Originally published in The Paper
Luo Qirui, the director and screenwriter of "The Thief of Time", studied film at New York University in the 1980s, co-authored a number of films with Zhang Wanting, a film classmate of New York University who later became his wife, and became famous in the Chinese film industry with films such as "Fairy Tales of Autumn" (starring Zhou Runfa and Zhong Chuhong) and "Song Dynasty" (starring Yang Ziqiong, Maggie Cheung, Wu Junmei and Jiang Wen).
In an interview with Jiao Xiongping, the two men revealed that the division of labor between the two is usually Luo Qirui writing the script, and as for who will direct it, it depends on the specific situation. Zhang Wanting said that Luo Qirui is not a person who can easily direct the tube, and he will direct "The Thief of Time", all because this is his own story.
The prototype of the brothers in the film is Luo Qirui's brother and himself who died young, and Luo Jinyi and Flora's first love in the embryonic stage is Luo Qirui's own experience, and the film transfers flowers and trees to the brother.
And Wu Junru, Ren Dahua and Li Zhiting co-starred in "The Thief of Time", which creatively adopts the perspective of children to narrate.
If most of the commercial films on the market have a kind of heavy makeup and vulgarity because of the improper use of technology, "The Thief of Time" uses the simplicity of natural carving to restore the most authentic appearance of the film, that is, the use of light and shadow and time to construct narrative space.
The main theme of "The Thief of Time" is directly related to time, and the fingering of time in the film is full of poetry -
In the movie, the measure of time is the water in the fish tank, Mrs. Luo wearing Mr. Luo's shoes made by hand, the phone call between Luo Jinyi and Flora, and the length of time between each phone call.
The location of "Thief of Time" is Wynn Street in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Wynn Street is famous for its well-preserved views of Hong Kong from the 1960s.
At that time, Hong Kong, because of the rapid growth of the population became crowded, the Tenement House became a living space for the civilian class, and the Luo family and other neighbors in the film lived in the Tenement House.
All the livelihood and livelihood of the Luo family had to be carefully planned in this square inch of space, Mr. Luo's shoe making workshop was placed at the gate for convenience and guests to be welcomed, and the attic was the secret place where the brothers were placed.
Luo Jin'er probably inherited his mother's optimistic nature and had a comedian temperament, although his lack of growth was always compared with his brother's excellence, but he would never be sad.
When he was asked by the teacher played by Xu Anhua to read out his "poor, poor, poor" grades in public, "poor difference" became "just right", which became the rhythm of his dance in front of everyone. The punishment of "reading seconds" is not known whether it is a product of that era - the teacher draws a clock with chalk on the blackboard, and Luo Jin'er's nose tip is pasted in the center of the clock, and the hour is reported every five seconds.
At the moment when Luo Jin'er read the seconds, Luo Jinyi had already crossed several hurdles on the track and field field, and Luo Jinyi on the field was unfamiliar with the rankings other than the champion. But that failed first love, let all kinds of setbacks follow -
He began to fail the exam, in exchange for his father's bitter anger, he began to miss the gold medal in the athletics field, but this is nothing compared to his diagnosis of blood cancer. Luo Jinyi's life course changed from a meteor in front of him to a degree of seconds like a year.
The English translation of "Thief of Time" is Echo of the Rainbow, the echo of the rainbow. The image of the rainbow appears in The Joyful and Brief Love affair between Luo Jinyi and Flora.
In front of Flora, Luo Jinyi always plays the role of an encyclopedia, as a well-informed Miss Qianjin, Flora is always willing to pretend to be stupid in front of Luo Jinyi, being a most humble and sincere listener, fully digesting every message conveyed by Luo Jinyi.
Luo Jinyi said that the spectral arrangement of the double rainbow is the opposite, and the form of the whole film, like the double rainbow, has a kind of mirror symmetry, from micro to macroscopic.
The white policeman who had a knife in his mouth told Luo Jin'er that if he wanted to mix well in Hong Kong, he would do well in English, and the first step in learning English was to memorize twenty-six English letters backwards. Luo Jin'er, who always has a moth in his homework, really memorized the twenty-six letters skillfully, and luo Jin'er, who looked the same as his brother when he accompanied his mother to the grave of his father and brother, he very funnyly recited the twenty-six letters backwards, for him, it was a profound memory under the imprint of time.
Because of the successive departures of Luo Jinyi and Mr. Luo, "The Thief of Years" cannot really be said to be a comedy, but the film is always light and bright, which may be related to the fact that the film is unfolded from a child's perspective. But the naughty boy Luo Jin'er, has never had a moment of sadness and heaviness? Apparently not. Feng Baobao, who he once wanted to marry as a wife, could be forged by him and sold as a celebrity signature photo, but when his brother died, he listened to his grandmother's words, as long as he was willing to give up the most beloved things and throw them into the sea of suffering, he could reunite with his relatives.
The luminous goggles, the British flag, and the goldfish bowl that he collected in the first half of the film are thrown into the "Bitter Sea" by the young Luo Jin'er at the end of the film, including his memories and his dream of becoming a pilot (that goldfish tank is his "pilot helmet").
The props in the film, each of which carries a deep remembrance of the years, the villain books and cans in the neighborhood shops are only the background, but those cultural finger-pointers are the spiritual food that people of that era and class rely on to survive.
Every time the Luo family opens a meal, they put a table board on the tree stump, and the Luo family's dining table is the annual ring of the tree, which records the flow of the years and also witnesses the family's sorrow and joy. The years are the most silent thief, but this thief is captured by Luo Qirui with images, and it is difficult to escape the memories of everyone.