That's right, Cannes, Sir is here.
The 77th Cannes Film Festival opened today, and in this "big year of Chinese films", we are of course most concerned about
Jia Zhangke's "Merry Generation".
Shortlisted for the main competition for the Palme d'Or.
This is also Jia Zhangke's return to the Cannes main competition after six years.
New material, new forms, new stories. .
But you know, no matter how new Jia Zhangke's movies are, there is always a consistent care in them
So the first thing Sir did when he came to Cannes
Let's have a good chat with Director Jia
What you can see below is the news at the forefront of "The Merry Generation", and Sir has begun to get excited after receiving so much material at one time. (Although the feature film will not be seen until 4 days later)
01
"For my own taste, I think it's an awesome movie"
When Director Jia talked about the movie "The Merry Generation", he hesitated again and again and thought about it for a long time.
However, he still couldn't hold back and said to me:
"I can't say that myself, anyway, in my own taste, I think it's really awesome."
Then, he suddenly changed his words, hoping that Sir would change a soft word to relay his sentence, "This is a bit boastful, and readers will hate it." ”
How could it be.
On the contrary, it is such a sincerity and cuteness that Sir also realizes his greatest expectation and love for this movie.
The film doesn't release much information to the outside world now.
Even, when the editing and post-production of "The Merry Generation" were still racing against time, many media speculated whether they could be shortlisted for Cannes on time this time.
Speaking of editing, Jia Zhangke said that this editing was particularly free and "unruly", and even reused three or four episodes used in past films, a total of eight or nine shots.
Since this is a look back at all the images of the past, all the shots that have been shot are our alternative material, so editing takes time.
Unexpectedly, I still caught up with the schedule on time.
Sir is full of curiosity about how much confidence Jia Dao has in the sprint for the Palme d'Or this time.
Director Jia used a very down-to-earth description
Going to Cannes feels like going to a temple fair.
"It's just to go around the temple fair, and then look at the excitement, look at the works of different peers, and these awards that everyone cares about...... As far as I'm concerned, I don't have such an obsession anyway.
I feel that following the temple fair, eating and drinking, meeting a lot of old friends, and then drawing a prize, you must be very happy when you draw it, and it can't affect our mood when we visit the temple fair. ”
This time, I returned to Cannes for the first time in six years.
Director Jia is more and more curious: new movies, new audiences, new journalists, new worlds.
In the past three years after the epidemic was closed, Jia Zhangke has not participated in international film festivals for almost three or four years, nor has he participated in international cultural exchanges. Everything around is in the process of updating and iterating, and in the face of such a Cannes that seems to have become "unfamiliar".
Curious and playful.
It seems that in his opinion, it is much more fun to enjoy it than to rush for the Palme d'Or with pressure.
02
"The material of "Merry Generation" is like clouds, and the biggest cloud is Zhao Tao"
Let's talk about the movie.
In the Douban stills of "The Merry Generation", there are these photos:
You will feel familiar
In a trance, I returned to the "Qiaoqiao Universe", this picture was seen in "Ren Yao" and "The Good Man of the Three Gorges".
You'll feel strange again
There is also a still.
The picture of Zhao Tao appearing, with a mask and a robot, there are traces of time left between the eyebrows.
Director Jia didn't reveal too much information about the core of the story of this movie to Sir.
But it pulled a 20-year timeline for Sir.
"It's a film that took 20 years to make."
To summarize it in a very simple sentence, that is, the speculation of many media about "The Merry Generation", is Jia Zhangke's follow-up and record of Zhao Tao in the past 20 years.
That's not accurate.
"The Merry Generation" is not a big tandem of the "Qiaoqiao Universe".
And it's more like in 20 years, he used fragments of time to connect the 20 years of a woman, she was young, angry, and paranoid, but she also finally completed a new story of self-growth.
If you say, you have to find the original motivation for the filming of "The Merry Generation".
Or explain why he chose to make a film in such a way?
It all started in 2001, when Jia Zhangke got a digital camera.
His fascination with the digital camera led him to embark on a long and very personal period of photographic documentation.
And this inspiration also came from a film "The Man with the Camera" by a former Soviet director he liked very much, Dziga Vertov.
