"Sherlock on the Plain" poster
will be released on November 29, an interesting low-cost movie. It is about two peasant uncles tracing the driver who caused the accident. It involves a strange journey about the current real world ethics and the sophistication of Chinese rural people. .
The two peasants are wise and conscientious, and this kind of conspiracy is rooted in the soil, which is not very clever but very useful. So the director gave the pair the names of Sherlock and Watson. Called "Sherlock on the Plains". When the film
first appeared at the FIRST Youth Film Festival in July this year, it had a very good reputation and won the nomination for the best feature feature film and the best film text award in one fell swoop. Many film critics were amazed by the liveliness of this film, which is very different from other similar themes, saying that this film has created a new type of rural narrative-after all, the films that usually focus on rural themes and show the living conditions of rural people are mostly dull or gloomy. The two uncle farmers’ super "hard core" crime-solving journey combines elements of genre films such as roads, suspense, and reasoning, and then advances with a series of actions that do not deliberately squeak but cause people to laugh constantly, and become a movie. A "comedy film" that even the director himself never thought about doing at the beginning.
"Sherlock on the Plain" is director Xu Lei's debut. Although it is his debut, Xu Lei has accumulated ten years for this film and for becoming a director. He graduated from a non-major class. After graduating from university, he has done more than a dozen jobs, including pet breeder, photographer assistant (carrying bag), Steadicam technician, coordinator, wedding photography, screenwriter... until the film was released before the interview He is still emphasizing that he has never thought of becoming a professional director, even though he has already started the creation of the second feature film.
Xu Lei
Xu Lei’s film path is not typical, but it is a natural fit. He was also a literary and artistic youth in the past, but he never realized that “movies were made by others”, as if they existed naturally. Something, "I never talked about movies with others in college. We were pursuing literature at that time. We felt that the best career in life was to be a writer."
The first job was in a state-owned enterprise. Xu Lei teased himself because of his death. I left my job after being a leader of the tortoise, and then it was difficult to find a job, so I thought I should learn a skill. I went to apply for the choreographer training class, on the grounds that it was "a thousand yuan cheaper than learning a chef." This mishap began with the fate of filming. Afterwards, by chance, I bite the bullet and rubbed some of the crew, from the assistant of photography, to the follower, and the assistant of photography. Sometimes when the director makes a live film, he also likes to make suggestions. When he raises more opinions, some people suggest that he just write the script. He followed suit and became a screenwriter. I wrote the script and watched it by others. It was not what I imagined, so I thought about waiting for myself to save enough money to make a story for myself. Xu Lei regarded this as a hobby of saving enough money to make him happy, and never thought that the film would be released or become a real director who made a living by making movies.
So the whole film of "Sherlock on the Plain" looks like a "Buddha" from all aspects. The story of
has nothing "pretentious", it is something Xu Lei encountered accidentally in his life-relatives were hit and the driver escaped, but he didn't want to call the police because he had to wait for the responsible party to lose money and find the responsible party. The chance is slim, it is better to admit it. Xu Lei was at the scene when the incident happened. He couldn't swallow the breath and insisted on calling the police. Later, everyone discussed a way to solve the case first, then call the police. Xu Lei's inspiration was inspired by this simple but little chicken thieves' "brain circuit", and he decided to shoot this story.
The script is written, Xu Lei can’t find a suitable oneActor. Mother said casually, would you like your dad to try? The serious father refused, but Xu Lei discovered that he was secretly reading the script a few days later. "Since I can't find a completely suitable person to act, I can at least find someone who I am willing to shoot him." With a sense of identity that I am not sure if it is a "soft filter", Xu Both Lei's parents appear in the film. My father even moved his name directly into the movie as a homophonic. Xu Lei said with a smile that this is a director's skill, in order to allow these amateur actors to enter the role with a sense of identity. After the filming of
, Xu Lei made a rough cut and threw the film aside for a long time. It was also by chance that he met the current producer Rao Xiaozhi, so that he was able to have the funds and personnel to join and complete the work. Rao Xiaozhi's "The Unknown" last year relied on word of mouth to soar nearly 800 million at the box office and became the dark horse of the annual small and medium cost movies. This year, he took Xu Lei to run the road show on the same schedule, and Rao Xiaozhi expressed confidence in the film. And he also revealed that Xu Lei's "nepotism" actors also participated in his new film performance this year, and praised "their performances are simply too good."
