Generally speaking, directors whose works are equally divided into more than 7 Douban are all literary and artistic films.
But there is a post-80s generation in China who can make the film a literary and artistic film reputation and a commercial film box office.
2015 [Get Out!] Tumor Jun] turned out to be a box office of 511 million, but also represented Chinese mainland competing for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
This movie makes everyone remember him, a director who dared to make commercial films very literary and artistic.
Han Yan
01 From literature to commerce
"With the shell of commerce taken from outside,
And then put what you want to express in it,
That way I'll feel comfortable. ”
- Han Yan
Han Yan, born in 1983, has made a total of 8 feature films so far, with an average douban score of 7.1. The road to literary and artistic creation was influenced by his father, who loved literature and movies since he was a child.
First there is the dream of a writer, and then there is a dream of a director, so I am used to writing and directing myself.
In fact, Han Yan is from the filming of literary and art films, although there are not many people who have seen the early works, but the Douban wind reviews are good, he likes [sunny days], and has a special love for youth themes -
2006 feature film debut [To Whom Do I Dedicate My First Kiss] Douban 7.2; 2008's [Spread Your Map] Douban 7.4; 2009's [Let Me Lean on Dot Spectrum for You] Douban 7.5.
The three youth films averaged 7.4
These low-budget works have a good reputation, but none of them are really cinema films.
The film that really let the public know Han Yan was starring Bai Baihe [Get Out!] Tumor Jun], a film based on the experience of the anti-cancer girl Xiong Dun and the manga work, grossed 185 million in its first week after its release in 2015 and won the weekly box office in the following week.
Eventually, the film became the box office champion of the year romance film.
Represented the Mainland in the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
But Han Yan said: "This is still a literary and art film, but it uses commercial operation." Indeed, the Douban score of 7.4 is a high reputation that many literary and art films cannot reach.
He is not afraid to make commercial films, and he can also make commercial films so that people have nothing to say.
Later, in an interview, Han Yan said that of course he also has market awareness, but it is important to have what he wants to express in the shell of the business -
"I want the core part to be unrelated to the market, for example, what I want to express or convey, and I don't want it to be full of utilitarianism and calculation in the first place."
[Get out!] Tumor Jun] retains the two-dimensional style of Xiong Dun comics, but also adds the question that Han Yan wants to explore - "life and death", which in his view is the ultimate humanistic care.
This year, Han Yan made another commercial film adapted from the comic, [Animal World].
02 Different commercial films
"In the world of animals,
Only interests,
No emotion,
Man dies for money, and birds die for food. ”
- "Animal World"
[Animal World] is a very "different" movie, for Han Yan, and even more so for domestic movies.
[Animal World]
Whether it is in terms of story, intention, production or lineup, [Animal World] is different from domestic commercial films.
The film is adapted from Nobuyuki Fukumoto's manga work "Gambling Apocalypse", which tells the story of a debt-bound young man who boards the "Destiny" cruise ship and participates in a limited-time gamble - first borrows a huge amount from the organizers, wins a write-off, and loses and falls into the abyss.
Gambling Apocalypse I
Gambling Apocalypse, the first book in Kaiji's gambling trilogy, was serialized in Kodansha in 1996 and has been released in 3.8 million copies, making it a huge hit in Japan. It was made into a movie of the same name in 2009, and a sequel was released in 2011, starring Ryuya Fujiwara, with Douban ratings of 7.2 and 6.6, respectively.
Nobuyuki Fukumoto was very protective of this work, and once refused Han Yan's request for adaptation.
Nobuyuki Fukumoto
In order to get the rights to the adaptation of this manga, Han Yan wrote down a 10,000-word plan overnight, and it was not until the script was finally completed that Nobuyuki Fukumoto actually authorized it to him.
Why is Han Yan so determined to get the adaptation rights of this comic?
Because this is a fierce story, you can see one or two by looking at the trailer, this story is not only fierce in the plot, but also fierce in the idea.
" In the world of animals, there are only interests, not feelings. ”
Man dies for money, and birds die for food
" We have to learn to trust each other to get to the end." ”
In the animal world, lecture qi is tantamount to suicide
Following "life and death", Han Yan placed the protagonist in a dilemma of left and right, and began to explore the issue of "interests and emotions".
