On April 1, the anti-MLM movie " Grass and Trees in the World " held its premiere in Beijing. Director Gu Xiaogang, starring Jiang Qinqin , Wu Lei , Chen Jianbin , Yan Nan, Ju Bozhan and others attended the post-screening exchanges. The film will be released nationwide on April 3.
Director Gu Xiaogang has received widespread attention in the industry since the release of the movie "Spring River Plumbing" in 2019. "The World of Grass and Trees" is the second film he directed and the sequel to his "Hangzhou Trilogy" set in his hometown. At the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival in September last year, Gu Xiaogang was awarded the 2023 "Kurosawa Akira Award". He was the third Chinese director to win this international award after Hou Hsiao-hsien and Chen Kaige.
A group photo of the main creators
The movie "The World of Grass and Trees" tells the story of Taihua (played by Jiang Qinqin) who was about to enter a new life ten years after her husband He Shan disappeared out of thin air, but fate pushed her to another desperate situation - she was raped by her lover (played by Jiang Qinqin) on the front foot. Chen Jianbin (played by Chen Jianbin)'s mother was driven away from the tea garden, and then she was tricked into the MLM organization "Butterfly International" by her closest good sister Jin Lan. The son Mu Lian (played by Wu Lei), who is searching for his father while saving his mother, is physically and mentally exhausted, but Butterfly International is growing like a vine, planting the seeds of evil in the hearts of countless ordinary people.
Director Gu Xiaogang
was present at the premiere. Gu Xiaogang introduced that the film was adapted from the folk mythology "Mu Lian Saves His Mother". "We have made a modern interpretation of the story. Taihua is an ordinary tea girl in the world. She questioned MLM at the beginning, gradually believed in MLM, and finally became a participant in MLM. She gradually darkened and turned into a devil. She is bound to It will show a scary aspect. The movie is set in 'Heaven' (Hangzhou), but the audience will see the intuitive revelation and terrifying scene of the so-called 'Hell' space, and I hope to show it to everyone through artistic expression and artistic presentation. The possibility of a place of exile with a dark soul."
"The World of Grass and Trees" poster
Actor Jiang Qinqin gave many explosive performances in the film. She said that the movie is 118 minutes long and the actors gave 200% effort. "We have done many road shows along the way, and every ending is a new beginning for me. This movie tells the story of a person, and the movie itself actually tells the story of a person. I hope everyone You can go into the theater and see if "The World of Grass and Trees" tells human stories so touching, so crazy, so tender, and so meaningful."
Jiang Qinqin
Actor Chen Jianbin will not only star as a "husband and wife team" with Jiang Qinqin this time. The film’s art director. He said, "It is far more difficult for me to act with Teacher Jiang than with other people. How to turn this familiarity into unfamiliarity and give the audience a fresh feeling is difficult for me. But I also I couldn't help it, because I liked the movie directed by Gu Xiaogang so much, I completed this creation amidst struggle and anxiety."
He also recited a poem by Rumi at the scene: "You long for gems, you are gems; you. If you crave bread, you are bread. It’s good to know this secret. You are what you are looking for!”
Chen Jianbin
When it comes to the aesthetic style of Gu Xiaogang’s films, Chen Jianbin believes that the director has an eye for beauty. "What is the most beautiful thing? It is the peaceful, ordinary dawns and dusk we spend on this land, the sunny days one after another; it is every ordinary thing we encounter in life. You and me. He discovered this and moved it to the big screen, so his movie can be so beautiful."
In the post-screening communication session, writer Liu Zhenyun said that the film's slogan is "There will be no pie in the sky." "To get rich through MLM, you need to be clear-headed." "Yes, topical movies now sell tickets easily. "The World of Grass and Trees" can be said to be a topical movie, but it does extend from the topic to the soul of the characters. The width and depth are different. . An ordinary Chinese rural woman's struggle and introspection of her soul and body in her difficult life can be captured in a profound way. I believe this movie will have a good box office and a good reputation.
director Hu Mei also praised Jiang Qinqin's performance, "This time I can no longer recognize the lady and the soft Qinqin I knew before. Her performance potential is endless." I hope that Qinqin and I can go crazy and create some large-scale creations in the future.
film critic Tan Fei said in his speech that the movie " Eliminate Three Evils in Weekly" talks about the symptoms of evil, such as how bad the cult leaders are, but it does not use much words to talk about the soil of evil - why do those believers So how did you believe in being brainwashed? "The World of Plants and Trees" helped it accomplish this. "At the same time, "The World of Plants and Trees" is humanistic and compassionate. It reflects how limited the channels for ordinary people to rise in class are, and they want to change. The road of destiny is so difficult. It is not a novelty. Engraved on the back of the picture are the words "Sorrow for the difficulties of the people's livelihood." "
