In Beijing in August, the fiery sun scorches the earth, and the willow trees spit out the heat motionlessly. Knowing that director Ning Haiqiang was interviewed, the reporter couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
"Fast-forward into the house, fast-forward into the house... Today is a good day, a holiday for our soldiers. ”
"Come, eat a peach, just come down, sweet!" The famous director is not as "unkind" as he thinks. On the contrary, he did not have any shelves, and enthusiastically welcomed the reporter in, greeting everyone for tea.
Ning Haiqiang has many years of experience in the military, and is also a director who shoots many military themes. Rushing to interview him on the day of the Founding Day, he was very happy and surprised.
Since his directing debut "Ballistic Traceless" won the Golden Rooster Award, for more than 30 years, he has traveled all over the territory of China with his own works, covering land, sea, air and space and other arms, stringing together the modern development history of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
Now, another of his masterpieces, "Will of Steel", is about to be released, telling the story of the first furnace of steel in New China, and the burning steel has become the emotional vein that runs through the whole text.
From "Ballistic Traceless" to "Will of Steel", Ning Haiqiang used a unique perspective to praise the most beautiful strivers, and cast his own "steel life" with persistence and perseverance.
"From the ocean to the Gobi Desert"
In the late 1950s, Ning Haiqiang was born in a military camp on an island in Shandong.
"I've had a space for imagination since I was a kid."
As a child, he used to sit on the reef by the sea, looking at the rising and falling tides, the surging sea, and looking at the giant ships and warships passing by. Sometimes they were waiting for their father's warships to dock, but more often they let their thoughts drift away.
The endless coastline gives him unlimited reverie.
"The most important thing to think about is to be a captain, so that you can travel all over the world and appreciate the great rivers and mountains of the motherland."
At the age of 16, Ning Haiqiang was specially recruited into the army and joined the army in Xinjiang. He left the island where he had lived since he was a child and embarked on a journey of great desert with great anticipation, to the westernmost part of his motherland.
The Ganges Mountains, the Kunlun Mountains, the Pamir Plateau... Following the condolence performance of the cultural troupe, Ning Haiqiang traveled all over the border posts in the western frontier; The desert Gobi of "wind blowing stones running, everywhere is barren grass", the plateau checkpoint of "soldiers watching soldiers during the day, counting stars at night", this land infinitely magnifies his imagination space.
"I kept thinking of tall, gritty soldiers."
From the island to the desert, the accumulation of life has become the foundation of art, creating a unique "montage". Ning Haiqiang began his dream of cinema.
"At that time, the ideal was very simple, and I wanted to show more people what I felt, and the stories full of passion and blood, the real stories and emotions that were integrated into my blood."
The blood of the soldiers flowing in his bones and the continuous feeling of military life converged into Ning Haiqiang's original intention of film, and also pointed out the direction for his road to directing.
"I can't finish military themes in my life"
Born in the island barracks, he grew up in the border guard unit and traveled all over the border posts. After that, Ning Haiqiang entered the Military Culture College of the National Defense University (formerly the People's Liberation Army Art College) and entered the Bayi Film Studio after graduation.
"If the director of our Bayi Factory can shoot all the services, he will complete his mission as a film director."
Xu Huaizhong, an old leader and famous writer, said a sentence after watching "Ballistic Traceless" that he remembers to this day. "This is his wish and my life's goal," Ning Haiqiang said.
In the first few years, Ning Haiqiang photographed all directions of the motherland. From "Snow Sun" in the northeast to "Love in the Sea and Sky" in the southernmost part, his works have left their mark on all corners of the world.
"Ballistic Traceless", "Shenzhou", "Chinese Blue Helmets"... Seeing Ning Haiqiang's works is like seeing the military career he has gone through.
In 2003, under the gaze of more than a billion pairs of eyes of the people of the whole country, Shenzhou 5 was successfully launched into space carrying Yang Liwei. Ning Haiqiang was tasked with "putting this big event on the screen."
This is an area that has never been touched by domestic film and television works, and for most people, manned spaceflight is unfamiliar. This type of film requires in-depth study and familiarity with manned space engineering, not only to popularize science and space knowledge, but also to reflect the spirit of Chinese spaceflight. "From God One to God Five, it's not just a change in numbers."
In 2009, the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Air Force, Ning Haiqiang filmed the first action blockbuster for the Chinese Air Force, "J-10 Attack", which allowed us to see China's new generation of flesh-and-blood air force pilots.
There are more Films with Army themes. From the "millet plus rifle" to the modern army, from resisting foreign aggression to maintaining world peace, under the guidance of the idea of strengthening the army in the new era, Ning Haiqiang has shown the style of Chinese soldiers to the world.
His footsteps of chasing dreams have never stopped, and he led the team to the Xisha of the South China Sea to shoot "Love of Sea and Sky", telling the story of the Navy and submarine forces, and creating a vivid image of naval soldiers.
Space, sky, land, open sea... After filming for so many years, Ning Haiqiang is still insisting on the creation of military themes.
There are always people who advise Director Ning to shoot more pure commercial films. He disagreed: "How can I do anything else when I'm not finished saying what I want to express?" ”
"Military-themed films and televisions are a rich mine, and I can't finish doing such a subject in my life."
