"Barbarian Invasion": Filming, the movie will come true...

Directed by Chen Cuimei

Interviewer: Peng Ruoyu

A graduate student in literature who wanders between words and light and shadow

Interview subject: Director Chen Cuimei

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preface

Director Tan Tan Tsui Mei, who is active in the Malaysian independent film industry, is a representative of the new wave of Malaysian cinema that has gained momentum in recent years. She has been shortlisted for several international film festivals with her feature film debut "Love Conquers Everything", and won the New Wave Award and the International Film Critics Association Award at the 11th Busan International Film Festival. Director Chen Cuimei is highly praised for her daily and alienated life display, restrained and restrained emotional expression, and exploration and presentation of the intricate relationship between characters, and is well known in the film industry. This time, she will take her new work "Barbarian Invasion" written and directed and starred in ten years to participate in the competition of the main competition unit of the Golden Goblet Award at the 24th Shanghai International Film Festival, and finally won the Jury Award. On August 10, the film was finally released in Chinese mainland.

This film presents the story of a former actress trying to make a comeback after failing in marriage and becoming a single mother with a "meta-movie"-like creative concept. Through such a story, the film shows how women pursue and verify themselves in the contradictions between career and feelings. It is commendable that although director Chen Cuimei rarely added elements of genre films (action, crime) in this work, showing fist-to-flesh clean kung fu scenes and escape passages of thousands of miles of danger, she was not shackled by the genre framework and did not fall into the stylized plot mode.

She bravely breaks the trap of traditional narrative, not only stopping at the nested structure of the play within the play, but also further confusing the boundary between the virtual and the real inside and outside the play, and achieving a seamless connection between the real and the fake when the fake is true. With an innocent but awake gaze, it leads the viewer to slowly enter a world of light and shadow with different reflections, and in the journey of discovering and recognizing the heroine of herself, it tries to break the existing thinking pattern and examine the meaning of the proposition "what is oneself" with a new eye.

"Barbarian Invasion" poster

Deep Focus: Can you talk about the title of "Barbarian Invasion" first? Although I saw you mention before that you chose this title because of the many troubles and inconveniences caused by taking the child during the filming plan, from the result of the completion of the film, it is not purely a work about the daily and life disputes of mother and son. But you still use the title, what are the considerations for this?

Chen Cuimei: Maybe I was writing and digressing. When I first started writing the script, I was going back and forth with children and the workplace, always thinking about this sentence: "The birth of every child is an invasion of this civilized society by barbarians." (Original: Every generation of civilized society has been invaded by barbarians – we call them "children.") —Hannah Arendt "Every generation, civilization is invaded by barbarians - we call them 'children'." ― Hannah Arendt）

At first, I thought the child was the barbarian. Later, I felt that it was more like that the so-called civilized society was actually the encroachment and control of each individual. And I want to be that uncivilized barbarian and break the civilized order fiercely.

The filming scene of "Barbarian Invasion"

Deep Focus: This film reveals a variety of stylistic representations. At first glance, it shows what happens in the process of an actress coming back to filming through the concept of "meta-movie"-like creation, but it is actually not a simple nested structure, while combining some typed elements (action, crime), it also deliberately confuses the boundary between the virtual and the real inside and outside the play, so that the viewer feels that they are repeatedly jumping between the two situations of the film and the play-within-a-play in the film. Why did you choose to shoot this film this way? Or talk about some of your ideas for your creation.

Chen Cuimei: Later, you mentioned your question about "breaking the attachment". The word is good. I myself use the word "broken" when designing. Every time you shout "card", it is a break. Maybe I'm a little impatient with traditional narratives. Narrative films require the audience to substitute for the characters in the play and empathize with them. So everyone is desperately trying to act. Because the performance is not emotionally real, as soon as the "play" is out, the movie is finished. So everyone is acting very seriously. I love the kid in the King's New Clothes story. Occasionally we need that naïve barbarian who can't perform. When false is true, it is true and false, and there is nothing to do.

Many years ago I asked Bruno Dumont, "What is a movie?" He thought about it seriously for a moment and answered me very solemnly, "That's a metaphysical question. Then it's like asking you, what is life is the same. "I'm still thinking about it.

The filming scene of "Barbarian Invasion"

Deep Focus: The director in the film tells a story about Miyamoto Musashi, which gives birth to the feeling that once movies were everything, and now everything is movies. So may I ask the director, are you also in a state where everything is a movie? For example, I see that some of the small troubles caused by your child when you were doing action training in the tidbits have been reproduced by you in this film, so do you feel that your life and film creation are very closely connected?

Chen Cuimei: My movies are all relatively personal! It doesn't have to be real people, but it's inspired by life. In fact, movies account for a very small part of my life. I'm more of an amateur. Movies are just a shadow of my life, or even a ray of eels. I've been doing a lot of things that have nothing to do with movies, according to the time I spend: sleeping, reading, eating, in a daze, falling in love, exercising. Then I had children, and for the first three years, there was no time. In my current situation, except for children, most of my time is spent learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

The filming scene of "Barbarian Invasion"

Deep Focus: This film seems to be intended to present a process of the heroine's pursuit and self-verification, whether it is the martial arts master's teaching to her that "learning kung fu is to find herself", or the monk's guidance to her, and the scene where she repeatedly asks "who am I" to herself in the mirror, all of which reveal her confusion and desire for cognition. How do you see the possibility of pursuing oneself through both physical and mental aspects?

