"I have an absolute obsession with movies." Although "A Spoon" won Jiang Qinqin the "Golden Sheep Best Actress", she felt it was not enough until "The World of Grass and Trees". This is a thirty-year wait. As early as when he enrolled at Beijing Film Academy, Jiang Qinqin hoped that his name could be engraved on the school's honor "pyramid".
The tea-picking girl Wu Taihua is the craziest character Jiang Qinqin has ever played. Unlike the white-haired witch who is "random and crazy" and always shouts "Zhuo Yihang". She lives up to her name, "moss flowers are as small as rice." She was abandoned by her husband and kicked out by her employer, but she "learned how to bloom peonies", joined a pyramid selling organization, and dreamed of a luxury car and a house.
In Jiang Qinqin’s view, Wu Taihua’s joining of the MLM organization meant that she needed to restructure psychologically, just like the line “Money doesn’t matter anymore, what’s important is that I became myself.” Photo provided by the interviewee
In life, Jiang Qinqin is the Haidian “tiger mother” of two sons. In the film, Wu Lei plays her gentle son. "He is what the director calls a 'son of nature', so innocent and clean. The moment he looks at you, you will be moved." However, in the rainy night, Wu Taihua, played by Jiang Qinqin, beat her son violently, roaring like a tiger. : "I just can't make a penny, I'm happy! I'm happy!"
This is not the first time that Jiang Qinqin and Chen Jianbin play lovers in the film. In 2012, Chen Jianbin published a poem in Southern Weekend, "The Age Without Poets." "You are very light, sitting on my lap is like a part of me. At some point many years ago, my father hugged my mother." The last few sentences are intentionally or unintentionally related to "The World of Grass and Trees".
Originally there were many emotional scenes between Lao Qian and Wu Taihua in the script, but director Gu Xiaogang deleted them all. He believes that the public is too familiar with the relationship between Chen Jianbin and Jiang Qinqin. If too much emotional drama is given, the audience may not believe in the emotions of the characters in the drama. Photo provided by interviewee
Chen Jianbin loves poetry and writes poetry. Jiang Qinqin has shown off the poems he wrote for her on Weibo more than once. Now, the eldest son Tiger also loves poetry and writes poetry. At the interview site, Jiang Qinqin did not hesitate to read her son's "Beginner's Poems" and "Beginner's Snow Poems" in her hometown dialect - Chongqing dialect.
In an interview with Southern Weekend, Jiang Qinqin reviewed the creative process of "The World of Grass and Trees", as well as her relationship, family, and artistic life with her lover Chen Jianbin.
"It is impossible for a tea bug to turn into a butterfly"
Southern Weekend: How did you get the opportunity to take on "The World of Plants and Trees" in the first place? Is there any element of Chen Jianbin?
Jiang Qinqin: Director Gu Xiaogang approached me first. I heard that he liked the scene where I expressed my love to my lover at the end of "My Wife's Romantic Journey". At that time, I reproduced a monologue by Qiao Zhiyong facing the mirror at the end of "Qiao Family Courtyard" and added some of my own expressions. It just so happened that the casting director found me after working with me before.
The director called me at that time and said that he was the director of "Spring River Plumbing". What a coincidence. I just watched this movie just a week ago and I really enjoyed it. Director Gu Xiaogang is a director I particularly admire and I am very willing to work with him.
Southern Weekend: The character you play is called "Moss Flower". Is there anything special about this name? What attracted you to take on a role like this?
Jiang Qinqin: The word "moss flower" comes from a poem by Qiantang poet Yuan Mei, "moss flowers are as small as rice, and they also bloom like peonies."
In fact, this poem reflects the experience and personality of the character Taihua. Moss Flower, a peasant woman, a middle-aged woman from a very low level, works everywhere. Her entire life revolves around her husband and son. All she thinks about is working to earn money to buy a house and marry a wife for her son. She never thinks about herself. Later, when her husband abandoned her and her son didn't understand her, she went to Chashan to fall in love. Lao Qian's mother felt that she must have some agenda and kept looking down on her. You see, she is a person who has been abandoned by life, living on the edge of society without dignity.
But Taihua has requirements for herself and has "self-awakening", which particularly touched me.
She used to be in a very "selfless" state, until she entered a pyramid scheme (organization), and she felt that this group of people was "too cute."They gave Taihua hope and let her begin to imagine that she might be able to become an independent woman like Wan Qing, and her son would be proud of her.
Southern Weekend: What does the "tiger" that appears in the film represent? How did you understand this "tiger" when handling the performance?
Jiang Qinqin: I think it is a brand new Wu Taihua shaped by the MLM organization. That tiger contained her greed, anger, and hatred. She felt that the world was unfair to her, and she longed to be strong. But all her expectations were not obtained through legitimate means. She was brainwashed and alienated. Then these things hurt herself and her son. So at that moment she had to make a break with these bad things.
