Peking University professor Dai Jinhua commented that director Hui Anhua is "half of the history of Hong Kong movies", "She is the female director I respect the most, no one."
In the documentary about Hui Anhua "Making Movies Well", there is a paragraph about Hui Anhua. When receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Venice Film Festival, Dai Jinhua said excitedly "longlifecinema" (Long Live the Movie). He said that he was caught off guard and "cryed like a dog" when he saw this. "That was the first and only time in my life that I I immediately sent Director Xu a WeChat message. I have never done anything like chasing stars. This is a star-chasing moment in my life. I must express my love and respect to her. "
html On April 24, Xu Anhua's film master class was held. At the beginning of the 14th Beijing International Film Festival, she talked and shared with Dai Jinhua and "Carnival" director Wen Yan on the theme of "The Long Creative Journey of Female Independent Filmmakers", reviewing the creative process of director Xu Anhua, and showing the independence of women A movie epic written by a filmmaker.Only when you are in your seventies can you seriously think about the "female perspective"
Ann Hui's 1979 film debut "The Robbery" is one of the masterpieces of the new wave of Hong Kong films. Since then, she has always been able to use her delicate female perspective to be sensitive. Capturing social changes and various aspects of the human world, Ann Hui has won multiple Hong Kong Film Gold Statues with "Journey to the Raging Sea", "Woman, Forty", "Days and Nights in Tin Shui Wai", "Sister Tao", "The Golden Age" and "When Will the Moon Come?" Award for Best Director, becoming the only director to win this award six times.
As a female director, people always classify Xu Anhua's films as "female perspective." When it comes to thinking about gender, Xu Anhua said with a smile that she didn't think about this issue seriously until she was in her 70s. "I didn't think about it when I was filming before. I thought specifically about the female perspective, that is, I wanted to shoot this story. The protagonist happened to be a female, so I knew her better, so I shot it. Now I find that when you look at an issue from a higher perspective. , you will understand the ins and outs of it better, so thinking is necessary. I feel that the film industry did not pay much attention to the 'female perspective' or 'gender thinking' in the past, but after I read a lot of relevant materials and books and broadened my horizons, I feel that this kind of thinking is necessary and will definitely happen. The promotion of feminism is also one of the manifestations of social progress. "
In Xu Anhua's view, after thinking about it, if you want to make improvements, you must start with yourself, not yourself. From the perspective of an onlooker, "If you think about feminism, you should also think about yourself. Are you eating, drinking and having fun every day, or are you not thinking about anything? To promote feminism, you must first start with yourself."
Director's text of "Carnival" Yan said that when she started creating, she was also ignorant about the concept of gender. “I was gradually exploring it, but because I had a lot of questions, I came up with the thoughts in the film, and then put these thoughts and questions into In the film. Therefore, the female perspective and the presentation of female images in film narratives are a process that I gradually formed through asking questions and thinking while reading and watching movies."
Wen Yan. He said that he benefited a lot from the article "Gender and Narrative: Women in Contemporary Chinese Films" written by Dai Jinhua. "I regret that I did not read this article very early. It made it so clear that Chinese women in The current situation of society and how we convert it into image description are all very clear. "
In recent years, there have been more and more independent female filmmakers around the world and they have become more and more successful. For example, the director of last year's hit movie "Barbie". Greta Gerwig started her film career as an independent producer. Now "Barbie" has won both awards and reputation, and she will also serve as the chairman of the jury at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
Regarding the increasing number of female directors in the world, Xu Anhua appreciates their success, "Their creativity is not inferior to that of male directors at all, and in some themes, they even perform better.For example, this year I served as a judge for the main competition section of the Berlin Film Festival, and "Dahomey" won the Golden Bear Award for Best Film. The director was the 41-year-old French-Senegalese female director Mati Diop. Her documentary was only 60 minutes long. , all seven of us judges applauded after watching it. "Dahomey" traces the origins of nearly 30 precious works of art that were plundered by French soldiers in 1892 and returned to Benin, West Africa in 2021. Her creativity is very good, and she actually made such a story clear, profound, funny, and touching. I think this is really a matter of honor for women. "
After middle age, he began to shoot movies about life.
