The film " Teenage Diary " is produced by Hong Kong director Er Dongsheng , written and directed by Zhuo Yiqian, and will be released nationwide on April 19. The film uses a diary to connect two periods of time and space, uncovering the crimes and punishments of traditional family education and paying attention to the mental health issues of teenagers. On April 17, the film held a road show at Shanghai Cinema Sho. Director Zhuo Yiqian came to the scene to share the story behind the creation with the audience. During the screening of the movie, applause and sobs erupted one after another in the hall of thousands of people.
Zhuo Yiqian communicates with the audience at the Shanghai Cinema Road Show Photo by Zhong Han
It is worth mentioning that "Diary of a Youth" was shortlisted for the Asian Newcomer Unit of the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival Golden Goblet Award, and was screened at the International Film Festival last year premiere.
"Diary of a Youth" has a Douban score of 8.6, making it the highest-rated Chinese-language film in theaters in the past year. Not long ago, the low-budget film "" became a dark horse hit due to its high reputation. It is worth looking forward to whether "Diary of a Youth" can use its reputation to trigger a movie-watching craze again.
The dullness makes the audience sympathize more.
The movie "Diary of a Youth" tells the story of Teacher Zheng (played by Lu Zhenye) who works in a middle school and accidentally discovers an unsigned suicide note. He must race against time to find students who are trying to commit suicide and stop them. Tragedy happens. In the process of searching for the owner of the suicide note, Teacher Zheng personally uncovered his long-lost childhood memories that were full of violence and pain. The
movie explores the root causes of adolescent psychological problems in families, and nakedly presents the invisible food chain within the family to the audience. Elite fathers' extreme desire to control their wives and the "stick education" they pursue on their children have turned what should have been a warm and harmonious home into a depressing and terrifying spiritual execution ground.
About halfway through the screening of "Diary of a Young Man"
, sobs could be heard one after another in the SHO Thousand-person Hall of Shanghai Cinemas. Until the subtitles of the film came on, the reporter could still hear the sniffling of the audience in the back row.
In fact, the emotional expression of "Diary of a Youth" is delicate and restrained, and there is no deliberate technical sensationalism such as music or camera playback. In reality, there are not many people like the male protagonist who grew up under extremely high-pressure education and had the same tragedy in their original family. Some seemingly ordinary writings actually resonated with everyone. For example, Teacher Zheng's line, "When I grew up, I did not become the adult I wanted to be", which made many people cry. A female audience member choked up and shared, "Thank you, the director, for allowing us to empathize with things we have never experienced."
At the Shanghai Cinema Roadshow, Zhuo Yiqian communicated with the audience
"The film premiered at the Shanghai International Film Festival. I remember that the audience was very enthusiastic and happy to come to Shanghai again." Standing on the stage, Zhuo Yiqian was dressed as a young man, wearing a blue cotton and linen shirt with a pair of round glasses and a small beard on his chin. Zhuo Yiqian just won the Best New Director at the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards for this film. He was low-key and humble at the scene, and his Mandarin was not good enough. He occasionally seemed a little shy and nervous, "If you don't understand, please tell me." Sometimes he didn't fully understand the audience's questions. His wife, who was sitting on the edge of the stage, immediately rushed over and explained in his ear. Her movements were natural and intimate, just like the theme the movie hopes to convey - companionship.
Zhuo Yiqian at the crew meeting of the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival
"The pace of life in Hong Kong is very fast. Everyone is busy, and they are still thinking about work after get off work. All they discuss is numbers, such as how much they earn every month. Money, how many grades we got. We are constantly doing things that seem important, and we don’t have time to express our inner feelings. Parents don’t have time to spend with their children, and I don’t have time to spend with my friends. It seems that everyone has forgotten how much companionship is. It's important, which makes me feel very sorry." Zhuo Yiqian said that companionship is a very important cooperation between people. There were friends around him who chose to commit suicide. If they could have had more companionship and communication, they might not have ended up like this. This gave him the idea of using a movie to discuss this topic.
Shanghai Jiao Tong University movie viewing scene
"I was very nervous when I came to Shanghai last time. It was also my first time to watch this movie on the big screen. I was afraid that the audience would not like it, or that the subject matter would be too serious and scare the audience away." He Frankly speaking, what I am most worried about is whether topics such as "teenage suicide" should be discussed openly. Perhaps it is better not to touch or photograph these things that everyone keeps secret. "Recently, the film has caused some discussion after it was released in Hong Kong, and some viewers liked it very much. When participating in some sharing activities, sometimes I couldn't help crying. This made me realize my identity and responsibility. I hope that I can be like the movie Like Mr. Zheng in the film, he accepts his inner wounds, which may never heal, but he needs to learn how to face them. "
Let the audience see the new ideas of "Hong Kong films"
"Diary of a Youth" is only 95 minutes long. After the screening. The exchange lasted nearly an hour. The lively discussion atmosphere and professional questions about composition and tone raised by the audience made people feel as if they had entered the Shanghai International Film Festival in advance.
