This is a piece of history that has not received much attention: In 1942, 1,816 British prisoners of war were imprisoned in the cabin of the Japanese transport ship "Lisbon Maru" and traveled from Hong Kong, China to Japan. The ship did not fly any flags or signs for transporting

This is a history that has not received much attention:

In 1942, 1,816 British prisoners of war were imprisoned in the cabin of the Japanese transport ship "Lisbon Maru" and traveled from Hong Kong, China to Japan. The ship did not fly any flags or signs for transporting prisoners of war. It was hit by a torpedo launched by a US submarine and eventually sank in the waters of Dongji Island in Zhoushan, China.

In the 25 hours from the time the ship was hit to the time it sank, the Japanese army nailed the cabin and shot Allied prisoners of war who tried to escape the cabin and jump into the sea, in an attempt to bury all the prisoners in the sea. At the time of crisis, the nearby Zhoushan fishermen braved the hail of bullets, rowed sampans and boats, rescued 384 prisoners of war, and provided them with food, clothing, and shelter.

This is not only a history of war, but also a history of the suffering of more than a thousand families, the history of the crimes of hundreds of invaders, and the history of the righteous deeds of Zhoushan fishermen. These histories are full of good and evil, sacrifice, struggle, pain, dignity, redemption, and all kinds of joy, anger, sorrow, and joy. All of them are human history.

Fang Li, a marine engineer, geophysicist, and senior film producer, heard the story of the Lisbon Maru on Dongji Island in 2014. After ten years of "salvage", it is now in theaters. The movie "The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru".

Fang Li in Chengdu

I am here to save history

Red Star News: "The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru" has a Douban score of 9.2, almost locking in the best of the year in advance. However, the film's schedule and box office were not in direct proportion to its reputation. Do you feel like you were let down?

Fang Li: Because this work has no star cast and no commercial focus, when everyone hears that it is a documentary and not a familiar film type, there is naturally a threshold. But I'm here to save history. This is not a simple war movie, but more about specific human emotions, such as family affection, comrades-in-arms affection, love, etc. The film actually wants to express: what war brings to people.

Red Star News : Eight years ago, you begged theaters to arrange a film for " Birds of the Phoenix "; now, have you considered ways to make this movie seen by more people?

Fang Li: "A Hundred Birds Worship the Phoenix" is the posthumous work of teacher Wu Tianming. It is not my movie, so I can do whatever I want. But I took on all the financial burden for this movie, and there was no way I was going to do it just to get the money back. "The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru" is not just for today's people to watch, it is for history and for future generations. As for the funding issue, it has nothing to do with the movie itself.

Red Star News: In 2014, you first heard the story of the Lisbon Maru. From 2016 to 2017, you took your team and various high-tech equipment to find and finally confirm traces of the sunken ship. What made you decide to bring this piece of history to the screen?

Fang Li: Initially I was not excited about this story. Just because no one else could find the ship, I was curious to see if I could. I went to sea twice and used many methods to finally find the sunken ship. Physical evidence was found, but what about the human evidence? At that time, I learned that there were two witnesses, one was 94-year-old Chinese fisherman Lin Agen, and the other was a 98-year-old surviving British army veteran. “Witnesses” cannot wait. So I started out not to make movies, but to save this piece of history.

Fang Li and Lin Agen and his son

Red Star News : So initially you only planned to make a TV documentary and expansion film. Why did you later decide to make a big-screen theater movie regardless of the cost?

Fang Li: It’s because we couldn’t stand it the first week we went to England: too many touching, heartbreaking, and tragic humanistic stories. We ended up finding over 380 families and one surviving veteran in Canada. Once you have so much good material, you feel like it would be a shame not to put it on the big screen.Even if it costs you everything, you have to make it happen.

"The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru" cannot tolerate a little fiction

Red Star News: Similar "shipwreck" movies, many people will first think of "Titanic". What do you think of the similarities and differences between it and "The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru"? Does the film also have fictional elements?

Fang Li: The sinking of the Titanic was due to natural disasters and human errors. The love that the film mainly promoted was a fictional text; and "The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru" is war, this is a cruel war, everything you come into contact with The materials are all historical and real, so they are completely different. I think we can always copy and recreate fictional things; but real things only have this one chance and no one can copy them.

Red Star News: The film has two lines. One is the present, where you visit and talk on the spot, verify historical materials, photos, and oral recordings, so that the descendants of those who experienced it can speak out; the other is to use animation to restore the British army's military operation in the past. The history of Hong Kong's defeat and capture and the sinking of the Lisbon Maru. So, is there fiction and imagination in this part of animation?

Fang Li: Everything in the animation is based on evidence, and none of it is fictitious. Everything from the size of the canvas to the scale of the ship model, the model of the Japanese bomber, and whether the cannon on the deck was single or double-barreled were all verified. For example, why the No. 3 cabin was flooded, why the stairs broke, and how the ship sank, all of which were subject to rigorous engineering mechanics and structural mechanics demonstrations. Everything that happened in those days, every detail, is based on evidence and cannot and cannot be made up.

