, Lin Qiaosong is gunning down communists, and arrests Li Shengda, a bookshop manager.
Wei Ruolai returns home, and after a warning from Wen Yutian, sneaks into his room avoiding Aunt Zhou. In the morning he heads off to apply for a job at the Central Bank, having made peace with Aunt Zhuo.
Shen Tunan has decided to change up the application process. Part way through the exam, it becomes apparent the building is on fire.
Timed Run down
1:37 card Shanghai 1930
v/o Wei Ruolai, from Jiangxi,
I came to Shanghai with my brother to make a living.
---
1:54 night, Ax Gang (led by Mr Qian Shaoliang) : Hengmei trading firm
2:17 first view of Wei Ruolai. WRL Look 1.
----
5:39 day, steam train arrives at Shanghai North Railway Station
5:53 first view of Shen Tunan, new senior advisor of the Central Bank. STN Look 1.
5:59 met by Chief Deng Ze, director of the Central Bank's Department of Government Ethics.
6:13 mention of Kong Yongzhi
6:17 mention of Nanjing convention
6:29 mention of "the four major banks"
----
6:48 exterior, Qibao Street
7:06 v/o WRL, seen from behind, WRL Look 1.
7:25 first view of A-Wen
7:36 interior, boarding house
7:43 first view of old chessmaster, Yi Zhi
7:58 first view of landlady, "Aunt" Zhou
----
8:45 interior Shanghai Stock exchange (Imperial Bank stock rising)
----
10:05 train station, STN and Chief Deng walking and talking
10:12 mention Deputy Director Gao
10:19 car bomb
11:09 STN: "This is the fourth time someone has tried to kill me."
----
11:44 card: Shanghai Garrison Command
11:51 first view Lin Qiaosong, captain of the Military Law Department of the Shanghai Garrison Command, Investigation and Arrest Unit
12:08 first view of Wen Biao, as Cpt Lin and his men arrive to transport prisoners from the French Concession's police station back to the Garrison Command. Driving through city.
12:39 first view of rooftop sniper
----
12:52 STN pulls up at the central bank, strides inside STN Look 1.
13:12 first view of Huang Congyun, STN's secretary, as we enter STN's bank office for the first time.
13:28 STN phones the stock exchange, asks about Imperial Bank share price.
----
13:42 interior Shanghai Stock exchange (Imperial Bank stock falling)
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14:38 exterior, city streets, sniper pulls the trigger, takes out driver, shootout commences between prisoner transport crew under Cpt Lin and communists.
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14:59 interior Shanghai Stock exchange. WRL urges Aunt Zhou to sell shares
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15:36 shoot out cont. Cpt Lin refers to sniper as "the target".
----
16:12 interior Shanghai Stock exchange
Aunt Zhou has lost 159 yuan.
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17:49 shoot out cont
19:00 comrade tells sniper "Go! Gu Lun betrayed us"
19:15 reinforcements for Cpt Lin arrive
19:21 sniper introduced as Shen Jinzhen, Communist party member SJZ Look 1
19:41 SJZ is shot in the leg and retreats
----
19:48 exterior, The Chartered Stock and Produce Exchange, Shanghai. Aunt Zhou is bemoaning to WRL
20:50 WRL runs off to find rickshaw
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21:00 SJZ throwing black clothing away. Is now clad in SJZ Look 2: white cloak escape..
21:04 Cpt Lin and his men in pursuit, finds discarded black clothes.
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21:31 WRL in front of a church, hails a rickshaw. It stops, and SJZ gets in. They quarrel.
22:00 Cpt Lin appears in background. SJZ hoists WRL into rickshaw with her.
22:19 Rickshaw stopped for inspection
23:02 Mr Qian's business card is found on WRL's person. They are released. (His silver taken.)
23:50 SJZ and WRL talk. SJZ tells WRL she owes him a favour. WRL gets out and runs off.
----
24:49 Phone rings. Convo between STN (at bank) and Mr Liu (at Stock exchange) - Mr Liu is wearing a #18 badge. STN in still in STN Look 1.