This documentary does not have a specific storyline, but only records the work and life of the people in the city of Odessa, Ukraine, streets and traffic.
There are many short shots in the film, and "capture" is used to present the poetry that director Vertov wants to express, a kind of reflection of the director's improvisation in the face of reality.
"I'm really fascinated by this type of film."
In the conversation, he mentioned to Sir an article he published in Southern Weekly: "The Coming of the Amateur Film Era".
Amateur cinema is not talking about a decline in the quality of the film.
Rather, it is to insist on cultural differences and independence.
In the last paragraph, he wrote:
Their approach to cinema is always unexpected, but the emotional bets are always able to fall into place.
They ignore the so-called professional approach and thus have more possibilities for innovation.
They refuse to follow established industry standards, and as a result, they gain a diversity of ideas and values.
They are outside of stereotypes. They are also down-to-earth because they adhere to the conscience and ethics of intellectuals.
This digital video camera brought him the joy and freedom of independent creation.
Therefore, Jia Zhangke also wants to play like this.
Since 2001, Jia Zhangke and his old photographer partner Yu Liwei have been walking on the street and using digital cameras to shoot many scenes of life.
The documentary "Public Place" was also born during this period.
He photographed ordinary passers-by in Shanxi, laborers, passengers waiting for the train in the station, people rushing to meet the morning sun, and women whose hair was blown by the wind as soon as they got off the train.......
He aimed the camera at those people who are easy to ignore in life, and it seems that those cookie-cutter and boring lives have another way to interpret them in front of the camera.
You wonder and expect what kind of story will happen to these people, or what kind of story has happened.
Director Jia said when talking about the short film shot on the camera, "I feel like you are turning to the Yungang Grottoes or the Arhat sculpture in a temple, every face is beautiful."
These people are very vivid, and I think it's the faces of those people, the state of life, that fascinates me very much.......
And this shooting habit is also called "hunting" by him
"This kind of accidental improvisational hunting [directed by Dziga Vertov], I think it is very much in line with us, and I can't say that, it is in line with human nature."
He often goes out with his team to hunt or surf once in six months, seven or eight months.
It's like a joy in Jia Zhangke's life.
It's also an impromptu adventure.
You don't know what kind of material is going to be today, and you don't know what kind of story is going to happen.
This randomness is exciting
"Because life is really like a sea, in the sea, which waves you can meet, which tide you can meet, which huge waves, I really don't know, then we will impact in such a sea, to feel that life is not peaceful or calm."
At that time, he already called his film "The Man with a Digital Camera", and even used that name when he was ready to start integrating the material.
At the beginning, Director Jia was just a pure recorder, but when Zhao Tao joined, they began to improvise some clips with plots, although they were not yet chapters, but in a spatial environment, or in a public place, they would imagine the plot, and then place Zhao Tao in this environment to shoot.
This shooting habit has been going on for many years.
The digital cameras in my hand have also been replaced with 16mm and 35mm film, or industrial-grade digital cameras, including 5D cameras, etc., all kinds of cameras have been used, and the materials accumulated one after another have been more than 1,000 hours.
And these long, fragmentary, and time-specific materials, their flow is erratic.
Director Jia used a very romantic description
He said, "The direction of their flow is really like the clouds in the sky, some of them drift to the east, some of them go west, some of the clouds go up, some of them go down and they become rain, and we follow which clouds are finally forming the current structure." ”
But, before the end of this topic.
Sir was caught off guard and ate a handful of dog food.
I didn't expect a director to show his deep affection so directly.
"If the biggest cloud here is Zhao Tao, her drift is the drift of our movie."
03
"I don't do it anymore"
In Director Jia's films with long-term clues, such as "Platform", "Mountains and Rivers" and other works, we can always hear or see sounds and pictures with a great sense of the times.
For example, in "Platform", from the opening "Train Running to Shaoshan Mountain" to "Wine and Coffee", this is the collision of two trends of thought in the 70s, on the one hand, red education, and on the other hand, it is a glamorous sound;
When Emperor Zhang's "Q&A Album" and "Genghis Khan" were played on the tape recorder brought back by Zhang Jun, and Yin Lijuan was in the office, listening to "Whether" alone and dancing lonely.
