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Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Suzhou, Wuxi, Ningbo, these are the cities where Cheng Er ran the roadshow for the movie "Nameless" during the Spring Festival holiday just past. In those few days of intensive travel, I entered the theater again and again to exchange views with the audience, one of the reasons is that I hope that good word of mouth can spread, but in addition to commercial purposes, as a director, Cheng Er still has a faint expectation in his heart, that is, he wants to witness his new work with his own eyes and complete its life journey. "Audience participation is the last part of the film, and if we think of the film as an organism, the film really completes its journey of life until the audience finally sees it in a dark cinema."
Since "The History of the Demise of Romance", there has been a lot of discussion on the Internet about the style of Cheng Er's works, and there are also some voices that say that his works are "high and low", but he actually did not think of separating himself from the audience. "Without the participation of the audience, a film is half-cut. Whether it's withering or blooming, it's essentially the same thing, it requires the participation of the audience to complete, and I think this is one of the charms unique to film. ”
Roadshows in one or even two cities a day are hard work, but many times, before the movie screening is about to end and the lights in the theater have not had time to turn on, Cheng Er will also look at the audience who are still staring at the screen in the audience, and it is their gaze at that moment that makes the movie really end again and again.
"As a creator, you can't think that you know more, you know more about human nature, I think the audience understands everything, the question is just whether the creator has achieved the expression on the most accurate scale."
From the five big words of "super commercial film" in the trailer, to the mixed reviews of the actors and the work itself on the Internet, and then to the box office that reversed the decline after the holiday, the entire process of the release of "Nameless" was like a tug-of-war on many sides, and Cheng Er, who was under pressure from all directions, did not "soften" because of this, but he was like being in the eye of the storm, showing a calm state: after experiencing the initial stunned, he let his focus return to the film itself, as an "art of regret", What deserves his attention more in this world of light and shadow is always how to summarize the shortcomings of the creative level so that it can be better improved next time.
"I personally believe very firmly that comments are free." Looking back on the entire Spring Festival file, Cheng Er used the words "sword light and shadow" to describe it, but when all the hustle and bustle slowly ended, he still stuck to his position, he knew where he should be, and he was always there.
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"A lame dog, walking through the street scene after being bombed."
One day, Cheng Er took his pen filled with ink and wrote this sentence on the paper. At that time, everyone including himself did not know that it was becoming the starting point for a movie called "Nameless".
This kind of writing is an ordinary moment in his life. Although he is known to the public as a film director, for himself, his daily life is not closely related to the film, and writing is what he is more inseparable from. Some of the fragments that he wrote down one by one will be fortunate enough to become a picture in the movie in the future, and some will be put down after writing, but it doesn't matter, his writing is not for the creation of films, this act is more like a testimony of his solitude.
"I set myself time to read in the morning, write in the afternoon, and drink in the evening, but it's not very strict and I often can't do it. Sometimes I can get up very early in the morning and write about it. In short, for me, reading and writing work for me, I like to be by myself, I actually like to be quiet. ”
Sitting alone at the desk is Cheng Er's most relaxing moment. This relaxation not only means that he can avoid socializing with others, but more importantly, at the creative level, he can return himself to a most simple state: many times, even if he has already picked up a pen, he does not know what he is going to write, but this is the starting point of his creation.
"Why you say why you wrote that, or why you wrote that, I can't answer. As Nietzsche said, it's not that you think, it's the thoughts that come to you. ”
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Without a meticulous outline, without the so-called source of inspiration that excites him before he picks up his pen, writing day in and day out is an exploration for him, both inward and outward. Including the use of paper and pen as a tool, also out of his consideration of creative freedom. When there is only a blank piece of paper in front of him, which means that there are no boundaries and no flashing cursor that will urge him to enter something as soon as possible, he can completely follow his heart and wait for the sentence he really wants to express appear.
"I usually write on paper with a pen first, until one day, when the speed of writing can no longer keep up with the speed of my thinking, I will use the computer to write." When typing with a computer, Cheng Er insists on using the five-stroke font input method, which is the biggest difference between this invention and the popular input method at the end of the 20th century and pinyin typing, is that it can quickly type every word without word association, which can be regarded as the liberation of the writer's thinking. Compared to movies that require multiple people to work together, and more nuanced lives, writing is the only world he can fully control, a world in which he tries to give himself absolute freedom in various ways.
