"I am the barbarian," 丨 Conversation with Chen Cuimei

"Barbarian Invasion" has been released for two days, and in this year's competitive summer file, it has not stirred up too much splash. For many audiences, director Chen Cuimei's name is still relatively unfamiliar, and even she has imagined, "My film may not have too many audiences."

But since 2004, Chen Cuimei has been expressing her thinking about the world in this way - she has a lot of things she wants to question, is impatient with many traditional rules and orders, wants to ask "why" to the end, describes herself as the "barbarian" - "Barbarian Invasion" is her new work after thinking about "who I am".

Although she still can't give a qualitative answer to this question after the movie is released, it may be more important to keep asking and thinking than getting results. The following is the self-statement of director Chen Cuimei after sorting out the poisonous eyes.

Chen Cuimei

I originally thought of a relatively simple sci-fi sketch, which was about a girl and a chat robot, the girl told the robot her favorite literature and music, and taught the robot how to chat and fall in love with herself. Later, I had dinner with a friend, and he said that he was going to make a spy film and asked me to play the female spy. I didn't know if it was true or not, and I thought it was funny, so I said to him: Then you send me to martial arts training. Because spy film actors have done a lot of training.

This thing is very interesting: an independent film director wants to make a spy film and send the actors to training, but the director is not very reliable, after three months of actor training, because a female star wants to bring 30 million investment into the group as the starring role, the director decided to change, the original female lead went to participate in mixed martial arts competitions in anger, and won. After I told this story, I felt that it was better than the sci-fi sketch I originally wrote, so I decided to start from this story and wanted to make such a movie.

Generally, when I write a script, I will go to the place where the story takes place for a period of time, because I can directly observe the local people and things, and write out the details in the script while collecting the style, so as to write the whole story a little more completely. So I went to the MMA street in Phuket, Thailand, where the story of "Barbarian Invasion" is set, which is where the actresses in the film train.

But this time was different, because when I went, I couldn't find someone to take care of my child, I had to take him with me, and if he didn't cooperate, I couldn't work, and I couldn't write the script according to my original plan. At the time, I felt very embarrassed, but suddenly thought, will the movie actor in my play also be a mother who wants to take her children out to work?

So at that time decided to join the role of a child, the actress's age also pulled up, maybe older, this may be her last chance to be a heroine. But after having the setting of the child, I didn't let her go to the ring anymore, but chose to let her save the child - I put some of the problems in my life in the characters of this script, and I felt that it became better and richer.

A still from "Barbarian Invasion"

There is a scene that was not originally in the script, that is, the director and actress in the film said to change, and when she was packing up in the room, the art team was sorting out props and putting away the lifebuoy used before, and I heard the sound of the lifebuoy "deflated", I felt that the voice was particularly in line with the mood of the character, so I filmed it, and a moment like this is still a very unexpected surprise.

When filming, I was originally worried about the scene where the starring actor rescued the child and fought at the pier, because I had never filmed such an action scene before, so I had no bottom in my heart, and the fight scenes in the script were relatively simple to write, but with the help of the on-site staff and friends, the action design and shots were much better than I thought, and it seems that making a movie still depends on everyone to help together.

But self-directing and acting should be the last time I do it, I still prefer to sit behind the monitor as a director, it will be more comfortable. Acting in the literary part of "Barbarian Invasion" was very challenging for me, because I myself had no acting training, so when I wanted to express emotions, I would find it a little difficult to externalize emotions, and I myself was not satisfied with my performance from the perspective of a director, but I couldn't adjust, which may be my regret.

Behind the scenes of Barbarian Invasion

I am often curious, want to ask the essence of a thing, will be full of doubts about many rules and order, want to break something, because many things in life are always asked without mention. For example, why do we have to go to school after birth, work after graduation, get married when we work, etc., and when are these things settled? Why does it have to be? Everyone seems to be very taken for granted, and trapped inside, unable to escape, if you do different from others, many people will say that you, in fact, bind our freedom.

I feel trapped and need to break the order or question it. There are many, many questions in my films. The questions about "who am I" in "Barbarian Invasion" are also because of some confusion or situation in my own life.

A still from "Barbarian Invasion"

The first question was that Li Chengcheng was learning kung fu and asked the master "what is himself". That's actually asking my own questions. Master replied by giving her a punch. It's a bit like the Zen teaching method – there are some things that can't be explained in words. What is yourself? Is it the self who is afraid of being beaten, instinctively avoids danger and protects his body?

The second question was that after Li Chengcheng lost his memory, his body's memory was still there, but he didn't remember who he was. It's a bit like we tell ourselves stories, who I am, where I grew up, what happened, these memories are stories that we made up after us, the most primitive body in front is ourselves, and now we need to add memories and stories.

The third time is what the monk said at the end of the film, do not ask for name, do not say occupation, do not say relationship, how to answer "who am I". Because even if I don't know your name, I can roughly imagine what kind of person you are based on your profession; If we are in a relationship, we may also change ourselves because of the other person.

A still from "Barbarian Invasion"

I remember Hou Xiaoxian's autobiography saying that the first time he went to look in the mirror was when he began to like a girl as a teenager, and he would wonder what he was like in the eyes of that girl. When we are in a relationship, "ourselves" may change depending on the other person. After becoming a mother, it was different, and after my experience as a mother with a child was put in, the identity of motherhood made this movie different again.

So aside from the name, career, relationship, and the question of "who am I", I also hope that after watching the movie, the audience can leave with this question and think about the answer to this question. I'm looking for answers myself, but I haven't found them yet, so maybe I'll keep looking.

The cost of "Barbarian Invasion" is very low, but I also said before that low cost is not a helpless choice, after all, I was filmed at low cost from the beginning, the purpose of creation is still to think about some of my own concerns, maybe from the beginning I was not for success or other things (to make movies), I feel that my creative freedom is more important, sometimes for fun, just wonder: What if I do this?

These expressions require creative freedom, not that I resist making commercial films, in fact, I think commercial films are also fun, but even if it is a genre film, I still want to use genre to express the theme I want to express. In the past, I made movies, maybe in my imagination there were not many audiences, but every time I want to try something I haven't done, try to see which one can be played, I feel very happy.

Friends who know me well will know that I often do surprising, "weird" things that everyone is used to, including getting pregnant and having a baby and this time shooting Barbarian Invasion. But life is different from movies, the design of movies can be more, you can constantly change the structure, life is difficult to do this. So I also hope that my method of making movies can be put into my own life, write a script for my own life, do design, and finally everything is a movie, this is my script.