From "Partners in China", "Dear", "Win the Championship" to "Changsha Nightlife", the famous screenwriter and director Zhang Ji has consistently adhered to realism in creation. His characters are rooted in real life, ordinary and down-to-earth. The movie "Third Brigade" written by him is currently in theaters. This time, Zhang Ji uses the ups and downs of the protagonist Cheng Bing and the "Third Brigade members" in the process of chasing the murderer for many years to depict the life of "Heartbroken Man at the End of the World" The "Chinese imagery" in terms of taste and aesthetics resonated strongly with the audience. In an exclusive interview with reporters, Zhang Yi said that he has been deeply nourished by traditional Chinese realist creative techniques and Chinese classical aesthetics for many years, and this is a complete release. , “Today, when short videos and games are prevalent, I must keep the tradition that I believe in, I insist on, and my beliefs, and I must defend the traditional film creation methods, because I believe that only by being honest can we innovate. "
was deeply influenced by Xie Jin's films
Zhang Ji was born in western Hunan. He was not a screenwriter. Before entering this industry, he was an out-and-out literary young man. He especially preferred classical realism literature, and his favorite was Cao Xueqin's " "A Dream of Red Mansions" and Leo Tolstoy's novels were also deeply influenced by the works of Lu Xun, Mao Dun and Shen Congwen. In terms of movies, from early left-wing movies such as "A River Flows East" and "The Crow and the Sparrow" to Xie Jin He was deeply influenced by classic works such as "Garland Under the Mountain", "The Wrangler" and "Furong Town" directed in the 1980s. Over the years, he has been deeply nourished by classic realist literary and artistic works, which allowed him to enter the screenwriting industry. Later, I paid special attention to the relationship between people and society, the times and oneself. This time when adapting the story of "The Third Brigade", it is no exception.
The film is adapted from the documentary work "Please tell the Director, the mission of the Third Brigade has been completed" by the writer Shen Lan The film's producer, Chen Sicheng, is one of the most successful producers in exploring genre films in recent years. The two have very similar aesthetics in films, and both know that films like "The Three Brigades" are most suitable for realistic techniques. Natural acting, music does not need to be sensational, and the style should be simple and natural. The two people of similar ages have surprisingly consistent creative ideas this time. "Our entire team immediately agreed on the temperament and direction of the script, which greatly Procrastination and internal friction are reduced. " Zhang Ji said.
He did a lot of research work in the early stage.
"The Third Brigade" is the first police-themed movie written by Zhang Ji. As early as when he was creating "Dear", a director told him that he was "very good at writing. Career drama." Zhang Ji thought about it and found that it was indeed true, "In my opinion, a person's career will have an impact on his character and destiny. "For example, a professional athlete has been training in a closed environment for a long time. When he retires, he will face the confusion of re-entering society and adapting to the environment. As for the police, especially the criminal police profession, days and nights of high-intensity arrest work, It will make them temporarily forget about themselves, "This is a bit like the work of an actor. Police work is like a stage, and they will inevitably have the characteristics of this profession. "
Not long after he became a screenwriter, Zhang Ji followed the entire process of solving a case by an anti-narcotics police brigade. He witnessed every step from surveillance, arrest to interrogation, giving him first-hand life experience. His uncle is also a policeman. When he was a child, he saw his uncle and his comrades getting drunk together after get off work and singing "Young Aspirations Don't Tell the Sorrows", and the overflowing lofty ideals were deeply engraved in his mind.
In order to write the story of "Three Brigades" this time, he and his team did a lot of preliminary data collection work. They not only went to the public security bureaus in Hunan, Sichuan and other places to read a large number of case files, but also participated in the process of police interrogation of suspects. The characters in the film were involved in industries such as community water stations, security rooms, taxis, and Internet cafes, and a lot of research work was also done.Many plots in the film were created based on details discovered during the investigation. For example, at the end of the film, in order to drag the suspect Wang Eryong on the street, Cheng Bing deliberately "blackmailed" him into pouring oil into an empty bucket. "During our investigation, we found that some People would take advantage and use the water station's barrels to fill oil. Without preliminary research, it would be difficult to imagine such a plot," Zhang Ji said.
