Poster of "The Keeper of the Island".
The movie "Shoudao People", based on the touching deeds of "people's model" Wang Jicai and his lover Wang Shihua Shoudao for 32 years, was released nationwide on June 18. The film is directed by Chen Li and concurrently the chief screenwriter, starring Liu Ye and Gong Zhe, and more than 95% of the shots are filmed in real location.
Kaishan Island is located in the outpost of China's Yellow Sea, with an area of only 0.013 square kilometers, equivalent to the size of two football fields, and the conditions on the island are difficult. Before his death, Wang Jicai was the director of the militia post on Kaishan Island in Guanyun County, Jiangsu Province, and in 1986, he and his wife Wang Shihua began to make the island their home, accompanied by loneliness, and dedicated their beautiful youth to the cause of coastal defense of the motherland. The film selects the classic clips and flashing moments of Wang Jicai and his wife's shoudao career, showing the rich inner world of Wang Jicai and his wife and the home and country feelings of "shoudao is to guard the country" from different aspects.
Director Chen Li.
The Beijing News interviewed director Chen Li and asked her to talk about the shooting behind the scenes. Director Chen Li admitted that after 30 years of filming, this may be the most profound one among her films. Before filming, she went to the island to experience life and became a relative with the archetypal character Wang Shihua. In order to make the story span four seasons, the crew went to the island twice to shoot, experiencing bad weather such as exposure to the sun and storms. This drama also brought her a lot of pressure, because many media have reported the deeds of Wang Jicai and his wife before, "I am afraid of making a textbook movie with preaching, after filming, I am particularly afraid that people will feel that it is better than a report to move people, I am afraid of ruining this subject."
The director went to the island to experience life and became a relative with Wang Shihua
In July 2018, Wang Jicai passed away. Director Chen Li has seen many reports before and knows that Wang Jicai and Wang Shihua and his wife have a particularly deep relationship, and she did not go to Kaishan Island too early, afraid that mentioning Wang Ji would stimulate Wang Shihua. It was not until the Spring Festival of 2019, when Wang Shihua spent the first Spring Festival without Wang Jicai on the island, Chen Li decided to visit, she felt that Wang Shihua might have some talk, and would tell the story of the two men who had guarded the island for 32 years.
On the fourth day of the Chinese New Year in 2019, Chen Li took the boat of the film's prototype character "Bao Boss" (played by Chen Chuang) to Kaishan Island. It was foggy, rain and snow mixed together. When the ship was still far away from the shore, Chen Li saw a thin figure waving on the shore, "As soon as she (Wang Shihua) waved her hand, I was particularly moved, and I suddenly closed the distance." When he reached the shore, Boss Bao threw the cable to the shore, Wang Shihua caught it, skillfully wrapped it around the pier of the fixed ship, and then reached out and pulled Chen Li ashore, and as soon as the two hands touched, Chen Li immediately felt her 32 years of experience, which was very powerful.
The movie "Shoudao Man" tells the story of Wang Jicai and Wang Shihua Shoudao for 32 years.
After going to the island, Wang Shihua has been holding Chen Li's hand, Chen Li felt a warm current, but there was an inexplicable sourness in his heart, and tears had been swirling in his eyes. The two walked along the way, and Wang Shihua talked about the peach trees and grape racks that she and Lao Wang planted on the island in the past, and how big the melons grew at that time... In the early years of Kaishan Island, there was no fresh water, no electricity, no soil, there was no tree on the island, typhoons blew in all four seasons, living on such an island for 32 years, the hardships and sufferings suffered were only experienced by the two of them, but in Wang Shihua's narration, it was all a very warm aftertaste of her and Lao Wang in life.
Wang Shihua told Chen Li that Wang Jicai especially liked to listen to her singing, and when there was nothing on the island, Wang Shihua sang "The Sea" and "The Most Romantic Thing" to Wang Jicai. In the film, Wang Shihua's Huaihai drama "Back to Mother's House" is derived from the real experience of the two.
In the process of experiencing life on the island, Chen Li lives with Wang Shihua and her family every day, and the warm feeling often makes her forget what she came to do, just like her relatives together. When they were separated, they were also in love, and Wang Shihua's children are now called Chen Li "Dry Mother" and have become relatives, and Chen Li will receive greetings from children every holiday.
Stills of the "family portrait" of the island keeper.
Later, Chen Li took the lead actor Liu Ye, Gong Zhe and the main creator to Kaishan Island to experience life, so that they did not have a distance, just like the feeling of walking relatives, but compared with their spirit, they felt that they were quite small.
More than 95% of the shots were taken in real-life shots, and Liu Ye lit up the lighthouse and shot 27
Now that the conditions on Kaishan Island are better, it has been connected to water and electricity, and has become a learning base, which cannot be restored to its previous appearance, and can only find a similar island for film shooting. The crew found Pingtan Island in Fujian, which is very similar to Kaishan Island, which is a bald island, and then re-set up the scene, restoring the home, auditorium, air raid shelter and other scenes of Wang Jicai and his wife.
Three days before the crew started, director Chen Li did not tell the team how to shoot this drama, but explained to the staff the story of Wang Jicai and his wife's 32 years of guarding the island, because hundreds of people in the crew could not all go to the island in advance to experience life, Chen Li wanted to first let the story of the two people print in everyone's mind, "Our whole group of people is really filming the movie with the spirit of Wang Jicai, everyone has a mountain island in their hearts, there is Wang Jicai and Wang Shihua."
Wang Jicai, played by Liu Ye, went to light the lighthouse in the storm.