"Sherlock on the Plain" stills
"Sherlock on the Plain" uses many absurd, ironic, suspenseful genre elements, and some western styles to package, but still maintains a 100% native feeling. The ingenious combination and collision of the two make the story burst with vitality and interest. Although
is full of jokes throughout, what is hidden under the comedy plot is the director’s affection for his homeland and his thoughts on social issues, allowing the audience to appreciate the bitterness and difficulty of ordinary people while laughing. Xiao Yang, a guest who came to watch the film during the road show, was moved by the spirit of the film after watching the film, saying: "The best thing about this film is that the director did not evade his own life, and saw beautiful things in it. This is a kind of'cultural self-confidence.'"
"Sherlock on the Plain" stills
Xu Lei said that he didn't plan to make a comedy at first, but just presented the life he was familiar with. So that the first time he heard the audience's constant laughter in the cinema, he felt a little "guilty". Compared to comedy effects, Xu Lei wants to express and explore the deeper emotional and cultural foundations in the so-called "acquaintance society" and "human relationship society". That was the life he was familiar with when he grew up, and every character came from his own experience. He talked about some of the trances he had during the North Drifting, working in the bustling CBD in the morning, and returning home in the afternoon to face the people he was familiar with. “It seems that he has traveled from Qiong Yao drama to Jia Zhangke's movies, and there is often a sense of unreality. "
At the same time, he wanted to reverse the stereotype that the audience was left with the mention of rural areas and peasants as being ignorant. "This is the case in the countryside. When you encounter problems, you can't solve them by yourself. Everyone needs to help each other. It is more humane." Xu Lei said at the audience meeting, "Is the human relationship society really that bad? Better than a ruthless society, right?” Before the movie was released, Xu Lei was interviewed by the surging journalists to talk about the neglected and forgotten people and things on the plain, as well as a film by a layman’s director who “unintentionally cut the willow” but “flows out” road.
"Sherlock on the Plain" stills
[Dialogue]
In the countryside, everyone will accompany you for a lifetime, so it’s interesting to inquire about the news:
Next, what happened to the investigation in real life?
Xu Lei: Actually, it was nothing. Later, they chose medical insurance reimbursement. They were a little angry, and the matter passed. At the end of this film, I also want to write this. Many people in rural areas rely on accidents and difficulties, and they rely more on their own... I call it numb, and I don’t want to use that sensational term to say that it is strong. Or whatever, they rely on that thing to support their lives. They must feel a lot of hurt inside, but you can't tell their state from the outside, everyone is like that. If it is a very delicate person, it may be difficult to complete this life smoothly. On the contrary, they rely on the unconscious power of their own body to walk through this life.
The Paper: The most important thing in the movie is to convey a very old-fashioned, even seemingly absurd, very closely connected human relationship. What do you think of these human relationships?
Xu Lei: Actually, I have lived in Beijing for a long time and I feel quite uncomfortable. But I can also understand that it is like this in the city. We can have an independent life and independent interpersonal relationship. With a sum of money and a job, I can live my life quietly. Then why do they have to live so tired in the countryside and live for so many others? Later, I also started to read some sociology books to think about problems, but that was their lives. We often hear a saying, "Everyone can only walk with you for a while", but it's not the same in the countryside. Everyone will walk with you for a lifetime. Basically everyone can see each other's life experience. Their emotions are not well understood by us. They are not just living for themselves, but a relationship between you and me. This is something I want to express.
The Paper: How do you understand the "laughing points" created by your familiar life?
Xu Lei: I don’t know much about comedy, and I didn’t think it would be a comedy before I filmed it. It is more of an embarrassment in a situation, or something that is misplaced. Many different elements oppose each other. Caused. Of course, after the filming, I found it was still quite comedy, because many viewers would laugh. But before the filming, I didn't know the audience's reaction. I didn't conceive the script based on the audience's reaction. I started from my own expression and aesthetics. It was an accidental thing. We have seen a lot of movie projects. From a certain point of view, what is missing in the market? What does the audience want to see? As a result, all projects eventually faced failure. I think it is a very dangerous thing for a film director to guess what other people like. Even your relatives around you cannot really understand your preferences and true emotions. So the only thing a film director can do well is to make a movie that he thinks is good.