Chen Cuimei: I have a friend Li Hongqi, who has been learning Bagua Boxing for a while. He talked to me about "decency." It's not about dressing appropriately, that's decent. It is to "get" the body. I'm thinking about this too. In terms of scientific understanding, I think that without the soul, all thoughts and consciousness still belong to the body. All our activities are chemical interactions between electric stone and fire. Sensing the body is important for knowing the self. Meditation is a method. Making movies is one way. Practicing martial arts is also a method.

A still from "Barbarian Invasion"

Deep Focus: The film closes in a long-range shot where the director throws two sticks into the sea after dancing sticks at sea. Why did you choose to end with such a scene? Is the act of abandoning the stick considered "breaking the stick"? Or is it finally calm, no longer dependent on external objects? Can you tell us about your intentions?

Chen Cuimei: "It's good to break the stickiness". In fact, every time you shout "card", it is a break. There is no such thing as "finally calm, no longer need to rely on foreign objects". Originally, I was still hesitating to finally shady the curtain, and then another "card!" "Later decided not to. Watching a play in a dark theater is like a dream. After watching the play, I will be a little trance. I think it's good to come back to reality in a trance, and don't get stuck and spoil the transition between the movie and reality.

The filming scene of "Barbarian Invasion"

Deep Focus: The director of the film has a quote: "Great inspiration often comes from silly jokes." "It's your line from life. Do you also have some passages to share during the filming of this film that were improvised, not intentional, but blissful?

Chen Cuimei: There are a lot of jokes in the play, especially jokes about other director friends. More self-deprecation. As for the improvisational part, the old monk in the play is a well-known actor in Malaysian English stage plays. Playing Shakespeare's King Lear and the like. If his play is performed according to the script, it will appear very staged. So there are a few scenes where lines are deleted, and the action is improvised, such as putting ants on his hands. Meeting a dead turtle by the sea, although not improvised, but also photographed. The other passages are not much improvisation, and the dialogue is based on the script.

Deep Focus: The "one more" situation often occurs when showing the shooting process in the film, and the same situation is occasionally seen during your shooting in the tidbits. And you are a self-directed and self-acting, in addition to the identity of the director, you also have the work of an actor, so I would like to ask you when you are in the two different positions of director and actor, when you face the situation of "keep one" or "one more", will there be any difference in mentality and opinion?

Chen Cuimei: The one who shouted "card" during filming was my producer Hu Mingjin, who is also a director himself. Our most common words on set are, "Let's Joko Anwar it." Joko Anwar is our Indonesian director friend, and he shoots all the time. Even if it is an action scene of a hundred people fighting, it is only one shot. When it comes to editing, it is usually cut in a few days, because there are no other options. That is our common goal.

Of course, generally we will still shoot two or three, I myself have no confidence in my performance, I can do another one, generally quite willing.

The filming scene of "Barbarian Invasion"

Deep Focus: The regional backgrounds of the characters in this film are quite different, such as the director is Taiwanese accent, the martial arts master speaks Cantonese, the heroine's ex-husband is Southeast Asian, and the heroine herself speaks Chinese, Burmese and Vietnamese. Could this cross-cultural vision and relatively complex kinship be the crux of the characters' confusion about self and identity?

Tan Tsui Mei: Mixed language is a daily routine in Malaysia. On a regular trip, you may have to speak three or four languages. Identity is indeed a big issue for Malaysians. However, the film focuses more on asking, "What is yourself?" "This question.

I feel that "myself" is a story made up. Some stories are preced, such as when and where you were born, and your parents. Almost complete description of who you are: age, geography, nationality, name, relationships. For example, if someone asks who you are, it basically is: I am Tan Tan Thui Mui, Malaysian, director, who is who's daughter or mother. A few of these narratives are choices, such as careers.

Why is "yourself" a story? We will look for reasons for ourselves. For example: "I make movies because when I was a child, my second sister liked to make up stories." "I want to learn martial arts because my father is a martial arts idiot." "I want to shoot martial arts because the first contact is martial arts TV series." All the things in between. are all possible to find the cause of the status quo. We're all good at this kind of storytelling. Events with causal plots form stories. My creation is just a question, or a self-question.

The filming scene of "Barbarian Invasion"

Deep Focus: Are there any directors and films that you particularly like or that have a big influence on you personally?

Chen Cuimei: I especially like Hong Shangxiu. There is also a tribute in the play. The other was Reiner W Fassibinder, but the one who had a big influence on me was Jia Zhangke, who was my teacher. Speaking of martial arts, Xu Haofeng may be mentioned, I think he is the person who knows martial arts the most.

Deep Focus: Can you talk about whether you currently have a new film planned or a work that you have already completed and is ready to launch?

Chen Cuimei: There have been many plans, but they have not yet been implemented. In recent years, I want to make sci-fi love sketches, but I haven't written them yet.

Edit: Oven

The world is annoying and cute

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