There are too many reputations about "I Am Not the God of Medicine", and the author will not repeat it here, and today I will analyze the drama of this film simply from a beat table.

Wen Muye, the director of "I Am Not the God of Medicine", once said in an interview with the media, "This movie is difficult, and the subject matter is easily changed into a literary film due to the environment, but in fact, it has a lot of commercial film elements, it depends on how you cut in and how you start; Whether you write the characters according to the story or the story according to the characters, these are two directions; It is also more difficult to change a person's negative power and turn him into a hero. ”

When Wang Boxue, the director of photography of this film, talked about how to determine the image style for this film, he said: "This film made a very bold adjustment in the direction when director Wen Muye began to work on the script, that is, to make a commercial realistic movie, the script gave up a lot at the beginning, did not take personal expression, and followed the classic Hollywood narrative model, the purpose is to make it closer to the audience." (Please see the content of the interview: Interview with Wang Boxue, director of photography of "I Am Not the God of Medicine": Touching the heaviness and lightness of reality with the lens)

As we all know, Hollywood's requirements for scripts are the strictest in the world, because they are in line with the audience's viewing habits, and Hollywood's screenwriting method is also known as the most effective screenwriting method. Hollywood screenwriters and drama educators represented by Robert McGee and Blake Snyder have summarized a set of invincible screenwriting rules, detailing the occurrence time of each episode in the story to every minute and second. Here's a screenwriter's beatlist that Hollywood screenwriters have adopted as the norm.

These 15 points of structure can also be understood as a refinement of the film's three-act structure, which is written in "Basic Dramatism": "Whether it is three, five or seven acts, as long as the story is effectively and appropriately organized into more or less scenes and paragraphs." "According to the relevant article interviewed by the creator of "I Am Not the God of Medicine", we learned that "I Am Not the God of Medicine" is divided into four acts. Next, combined with the beat table above, analyze the play "I Am Not the God of Medicine". (The plot line of "I Am Not the God of Medicine" below is sorted out by the author based on memory, and there may be omissions, so everyone is welcome to communicate together.) )

1. The opening scene

As the name suggests, it is the opening scene of the film, which needs to be able to show the tone of the whole film. Including the display of themes, genres, and tones; The content that sets the tone is prehistory, and the prehistory of the main characters or major events is constructed.

The cluttered alleys of Shanghai's old streets, dimly lit health care stores, and unkempt middle-aged men...... As soon as the film opens, a dirty and messy real world is constructed.

2. Present the theme

If it's a 110-minute film ("I'm Not the God of Medicine" is 117 minutes long), then within the first 5 minutes of it, be sure to bring out the theme of the whole film, which can give the protagonist a problem, or throw a problem or concept to the audience.

Cheng Yong, a small boss who sells Indian divine oil, has a sluggish business and is in arrears of rent. When I went to the nursing home to pay the fee, I was told that my father was seriously ill, and the person in charge also asked him to pay the fee on an annual basis next time (I was in distress and wanted to pay in installments). The marriage failed, and his wife proposed to immigrate with the children, Cheng Yong negotiated with his wife, had a conflict, entered the police station, and was taught a lesson by his brother-in-law Cao Bin (played by Zhou Zhouwei).

3. Foreshadowing/construction

In the first 10 minutes of the film, the rules of the world should be constructed, the personalities of the characters and the relationships between the characters should be shown. In Hollywood, if a producer or a big star doesn't see a clear character or a clear goal in the first 10 pages of your script, they won't hesitate to throw your script away.

Just after paying his father's fees, Cheng Yong's first reaction in the face of his son's sneakers of several hundred yuan was how much it was, and his life was quite embarrassing. And Lu Yingying, who was wearing a mask, had a scumbag beard, an untimely dress, and looked cautious, and he followed the word "India" to the door when he was in a hurry.