In order to reflect human nature more intuitively, director Gu Xiaogang chose the plan of using real money to shoot, which was once misunderstood by the group actors as a "real pyramid scheme" and was even reported. The picture shows a still from "The World of Grass and Trees". Photo provided by interviewee
Southern Weekend: The image of "tea bug" is also used quite a lot in films. How should we understand it?
Jiang Qinqin: In fact, when we first started filming the hotel scene, the director suddenly brought a tea worm over and asked me, "Can I use it to perform this scene?" I was scared to death at the time. The tea bug was covered in thorns, hairy and green, and I didn’t want to take pictures with it. Moreover, there was a teaworm on my tree. At that time, it fell on a tiger (Jiang Qinqin’s son) and made a big bag, so I was very repelled.
But the director said: "No, you are a tea girl, and tea bugs are like your close companions and pets. This is very common for tea picking." Of course, I understood the director's intention, so I followed it. I think the director probably wanted to show the character's crazy state, and also represent Wu Taihua's transformation. She felt that she was about to become Mr. Wu, and she was extremely proud.
Later, I saw a fan’s explanation, which was particularly interesting. He said that he went to check specifically and found that tea bugs cannot turn into butterflies. I think this is very appropriate, that is, Wu Moss Flower has always wanted to transform, always wanted to become a "peony", just like we all want to break out of the cocoon and become a butterfly, but it is impossible for teaworms to become butterflies.
Southern Weekend: The last reborn moss flower was in the mountain forest. The moment it came out of the water, we saw the original beauty of Jiang Qinqin. Was that scene a pre-existing design? Do you believe that people can be healed in nature?
Jiang Qinqin: I didn’t know it would be shot like this at the beginning. Maybe when the director went to the mountains and forests to shoot scenes, he felt that there should be such a purified content.
I remember that the director kept convincing me: "Teacher Jiang, I don't want this character to leave any regrets. I hope this scene is you, not a stand-in." I think professional actors are nothing. Although I struggled a bit and told the director that "I have given birth to two children and my figure is not good. It may not be the kind of good curves you want." The director said that Taihua was originally a peasant woman and did not need such a figure.
This is how I am. Once I accept it, I am particularly willing to serve. I also searched for information. For example, in "The Earth's Daughter", which I like very much, there is also a lake in the mountains and forests. The moonlight is very beautiful. When it hits her body, the light and shadow are very beautiful. I showed it to the director and said I wanted it to look like this in the end.
In fact, humans are originally one with nature, but industrial civilization has led us to the current state of life where we go out to drive and are surrounded by steel and concrete. But when we go mountain climbing, see distant places, or go swimming, and get very close to nature, we will feel "Wow, my mood has improved", there is hope, and "everything is forgivable."
"Sister, just slap me, it's good for me"
Southern Weekend: When you got the script and joined the crew, did you already foresee that there would be many crazy passages?
Jiang Qinqin: There is no , and it is not in the script at all. In fact, many of the crazy scenes were created by us acting together on set.
It's like the play under the bridge. I didn't expect it to be so ferocious and intense. I was even surprised. In fact, the filming of that scene took about ten days in the MLM banquet hall. The alienated thing about Wu Taihua has already grown in my heart, and it seems that I no longer need to think about anything or prepare anything. At that moment, my emotions were like a flood that had just opened the floodgates, rushing toward me, enveloping me, and affecting me, and then I arrived at a place that even surprised me.
So let me say, there is really no need to prepare at that moment, and it is not as rational as everyone analyzes it. I just feel like I have to be a little more wanton and a little crazy. Later, many people said that I looked a bit like Joaquin Phoenix's "Joker".
Moreover, the director had already set up a scene under the bridge and placed a boat on the piled rocks, which really looked like a stage. He said, "I hope Wu Taihua can go up." At that moment, I completely understood what the director wanted.
Southern Weekend: Wu Lei was beaten very badly by you, right?
Jiang Qinqin: Yes, but Wu Lei himself also hopes that I can give him such stimulation. Some actors may not be able to do that. They may think, "What if you hit my face and make it swollen?" I still have the next scene to shoot, and I still have to work. We are all professional actors, and we can act out the feeling of being beaten. But Wu Lei is not. He hopes that the pain can stimulate him and make the moment he performs more real. So he said, "Sister, just slap me, just hit me. You are helping me."
In Jiang Qinqin's opinion, it is very rare for Wu Lei to still remain pure. "His eyes are as pure as pearls and diamonds. When he looks at you, you will be moved. And he does not have the habit of an 'old actor' who is too understanding of the world." Picture provided by the film crew
Southern Weekend: It is said Are many of the characters in the film extras? Including tea girls and people at MLM sites.
Jiang Qinqin: has pure amateur performances, including the old lady who plays Lao Qian’s mother. But her acting is so good that she doesn't need any special training at all. You just need to briefly tell her that this is your son, and you don't agree with him being with that tea-picking girl because she wants your family's property... The old lady immediately got into the act, which was really awesome.