Xu Anhua is known as the "most traveled director" in Hong Kong, China. In his free time, he often walks the streets of the city and observes the people in the city. In "Sister Tao" and "Sunday in Tin Shui Wai" In many films such as "Night", "Woman, Forty", "Aunt's Postmodern Life", Xu Anhua focuses on women in urban life, which is very touching. At the same time, Xu Anhua also pays attention to grand historical and social issues. "When Will the Moon Come" writes about heroes during the Anti-Japanese War, and "The Story of Hu Yue" and "Journey to the Raging Sea" focus on the theme of "Vietnamese Refugees". For Hong Kong filmmakers, Hui Anhua is a pioneer in broadening the boundaries of film expression.
And for his own themes. The exploration of style and style, Xu Anhua said, may be related to age, "When you reach a certain age, your views will change. In the past, I made more dramatic, impactful, and action-packed movies. After middle age, I watched the Taiwan New Wave. , after reading the works of Hou Hsiao-hsien and Yang Dechang, I was deeply moved. They were about the life at that time, so I hired Wu Nianzhen to be the screenwriter for my movies, such as "A Passenger's Journey". "
Xu Anhua said that she was ridiculed by Hong Kong movie fans at the time, "They thought that I wanted to imitate others after seeing them do this, and I was very angry. "Xi Anhua said that the rhythm of Hong Kong movies and Taiwanese movies at that time was completely different. "Wu Nianzhen thought the movie was at least two hours, but I cut it to about one hour and ten minutes because Hong Kong people have a faster pace. So, I later started to understand the rhythm problem, which I didn’t know before. "
In Xu Anhua's view, movies are not just narratives, movies are also the director's views and feelings. "In fact, today, I increasingly believe that movies are feelings, not real things. Today's movies are actually about your opinions and feelings. If you have a very good opinion and something different from others, your movie will be successful. "
became a "lone woman" because she felt that it was not easy to get along with others.
Although it is "half of Hong Kong's film history", what is interesting is that Xu Anhua has always been an independent director and has never signed a contract with any company. Dai Jinhua calls it "Lone Woman".
Xu Anhua said that being a "lone woman" was not her choice, "It's not easy for me to get along with others. I seem to be very honest, but in fact I am very fierce when filming. I make some inexplicable requests, such as the person's tone is wrong, etc. Therefore, I often fall out with others. The only person I don't dare to fall out with is the photographer. Later, I also understood that when cooperating with others, we should let nature take its course. We should do what we can do and not do what we can't. When forming a team, we should find people who we have worked well with before. "
Although he said that he is not easy to cooperate with, Xu Anhua also said that he actually relies heavily on his partners, "For example, I don't understand photography, so I'm very humble to the photographer, and the same goes for editing. The only thing I don't rely on is the artist, because I feel that I don't know much about these. It feels very good. However, I am still very respectful to them. Many times I don’t say anything if I don’t agree. If they propose something that I think is acceptable, I will still accept it. So, I don’t mean to be independent, and my family also wants me to change, because my health is not good anymore, and I can no longer make a movie alone, so I want to find some people to cooperate with, help each other, and communicate with each other. If people think Works, I hope. "
On the other hand, Xu Anhua said that she has always been an "independent director", which may have something to do with the subjects she is interested in. "The subjects I usually like to shoot are those that others don't want to invest in. When I shoot the elderly and refugees, they all find it baffling. ."It is for this reason that even as a great director, Ann Hui often faces the dilemma of finding investment. Fortunately, "Days and Nights in Tin Shui Wai" has the support of Wang Jing, and "Sister Tao" has the help of Andy Lau.