On the first day of shooting, the bad weather brought great tests to the crew. That is also the first scene in the film, Liu Ye played by Wang Jicai in the storm to light the lighthouse, that day was just a storm, the wind force has eight or nine levels, the camera can not be stopped, Liu Ye is even more suffering from the ravages of heavy rain, filmed a full 27.
There are still many scenes at sea and on the ship in the film, can not be filmed at the sea close to the dock, there is no wind, you must drive the boat to a long sea, where the wind and waves are big, and the effect of shooting is good. Chen Chuang, the actor who plays the boss of Bao, learned to drive a boat for more than ten days, and in the film, he drove the boat himself, carrying the actor Hou Yong (as Wang Changjie, director of the county people's armed forces department) and others to the island, Hou Yong was seasick at first, but finally insisted on completing the shooting.
"The Island Keeper" was filmed in two stages, on May 18, 2020, the film started, the first stage was completed at the end of August, and in December, the winter scene was filmed. Chen Li said that the color of the sea water in winter is different from the color of the sea water in the spring and summer. Kaishan Island is snowy in winter, but the location of Pingtan Island in Fujian Province, there is no snow in winter, the snow in the film does not use CG special effects, but the crew really transports real snow to the island, a little bit of paving, a lot of effort. Director Chen Li revealed that more than 95% of the film's shots were shot in real-life, and only a small number of empty shots at sea were processed with CG special effects.
The snow in the film did not use CG special effects, but the crew really transported the real snow to the island.
The scene of "having a child" is derived from the personal experience of the archetypal characters
There is a detail in the movie that Wang Jicai's father will bring a bottle of loach every time he goes to the island and pour it into a well. Chen Li revealed that this is based on Wang Jicai's real life on the island, when there was no fresh water on the island, drinking water mainly depends on the rainwater stored in the well, but there are many impurities in the rainwater, in the eyes of the older generation, loach can suck away the dirty things in the water and play a role in purifying the water.
Many of the stories in the film are based on real people and real events, and in Chen Li's view, "their true stories are enough to move us."
The scene of telephone delivery in the film originated from the personal experience of Wang Jicai and his wife. At that time, Wang Shihua was in labor, just in time for the typhoon to hit, and could not get off the island, so he could only contact the outside world by phone and let the doctor remotely guide the delivery. Gong Zhe, the actor who plays Wang Shihua, has never given birth to a child, and Liu Ye already has two children, and he often teaches Gong Zhe how pregnant women should walk. Gong Zhe also worked hard, in order to perform this play well, went to the maternity hospital to experience life. Chen Li said: "She is not to that kind of big maternity hospital, but to the kind of township hospital, and Wang Shihua's character background is closer, to talk to people, many people think she has given birth to a child after watching the movie." ”
Hou Yong plays Wang Changjie.
The scene of "telephone delivery" is first filmed in which Liu Ye and Gong Zhe give birth to a child, and then the scene where Wang Changjie (Hou Yong) and the doctor call to reflect on the phone. When filming the scene where Liu Ye and Gong Zhe gave birth to a child, Hou Yong watched the performance on the spot and had a more intuitive feeling in his heart, so he knew how to grasp the scale and measure of the performance.
Wang Shi peanut child a scene, filmed for three and a half days, Wang Changjie and the doctor used the telephone to guide the delivery, filmed for two days, are repeated polishing. Chen Li said that filming this drama did not grab time, but calmly went to shoot, the most ordinary people, how to reflect his extraordinary and great, just work that bit and piece, not that we want to make an entertainment film, everyone coaxes together to finish the work, we must sink down solidly.
Gong Zhe plays Wang Shihua.
After Watching the movie, Wang Shihua couldn't cry
During the filming of "The Island Keeper", he went to the crew to visit the class. At that time, the crew was filming the scene where Wang Jicai died, Chen Li did not want her to come, but Wang Shihua and his son Wang Zhiguo still went to the scene, when they saw the shot of Wang Jicai being lifted up, Wang Shihua kept crying, she said: "Too much like the old King", in her heart, Wang Jicai has not gone. When "Shoudao Man" premiered, Wang Shihua was very touched after watching the movie, and she couldn't cry, and sent a message to Chen Li: "Sister, very good."
At present, Wang Shihua is basically still living on Kaishan Island, although there are now militia standing guard and raising flags, Wang Shihua has always believed that Wang Jicai is still on the island. At the end of the film, when Wang Shihua raised the flag, there was a picture of Wang Jicai, because in her eyes, Lao Wang never left her.
The shot of standing guard and raising the flag is very touching.
Now the conditions on Kaishan Island are good, with water and electricity, the kitchen is very lively, and there are gas cans for cooking. But when Chen Li first went to Kaishan Island, it was not as convenient as it is now. At that time, the two chatted until it was particularly late, and it was dark, Chen Li was thinking, is there no electricity on the island, why not turn on the lights. Wang Shihua may have felt it, and said, let's have a meeting light. In fact, at that time, the island's power generation equipment could not reach the level of unlimited electricity. Chen Li couldn't help but sigh, "Pushing back again, how do you think their days came about?" ”
Chen Li felt that it was worth filming this drama, so that the crew could feel the dedication of the family for 32 years, "After filming this scene, it is really a change of values, and now no matter how tired it is, there is no complaint." Chen Li also warned today's young people, who have faith, can also do extraordinary things, "don't 'lie flat'."
Beijing News reporter Teng Chao
Edited by Huang Jialing Proofreader Li Lijun