"Pressure is what drives me forward"
"If there is no pressure on the body, I am afraid it will be difficult to achieve the work to the extreme."
As a director, you are responsible for the art of the film, for the whole team, and for the audience. Therefore, for Ning Haiqiang, the pressure is more like a motor, pushing himself to constantly feel and create.
In addition, the pressure also comes from grasping the historical theme.
"Huangpu Soldiers" set in the Northern Expedition, "Warriors" telling the story of the Long March, "Hundred Regiments War" that took place in the War of Resistance Against Japan, "Decisive Victory Moment" in the last battle of the Liberation War, "Chinese Blue Helmets" describing peacekeeping in the new period... Together, these films are a process of growth and progress for the Chinese military.
For the well-known historical plot, it is necessary to contain sufficient historical information, but also to have moving cultural feelings, but also to have a character image with distinct personality characteristics, in order to shock people's hearts and penetrate people's hearts.
"Simply put, it is 'big things are not vain, small things are not informal.'" Ning Haiqiang explained.
As early as the TV series "New Fourth Army", he used such a technique. By telling a young man's love story, the big events are integrated into the stories of ordinary people, connecting history and various links.
Ning Haiqiang has also filmed many films on the theme of important large-scale projects in the country, such as "Tianhe" of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. "Making such a big project into a movie is the most test of the director's artistic appeal." It's hard to accomplish without a passion for creation. ”
For many years, Ning Haiqiang has maintained the habit of reading. "You have to read books and find the passion for creation from the words to have confidence." As he spoke, he showed reporters the books he was reading recently, including TieLiu's "Patron", Ma Weigan's "Blood Stained Kapok Is Redder", and Zhu Xiuhai's "The Distant White Horse". Whenever he wants to direct a new work, he will first read the relevant books.
"My purpose in making movies is to attract more young people to feel the content of the movie."
Ning Haiqiang believes that there are no two fields of "main theme" and "commercial" in film and artistic creation, "but because they were separated in the early stage, more film creators are now needed to work hard to integrate the two." ”
No film is an "educational film" in the full sense of the word. From the "main theme film" to the "new mainstream blockbuster", return to the film itself, return to the market, and return to the true meaning of art, in order to create good works.
"Making Chinese Movies with the Spirit of Craftsmanship"
In the interview, Ning Haiqiang told such a story.
At a barbecue in the suburbs, Ning Haiqiang picked up the barbecue sign and asked the child next to him: "Do you know how this came about?" "The children are tongue-tied, some say they are made of steel, some say they are made of iron. Without exception, no one knows how it was made from ore into molten iron and then into the shape of a bamboo stick.
"Those obscure builders of the motherland need Chinese filmmakers to record." Ning Haiqiang resolutely took over the production of "Iron Will".
"In fact, 'Ballistic Traceless' and 'Iron Will' are in the same vein."
In 1949, the founding of New China was in ruins, and only a torn industrial "mess" was left in Anshan, northeast China, with a production capacity of almost zero. The first generation of steel people learned and explored at the same time, and embarked on a hard road of entrepreneurship, laying a solid foundation for today's world's largest steel production and consumption country.
In "Ballistic Traceless", the artillerymen with steely will and combat effectiveness are in the same vein as the tenacious and persistent steelworkers. Artillery and steel and soldiers are fused together to form The Will of Steel.
"This spirit of hard work, selfless dedication, solidarity and cooperation, and the courage to innovate is applicable everywhere, especially for the film industry."
During the filming of "Will to Steel", Ning Haiqiang took the main creative team to the blast furnace workshop of Angang Steel six times to experience the whole process of steel smelting. "When you stand in front of the heat wave that accompanies the molten steel, you know what it's like."
Ning Haiqiang said that Chinese films are still in a golden period of development, the future is bright, the future can be expected, and the most important thing is to use the spirit of craftsmanship to inherit and develop it.
"I hope to gradually attract generations of young people, feel the charm of the film, feel the feelings of home and country, join the film creation team, and pass on Chinese culture and Chinese stories to the world."
Talking about these years of creative career, Ning Haiqiang believes that perseverance is the biggest victory. Stick to his original intention, stick to the military sentiment that accompanied him all his life from the island.
"I always have a picture in my mind: in the endless golden wheat waves, I am wearing a camouflage, stepping on the land of the motherland, watching a blue sky."
While filming on Woody Island in Xisha, Ning Haiqiang met a veteran who was standing on the last shift.
He said that he had always felt very lonely on the island all these years, but when it came to demobilization, he was reluctant to live on this haunted island. Standing on the beach, as long as you see a ship flying the Chinese flag, you feel sincerely proud.
Speaking of the next work, Ning Haiqiang has always wanted to tell the story of a three-generation border and coastal defense soldier, condensing the persistence and dedication, youth and enthusiasm of the border and coastal defense soldiers he has felt over the years in one work.
Perseverance is the mission and responsibility of Chinese soldiers, and it is also Ning Haiqiang's attitude towards movies.
"One should know gratitude. I sat in the wheat field, always remembering who raised me, what I was going to do, what I was going to shoot. That's what I meant. ”
Planning | Zhang Qiang
Written by | Dong Junying
Edited | Wave Boy