In the first 10 minutes of this film, Cheng Yong showed that his biggest appeal is to make money. (Business is bleak, landlord is demanding rent, ex-wife is fighting for children, and father is seriously ill.) )

And Lü's biggest appeal is the Indian generic drug "Glenin". (Patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia who cannot afford to eat high-priced genuine drugs)

At this time, although Cheng Yong was embarrassed, he had not yet reached the point where he had to take risks in order to make money, so he didn't take Lu Yingying's words to heart.

4. Push/Turn

This is where the first story turns and the plot moves forward, and here there must be an event that breaks the peaceful life of the protagonist. This push (catalytic) moment is what leads the protagonist to something happy before the end of the whole adventure.

His father was seriously ill and urgently needed surgery, in the face of high medical expenses, Cheng Yong drank alone, a small card was thrown on his table, he remembered something, rushed back to the store, and found that the door of the store had been locked by the landlord due to rent arrears, Cheng Yong broke the glass window and climbed into the store, and found the card with Lu Ying's phone number. Discuss with Lu Yingli about going to India to bring medicine.

Background event: Patients march to besiege a pharmaceutical company selling high-priced drugs. In the crowd of protesters, Lu Yingying's performance was the most calm, watching the patients come forward to surround and shout slogans, he bit the chicken leg and rolled his eyes, looking commonplace and a little disdainful.

5. Arguments/struggles

The struggle fully shows the protagonist facing the unexpected and arguing with the people around him or his own heart.

Cheng Yong went to India to buy medicine, found that it only cost 400 yuan to wholesale a bottle of medicine, found a business opportunity, wanted to be an agent, and promised to sell 100 bottles within a month.

Faced with a box full of generic drugs, how to sell them? Cheng Yong and Lao Lu sold medicine everywhere but were constantly rejected, and not a single bottle was sold.

6. Act II Junction

From here, the story moves on to the second part, and after experiencing struggles with others and inner struggles, the protagonist finds a way to change the status quo.

In "I Am Not the God of Medicine", finding a sales channel is the result of a dispute, and the protagonist finds a solution to the problem, thus entering the second act, entering the second world. Lao Lu proposed to find Liu Sihui, the group leader of the patient group, so there was a scene where Liu Sihui was seen dancing pole dancing in a nightclub in order to raise money for her daughter.

Liu Sihui found various group owners and met Cheng Yong in the restaurant, the scene of this meeting was very ceremonial (joyful), a group of group owners from various hospitals came to say hello, this scene is also a bit similar to the scene of Lu benefiting from the divine oil shop, once someone introduces it, the patient is like grasping the last life-saving straw unconditional trust. Everyone took off their masks at Cheng Yong's request (Lu Yiyi saw Cheng Yong for the first time and pulled down three layers of masks to show respect. During this restaurant meeting, Cheng Yong thought that it was disrespectful for the group owners to wear masks, and when everyone took off their masks, he also put out the cigarettes. )

7.B Story

After the story enters the second stage, another axis is opened, most of the stories in the script are "love stories", or the protagonist's adventures and legends start here, in this story line, the protagonist's personality and environment should have a huge contrast with the first story, the protagonist's inner world is gradually revealed, and the audience can see the other side of the protagonist, or have different perspectives on the questions raised before.

From Huang Mao's drug grabbing to repaying debts, Lao Liu was invited to be an English translator, and the "Five People Who Sold Medicine" was officially established: Lu Yingying, who helped to match, Liu Sihui, the leader of the pole dancer + patient group, Pastor Liu, who can speak English, and Huang Mao, a migrant worker in the slaughterhouse.

From then on, the once dim and deserted Indian magic oil shop began to bustle, and everyone quietly gathered in this dilapidated and cluttered little shop to buy bottles of "Indian miracle medicine" that could give them hope for life.

Isn't this scene very reminiscent of the scene in "Dallas Buyers Club" where you queue up to buy medicine?

8. Playtime

The protagonist continues to make new discoveries after entering the second world, and the characters are growing rapidly. The atmosphere at this stage is usually more relaxed, as the real enemy has not yet appeared, but this stage can also reflect the true character of the protagonist.