The Paper: Two uncles are going to solve the case. This combination is quite "hardcore". How do you consider such a group of characters?
Xu Lei: I didn't think so at the beginning. The original design was a pair of father and son. Taking our screenwriting theory to say, the original father-son line can exist as a B story, and its thematic level will be more complete. In fact, what I want to talk about is the collision between a human society and the interpersonal relationship in our city, so imagine a person living in the city returns to the countryside, and his father is in the process of solving the case, the two people continue to clash in values. Now when I change to two old men, there is no such collision. It becomes a very simple and straightforward relationship, but it will be more extreme, as you said now, it becomes more "hardcore" and more stylized. . It may have some losses on the subject level, but it has also become even cooler.
Two starring roles-Xu Chaoying as Chaoying and Zhang Zhanyi as Zhanyi
Surging News: Choosing your father as the starring role, is there a tailor-made role based on your understanding of him?
Xu Lei:Actually not. When I wrote the script, I didn't know exactly what kind of people they were. Later, I summed up my experience. Maybe when I wrote the script, I really wanted to be a little more open. If you limit yourself to death and you have a particularly suitable actor in your heart, if he doesn’t act, what will you do later? So my experience is to be more open when writing a script, not to think about a specific character image, but to think about how this happened.
The Paper: How do you train your father and these relatives?
Xu Lei: I don’t think it’s training. It’s always a choice. Of course, they have basically completed 60 to 70% of the rehearsal. Of course, they have talents and need some director’s plan to help them. For example, you can’t let They use emoticons to give something you want. You said that if you make a subtle expression or cry, then burst out, this thing will be difficult for them. More often, they use some scheduling, some modeling, and some changes in the rhythm of movements to help them externalize their hearts. Zhan Yi (one of the protagonists) really has a lot of natural revelations. I found him to be a very talented actor. I don't know how many celebrities in China are buried in the folks. I think he is indeed different from my dad. My dad chose him because I couldn't find a better one, so I had to find one I was willing to shoot.
Saving money to make a movie is just like saving money to travel around the world.
Surging News: Seeing your movie become a success, it seems to be quite natural. Are there any more difficult times in the middle?
Xu Lei: I don’t think so. Recently, people have been asking me how to persist for so many years. I don't think I am "persisting", I am living, and this is the life I really want to live. I just complete one task one by one, and then write a script one by one, so it goes well. Of course, everyone’s life actually has a lot of difficulties, and there are also difficulties at work, that is, no matter what job you do. I encountered those things in the process of making a movie, that is, life like everyone else.
The Paper: You always said that you don’t have any hope for this film before. FIRST has won awards, including the release now. Do these things give you more confidence in being a director?
Xu Lei: When I was shooting, I actually took it with a "defeat" mentality. When I was preparing for the next one, I didn't expect it to be recognized by more people. I did take it. Do it as a personal, extravagant hobby. My idea of myself is that I think making movies is a costly thing. I take it as a hobby. I may earn a few years of money and save enough money. I use this money to make a movie, just like someone Just like saving money to travel the world for a few years, I don't think it can be used as a career or a means of making a living.
Winning the prize is of course an affirmation. I think it’s good, but it doesn’t matter whether you win the prize or not. I think as long as you make a better one, it will be sooner or later. To me, other people's affirmation is actually not as good as your own, that is, you have a standard for yourself, think this work is OK, or this work is not enough. It is more important to meet your requirements.
Surging News: The film market has improved over the years, and more and more young directors will soon be able to enter theatrical film shooting. Among them, the path to success of directors is very different. What do you think of directors who are not from a professional class like yourself?
Xu Lei: I remember that when I gave myself courage, I would often say that although I am not from Nortel and I am not a Chinese dramatist, I take the giants of history as my teacher! It is true. I think everyone needs to learn and think. Making a movie is really like Zen Zen. If you realize a truth, or even a small technique, you will feel very happy. So I think it’s not so important whether it’s a subject or not.
