In the past weekend, the third Pingyao International Film Festival came to an end. In terms of Chinese-language films, "Tropical Rain", "Under the Sun", and "A Trophy Floating on the Sea" each received several awards and became the biggest winner of this year. In addition to these films, there is also a Chinese-language director's work that was shortlisted for the "Best Film Festival" unit. This is "Youth and the Sea" directed by Sun Aoqian, a director born in the 1990s and produced by Don River. The story of
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film is actually very simple. It tells that in a township in Liaoning, the young Xiaojie (played by Yu Kunjie) is eager to get a book of "Encyclopedia of the Sea" in order to complete his school homework-making a clip art on the theme of the "sea". Xiaojie has lived with his uncle (played by Sun Xinfu) and cousin (played by Li Manxuan) who run the highway hotel since he was a child. The original wish to buy a book is about to be fulfilled, but the whole family’s life is disrupted... Xiaojie rides a bike between towns and villages, wandering on the edge of reality and fantasy, and the days pass, and the young are forced to grow. Da, speaking of loneliness and sadness to the sea.
votes God is also particularly predestined with this movie. The Pingyao premiere on the afternoon of the 16th (and the only one) was hard to find, and even the steps of the theater were crowded with people. After the screening, director Sun Aoqian and heroine Yu Kunjie (hereinafter referred to as Xiaojie) appeared on stage to communicate with the audience. The director also sold off on the spot and asked everyone to guess Xiaojie's age. The audience shouted, "7-8 years old, 8-9 years old." Unexpectedly, the director's reply surprised everyone. 15 years old!
Pre-screening meeting
To be honest, when I first looked at Xiaojie on the screen, my mind would inevitably think of Antoine in "Four Hundred Strikes", Cyril in "Boy Boy" and other characters, but in the morning of the next day When I met him again at the high-speed railway station, I was sure that he was a unique young man from the Northeast, and it also made me feel strong behind the scenes of the creation of the film, which led to this dialogue with the director. Director
said that the original intention of creating and shooting at the beginning may be just to express a state that a child wanted to get a book but did not get, but in fact, the source of the story that prompted him to really want to shoot a boy and the sea was Xiaojie himself.
Director Sun Aoqian communicates with the audience after the screening.
In fact, in recent years, Chinese-language movies have produced several lively and individualized realistic children's themes, such as "August", "Summer in Xixiaohe", "Wangza's Rain Boots", " "The First Parting" and so on, but if you have seen this "Boy and the Sea", you will definitely remember this wild boy from the northeast.
After arriving at the high-speed rail from Pingyao back to Beijing that day, Xiaojie ran past me again with a "swish". I couldn't help but yelled his name. He didn't look back. That's right, maybe Xiaojie in front of him has forgotten the "Xiaojie" on the screen, and ran toward another sea.
The following is a transcript of the interview
Reporter: Sara Bond
stole the book if he couldn't afford it
ticket God : Why did you want to create such a story in the first place?
Sun Aoqian: First, the story of the child in the film is my own life experience. When I was young, due to poor conditions at home, I wanted to buy a book. But I couldn't afford it when I went to the bookstore, so I imagined to steal it out. But the final result was of course not stolen. And this thing has always left a deep impression in my mind. At that time, in 17 years, I actually wanted to write a feature-length script. However, due to the limited ability and conditions at the time, I wanted to make it first. Short film, and then I started to write this script. I wrote this short film story with my co-writer Angell.
vote god : How did you choose Xiaojie, the most important character in the film?
Sun Aoqian: was my mother who introduced me to such a child. I knew that we were both from the same village, but because I went to university after the village moved back, I never met him. I heard a lot of legends about him before I saw him, saying that he doesn't go to school. He looks seven or eight years old, but he is actually fifteen years old. He rode his bicycle and wandered the streets and alleys of the village every day. Sometimes I do some petty theft, that is, stealing things from others, smashing people's glass, etc., anyway, it is very naughty. Everyone knows that he is a "Hunshi Demon King".
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vote god : What was your first impression of Xiaojie after seeing him?
Sun Aoqian: When I went to see him, he happened to be beaten because he smashed the glass of someone else's house. He was curled up in a corner and looked very dark. The first time I saw him, I thought: "Oh my God! How could there be such an ugly child." At that time (two years ago) he hadn't opened his eyebrows or hair. He still had single eyelids. Later, his eyes opened slowly. A little bit.
I will chat with him first. The first thing I said to him was: "If you want to get a book, what book do you like best?" He said that I like weapons the most. What guns, I said: "Okay, I said if you want to get this book, the bookstore has it, but what if you can't afford it?" He said then I would steal it; I said, "How do you steal? There is a check at the door Yes, the alarm went off as soon as you swept it over," he said, then I will tear it off, and I will tear it off page by page. I felt that he gave me a lot of different things at once, and realized that this child might have been rewarded to me by heaven, a child who allowed me to complete this work.
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vote god : How was the role of cousin determined?