Ann Hui Narrated 40 When she was many years old, someone approached her and planned to make a documentary about the elderly. “I visited many elderly people and looked at their materials, and it suddenly occurred to me that I would also grow old. I had never thought that I would grow old. One’s mother at the time had Alzheimer’s, and I had never known Alzheimer’s. Later, when the documentary failed to be made, "Woman, Forty" was filmed. I was very busy at the time, and I was a little nervous when I was filming the movie. I didn't know whether the effect would be good or not. When it came to dubbing, many of the dubbing actors were laughing, and I felt very happy. Later, Berlin won the award. I didn't expect it, but Xiao Fangfang's acting skills were indeed good. "
Xu Anhua once said that every time she makes a movie, she prepares it to be the last one, because there may be no investment and no one will cooperate with her. Xu Anhua said that this is not because she has courage, but also a kind of helplessness, "No When it comes to making movies, I don’t have anything else to do except stay at home. "
Director Ann Hui's film career was not all smooth sailing. She had been away from the Hong Kong film industry for more than ten years. During this period of creative stagnation, financial pressure caused hardship in life. She admitted frankly that she was unhappy during that period. , the most difficult time was when I had no money and no job. I went to Japan in my 40s and lived with people in their 20s. “It felt wrong and I couldn’t be happy. "
But looking back now, Xu Anhua said that of course it was also an important part of life experience, "You have to go through some frustrations. Only by understanding how others treat you well can you tell these stories well. If you have not experienced it, many things will be difficult to shoot. "
will not make any more of Zhang Ailing's works for the time being, because he has not figured out how to adapt them.
Xu Anhua is the director who has adapted most of Zhang Ailing's novels. In addition to the three films "Love in a Fallen City", "Half Life" and "The First Incense", he has also Directing the stage play "The Legend of the Golden Lock" based on Zhang Ailing's novel of the same name and written by Wang Anyi.
To shoot these works, Xu Anhua admitted that he only half-heartedly said, "The reason for filming "Love in a Fallen City" was because I had signed a film before, but it was not completed. I really wanted to shoot "Love in a Fallen City". It was a ready-made title, but we shot it too quickly. In fact, even if it's not fast, I feel like I'm not mature enough. "
Xu Anhua said that filming Zhang Ailing's works made her both nervous and surprised, "with a bit of a book lover's mentality. Over the past few decades, I have come to regard Zhang Ailing as an old friend. Regarding the controversy after the release of "First Incense", Xu Anhua admitted that he did not do well in many aspects, "I hope to do well in the future, but I will not make Zhang Ailing's works now, because I did not think of what to use." How to adapt it in this way is a problem that needs to be solved first. Many times, your adaptation is completely different from the original work, such as "The Invincible East", which can be successful. The question is how you change it. I think this must be thought out first. "
What are the advantages and limitations of scripts adapted from literary works compared with original scripts? Xu Anhua believes that "the advantage is that the literary work already has a good story and some good characters. But the bad thing is that the more famous the literary work is, the harder it is to change the fixed image and opinions of the audience. Even if you change it, it won't work. If you don't change it, it seems that this movie won't work either. Therefore, there is an inherent difficulty, but it does not mean that it will not work. no. "
Xiao Hong's biopic "The Golden Age" directed by Xu Anhua also attracted much attention, and received mixed reviews after its release. Xu Anhua said that this story was the work of screenwriter Li Qiang. Initially, she originally wanted to film Xiao Hong and Ding Ling, but later decided Regarding filming Xiao Hong, "When Li Qiang started writing the script, he had to think everything through clearly, so he asked me to shoot other scenes first. I respect him and trust him. In two years, I filmed "Day and Night in Tin Shui Wai" and "Night and Fog in Tin Shui Wai" before returning to start filming "The Golden Age". So, I worked on this script for three years. When I read it, I thought it was very good, but it was very long, with more than 300 scenes. When we shot it, it was 200 scenes.Now I feel afterwards that the concept was very good, but I didn’t perfect it. I think the film's stronger sequences and scenes are not enough. It would be better if there were more scenes like how to tie shoelaces and go to eat. This movie is not only about women, but also about life and art, life and twists and turns. There should be more twists and turns. "
mentioned that he has never written scripts. Xu Anhua humbly said that he is not good at writing scripts: "I have always respected literature and am used to cooperating with screenwriters. I think not everyone can write a script, because it may be a story, but it is not a script because the script has rhythm. I want to write, but I'm afraid it won't be good. "
Wen Yan said that she had no other source of scripts at the beginning of creation, so she could only rely on her own creation. For Wen Yan, writing scripts is "the happiest process in the entire creation" and she can freely , create a world with wild imagination, create the characters in this world and the environment in which they live. During the writing process, they will be constantly tested, and finally it will be presented as an image in the mind, just like a dream. "I think when you can really do it. When you have such a dream, your script will be complete. "
Adapting literary works requires reading a lot of relevant books and documents. Director Xu Anhua said that reading materials is a necessary process, but she is more concerned about and pays more attention to the feeling of entering the shooting space.