Time, from the 70s, to the 80s in Fenyang County.
Whether it is the slogan painted on the wall or the end of the film, Cui Mingliang and his mother are watching the TV series "Desire" at home.
It doesn't take too many words for time to move forward.
Fans have always enjoyed it, and they like to find the anchor of time in the clues left by Director Jia.
And this time, is a "Merry Generation" that spans 20 years still the same?
Director Jia said, "I don't need these techniques anymore, because these elements are in the shooting for more than 20 years, there is 00 years of information in 2000, and there is 02 years of information in 02, so time is our artist." ”
Different from Jia Zhangke's previous period films, which took a few months to make, "This is a genuine film that took more than 20 years to complete, and the information of these times is natural and born." ”
Sir remembered the previous mention of "Public Place".
Yes, the picture comes with its own time information.
Like what.
The green-walled waiting hall has no turnstile ticket gates, or the dilapidated buses with seats with blue chair covers, and the sliding doors of the buses, or the signs that hang on the walls with a sense of the times......
It goes without saying much and is undoubted, it is telling the audience the style of this era.
But 20 years later, when you look back at it again, you will feel that these images are both familiar and unfamiliar.
In Jia Zhangke's films, the subtleties that resonate with him and make people feel shocked are also his silent portrayal of "time".
When he elaborated on "The Old Man of Mountains and Rivers", he said something like this: "Only by realizing the passage of time can we truly understand emotions." ”
Time is a very obscure but often important role in his films, and he needs the quiet participation of time to speculate on the mystery of fate.
In "Platform", Cui Mingming, a former literary and art worker, finally returned to his hometown after wandering outside.
10 years later, he also seemed to draw a circle, returning to the life of his wife and children's hot kang head, in his sleep, he could no longer be woken up by the whistling of the kettle like the sound of a train whistle.
Time polished his enthusiasm and persistence, and finally, embarked on his ordinary life.
For example, in "Children of the Rivers and Lakes", Qiaoqiao was imprisoned, and the time of her life was forced to stand still, and since then, she has also divided the first half of her life and the second half of her life.
When she went to society again, the morality she adhered to had long been shattered.
This is also the charm of time.
It creates countless possibilities in life.
There are many words to describe time, things are people, and the vicissitudes of life ......
However, the experience of "time" is interpreted differently by each person, and it just quietly falls on each person, and from it, every special life is formed.
As Director Jia said: "I want to use movies to care about ordinary people, first of all, I must respect the secular life, and feel the joy or heaviness of every ordinary life in the slow flow of time." ”
Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that in his film lens language, he deliberately has a certain distance from the person being filmed, and examines the stories that occur in this time and space from an objective, third-party perspective.
In "Merry Generation", Jia Zhangke is not only recording time, but also recording the passage of time.
This time, he found "Qiaoqiao" and "Brother Bin" again, and he also wanted to continue the story about their era.
"From the way they were in their early youth, and then, all the way to the gradual changes in their lives, [all] they were given more content, and those messages were written on their faces," he said.
I think their faces have basically become a map, and the way of life is in the lines on their faces. ”
In the past 20 years, it has been a long time, not a short time.
People are changing, life is changing, 20 years ago you couldn't imagine that you could hold a palm-sized square, you could make a phone call, watch a video; You can't imagine that in a hotel nowadays, with a robot open its belly, you can get hot takeout; You can't even imagine that the high-speed train from Beijing to Guangzhou can be reached in 8 hours......
But after 20 years, you find that all has changed.
"What used to be science fiction, it has become the reality of our lives." Jia Zhangke chatted and chatted, and once again, invited the "time" out.
04
"Then they have to get me some traffic"
During the chat, Director Jia also broke a message to Sir himself
"The Merry Generation" has already won the dragon standard, and I hope to be on it as soon as possible, because there will be new movies waiting to be launched soon.
Isn't that great news?
Therefore, Sir also wants to ask about the audit.
One of the things that many young directors or creators will struggle with is: how to balance "self-expression" and moderation?
Director Jia is very direct - "I don't think there should be such an idea, you can shoot how you want, you don't insist on yourself, you will discount yourself first, then there must be a problem with your creation."