Cheng Yong sold medicine very smoothly, a lot of money went into his pocket, and the other four people had both money and medicine to eat, drinking wine and eating meat, and Cheng Yong also successfully sent his old father to the hospital for surgery. When celebrating in a nightclub, in order to be angry for Liu Sihui, he threw money to let the male manager dance, which is a big laugh in this film. The inflated Cheng Yong even wanted to uncover Sihui, and later decided to leave because he saw Sihui's youngest daughter suffering from leukemia.

9. Intermediate point

The game time is over, and the protagonist ushers in the second big turning point, which is a moment of happiness or sadness. ("Pseudo-victory" or "pseudo-defeat")

In this film, a patient's family came to the door and said that they had taken fake medicine and caused hospitalization. Cheng Yong and his gang found Zhang Changlin, a counterfeit drug dealer. The five of them made a big fuss at the scene of Zhang Changlin's drug sales, and finally entered the police station, leaving behind documentary evidence. Cheng Yong learned that selling counterfeit drugs was punishable by imprisonment, and his heart fluctuated a little.

10. The enemy is approaching

At this point in time, the protagonist will suffer setbacks, because the villains will stir up the situation, and the protagonist's team will encounter disagreements, doubts, and eventually part ways.

Zhang Changlin went to the store late at night to negotiate with Cheng Yong, coercing and luring Cheng Yong to give up his agency, but Cheng Yong refused for the first time. After Cheng Yong purchased the goods, he was anonymously reported by Zhang Changlin. After a thrill, Cheng Yong felt the danger. On a rainy night, everyone ate hot pot together, and Cheng Yong announced that he would wash his hands and give the agency to Zhang Changlin. Everyone was puzzled, and after the dispute, the small group broke up. The first one to leave was Huang Mao, if he was choked, he poured a full glass of beer, drank it all in the face of Cheng Yong, and walked into the rain with a hand full of blood. The last one to leave was Lu Yingying, who laughed at first thinking it was just a farce, but when Cheng Yong said "get out", the corners of his mouth slowly closed, from laughing to crying, put on a mask, opened the door and left (the first time he opened that door, he took off his mask with respect and hope).

Background: The police have begun to investigate under pressure from medical representatives.

11. Nothing

At this moment, the protagonist falls to the bottom. In many good films, the opportunity of "nothing" will be used to make someone die. This is the time when the old world, the old characters, dies. It also clears the way for the sublimation of the theme.

A year later, Cheng Yong set up a factory and was busy all day long. Lu Yingying's wife came to Cheng Yong and informed Lao Lu that his condition had deteriorated, and Zhang Changlin was selling drugs at a high price, and he was reported that he had become a wanted criminal, and now the anti-cancer drugs were out of stock. Cheng Yong went to see Lao Lu, who was still optimistic on the surface, and he decided to go to India for Lao Lu to take medicine again.

It's a pity that Lao Lu committed suicide, and Cheng Yong was hit by a huge blow and decided to sell medicine at a low price. Zhang Changlin came to find Cheng Yong and was arrested after taking away a sum of money, but he didn't spit out Cheng Yong. The police intensified their efforts to track down the counterfeit drug incident and arrested many patients, but everyone agreed that Cheng Yong was not confessed. Cheng Yong's brother-in-law, criminal policeman Cao Bin, was also shocked by the powerlessness of leukemia people in the process of detection.

"Police leader, I beg you, don't check for "fake drugs" anymore. This medicine is fake, don't those of us who take it know it? I took genuine medicine for three years, and my house was gone, and my home was ruined. Now it's hard to get cheap medicines, but you don't have to say it's a "fake drug". If we don't take medicine, we can only wait for death. I don't want to die, I want to live, okay?"

12. The dark night of the soul

As the name suggests, the "dark night of the soul" is the darkness before the dawn. The protagonist of this stage is in the abyss, and he can't think of a way to save himself and everyone around him, and he can't see hope.

