The little girl Xiaotong (played by Wang Shengdi) was not only ridiculed and yelled at by her classmates in public, but was even "glued shut" to stick her to the wall...
This is about school bullying shortly after the start of the movie " silently kills " scene. The box office of "Silence" has exceeded 460 million yuan since its release. The film's involvement in social phenomena such as school bullying and domestic violence has triggered extensive discussions among netizens.
director Ke Wenli was born in Malaysia. In 2019, the box office of "Manslaughter" he directed exceeded 1.3 billion yuan. In fact, the script of "Manslaughter" existed before "Manslaughter". After seven years and fifty or sixty drafts, it was polished to the work that the audience is now seeing on the big screen. How are the two films related? What other unknown behind-the-scenes stories are there? Recently, a Red Star News reporter conducted an exclusive interview with Ke Wenli.
"There is no deliberate pursuit of any style"
Red Star News: "Silence" has aroused heated discussions among the audience after its release. Which aspect of the discussion are you most concerned about?
Ke Wenli: In fact, this movie has many issues, such as bullying, domestic violence, etc. I hope the audience will have more discussions about the silence topics involved in the movie. If we see these things happening in society, Really reaching out for help was the core point of our making this film.
I am running a road show recently, and I rarely read comments on the Internet. I mostly read comments from my colleagues or listen to the audience’s comments at the scene. Some people bring their children to watch this movie, and this movie just provides such an opportunity. After returning home, they can discuss it with their children. There can be more discussions between mothers and daughters, and between fathers and sons, about the things presented in the movie.
Red Star News: Does the constantly reversing rhythm of movies take into account the current changes in audience viewing?
Ke Wenli: Maybe I have a more impatient personality, because I am also a young man. I watch movies by myself, and I like some movies that have no peeing throughout the whole process. It is easy to get into the movie when watching it. If you have read my previous work "Manslaughter", it is actually the same, but when it comes to suspense crime themes, when it is fast and when it is slow, it needs to be relaxed. In "Silent Kill", when Lin Zaifu (played by Wang Chuanjun) distributes flyers, it is a long shot. The audience will follow this character all the time. I think the rhythm cannot be too fast. If it is too fast (when something happens), the audience will not be able to remember it. , or if you can’t feel it, that’s meaningless. I think we still need to master the degree.
Red Star News: After watching the film, some viewers said that "Manslaughter" has more twists, suspense, and brain-burning than "Manslaughter". What is the connection between the two films?
Ke Wenli: Many people ask me, do you deliberately pursue any style? Frankly speaking, I really don’t pursue any style, because I think the style is determined by others. For example, some people say that you are good at these things as a director. Southeast Asia and other places, people of all colors and cultures will appear in movies. In fact, I didn't notice it. I didn't intentionally make the movie like this. I think the biggest difference between "Manslaughter" and "Silent Kill" is that "Manslaughter" may be more serious, there may be more issues, and there may be more things to reflect on, while "Manslaughter" may be a little more entertaining.
In fact, the set is not that heavy
Red Star News: Netizens joked, "I care more about the mental state of the director than the mental state of the heroine." What was your state of mind when you were creating? Will it be heavy on set?
Ke Wenli: We had a lot of fun on the set. We knew what to shoot. There were two different atmospheres inside and outside the film. The atmosphere outside the film was very harmonious, such as what delicious food to eat every day. There was nothing like what everyone imagined. Today we have to shoot a very heavy scene, and the whole crew must be very heavy. I don’t like this either. Movies are my lifelong career. I hope it won’t be so hard when filming. The actors I found are professional enough. They know how to enter and exit the scene, so as soon as they arrive at the set, put on their costumes and walk out, they will To give you the most accurate thing, once I said stop, everyone started looking for local delicacies, and since the movie was shot in my hometown Penang, I would treat them to durian.
Red Star News: But the subject matter involved in this movie is still quite heavy. Do the actors need to adjust their condition after filming? Are there times when they can't get out?
Ke Wenli: doesn’t mean that they can’t get out. I think they acted very well. For example, there is a scene between Xiaotong played by Wang Shengdi and her mother (played by Zhang Junning). After Xiaotong was bullied, her mother helped She cut her hair and wiped her mouth. I remember that scene deeply. Before filming started, the actors asked me what I thought about this scene, and I told them that this scene should be played freely, as long as you grasp the mood. I didn’t expect that the scene ended with the daughter hugging her mother. This gesture is very special. If a child is bullied, usually the parents hold the child to comfort them. But in fact, Xiaotong is relatively precocious and she knows what is happening. , she knew that her mother would be even more heartbroken after seeing her classmates torture her like this. I was so moved at the scene that the photographer even shed tears. There was a stills artist standing next to me who said, "I really can't do it anymore as a director. He cried so much."
Red Star News: You have a nickname on the crew called "Ke Tianliang", which means "stay up late and shoot until dawn". Do you still remember the scene with the most number of "Ke Tianliang"?
Ke Wenli: Because it rained a lot when shooting, the lighting requirements were relatively high. For example, in the opening scene, a group of girls went to play in a castle. The building was old and difficult to shoot, but we hope we can do it well. The effect was shown to the audience, and that part took a long time to shoot.
Suspense crime movies pay more attention to logic
Red Star News: Does the constant reversal in "Silent Kill" follow a certain internal logic?
Ke Wenli: suspense crime movies pay more attention to logic. Logic is often related to cause and effect. For example, what you did today and what will happen later are the same as the theme of "Silent Kill". That is, if you choose to be silent today, when something happens in the future, others may also be silent, and some things may happen to you; but if you stand up today, these tragedies will not happen. In fact, it is also a causal relationship.
Red Star News: At present, suspense-themed films are relatively popular in the domestic film market. In your opinion, how to make a different suspense-type film?
Ke Wenli: must first keep pace with the times. Directors or creators who make suspense films must be relevant to the current times and consider what society needs and what the audience needs. Furthermore, you must be innovative when making movies. The way of storytelling or presentation needs to be innovative. These are what audiences need to see in cinemas now.
Red Star News: Are you paying attention to the short drama market that is particularly popular right now? Is your creation affected by short dramas?
Ke Wenli: I am actually not affected by short dramas. I rarely watch short dramas because I make movies. I think movies have storytelling logic and require creators to spend more time and have more Much initiative. If you want to go to the cinema to watch a movie, you have to pay your own money, or take a taxi to the cinema to sit down and watch in a completely dark space. This is different from the logic of watching short videos on my mobile phone at home. For movies, more resources may be needed to assist it in order to achieve a shocking effect after watching it.
Red Star News reporter Zhang Shihao editor Su Jing
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