The director and the audience discuss the movie like friends. Occasionally, if there is something missing, the audience who is eager for knowledge will promptly remind them, "The previous question has not been answered yet." At the end of the road show, some people praised the stage loudly, "The host is great!"
Not long ago, Shanghai Cinema Sho held "Renewal of Youth: Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui Hong Kong Film Retrospective". Some viewers discovered that Hong Kong directors in the 1980s and 1990s liked to shoot gangsters, action and other themes, but now the creative styles of young new directors are very different. Both "Diary of a Youth" and the recently released " under the day " focus on current social issues and allow the audience to see new ideas in "Hong Kong films".
"Diary of a Youth"
"I have heard the saying that 'Hong Kong film is dead' when I was in middle school and have heard it for many years. When I first entered the industry, I would lament that I was born at the wrong time, but now I have changed my mind about this sentence "It constantly reminds us to make good movies." Zhuo Yiqian said that the creative themes of the new generation of directors in Hong Kong are indeed different from those before. This is because their living environment and lifestyle are different from those of the previous generation. . "Everyone thinks that the 1980s and 1990s were the glorious period of Hong Kong films. At that time, new movies were launched every day. Now the pace has slowed down, but there are also benefits. New directors will regard the movies in their hands as the only ones they have the chance to make. Because slowing down gives you time to think about the themes and people you care about most. Many new actors don’t have as many acting opportunities as before, but they are always preparing themselves. Movies are constantly changing, just like water. There are still people making movies, and Hong Kong’s film industry is still there.”
Some viewers discovered that the poster of “Diary of a Young Man” was similar to the poster of Edward Yang’s “一一”. Zhuo Yiqian said that this was a coincidence. "That photo was taken by the still photographer while we were eating when we were filming the scene in the school auditorium. I didn't think too much about it at the time. Later, when I was processing the poster, I was worried that it would look like "Yi Yi" and gave up." However, in the end, it was used. This one was because he found that the young actor who played Zheng Youjie knew more about the role than the adult actors, and it reminded him of the little boy in "Yi Yi". "He once told me that when filming was stopped, he quickly got out of the role, but he didn't dare to laugh because he was worried that other adults would make a scene, so he continued to 'act' even after the filming was stopped. In fact, children They are very adaptable, they are very smart, and they have learned to observe when adults will be nervous and lie very early. This is the reason why I chose to use a poster that has a similar feel to "Yiyi" "
" Diary of a Youth"
and the previous ones. Like the dark horse hit "The Three Evils", the production cost of "Diary of a Youth" was not high. It is said that the actual shooting only took 19 days, but you can feel the efforts to use limited funds to create the best artistic expression. Some viewers noticed that the film has two compositions: horizontal and vertical, and the tones of different plots also have a contrast between warm and cold. Zhuo Yiqian revealed that these artistic treatments are not only related to his preference for the taste of complete structure, but also related to "saving money"."Scenes are money. The more scenes you add, the more money you have to spend." He said that almost everything in the film echoed back and forth. When Teacher Zheng was in a sweet relationship with his wife, he would hug her from the right to the left. When they quarreled, his wife would leave him in the same direction. With such a symmetrical structure, it is possible to capture more things in the same scene. "The funeral parlor and several funerals were shot in the same room. Although it didn't make sense, our team couldn't find any other scenes at that time and could only keep hypnotizing themselves: 'The audience won't think so much.' "
"Diary of a Youth" has a high score of 8.6 on Douban
Zhuo Yiqian's frankness attracted applause from the audience, and many design details were noticed by the audience and generated interest in discussion, which is also a very happy thing for the creator. Regarding many viewers' doubts about the ending of the film, he said that in the end, Teacher Zheng was more about accepting his inner wounds than letting go, rather than continuing to be trapped in the regrets of the past. "When everyone encounters difficulties, their first thought is to escape, and the same is true for me. Teacher Zheng is not a heroic character, but his last action was courageous, and it was also the first step for him to learn to cherish the present. "He hopes that the audience will believe after reading it that in the vast sea of people, they will meet someone who can understand them. Whether they have experienced psychological trauma or are in a stage of depression, they can speak boldly.
"When I was creating and filming, I also felt that "Diary of a Youth" was a very niche film. But from the first time I came to Shanghai to today, I know that there are people who have similar ideas to me. I am very happy that neither you nor I have our own I'm so lonely as I imagined, thank you." Zhuo Yiqian said. The
movie "Diary of a Young Man" is produced by Er Dongsheng, written and directed by Zhuo Yiqian. It stars Lu Zhenye, Cheng Zhongji, Chen Hannah, Verosa, Huang Zile and others. It will be released on April 19.
