Visiting Hong Kong director Wu Yonglun: Towards the peak of Chinese kung fu action films

climb! Towards the peak of Chinese kung fu action films - a visit to Hong Kong young action director Wu Yonglun

Beijing, November 8 (Xinhua) -- "With a professional attitude and dedication, we will restore the thrill of climbing Mount Everest sixty years ago, and use the courage of the wise to recreate the passionate years of that year and write national memories." On September 30, the day of the release of the movie "The Climber", Wu Yonglun, a young Hong Kong man who served as the action director of the film, wrote such a paragraph on Weibo.

As the action designer for The Climber, Wu Yonglun likened it to "Everest challenging his career." In 1999, at the age of 16, he stepped into the martial arts industry, both from the words and deeds of his father, who was also a martial artist, and from the heroic dream in his heart.

Dragon Tiger Martial Artist is a unique title for filmmakers from the martial arts industry and engaged in action design in Hong Kong, which sounds majestic, but it is actually a "life-saving" business. "I've had my nose hit, my ribs broken, and my back broken." Wu Yonglun said while comparing the wounds that the path of wuzhi's promotion is from stand-in, Weiya manipulation, deputy guidance to guidance, and it is necessary to walk with real knives and guns, and cannot speculate.

In 2006, seeing that "there is more room for development in the mainland", Wu Yonglun went north to "break into the rivers and lakes". For more than ten years, he has participated in the action direction of many films such as "Railway Flying Tiger", "Plan X", "Beijing Love Story", "Zodiac Signs", "The Richest Man in Xihong" and so on.

These ten years have also been a decade of accelerated integration between Hong Kong's dragon and tiger martial artists and mainland films and television. Martial arts instructors trained by "Chengjia Class" (Jackie Chan), "Yuan Jia Ban" (Yuan Heping), "Hong Jia Ban" (Hong Jinbao) and so on have traveled all over the mainland. Behind the films that many audiences are familiar with, there are behind-the-scenes contributions of Hong Kong Dragon and Tiger martial artists. As a member of the "family class", Wu Yonglun frankly said that when he first came to the mainland, he was "unsatisfied with the water and soil", and he should strive to run into the crew colleagues in the mainland and find a way to design the "action language" accepted by the mainland audience.

"Most of the action design in Hong Kong is based on martial arts dramas and police films, and the mainland scripts are more diversified and need more design to serve the specific era background." For example, "The Climber" has no drama, but it must reflect the sense of urgency and not be too exaggerated, and all the actions must be based on many crises. ”

A large number of "Climber" filming needs to be carried out in a cold environment at high altitudes, and Wu Yonglun faces unprecedented pressure and challenges. He admitted that with the support of modern technology, the martial arts commanders do not have to "fight for their lives" as before, including the desperate situations such as storms, ice cracks, and avalanches in "The Climber", which can be completed through computer design. But at the same time, special effects can't extinguish the unique beauty of the design.

There is a scene that is Wu Yonglun's proud work. The script requirements are vast ice and snow, between life and death, starring Wu Jing rushing down from the hillside to save people. Wu Yonglun designed Wu Jing to use the climbing ladder as a prop. "This ladder can be understood as a skateboard, with the rationality of speed; it is also like a sword, the ladder is opened to draw the sword out of the sheath, there is a little bit of Xu Ke's romantic martial arts sense." This elaborate design becomes a brilliant moment in the film.

In Hong Kong martial arts films, "the hero is great, for the country and the people" is an enduring melody. Coming to the mainland, Wu Yonglun participated in the shooting of the main theme film and entered a new stage of creation. In 2011, he served as the action director of the film "Xinhai Revolution", which commemorates the centenary of the Xinhai Revolution. In 2016, he directed the short film "The Return", which won the Best Film Award at the "626 International Day Against Drugs" sponsored by the Office of the National Narcotics Control Commission and the China Anti-Drug Foundation.

"Hollywood can make a lot of patriotic main theme films very good, some action films in the mainland like "Mekong Operation" and "Wolf Warrior" have made very successful attempts, and I also hope that through my action design, the feelings of home and country can be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people through the film." He said.

From the revolutionary years of forgetting life and death, "for the country to climb the top" of the land, to the peace of the peace, Wu Yonglun also has a deeper reflection on "patriotism": "There are many forms of patriotism, modern society has its own belief, sense of mission, when facing challenges to complete the task at the expense of their own lives. Only when everyone works hard and their country becomes stronger can the whole society and the people be protected, and Hong Kong is also a member of the country. ”

"I'm from Hong Kong, China, and I'm Chinese. I love China and Hong Kong will always be a part of China. He said.

Hong Kong's dragon and tiger martial arts predecessors once "hit" the world through movies, creating a golden age, "The Matrix", "X-Men", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Spider-Man" and other "blockbusters", the mark of "Chinese kung fu" can also be seen everywhere.

Wu Yonglun said that each action film director has his own different styles, such as Xu Ke's dashing elegance, Yuan Heping's real knife and real gun, Wu Yusen's "white pigeon violent aesthetics", and Jackie Chan's humor and humor. "My dream is to bring the unremitting spirit of the older generation of Dragon and Tiger Martial Artists to the mainland and carry it forward, create an action movie style with its own unique brand, and 'fight' to a high level in the world."

In Wu Yonglun's heart, the dream of a new generation of Dragon and Tiger Martial Artists was stirring. He is a climber.

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