What would it be like for a male director who is nearly 60 years old to shoot a female subject? "Kong Xiu" directed by Wang Chao will be on the big screen on International Women's Day. "Kong Xiu" is adapted from the novel "Dream" by Zhang Xiuzhen, a member of the Hebei Provincial Writers Association and a famous worker writer. It tells the story of Kong Xiu, a female printing and dyeing factory worker from the 1960s to the 1980s, who got rid of the shackles of marriage and gained literary nourishment while raising children. , the story of becoming a writer. Kong Xiu in the film has experienced two failed marriages. She no longer expects to find shelter through marriage, but realizes that she has more important things to do, and then awakens as an independent woman. "Kong Show" won many film festival honors, including the Best Screenplay Award at the 70th San Sebastian Film Festival, the Best Actress Award at the 18th Eurasian Film Festival, and was shortlisted for the 25th Shanghai Film Festival section "New Works by Famous Directors".
Wang Chao is a sixth-generation director in China. In 2001, he adapted and directed his first film " Anyang Baby " based on his novel of the same name, thus launching his director career. Before "Kong Show", Wang Chao's eight films were all adapted from his own novels and original scripts. "Kong Show" is his only work that adapted other people's novels. He once said in an interview with the media that ""Kong Show" It’s not about women, it’s about humanity.” As "Kong Show" is about to be released, Nandu reporters conducted an exclusive interview with director Wang Chao and listened to him talk about the reasons for adapting "Kong Show", why he turned his attention to female subjects that are rarely touched by male directors, and how he views recent years. The popularity and controversy of female themes.
01
I used the character of Kong Xiu to construct the woman I know
Nandu Entertainment: What impressed you about the original novel?
Wang Chao: My wife’s friend brought a novel by his mother one day. His mother was a well-known worker writer in Shijiazhuang in the 1980s. When she was almost 70 or 80 years old, she wrote a semi-autobiographical novel. The novel recalls her real experiences in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. I was very interested after reading it.
First of all, I am also a person of that era. I was a teenager in the 1970s and 1980s. My parents were factory workers in the past. I am familiar with the worldly affairs, workplace relationships, and family life in the book, but what really touched me was Confucius. Xiu's two failed marriages, I feel that the shadow of this kind of marriage is everywhere in contemporary times. This novel can find a clever perspective to open up the relationship between the past and the present, and think about this era from a fresh perspective. The era that Kong Xiu lived in was also the process of society gradually moving from relatively ignorant and gloomy to bright rationality and human liberation. I have experienced it myself, so this movie is my thinking and imagination in all aspects.
Nandu Entertainment: Compared with the novel, what changes have been made in the movie?
Wang Chao: The novel is called "Dream". Why did I use the name of the novel's heroine "Kong Xiu" as the title? Because my Kong Xiu is different from her Kong Xiu. Her Kong Xiu is a restoration of her own experience. My Kong Xiu is the woman I know with the help of the character Kong Xiu. It has a strong subjective color. , has transcended the novel, and even transcended this era in a sense.
When I was in Wuhan the day before yesterday, the writer Li Xiuwen said it very well. He said that Kong Xiu was infused with a kind of modernity. How does a woman like Kong Xiu gain spiritual independence when she grows into an intellectual woman? The novel emphasizes more on her financial independence. But I want to emphasize spiritual self-reliance. With this premise, she has the ability to refuse the pursuit of the third man in her life in the name of love.
Nandu Entertainment: What is the point of this story that took place in the 1960s-1980 era that can impress contemporary young people?
Wang Chao: In the movie, Kong Xiu's second husband said, "You are my wife, I can do whatever I want." He feels that after a woman becomes his wife, she becomes his personal property.But when Kong Xiu faced this kind of verbal and physical violence, she chose to resist. So I hope that women today, when they encounter their own difficulties, can see how women of that era resisted. I want to pass Films create a communication that allows women to inspire each other.
Nandu Entertainment: Shen Shiyu’s performance as Kong Xiu is very natural. Why did you choose her in the first place?
Wang Chao: Before , we were still thinking about whether celebrities could join the film, so that the market might be better when the film is released. There were indeed two stars who were willing to star. One of them had a temperament that was not in line with the northern female workers of the past era. The other star had a temperament that was more similar, but there was a problem with the schedule. So by some strange combination of circumstances, we put aside all external factors. I only considered what kind of person fit this role, so I chose Shen Shiyu among a bunch of young people.
I chatted with Shen Shiyu about life for nearly two hours. She was very candid and talked about her family, children, husband and parents, especially the fact that she has a daughter, which was a big plus for her. Because the actor who plays Kong Xiu must have a married life, especially experience in raising children. If you have never raised a child, you will not be able to express the feeling of holding a child or taking care of a child. There are no strong dramatic conflicts in my movies, only a lot of life scenes. Shen Shiyu acted very naturally, and I am very satisfied with it.
02
"Kong Xiu" is not a purely feminist movie
Nandu Entertainment: In the movie, Wu Beichen is the person who guided Kong Xiu to start writing, but there is no such character in the novel. Why was this character designed?
Wang Chao: He is an inspirer. On the one hand, he inspires her in literary reading. On the other hand, when Wu Beichen proposed to pursue Kong Xiu, Kong Xiu refused. She has been divorced twice and has two children. She thinks they are not suitable for both public and private matters. She is very rationally considering whether to accept this love, because her mental strength is strong enough and she does not need to rely on a man. Even if the man has a love, she still feels that she has to consider whether it is worth it and whether she is willing. question.