You should present the whole emotion, the whole thought, the whole thing. ”
However, Sir still broke the casserole and continued to ask.
If "The Merry Generation" can't pass the review, and you don't want to delete it, will you be willing to give up the possibility of domestic release?
Director Jia "corrected" Sir's words: that is definitely unwilling, then it can only be called "giving up with tears".
"Haven't we been in tears all these years, we have to contain it, because it is better to have tears than to wronged ourselves in creation."
In recent years, the sixth generation of directors seems to have returned to the international perspective again, Wang Xiaoshuai's "Fertile Soil" has become a "dark horse" in the Berlin Film Festival, and in Cannes this year, Lou Ye entered the "Special Screening Unit" with his new film, but the mainland media hardly mentioned these Chinese films.
However, compared with Jia Zhangke's "Merry Generation", it seems to have become a little more unhurried.
Even, in the movie, two young people's favorite non-professional actors, Gojo people, Nishina and Shigeru, were added, and they also contributed an episode "Exactly the Same" for "The Merry Generation".
At first glance, you will feel that the temperament of this song is really in line with this song:
In spring, the fragrance of flowers is everywhere
Everywhere is full of fantasies
People are still the same as before
Naive, rotten.
Sir asked, "Do you come to the two of them for business considerations, or do you want them to bring traffic?" ”
Director Jia didn't think about it, and said, "They have to get me some traffic!" ”
But, jokes are jokes.
said seriously: "But, in fact, I haven't thought about it like this, because in reality, they are all my good friends, and I like them very much, so I take pictures of the people I know and like, and I am myself."
You have no traffic, I don't know, I haven't seen, I haven't dealt with it, and I can't cooperate, I'm a stupid director. ”
In addition, I can reveal a little bit of news to you, the roles of Nishina and Shigeru will appear in the second half of the "modern", and at that time, it was also during the epidemic to find them to shoot, what if one was quarantined, closed and delayed?
Then I can only find my relatives and friends.
Director Jia's love for Renke and Amao has only one sentence: "If I had known Renke and Amao ten years ago, they would definitely appear in my materials ten years ago." ”
Just love it.
Sir didn't ask about how "The Merry Generation" did at the box office, or what he thought the film would do in the mainland market.
Sir didn't ask whether Zhao Tao would win an award for this performance.
On the contrary, it is vulgar, and I will feel that these problems should not be considered by Jia Zhangke.
On the contrary, it destroys his presentation of time and the poetic admiration of the passage of time in the past 20 years.
Sir instead asked the last question:
Do you think "The Merry Generation" is an expression of your private feelings, a diary spanning 20 years, or your essay?
Jia Zhangke replied:
It is a diary.
But, it is a navigator's diary.
It is a sailor's diary.
is a diary about the sea.
It's a magnificent diary.
05
postscript
After the end of this questioning.
Director Jia feels that Sir is still a person who is very close to life, and he also admits that he has been paying attention to life and China's social reality.
He said, (In the past 20 years), I have not become a hard-hearted person, and every little problem in life, every new situation, it can still touch me.
He is a person who is deeply involved in life.
During the conversation, a phone call suddenly came, and after Director Jia picked it up, he said a few more words of refusal, "Teacher Zhang, I don't need to thank you", and hung up the phone.
Later, I explained to Sir that it was a programming sales class.
In this way, the more Sir thinks about it, the more interesting it becomes.
It seems that Mr. Zhang, who was in the programming sales class, didn't know that he had called Jia Zhangke's mobile phone one day to promote the course.
And Jia Zhangke doesn't seem to know that such a small act has been recorded in another text.
When three people in this time and space overlap each other, at this moment, it really makes people feel that this kind of picture is like a movie, and it is also like an interesting life, which is worth playing.
For such details, a chemical reaction is generated, just like those scenes in Jia Zhangke's films.
In those inadvertently, or in those unspoken words.
We can already feel the ubiquitous banter in life, and the romance of its subtleties.
△ The police said to Bin Bin, who was robbing the bank with explosives: "Anyway, you can also take a lighter!" ”
Tomorrow, Sir is about to start my trip to Cannes.
What kind of interesting things will be released with a good movie.
Let's rub our hands together and look forward to it!
The picture in this article comes from the Internet
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