Animation demonstration effect, intercepted from Fang Li’s speech

Red Star News: Have you ever thought about building a giant wheel like Cameron did and taking real shots? Will the details of this kind of real shooting be more shocking?

Fang Li: In fact, his one is simpler, because there is only one ship and a clean sea. There is no need to consider the topographic environment of Dongji Island like the "Lisbon Maru". As for the actors, our stories are oral histories, written records, audiotapes and photographs. It would be disastrous to select a few actors to act and let the audience match up with historical figures. No matter how you act, you can't act like a real historical photo, right? I felt the power of the performance was too poor, too fake. It would be even funnier if there were lines. In the final analysis, what we want is a group portrait during the war, and what we want is the tense, harsh, and dangerous atmosphere and environment that the Allied forces encountered back then. We are not trying to create a protagonist, or the life and death of two people. We are telling the story of a group of people's disasters and their righteous deeds worth remembering.

Fang Li talks with the surviving veterans who witnessed it

Red Star News: So, this film cannot tolerate a little fiction?

Fang Li: must be completely true, that’s why it’s called a documentary.

Red Star News: You have visited three continents, China, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, and interviewed people who have experienced it, their descendants or related people. How do you feel when you face interviewees with different positions, nationalities, and attitudes?

Fang Li: actually visited six countries. You need these different perspectives, data and historical materials to support each other to ensure that your story is not distorted. If you want to do this well, you have to do this.

As for the experience, it’s a little bit more difficult for Japan. In order to find the descendants of Captain Lisbon Maru, (we) even hired a private detective. However, I won't give an opinion, I'll just ask. Professor Kurosawa of Japan explained that the ship was about to sink, and the Japanese army did not rescue them. Instead, they nailed the cabin to prevent prisoners of war from escaping. But in the eyes of the British, such behavior was massacre. In the documentary, I only present the attitude of the person involved.

Fang Li talks with Professor Kurosawa from Japan

Red Star News: In the film, like before the British soldier was captured, he decided to marry a Hong Kong girl, but died at sea; the eldest son of the family wrote a letter to his 5-year-old brother, asking him to take good care of him Mom, etc., many of the stories are very touching.Is there some equally touching material that was not included in the film?

Fang Li: There are too many materials. Behind every family, there is a touching story. But the length of the film is limited, so we can only try our best to select some representative ones that share common emotions. There was one story that we all worked on and left it to the last minute to cut. In cabin No. 3, after the cabin door was sealed, several people tried to get out through the round hole in the porthole. As a result, it was stuck, unable to get in or get out. Even if the prisoners of war successfully broke through, they had no choice but to sink with the ship. One of them was a member of the Royal Artillery, and one of his best comrades was also present. After watching him sinking, the comrade took a breath, dived in, and said goodbye to him underwater. I later interviewed the children of this comrade. They said Dad talked about his best friend all his life.

What I lost is almost insignificant

Red Star News: You have been a film producer before. This is your first time as a director. Why do you want to direct it yourself this time?

Fang Li: Who should I look for for ? No one knows how to do it. It needs to be technically competent and time-consuming. The key is, with such a heavy history, huge plot and complex characters, who knows what to express? How to express it? I know this, but I have no one to enforce it, so I can only do it myself.

Red Star News: As you said before, "You deserve to do it. If you don't, you will be a criminal in history."

Fang Li: Yes, it was 2017. I had to start (this project) quickly and write the script. , financing, and budgeting. No matter how late you are, the "witnesses" of history will not wait for you. It is almost a rescue operation. I understand all too well the urgency of time.

Fang Li’s sonar positioning of the Lisbon Maru in the waters of Zhoushan

Red Star News: Ten years have passed since I first heard the story of the Lisbon Maru. Looking back now, in these ten years, what do you think you have gained and what have you lost?

Fang Li: If has gained anything, first of all, you have saved a piece of history.

Second, you have restored the history of the parents of more than 2,000 families, allowing these descendants to know what happened to their parents back then, whether they were those who saved people, those who were killed, or those who should be condemned. In fact, many descendants of British prisoners of war have no idea how their fathers died, how they survived, and how much trauma they suffered. After this documentary, they knew.

Third, it ("The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru") can move the audience, infect thousands of viewers in real life, and make some people understand how important peace and family are. I think this is the practical significance of the movie. Also, for us personally, during the creation and investigation process, all the film crew members experienced a baptism of war and emotions, which is our lifelong wealth. At the same time, we can also leave it to future generations, which is the meaning of the future.

What has been lost? I just lost a lot of money and can’t get it back. Although I still have to pay back the debt, it is just an objective burden. It will not hurt your heart, it will just put pressure on you, right. What I lost was almost insignificant compared to what I gained.

Red Star News: It is said that you had previously thought of looking for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Is this still part of your plan?

Fang Li: was actually ready for action three years ago. Later, they restarted the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, and I gave up for the time being. If they can find it, of course it would be best; if they still can’t find it, then we might as well let private forces like us try it. Of course, we may make another documentary by then.

Red Star News reporter Li Ruifeng and Zhang Shihao editor Su Jing