Nandu Entertainment: Kong Xiu’s growth seems to have been influenced by external forces. Is it an accident that she embarked on the path of writing?
Wang Chao: I think is both accidental and inevitable. Kong Xiu didn't become her own person by "being beaten by others and then resisting". What's more important is that she has a real spiritual source in her heart. This spiritual source is the influence her father had on him mentioned at the beginning of the film. Of course, she has a certain degree of literary talent. Without this, it would be difficult to become a writer. But if her first two husbands refused to divorce and held her back for the rest of her life, or if Wu Beichen did not play the role of a guide to encourage her, it would be difficult for her to become a good writer.
Nandu Entertainment: The second husband Yang Jinxia treated Xiaoxue very badly, but when he was dying, Kong Xiu asked Xiaoxue to call him daddy. Would such a reconciliation be too rough?
Wang Chao: "Kong Xiu" is not a purely feminist movie. If it were, I would definitely stand by Kong Xiu, stand till the end, and all the advantages and moral halo will be on her side. But in fact, the second half of the movie is Kong Xiu's self-reflection, and even criticism of her. After her two husbands left, in a family lacking men, Kong Xiu accidentally assumed the role of father in the family, and discovered that Xiaoxue fell in love early. , Kong Xiu slapped her daughter and said, "Look at your tough talk." Yang Jinxia once said this to Xiaoxue. When it came out of Kong Xiu's mouth a few years later, it proved that she had become part of the male discourse she was resisting. Therefore, the second half of the film is about reflecting on some of the problems that one may have in the development of feminism.
Nandu Entertainment: What do the three train whistles in the movie mean?
Wang Chao: Kong Xiu's father worked at the train station. Her father always encouraged her when he was alive, so the sound of the train would always sound when she was in trouble. The first time the train sounded was on the morning after her wedding, when she was scolded by her mother-in-law for sleeping in. On this wronged morning, she heard the train whistle.Later, Xiaoxue disappeared. On that desperate night, she heard the whistle again, which awakened a power in her heart, so she resisted the urge to commit suicide. The last whistle sounded when she went back to her first husband and wanted to visit her son Xiaodong. Xiaodong never replied to her. This was her lifelong guilt and regret. At this time, the whistle sounded again. This whistle was a warning to her. The consolation of the whole destiny is the recovery of spiritual power. Only the spirit is immortal, and only the spirit cannot fall.
Nandu Entertainment: What does "Kong Xiu" want to express?
Wang Chao: I don’t see Kong Xiu as the ultimate winner. She has her own regrets in her heart. Destiny is equal. Kong Xiu endured it with laughter and tears. Whether as a human or as a woman, she shouldered the responsibility, and this responsibility was her own choice. I want to tell the audience that no matter what your destiny is, whether you are a winner or a loser, we must have full respect for destiny itself. Don't say I'm a loser, I've been frustrated my entire life. Why do you say you are a successful person? Who is a successful person in this society? Everyone is like Kong Xiu, who knows his or her own path in a down-to-earth manner, knows what he can and cannot do, and then walks through his life.
03
It is a good thing if there is controversy about female themes
Nandu Entertainment: Do you think there is a threshold for male directors to shoot female themes?
Wang Chao: I don’t think so. The best female literary images in many ethnic groups are written by male writers. Let me give you another simple analogy: the best tailors for women’s clothing are all men, and the best female roles in Peking Opera are all played by men. This thing doesn't exist and it's just a layer apart to say that a man is. I don’t deliberately observe women in my life, because I am surrounded by women. As a sensitive person and an authorial director, such sensitivity is a basic skill.
Nandu Entertainment: What do you think are some of the better female-themed movies in China?
Wang Chao: I don’t classify movies as male-themed and female-themed. I was deeply impressed by the movie "Human, Ghost, Love" directed by Huang Shuqin. And among my friends, for example, Li Yu's " beauty " was also very good.
Nandu Entertainment: Female themes often cause controversy in the public opinion field. Will it make creators become more conservative?
Wang Chao: It’s a good thing that is controversial. It means that people who hold opposing views have also watched the movie, which is better than not watching it, right? Art films are inherently lonely, and there is no standard answer. Suddenly there is an opportunity, and the two sides with different opinions quarrel, and this film can receive more attention. If the author is immature, he may resist opposing opinions, but a mature author must be a smart person. As long as the other party's criticism is good, even if he wants to save face, he must accept it in his heart, so that he can Able to grow on one's own.
Nandu Entertainment: Nowadays, heroine narratives are popular. What do you think is a real “heroine”?
Wang Chao: runs through the fate of a woman, or uses her perspective as the exploration process. Her perspective is very important and is unified throughout the entire movie. This perspective is actually a through-put for viewing the entire narrative of the film.
Nandu Entertainment: As Women’s Day is approaching, how would you recommend this movie to female audiences?
Wang Chao: This is a movie for ordinary people, but the focus is on women. I went on road shows in five or six cities. When I walked out of the cinema after the screening, I was surrounded by young women. For them, this movie is more realistic. If there are three or five screenings in your city, I think young female audiences will definitely gain something from watching it. There are too many entertaining movies, and there are very few movies like "Gong Xiu". Moreover, this time I honestly filmed the life course that I am familiar with. The filming is not boring, the rhythm is smooth, and it is very down-to-earth, so it is easy to follow. Everyone has empathy.
Written by: Nandu reporter Jian Yue