Although it is still an adaptation, the core is still what he cares about.
Whether it is life or death or lust, it points to the facts that life must face in the world. As he summed up his work: "All the works I shoot should be full of humanistic care." ”
But what Han Yan wants is not so simple, in addition to the "interesting soul", the movie also wants a "beautiful skin bag". In order to make a really good domestic industrial blockbuster, he went to Hollywood to study for several months.
The "Destiny" cruise ship in [Animal World], which is full of age, is a four-month real scene with as many as 350 scene workers.
The sculptures and patterns on the ship are constantly changing in consideration of the span of time; in order to emphasize the sense of oppression, all the sculptures are bowed and all the lines are going down.
Han Yan's attempt at industrialized films has also attracted the attention of many foreign netizens.
Leave a message on the [Animal World] finale trailer on Reddit
Finally, judging from the trailer, the film is above the standard in terms of set, special effects, and soundtrack: not only the quality is in place, but the suspenseful atmosphere is also there.
In addition to the fierce story and intentions, excellent production standards, the film's lineup is also very ambitious - both invited oscar film emperor Michael Douglas, Golden Horse Xiaohua Zhou Dongyu, golden supporting actor Cao Bingkun, but also found a traffic student Li Yifeng.
Mix-and-match lineup: Li Yifeng, Cao Bingkun, Michael Douglas, Zhou Dongyu
Li Yifeng, who plays the protagonist Zheng Kaisi, is an actor whose acting skills are controversial, but this time he is extra the set, not only acting, but also communicating with the director in the computer room during the cutting.
Choosing Li Yifeng is a dangerous trick for Han Yan, and the actor needs to be adjusted.
Han Yan is a director who is very good at adjusting actors.
[Get out!] In Tumor Jun], Han Yan "turned all the shining points of this character into cinematic language as much as possible", allowing Bai Baihe to successfully play the optimistic and cheerful cartoonist with lymphoma, and won the Huabiao Award for Outstanding Actress.
Han Yan helps Bai Baihe understand and behave Xiong Dun, an optimistic ordinary girl
In [the first time], the unpromising Taiwanese star Zhao Youting's performance at the end of the film is very infectious, which is the result of Han Yan's "run-in" with him.
Zhao Youting, whose acting skills have been controversial, has acting skills online in the film
This time filming [Animal World], Han Yan's evaluation of Li Yifeng was: "It looks like another person on the screen. Li Yifeng also felt that the person in the camera was not himself, but someone else.
Li Yifeng completely becomes another person in the film
When filming Wong Kar-wai's "Ah Fei Zheng Biography", Jacky Cheung NG 20 times, Zhang Guorong just played toothpick shot 14 times, these young idols whose acting skills were questioned at that time, and finally honed into strength.
We hope that this time Han Yan can really let Li Yifeng have an improvement in acting skills.
Under the tutelage of Han Yan, Li Yifeng's performance is expected
In addition to the skills of the actors, Han Yan's casting vision is also very poisonous, and he chose Zhou Dongyu, who is known as "Little Zhou Xun", to play Zheng Kaisi's nurse girlfriend. In just a few shots in the trailer, you can see the aura and strength of this post-90s Golden Horse Film Queen.
In order not to delay his girlfriend, Zheng Kaisi decided to leave
What is in the eyes is not tears, but drama
In addition, Han Yan also invited the film emperor Michael Douglas to star in the big boss in the film - both the owner of the ship and the initiator of this cruel gambling game.
The movie emperor aura is consistent with the boss
"The game begins!"
Whether it is from the perspective of theme, intention, production and lineup, [Animal World] is a real large-scale commercial film after Han Yanji [Tumor Jun]."
Many fans scoff at the word "business". But in fact, the best literary films must also be the best commercial films.
"Literature" and "business" are just two labels, the two have never been opposites, as long as the film is well made, there is no market, and having a qualified film industry system is the king. As Han Yan did, he learned the rules from the shooting of commercial films, and then integrated the content he most wanted to express into his works.
He has both a conscience as an artistic creator and a sense of responsibility as a Chinese filmmaker.
The "Animal World", which Han Yan pins his hopes on reviving domestic industrial films, will be released nationwide on June 29.
Hopefully this time we see hope.
Without further ado, watch the trailer and get ready to board the ship.
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