's movie " Under the Day ", which was shortlisted for 16 nominations at this year's Hong Kong Film Awards, was released on April 12. The film is produced by Er Dongsheng, directed by young director Jian Junjin, and stars Yu Xiangning, Lin Baoyi, Jiang David, Hu Feng and others. The film is adapted from real events and tells the story of a journalist investigating the abuse of residents in a nursing home for the disabled. While showing cruel social problems, the film also shines with idealism. Director Jian Junjin said that although movies may not solve problems, they should at least raise questions to the world and make more people think.
Discussing where human dignity lies
In 2016, a report about the abuse of residents in a disabled residential home shocked the public. The elderly, weak, sick and disabled living in a disabled residential home in Hong Kong were subjected to inhuman abuse and harm. Jian Junjin was very angry when he saw the news. He asked himself: What can I do as a film worker? He began to slowly collect relevant information, and also contacted the two reporters who wrote the report through friends. Through in-depth communication, he obtained a large amount of first-hand material.
Dirty and messy environment, poor diet, abuse and infringement by caregivers...the disabled homes in "Under the Day" are shockingly cruel. Jian Junjin said frankly that he wanted to explore where human dignity lies through this work. "Do people lose their dignity when they get old? How can we grow old gracefully?" On the rooftop, the old people were stripped naked, tied to chairs, and washed with cold taps... This is a sad scene in the film. , deeply shocked the audience. Jian Junjin said that this plot comes from a real case. Before shooting, the main creators discussed for a long time how to schedule and what kind of lenses to use. "We didn't want to watch this from a high place, or do some weird and fancy camera movements, so we finally decided to use a horizontal angle of slow motion to focus on the expressions of multiple actors." The actors involved in the filming read this scene in the script After the play, everyone was willing to cooperate with professionalism. This scene took a whole day to shoot, but fortunately it was summer during the shooting, so the actors didn't feel cold.
"Under the Day" took five years to prepare. The biggest difficulty was finding investment. Fortunately, Jian Junjin has a good producer, Er Dongsheng, who helped a lot in raising funds. More than 30 years ago, "The Story of a Mental Illness" directed by Yee Dong-sheng focused the camera on mental patients on the streets, pioneering the social film trend in Hong Kong. In Jian Junjin's view, the story of "Under the Sun" allowed Er Dongsheng to see his original intention when he made "The Story of a Mad Man". In terms of script creation, Er Dongsheng also gave Jian Junjin a lot of suggestions, but he was not overbearing and just wanted to continue to stimulate the creative ideas. He always encouraged Jian Junjin to stick to the route he wanted to take.
Don't feel guilty for doing the right thing
The two reporters in the film risked their lives to go deep into a disabled home to expose the truth. Their courage and sense of justice are admirable. Jian Junjin said frankly that he not only wanted to pay attention to the living conditions of disadvantaged groups through the film, but also wanted to outline the current situation of media practitioners and their inner struggles. In his opinion, journalists and filmmakers have similar attributes. They are both trying to find some themes or stories, hoping that the works they create will bring repercussions. But in an era of loud noises and entertainment to death, in-depth content is getting less and less attention, and no one seems to care about the truth. There is a line in the film "Do you think there will still be reporters in ten years?" which expresses Jian Junjin's thinking.
Jian Junjin remembers that at the end of his chat with the prototype reporter, he asked, after the report was published, were many people grateful to you? He was greatly surprised by the two answers: Some were grateful, but many family members were scolded because after the incident was exposed, the license of the disabled home involved was revoked, leaving many residents homeless and living on the streets. Such a helpless ending was faithfully filmed by Jian Junjin into the movie. It not only showed the complexity and difficulty of protecting vulnerable groups, but also left an ethical question for the audience: If the results of doing good deeds may not be as originally expected, then we Do you still want to choose kindness? In the
film, reporter Ling Xiaoqi, played by Yu Xiangning, initially behaves fiercely and indifferently, wanting only to make a big news story as soon as possible. However, as the story progresses, her sense of justice and responsibility gradually emerge, and she tries her best to pursue the truth. .Jian Junjin said that this setting came from his observations of reporters. "I think the outward indifference of many reporters is actually a kind of packaging, which contains their sense of justice. They have experienced too much and will not reveal their emotions easily." However, at the end of the film, Xiaoqi could not help but shed tears. , because Tong Bo, an elderly man in a disabled home, comforted her: "Don't feel guilty for doing the right thing."
Lin Baoyi subverted her role as the villain
Lin Baoyi, Jiang David, Gong Ci'en, Hu Feng, Bao Qijing and other powerful actors appeared in "In the Day" The performance in "Part 2" was delicate and moved many viewers.
Lin Baoyi has previously played positive characters such as police officers, but this time he plays a villain, bringing a subversive performance. Although Zhang Jianhua, the dean of a disabled home he plays, is also visually impaired, his heart is extremely perverted and twisted, and his actions have made many viewers call him "scared." Jian Junjin revealed that as early as the beginning, many friends suggested asking Lin Baoyi to play Zhang Jianhua, but the other party did not have the schedule at the time. Fortunately, the filming of the film has not started yet, and when the official filming began, Lin Baoyi finally had enough time. In order to play Zhang Jianhua well, Lin Baoyi specially consulted the visually impaired to imitate their expressions and postures in life. In the film, he often tilts his body and tilts his head, as if he is listening hard, using his hearing to make up for his lack of vision. His neck was also stretched forward when he read the note.
When questioned, Zhang Jianhua argued that it was the home he built that gave the forgotten vulnerable people a place to stay. His confident statement "It's the fault of the whole society" enhanced the critical intensity of the entire film. Jian Junjin believes that the character Zhang Jianhua is a concentrated expression of "banal evil". "In his world, he thinks he is the protagonist and is doing the right thing, but in fact his reasoning has been distorted and his behavior has crossed the bottom line."
Tong Bo, played by David Jiang, looks crazy and stupid, but is actually wise and intelligent. Toru, like an old naughty boy. Jian Junjin laughed and said that he did not hire David Jiang because he was Er Dongsheng's brother, but he felt that this role was very suitable for David Jiang, and he had not appeared on the big screen for a long time. "Hu Feng and David Jiang, one of them was a musical superstar in the 1960s, and the other was a martial arts movie superstar in the 1970s. It was really touching to see them both on my set." Jian Junjin said.