Actually, I think sometimes you just need something very natural and relaxed. If you talk to him too much, it may become stiff. The same goes for us actors. I often say that I felt very comfortable filming this film. Why? It’s because the director gave us so much space. He didn’t care how many takes we took or how long it took us. "It doesn't matter, you can express it however you want", then we can have no scruples.
includes side shots of the scene under the bridge I watched two days ago, which I found very interesting. Wow, Wu Lei was like that, and I even saw myself dancing. Many people said that "Teacher Jiang was so excited", but that was actually the case. At that time, I felt like I was in "another world".
"When I was unhappy, he wrote me a little poem"
Southern Weekend: It was the first time I saw Chen Jianbin playing a supporting role. Is there a lot of improvisation in his performance?
Jiang Qinqin: In fact, Teacher Chen is very happy to accept such a role. He admires director Gu Xiaogang very much. He said that Director Gu "has an old soul." If you look at Gu Xiaogang's plays, you can tell that they use a lot of long shots, and you can tell that they were influenced by many older generation directors, such as Hou Hsiao-hsien.
In this filming, Teacher Chen did a lot of things on the spot. I think Teacher Chen has such magic power. Sometimes at the scene, I felt like he was talking nonsense, but after thinking about it carefully, everything was traceable. For example, he turned on a flashlight and said, "Let's go to Mars." Don't you think it's sad? It means that two people cannot get the understanding of their mother or their children and date secretly. There is no place for them in such a big earth, so they can only go to Mars to pursue love.
Southern Weekend: When recorded the variety show "Happiness Trio", you were a pregnant mother. Many of Chen Jianbin's performances at that time were criticized by netizens.Do you have those kind of heated arguments about artistic collaboration? This time Chen Jianbin served as the art director in "The World of Grass and Trees" again. What kind of guidance did he give you?
Jiang Qinqin: I think his artistic direction is more between him and director Gu Xiaogang, such as where the film wants to go, what it wants to express, or in the later stage, what parts are more and what parts are missing... In When we were filming, Teacher Chen did not interfere in any way.
In fact, in the past collaborations, we had a lot of arguments, especially during "Qiao Family Courtyard", I almost left the group. It was too overbearing and subjective, and I didn’t want to shoot with him anymore. So is "A Spoon." Because he doesn't understand our language, sometimes he will say my here and my other, which makes me very unhappy. I was very dissatisfied with some of the scenes, so I asked him at night: "Why are you acting like this?" He told me to stop making trouble, because he would be directing the scene tomorrow.
When it came to this shoot, he said he completely believed in me and let me follow my own thoughts and feelings. And he said that the best time is actually when I don’t need to prepare.
Jiang Qinqin said: "When I first entered Beijing Film Academy, I saw a 'pyramid' on the playground with the names of award-winning actors and directors engraved on it. It was like a seed planted in my heart, and I thought about it so much. You can have your name engraved on it." The picture shows her image in the movie "A Spoon". Photo provided by the interviewee
Southern Weekend: Your and Chen Jianbin’s emotional and living conditions, including their career cooperation, are highly praised by many people. Does family play a big role in your life?
Jiang Qinqin: I am not a person who completely devotes myself to work. I need a job and I need a family. I don’t want to think about it later and feel that I have failed my child. Of course, I don’t want to feel guilty about my character. So, I am lucky to have Teacher Chen. He can go out to film more, but if he comes across a role that I like or a role that suits me, he is more supportive of letting me go out and stay at home.
We both agreed that when one goes out, the other will stay at home. Definitely.
Southern Weekend: When you gave the premiere in the lecture hall of Peking University, you read a poem by Rumi at the end. Do you like poetry yourself?
Jiang Qinqin: I think may be influenced by Teacher Chen. I don’t have an in-depth study of poetry, but I just feel that certain words can move me. So Teacher Chen may also think that I "eat" this more. I was unhappy, angry, angry, so he wrote me a little poem and then read it, as if the matter could be over.
Chen Jianbin often wrote poems to Jiang Qinqin, such as "Give me you, this time in the future. Give me you, a grain of sand is worth thousands of things. Give me your soft hands, let me hold them. Give me gentle compassion, give My kind care." Picture provided by the interviewee
My son Huo loves to write poetry. This is a short poem he wrote when he was in the first year of junior high school, "The Poetry of the First Snow", which can also be called "The Poetry of the Beginner" -
" When to tell stories? When the moon is full. When to stop telling?
Is the essence of the world spinning endlessly, the small ball of ice spinning, the big ball of heat? The good unthinking balls, one at a time, round and round.
A huge show in the middle of a huge stage, huge dancers circling around huge lights, and the audience will be saying 'hey she' She danced well,' and the next second she said, 'She danced well too'. One dancer after another faded away.
After a long time, after the gorgeous curtain call, who will applaud? ? I'm afraid these audiences are also actors. Like the big ball and the small ball, let's avoid talking about it. In the precious existence, it gave me more precious happiness. —At least for now, thank you, Snowflake.”
Southern Weekend staff writer Xiang Yang, Xing Yiyang Zhongwen
editor-in-chief Liu Youxiang
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