"Including now I'm writing about the new project we're going to shoot, I'm also writing one, two, three, one, two, three pages... But until now, I don't know exactly what's going to be next, I think it's a real creative process. I also need to be tempted, because creation is like that, it's something that comes to you, it's not even yours. We still have to be humble, because this thing is not something that your ability can do, but it is given after you think enough and train enough logic. ”
For him, creation is made up of these "given" moments. He could vaguely see that his observations and reflections paved the way for the moment, but he couldn't find a coordinate exactly for their roots. Unlike many things that can be summarized in methodology, creation is one of the most uncertain things, even if it has been completed many times, it is impossible to predict where the next success will come from, but it is this characteristic that fascinates Cheng Er.
"I've experienced all kinds of happy moments, but nothing can replace the joy of creating. I've been trying, all the effort to get closer to that moment of excitement, which can't be replaced. ”
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"I went to film school by mistake, which is my lucky starting point." Making movies is not Cheng Er's dream since childhood, but since he was admitted to the directing department in 1995, it is logical for him to regard film as a new perspective on the world in addition to reading. It is no exaggeration to say that a lot of his understanding of the world is done through movies.
"I learned so much from the movie, including how we should behave, even how to arrange furniture, arrange the space in which we live, and even more importantly, it affects our hearts, how we should treat others, treat various things, treat small animals... The movies I love shape me here and now. ”
Like writing, in front of the grand film world, he is also a chosen person, who has experienced the impact of movies again and again, and he began to want to make his own expression. Perhaps standing at this point in time in March 2023, he has become accustomed to and accepted that the audience will comment on his works with the "filter" of box office and fame, but back to the starting point in his heart, and every time he decided to make a movie, the reason that prompted him to set off is still tightly around the creation itself, and there are not many other objective restrictions. "Today I am fortunate to be a director, and I hope to continue this process of benefit, and I hope that my audience will also be able to gain something from my film, both in the minute and in spirit."
In order to make the work can bring value to the audience at this level, Cheng Er adheres to many habits that he regards as "duty", when he uses images to tell a story, what he really wants to do is not to show his wild imagination, what he wants to pursue is some meaning that can be retained for a long time, even if the meaning can be large or small, even if different audiences understand the meaning from the same movie is different.
"I do have a very strong thirst for knowledge about modern history. Each book will give you a different answer to the same time and the same period of history, because everyone's starting point is very different. So when you understand a lot of historical facts, or a lot of cognition of that historical fact, you will think about what happened, and then it is very important that after that, our own logical ability will be involved, and I will try to clarify what happened, what is our real historical process. ”
Cheng Er's two works "The History of the Demise of Romance" and "Nameless" are both set against the background of the war years, especially during the release of "Nameless", the film official Weiwei also specially summarized the major events during the Anti-Japanese War. So meticulous, not that Cheng Er is making a historical documentary, through this approach, what he wants to express is actually the same as what he wants to get when watching the movie, that is, using the film as a medium to clarify the truth.
The difference is that sometimes this truth is grander and has to do with the survival of a people, while other times, the truth is like in "Border", only between a few people in a small place, or sometimes the truth is the process of making the film itself. For example, Mr. Zhang played by Huang Lei in "Nameless", this role did not originally exist in the script, it was added by Cheng Er when he arrived at the scene, and he increased this workload because he felt that "Nameless" needed a quieter and more stable opening. Even in the eyes of the thousands of staff on the scene, the director should have known everything for a long time, he is still in a process of clarifying the truth, and he has to peel back every day, and he wants to bring himself and his creation closer to the "truth" through various methods.
"You spend so much money and use so many resources to make movies, especially like me, and you don't necessarily make much money, so what's your value?" When I clarify, or I discern my own value, it is good for the audience. ”
The truth can be real or false, but it has always been Cheng Er's most fundamental purpose, and in his heart, only all kinds of truths are truly worth his time pursuing. "As a creator, I take some movies seriously, write some words, and at the same time, I can continue my own life as a creator, and that's it. I don't have as much desire and I'm not as narcissistic. ”
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From "The History of the Demise of Romance" to "Nameless", although Cheng Er's works are not much, because the actors he chose are too famous and his personal style is strong enough, every time a movie is first released, he will become the center of public opinion. Compared with these traffic topics that mean hundreds of millions of box office at every turn, he always hopes that he can step back a little.