When picking up the goods at the port, Huang Mao found that the security guards called the police, and in order to protect Cheng Yong, Huang Mao drove himself away from the police, and finally died in a car accident. In the hospital, Cheng Yong cried at Cao Bin, the criminal policeman who arrested Huang Mao: "He is only 20 years old!" He just wants to live, what's his crime?"

Huang Mao, who cut his hair and bought a ticket, finally failed to go home, and Cheng Yong cried bitterly with the train ticket.

13. Act III Articulation Point

At the beginning of the third part of the story, after a series of blows, the protagonist's attitude is clearer and he starts again.

Regarding the arrangement of Huang Mao's death in the front, Zhong Wei, one of the screenwriters, said in an interview: "Huang Mao is a very simple person, and his death is a routine in the creative ideas of genre films: a hero is born, and the people around him must pay the price!" It was Huang Mao's death that caused Cheng Yong to send away the child and sell medicine at a low price regardless of the consequences. This is a turning point in the whole film: from the bad guy who owes the patient to the hero who pays the patient back.

The word "hope" is constantly enlarged in the dialogue window of the patient group

14. Ending

The ending is where the new world is born, and it is not just the protagonist who wins alone, he must also change the world.

During a delivery with a fellow patient, the police surrounded Cheng Yong and his medicine. Cheng Yong, who was standing in the defendant's seat, was very calm, and in the process of defending himself, he only said a few words - "I broke the law, how to sentence, I have nothing to say." But looking at these patients, I feel sad, they can't afford to eat imported drugs, they can only wait for death, or even commit suicide. However, I believe that it will get better and better in the future, and I hope that this day will come sooner rather than later. ”

In the end, when the police car escorted Cheng Yong, there was the most tear-jerking scene in the film, and the two sides of the road were densely packed with leukemia patients, who spontaneously came from all over the country to bid farewell to Cheng Yong. Where the camera swept, every patient took off their masks to protect against bacteria, and looked at the slowly driving police car with grateful eyes......

This scene is like in "Schindler's List", the Jews who have nothing, in order to thank their benefactor Schindler, pull out the gold teeth in their mouths and create a gold ring for Schindler, who also has nothing.

There is also the end of "Dead Poets Society", Mr. Keating was expelled, before leaving school, he went back to the classroom to retrieve his belongings, just as the principal replaced himself to teach the former students, when the principal urged Keating to leave quickly, Todd suddenly stood on his desk, and then the students stood on the desk one after another and called "Oh Captain, My Captain", which is not only to pay tribute to Mr. Keating, but also to the authority, to declare to himself that the seeds of independence and freedom have been planted in their hearts.

15. Final Scene

Corresponds to the opening scene, emphasizing the new world. Indicates the change of events, or the growth of the protagonist after a series of events, what attitude he will have towards facing the new world (new life).

At the end of the film, Cheng Yong was released from prison, and Cao Bin came to pick him up. (I have to say, Zhou Zhou is leaning against the car with his hands in his pockets, the sun is shining on him, and behind him is the fresh and stretched willow tree, this scene is really handsome.) Cao Bin told Cheng Yong not to sell the medicine anymore, and now the medicine is included in the medical insurance.

Through the above analysis, it can be found that "I Am Not the God of Medicine" is a relatively standard genre film, and director Wen Muye also mentioned in an interview that he considers himself a genre author film director. "I'm basically in a position where I'm a little bit more typed and a little less authorized." He said: "I think film is not only literature, but also architecture, and there is a great need for a rational balance. How to attract the audience to watch two hours in the cinema? It is to put every laugh and tear point in a good position, and then verify it repeatedly. "It's Hollywood-style and very efficient (as evidenced by word-of-mouth box office success).

The beat table shared at the beginning of the article is the secret that most Hollywood screenwriters can continuously produce scripts in the form of production lines, if you also want to try, you can first find a few favorite genre movies, put them into this table, and explore the mysteries of these plays against the screenwriting rules, and then try to write a standardized script in this way.