Sun Aoqian: was in the audition process. The producer gave the script to their company (Chen Kun and Zhou Xun co-founded Dongshen Future), and Li Manxuan (an artist under Dongshen Future) saw the script, and she I like it very much. At that time, I was quite surprised. I thought how Man Xuan's temperament would like such a script. Later I found out that she really liked this story and this character. Then I think she is particularly suitable for the fact that if the audience who has watched the film will find that I will deliberately separate the character written by the cousin from the environment a little bit. I think she is in such a relatively low-level, In the cruel and rough living environment, she is actually very anxious to leave here.
vote god : How long did it take for this film to be created and filmed?
Sun Aoqian: The script was completed at the end of 2017. In fact, I wanted to make a feature film at the time. But our conditions were very limited. There were less than ten people in the group. All good friends came to help, so we had to shoot first. I thought about looking for investment later. Unexpectedly, I was lucky later. I voted for the WIP (Film Project in Progress) of the Shanghai Film Festival. The feedback at the time was relatively good. Later, I found the producer Don, and he helped me vote for Boss Jiang (Chiang Jiang, President of Anle Pictures) ), and then got the investment.
Actually, from the time I finished shooting the short film in 2017 to when I started it in October 2018, I spent a year with Xiaojie. I later re-observed the things in his life, observed what he would say, what he would do, what he would think, and then enriched the original script according to him again, and then the script was finalized in September 18th. .
Apple is cheap and easy to scroll
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ticket God : How to guide a large number of amateur amateur actors on the scene when shooting a feature film for the first time?
Sun Aoqian: During the filming of , I did not show them any script, because some of them are illiterate, or those who are literate may not be able to read the script. Then everyone in our crew lived with them every day from starting up to shutting down. Our breakfast, lunch, dinner, and filming breaks must be with the uncle and them. To a certain extent, they gradually get used to it.
We never rehearse the whole filming, but just wait and start the real shooting. During the shooting, everyone seemed to be playing the first few shots, because they were definitely not fully prepared. But in fact, after the five or six points were down, we slowly found the pattern, and found a rough trajectory and expression of the children and other non-professional actors. What we have to do is to capture their true state. I am more likely to guide them than to give them a limited framework.
vote god : What about Xiaojie? What should I do when there is no cooperation?
Sun Aoqian: Before and after the screening of , the audience may feel that the role of Xiaojie in the film is very deliberate, with heavy traces, and too adult. But I really want to be very honestIn fact, we only shot one-tenth of his real state. He himself is far more mischievous and adult than in the film. When filming, he will often negotiate with us, if he is not satisfied, he will pretend to cry and pretend to sleep. We spend about half of every day dealing with him. (Laughs)
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vote god : There are many details of daily life in the film, such as steaming buns, blowing hair, washing feet and other scenes. How do you imagine adding these to the script and presenting it visually?
Sun Aoqian: First of all, is that my own living environment is like that. I spent a lot of time there when I was young, and then I witnessed many details in my life. On the other hand, I think there are actually many very poetic moments in our lives. The story of this film is actually very simple. There are two clues: Xiaojie wants to get a book, and then his uncle asks him to give false evidence in exchange for temptation; then the other line is his memories and fantasies about his parents broken. The important reason why we de-dramaticize all the stories is that I want to focus on the character Xiaojie, and focus on his life state and mode.
vote god : The color of the film is contrasted before and after. How did you communicate with the artist?
Sun Aoqian: Before shooting , I communicated with the photographer and artist through ideas, hoping that the film will show two different tones before and after. The front may be sunny, and the back may be gloomy and cold. It is romantic on the one hand and cruel on the other. This idea is also because of the story itself. The first half of Xiaojie's life shows more of his state of life. He is an innocent and romantic child. But as things changed continuously, his world began to be added with many adult things. Therefore, the entire tone must also change, which always follows the character.
We basically shot the first half on sunny days, and the second half was shot on cloudy days. The colors in the environment are actually that way, but there are actually trade-offs when shooting, such as when shooting the first half. , We will deliberately remove some cool things from the picture, and then in the second half, we will remove some more bright things.
vote god : Why choose the red series?
Sun Aoqian: In the film, I just wanted to give Xiaojie a color memory of his parents and hometown with red, and then at the same time he projected his cousin’s things into his memories, and the sister wore red clothes. On the one hand, she wants to leave this environment. On the other hand, in the hotel over there, the girls must all be dressed in red and green, which in itself played a role in attracting customers, so Xiaojie also projected the red of his cousin into the red of his parents.
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vote god : Apple can be said to be an important clue in the film. How did you imagine it when you created it?