25:09 STN places call to Mr Song (FIRST APPEARANCE! face not shown. Extreme close up on hand, and then back of head. From what is visible he is wearing a dark, western style suit jacket with a white shirt.) "Tunan, I sent you to Shanghai this time for the great cause of financial unification. Shanghai's financial industry is complicated and varied. Some banks take advantage of their foreign investments and act greedily. They only obey the government on the surface. We must give them a head on blow. Don't be soft-hearted. In addition, the Central Bank can coexist and mutually benefit with private banks that are willing to cooperate sincerely"
----
25:43 Hong Fang Clothing Shop : first appearance Xu Nuo, person in charge of the Communist Party's Shanghai contact point.
26:09 SJZ and Mr Xu talk while he treats her injury.
SJZ wearing: SJZ Look 2a. She has no visible makeup. Her stockings are rolled down so her leg can be treated, but the way the scene is shot nothing else below the waist is clearly seen.
She lists the comrades who died in the shoot out earlier "xiao Wu, da Tian and Yiling". He asks for confirmation that they were betrayed by Gu Lun. She wants to take revenge. He tells her she needs to recover and orders her to wait for instructions.
----
27:46 someone is running while being shot at. Someone else is sending morse code messages when their room is broken into and they are shot. Reverse shot shows the attackers are Wen Biao and others from the Investigation and Arrest Unit.
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28:17 first appearance of Li Shengda, at the bookshop, getting arrested
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29:02 WRL returning home, at night (gosh, his suit is so oversized at this point. He clearly hasn't had enough to eat regularly in A LONG TIME.)
29:22 A-Wen catches him before he goes inside and warns him about Aunt Zhou. ("She said she'd chop you up for the cats!") He climbs up to his window from outside.
----
30:23 first view of WRL's room. He drinks some water. His stomache growls.
31:27 FLASHBACK to getting fired from typesetter job for being late.
31:50 gets his box out from under the bed, counts his money. Looks at his certificates [written examination notice]
32:42 V/O :Communists have run rampant in your hometown. The supervisor required us to investigate your family background strictly. Before the investigation is clear, we can't give you your diploma. By the way, the Central Bank is recruiting people in Shanghai. You can try it out.
33:04 FLASHBACK to WRL speaking to lecturer, who tells him about STN "He was a top finance student from Germany's Humboldt University of Berlin."
33:37 V/O :Don't forget, it's December 19. Go try it.
----
33:55 Next day, WRL wakes and rushes to get ready avoiding Aunt Zhou.
In bed he has his worn, padded blue robe laid over the covers (for warmth?). He is wearing a night shirt, and baggy shorts in a slightly darker fabric. He rushes to put on his blue padded jacket and slippers. WRL Look 2.
After washing up he changes into his outfit from the day before: WRL Look 1.
meanwhile a song plays : Chaoyang
36:22 opening his door he finds Aunt Zhou right outside. They talk. She gives him a grey/blue woolen overcoat. WRL Look 1a. It is well made and in relatively good condition, but too big for him.
37:39 WRL rushes downstairs, A-Wen makes him get in the rickshaw to take him to Central Bank
----
38:58 Outside Central Bank. Secretary Huang meets Shen Tunan's car.
Shen Tunan wearing STN Look 2.
A-Wen and WRL arrive. A-Wen gives WRL peace token he got for him at Jing'an Temple for luck.
39:29 shot of entranceway which reads (in English) THE CENTRAL BANK OF CHINA
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39:33 inside bank, WRL finds a crowd of other applicants including (name? later co-worker) he gets applicant badge #47.
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41:16 STN (he has now taken off the overcoat) and Chief Deng talking about new applicants exam: "What kind of qualities do you think a competent banker should have?" "Rationality" "Rationality is hard to quantify. I think certain qualities can be quantifies in action."
----
42:07 Exam room. Smoke starts to infiltrate.
42:55 someone runs in shouting "Fire! Run ! Fire!"
Dramatis Personae
Shen Jinzhen
Shen Tunan
Aunt Zhou
Huang Congyun [minor]
Lin Qiaosong
Wen Biao [minor]
Wen Youtian
Xu Nuo
Agent Liu [minor]
Deng Ze
Inspector Henry
Li Shengda
Mr Song
Qian Shaoliang
Yi Zhi [minor]
Wang Shanbin [minor]