Although his profession has allowed him to be classified as a practitioner in the entertainment industry, the matter of entertainment is not the vital existence in his heart. "Literature and art, especially film, still have to be more cared for. I think we still have to have more kindness and more compassion. ”
For example, in his short story "The Mermaid," he describes an ordinary girl who plays a mermaid in an aquarium, who works in the center of Beijing but commutes by bus for three or five hours a day. Such a plot is not an exaggeration at all, and when he knows that tens of thousands of people in big cities live like this every day, he cannot let himself turn a blind eye. Even if all he can do is write this situation into the novel, he knows that this expression has its own value, and he wants to use his own methods to make life outside the film seen and considered.
"I may be too willful, from very low-cost filming to now, I have such an attitude."
Speaking of "unique style" these comments from the outside world, Cheng Er's answer is actually a little tangled: on the one hand, he feels that many things outside the picture frame are easy to discuss, but on the other hand, he also knows that his areas of concern and many ways of doing things are not a choice that conforms to the trend of the times. "In the creative world, there are too few things that I am willing to give up, or willing to compromise."
As of our interview, Cheng Er and his work "Nameless" are still on the cusp, but when everything calms down, he knows that he will continue to be the same, which is his way of getting along with the world, with the times, and with himself.
ELLEMEN：
If the audience of a movie feels "incomprehensible", do you feel that you have an obligation to explain, or is the film handed over to the film?
Cheng Er:
In fact, I often question this way of explaining after the fact, and I think that what I want to express is actually in the details of the movie. This is related to the most basic "view of film", as far as my personal experience is concerned, I think the greatest value of film is to benefit the audience, and I myself have benefited a lot from the movie. As for many other things, they don't exist in the end, whether it's the box office or the so-called hustle and bustle, I don't think these are important, because the movie is ultimately about everyone's heart. There are some things that you can't change, and what matters is how you exit after the dust settles, the moment before the lights go out.
ELLEMEN：
Your film explores a lot of things, but doesn't really have an answer?
Cheng Er:
I have no answer, life is complicated, the fate of each individual is inevitably entangled, a creator, even an artist, this is nothing, I have always said, the so-called art industry itself is overrated, in fact, sometimes, I also need to reflect, we really pay too little, get too much.
ELLEMEN：
You are a writer yourself, in the process of turning words into films, do you feel that images need to be more acceptable to the audience?
Cheng Er:
In fact, I think that vision is narrower than words, and words are really the broadest. I prefer text because of the extension and imagination of words, which movies can't do. I am engaged in this profession, I can only go to the embodiment, such as this character, is the image of this actor. Words are the most ambiguous and thought-provoking, I am a person who tends to be obsessed with only words, and I like words more than other forms of expression.
ELLEMEN：
Do you write novels alone before the film is filmed, outside of writing the screenplay?
Cheng Er:
Not necessarily. I've been writing, every day, even if it's a page or two, or just a few lines, and I'm willing to write down some of my feelings, so at the end of the day, the considerations when making a movie are much more complicated, and I'll do some sifting through the things I've written before.
ELLEMEN：
Text creation will be more personal.
Cheng Er:
Yes, most texts are ultimately private, and you don't complete them out of pure interest. I am a withdrawn person, enjoying the solitude and introspective part of my creation, and I don't need to be seen or understood by others. As long as I feel that I am still improving, I am still improving, and my expression can bring me excitement. This exciting moment, I feel that creation is the greatest value for me.
ELLEMEN：
You say that your work is "within the frame, no one can touch it", is this a sign of confidence?
Cheng Er:
It's a kind of certainty, or a sense of self-esteem. From the time I took my graduation work to now, I have always adhered to the principle that I can't get inside the frame, except for those factors that we can't influence, I insist on perfecting it with my own standards. I want to implement my aesthetics, cognition, and values to a level that I can recognize.
Photographer: Li Xiaoliang (ASTUDIO)
Styling Sherry
Interview, written by Zhang Fan
FASHION EDITOR STEVEN
Visual Creativity Chang Zhijie, Wang Rujie (ASTUDIO)
Makeup and hair translation
Fine Art A-Zi (ASTUDIO)
Photography Assistant Wang Jiayu, Yang Chen, Zhang Shangze, Zhang Ziang (ASTUDIO)
Costume assistant small tower
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