Sun Aoqian: After watching , many people actually asked me whether the apples, red lines, red skirts, etc. in the film are special metaphorical images, but they really don’t. I think the biggest charm of the movie is that it can evoke many beautiful moments in life. These things are the things that originally existed in your memory. They only serve as a link that evokes memories. They are like keys when the two clues are handed over.
includes Apple, and the reason for using it is very simple. First, we are rich in apples locally, which are cheap. We originally wrote strawberries in the script, but strawberries were very expensive in the season we were shooting. Apples can be shot at will; secondly, apples are easy to roll. When the apple rolls, it can have the dynamic effect I want. Other fruits may not be easy to roll. There are not so many so-called metaphorical things.
Also, Apple is because when I was very young, there was a car accident in front of our house, which may be the first car accident I saw in my mind. I was playing at the door, and then suddenly there was a loud noise and a car was knocked into flight. I remember it very clearly, because the house we lived in was a little further down the road. It actually had a slope, and all the apples rolled down from above to my feet. At that moment, from my consciousness, I always felt that the apple was a symbol of danger, which indicated that there were some unstable things.West appeared, so I might instinctively put this thing in the creative shooting.
making a movie is to find the answer.
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ticket god : Some viewers think this movie has a very strong style of magical reality. What do you think?
Sun Aoqian: Xiaojie himself in real life at is in a crazy and happy state every day. I remember when I first met him, there was no filming at that time. He told me that he often rides his bicycle to various places to play, and then he has more than ten good brothers, sometimes they each get ten yuan, and then When you go to the top of an unfinished building or by the river, we all go to dinner together. At that time, I felt that he was a person who was particularly quaint and able to call the wind and the rain.
Then I was very curious. Once I went to see his friends with him, but after walking around and found no one at all, he told me that my friends might not be here today, they might go to school or how about it. So maybe all of this is what he imagined. He usually talks to himself. I think this may be a reason that directly inspired me to shoot some magical passages.
There is also that we have all experienced childhood and have our own thoughts. In the world of children, we may focus more on our own things. He can feel the changes in the outside world, but he has a little understanding of those. He can only obtain information from the outside world through fragmentation, and then outline the impression of the surrounding environment he thinks. But in fact, he is still most concerned about his own things, so I think this is why I might choose to use a magical way to shoot such things.
Jia Zhangke, Marco Muller, Zhao Tao, Wang Huaiyu and "Youth and the Sea" drama combination
vote god : After Pingyao, you answered the audience's question and said: "Xiaojie may become the next Antoine, but I Never become the next Truffaut", how do you think the audience compares this with "Four Hundred Strikes"?
Sun Aoqian: First of all, I have to clarify one thing, which may not be believed by many people. I have indeed been influenced by many master directors, and I am not repulsive at all, but I have to explain it first, which is about "Four Hundred Strikes". I have watched many of Truffau's movies, but I have never watched "Four Hundred Strikes", but I know this is the most classic. Because we often see some of its most classic scenes in class, or in some online media, such as running to the sea and looking directly at the camera. I think everyone may think that, for example, a single person on the beach The camera, or the direct-view camera at the end, may feel like "Four Hundred Strikes", , but I think the so-called image and dissimilar may lie in deeper things, not just the appearance.
First of all, I do not reject the influence of these masters on me. I particularly like watching movies, and I also love movies. I like Tarkovsky , Anzhe , Sergio Lione , Coppola , like contemporary Ceylon , Sarkinsev , including what you might say The most popular is Kusturica and . I like these directors very much. I think they have given me a lot of influence and inspiration, and this is my debut work. I especially don't mind everyone criticizing the things I learned from many masters. These have profoundly affected me.
is not actually saying that I want to take a Kusturica shot or Tarkovsky-style shot. More cases of should be because I am affected by these things that may be formed in my mind. He is very Naturally, when I shoot this thing, he will show a feeling. It's not because I want to shoot this way, but because I do it, so I will definitely shoot something like this. I understand that.
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vote god : After shooting this movie, what gain or inspiration will you give to your next creation?
Sun Aoqian: Of course, also has a lot of immaturity. What I have to do now is how to sum up some experience during the shooting process, find some answers and methods, and try to form my own style step by step with these received things in the next film, so as to be more mature and restrained. Directly effective, I think this is what I need to work harderof. For , I might want to make a bigger and more complete next film, and then there will be more things to try, and in the audiovisual style, I will work harder to find a style of my own.
vote god : Will you continue to look for Xiaojie to play?
Sun Aoqian: If there is a suitable role for , I will consider it, but it still depends on Xiaojie himself. Because he has grown up slowly, he should have his own right to choose and decide, including actually not saying that he will act for me, but whether he wants to be an actor, and whether he is willing to go this way in the future. Selfishly speaking, I think in the short term, I might let Xiaojie stay away from the screen as much as possible, because he has not yet formed a complete cognitive view. I think it's better for him to be happy, simply growing up will be better.
vote god : When is this film planned to be released in China?
Sun Aoqian: has no plans to release it. Of course, our producer and producer will arrange these things. Of course, as a creator, I definitely hope that the film can meet the audience as soon as possible.
The director of the film "Youth and the Sea" Sun Aoqian, starring Yu Kunjie, and producer representatives Don He and He Yunming