Unconventional portrayal of heroes
The original work describes Cheng Bing’s 12-year journey to chase the murderer, but in the movie, all five members of the "Three Brigades" participated in the action. "We decided on the group portrait scene from the beginning." Zhang Ji really wanted to show a group portrait through "Three Brigades", but he didn't want to fall into the trap of having single characters in some genre films, which generally A certain aspect of a character's personality traits are displayed to the extreme. "For example, the character's ruthlessness will remain ruthless to the end." Although this increases the recognition in the audience's mind, it reduces the richness of the character. Zhang Ji hopes that in addition to Cheng Bing, the other four team members in "The Three Brigades" will also be real individuals, "all with their own loves and hates, weaknesses, inner secrets and desires."
at the time of writing , Zhang Ji even thought of Akira Kurosawa's classic movie "Seven Samurai". He had watched this movie many years ago and had a deep memory of the unique personality of each samurai in the film. Zhang Ji also wanted to write about it in "The Three Samurai". Such a character comes out. In the film, Cai Bin played by Cao Bingkun, Xu Yizhou played by Wei Chen, Ma Zhenkun played by Wang Xiao, and Liao Jian played by Zhang Zixian are each full of unique personalities and temperaments, with three-dimensional and rich characters. "Although they got off the bus for various reasons midway, But they have all done their best to pursue the murderer."
What was most enjoyable was writing "parting and reunion"
During the writing process, what made Zhang Ji feel most comfortable was the "parting and reunion" in the play. According to the common writing method of group portrait dramas, after the team members are assembled, they will go all the way to the end no matter what the ending is. But not the "Third Brigade". As time went by, the four teammates of the "Third Brigade" withdrew one by one, and in the end only Cheng Bing was left to move forward alone. This feeling reminded Zhang Ji of the famous saying of the poet Xin Qiji, "If you want to talk, you can't stop. If you want to talk, you can't stop, but it's been a cold day." Especially in the film, Xu Yizhou, who had just left the hospital before going to prison, After graduating from the police academy, he was full of longing for a future, but in the blink of an eye, he became a down-and-out man who made a living by raising dogs in the suburbs. The paradoxes and ups and downs of his fate made people sigh and helpless.
Since ancient times, Chinese literati of all dynasties have written countless masterpieces and famous sentences about the "parting and reunion" in life. As a middle-aged man, Zhang Ji can empathize with it even more. There is a scene in the film where Cai Bin discovers that he has cancer, but he still wants to continue chasing the murderer with Cheng Bing. The two race to swim across a wide river, but halfway through the swim, Cai Bin falls headlong due to lack of physical strength. He fell into the water, but Cheng Bing swam to the other side without looking back. When Zhang Ji wrote this scene, what came to his mind was Ma Zhiyuan, a poet from the Yuan Dynasty, "The ancient road is winding in the west and the horses are thin, and the heartbroken people are at the end of the world." The desolation, loneliness and helplessness of reality are conveyed through the contrast between the empty and distant sky, the gently flowing river and the lonely and small individuals. This artistic conception is exactly the "Chinese image" presented in Chinese classical literature.
and Chen Sicheng continue to collaborate on a police movie
Starting from "Partners in China", Zhang Ji's works have always paid great attention to the relationship between people and the times, and this time is no exception. In the film, Cheng Bing's pursuit of the murderer lasted 12 years. From the beginning of "confession is king" to the end of "no confession can lead to conviction", it reflects the tremendous changes of the times and also embodies the realistic creative style. For Zhang Ji, this treatment has another purpose, which is to highlight Cheng Bing’s spiritual power, “As the times progress, he seems to be stagnant, but he uses his spirit of stasis in the past to influence our era."
In Zhang Ji's view, the reason why Cheng Bing has been able to persist in pursuing the murderer for many years is that in addition to seeking justice for the victim and avenging his master's death, he also has to find himself. "In addition to his identity as a policeman, a prisoner, and a down-and-out person. In addition to the gap, Cheng Bing also experienced collapse and loss countless times, but he still used his own choice and persistence to finally find his true self. Zhang Ji wants to tell the audience through his characters that "looking for yourself" sometimes requires you to withstand collapse. "Crash is sometimes not a bad thing. Your life is ultimately created by yourself." "Just like Wang Eryong in the film, this serial murder recidivist, he seemed to be living a decent life when he was caught by Cheng Bing. "He gained peace on the surface, but he was dark and chaotic inside, and he would eventually go to prison to be punished. ; On the other hand, Cheng Bing spent 12 years doing one thing, but he had an explanation for himself and his morality, and his heart was peaceful and calm. At the end of the film, he can finally blend into the crowd and calmly see how people live. "Zhang Ji said.
Zhang Ji will have two more works in the future. One is to continue to collaborate with Chen Sicheng on a police-themed movie, and the other is to script a movie about Alzheimer's disease. He told reporters that his future plans His main job is still screenwriting, and he will continue to use realist creative techniques. "I like this kind of creation, like this kind of people and stories, and I have to make things that I like and believe in."
(Source: Beijing Evening News reporter Wang Jinyue)