Whether to shoot or not is a matter of time. Can it be another thing?
Director Tsui Hark once commented that director Hui Anhua's works have expanded the creative space and consciousness of Hong Kong movies in China and changed the original path of Hong Kong movies in China. In this regard, Hui Anhua was very humble. In her opinion, it is the persistence of the older generation of filmmakers and the ingenuity of fellow filmmakers that opened up this new field.
Dai Jinhua likes the detailed treatment in Xu Anhua's films, such as the mother-in-law who lives alone in "Days and Nights in Tin Shui Wai". The beef-eating scene left a deep impression on her. Xu Anhua said that she has always paid special attention to details, "It's just that sometimes it can be captured and sometimes it can't be captured. The eating scene in "Days and Nights in Tin Shui Wai" is so beautiful because the prop team cooked the dishes." The food was very good, and the dishes were prepared during filming. The two actors ate them very deliciously. This was just right. Instead of having two inedible dishes that the actors pretended to eat, it was completely different. In my movies, when filming the eating scenes, I actually eat. "
As for whether a director can control various themes? Xu Anhua said that whether to shoot or not is one thing, and whether it can be done is another matter. "Experts will also fail one day, and you can try if you want to. I think this is the greatest benefit, the highest achievement. Because you are free, you can take pictures of whatever you want. If you don't get a good picture, just admit it or try something else. No need to jump into the sea if you can’t take good pictures. "
"The Seven" to be released in 2022 is produced by Johnnie To and directed by Sammo Hung, Ann Hui, Tam Kar-ming, Yuen Woo-Ping, Johnnie To, Lam Ling-tung, and Tsui Hark. The film is directed by seven directors from the 1950s to the future, each responsible for a era, directed a story. Through seven unit stories, it shows the development and changes of Hong Kong, China, and the era of Hong Kong spanning more than half a century. Many viewers and film critics believe that the film pays homage to today's film technology. The film industry has also been greatly affected by the rapid development. Regarding this, Xu Anhua said that she will not be sad about the end of the film era. She likes these new technologies. "Maybe I don't have the feeling of being required to make negatives. Today's technology allows It’s so convenient for you to make movies, and making movies has become very equal and popular. "
At the 77th Venice International Film Festival in 2020, director Xu Anhua won the "Lifetime Achievement Award" and was the first female director in the world to win this honor. But she did not stop because of this. Xu Anhua is now in her 70s He still hopes that he can make movies. “In recent years, my health has been poor and I have had more time to think. When watching movies, I am not so anxious. Instead, I think more about the aesthetics of movies. I really feel that I have made some progress, so I still want to film.In fact, I feel that it should be made by young people, but when I see some things, I still want to give it a try, because I still have some ideas, so I hope to make one if I have the opportunity. I also hope to be in a TV series because I haven’t tried it. "Text/Photo courtesy of our reporter Zhang Jia
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