"I have been exposed to director Wong Kar-wai's works since middle school. I never thought I would have the opportunity to meet him, let alone appear in his works. This time filming "Flowers" was like a dream." During the interview, Hu Ge said with a smile.
"Flowers", currently being broadcast at Jiangsu Satellite TV's Xingfu Theater, is the first TV series directed by Wong Kar-wai, in which Hu Ge plays the leading actor. From Abao to Mr. Bao, under Wong Kar-wai's careful creation, Hu Ge gave the most touching performance since "Nirvana in Fire".
In 2017, Hu Ge met Wong Kar-wai for the first time. Recalling the scene at that time, he said with emotion: "At that time, I received a call saying that Director Wong Kar-Wai wanted to meet me. When I arrived at the appointed place, I saw Director Wang wearing his iconic sunglasses. To be honest, I was very nervous at the time. Because I have loved watching Director Wang's works since middle school, and he is my idol."
That day, Wong Kar-wai and Hu Ge talked a lot, about their views on the novel "Flowers", and about Hu Ge's own Growth experience. "Director Wang first considered me to play A Bao. Later, at one point, he wanted me to play three roles, Hu Sheng, Xiao Mao and A Bao at the same time. Because at that time, someone watched my performance in the play "A Dream Like a Dream" ", I felt that I saw many faces of me on the stage, so Director Wang came up with this plan." However, the idea of one person playing the three roles was just a "flash in the pan." In the end, Wong Kar-wai cut out the complicated and simplified it, and only chose Po as the core character. character, this also allowed Hu Ge to concentrate on returning to Abao's world.
In order to play this role well, Hu Ge and even the entire crew were fully prepared. "Before we officially joined the group, we had a three-year preparation period. Under the leadership of Director Wang, we collected a lot of information about that era and invited experts in stocks and 'old masters' from foreign trade companies, etc. As the 'brain force', he provides guidance to the crew at any time. Before the filming starts, the actors also come in early and immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the 1990s."
The era atmosphere created by Wong Kar-wai also evoked Hu Ge's childhood memories . For example, the 1:1 restoration of the Yellow River Road in the play made Hu Ge quite emotional: "Although I have never eaten on the Yellow River Road, I passed by the Yellow River Road, and the Yellow River Road in my impression is just like the one shown in the play. In that way, the neon red is eye-catching and thousands of flowers are like a sea."
Cooperating with Wong Kar Wai is like falling in love, always providing emotional value
This is Hu Ge's first collaboration with Wong Kar Wai. In his opinion, this cooperation is more like falling in love. "You will be very nervous and uneasy at the beginning, always wandering between confidence and unconfidence. Slowly you will find that as long as he is around, you will feel at ease, much like falling in love."
"Flowers" The drama was filmed for a total of three years, and the long cycle also affected the emotions of the actors, and Wong Kar-wai provided stable emotional comfort. "After the filming, everyone was on the verge of collapse, and there was a lot of pressure in all aspects. But looking at Director Wang who was energetic and meticulous on the set, and seeing him go back to meetings and write scripts after filming every day, everything... The tiredness was gone at once, and I felt like I could do it again."
In the play, Abao has many rivalry scenes with Lingzi (played by Ma Yili), Miss Wang (played by Tang Yan), and Li Li (played by Xin Zhilei).
In Hu Ge's view, Lingzi and Abao are related to Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie. "A Bao is Zhu Bajie, and Lingzi is Sun Wukong. They are always at the front to overcome obstacles for Zhu Bajie, allowing Zhu Bajie to enjoy the gains."
Miss Wang and A Bao are related to the second hand and the minute hand: "Do you think the second hand and the minute hand meet once every 60 seconds? Wrong! It’s 61 seconds. Because when the second hand makes one revolution, the minute hand has already moved forward one frame. But it’s actually not 61 seconds, it’s a little longer than 61 seconds, because when the second hand moves for another 1 second, the minute hand Move a little further. So the intersection between the two of them is always a little further than everyone thinks."
As for A Bao and Li Li, Hu Ge believes that they are like the sky and the sea, mirroring each other and full of mystery. ."The sky and the sea are very far apart, but when you watch the sunrise and sunset, you find that they are connected together, almost inseparable."
"Flowers" interprets the story of his father's generation. Wong Kar-wai hopes that I can regain the feeling of Li Xiaoyao
For Hu Ge, "Flowers" is a pursuit of the memories of his father's generation and a complement to his imagination of the past years.
""Flowers" tells the story of my parents' generation. I have been interested in my parents' growth experience since I was a child, but every time I try to understand them, I always feel that there are some things they are unwilling to do. Say, I don’t even want to recall it. So when I saw "Flowers", I was attracted immediately, and I felt like I was learning about the past of my parents in another way."
"Flowers" tells the story of the last century The story begins in the 1990s, when Hu Ge was in elementary school. "It is very limited to see the changes of the times from a child's perspective, but I later recalled that adults at that time were very busy. Like my father, he was also doing business with a group of friends at the time, trying to go through his own efforts. Life has changed, and I have very little time at home. Sometimes I hear my parents talking about people around me who have become rich overnight. Just like the narrator in our play said, some people become rich overnight, and some people lose it in half a day."
Wong Kar-wai once reminded Hu Ge that when performing Ah Bao, he should have the feeling of Li Xiaoyao: "I believe that in that era, there were many young people like Ah Bao. They wanted to seize opportunities in the wave of the times and use their own Try to change your destiny and life. But after experiencing the ups and downs, you will find that the most important thing is love and justice."
Written by Beijing Youth Daily reporter Yang Wenjie
Editor/Cui Wei
