The Zishan Fish Recipe tells the story of the Joseon Dynasty biologist Ding Ruoquan's process of compiling the book "Zishan Fish Recipe" that records fish. Director Li Maoyi has directed high-scoring masterpieces such as "The King's Man", "Si Mourning", "Dongzhu", "Park Lie" and so on, so "Zishan Fish Recipe" has been quite topical from the preparation stage.
In addition, the film is presented in all black and white tones, showing the artistic conception of ink painting, adding a sense of historical heaviness, which is also The second black and white film shot by Li Haoyi after the film "East Pillar". Film emperor-level actor Xue Jingqiu is also the first time to shoot a historical theme film, so it makes fans look forward to it more.
According to media reports, at the beginning of the film's filming, director Li Liyi announced that the production fee would be reduced, and the two leading actors Xue Jingqiu and Bian Youhan took the initiative to adjust the film remuneration to a level where the production fee could be adapted. Any filmmaker competed for two actors to work with, and such a bold move attracted the attention of the film industry.
A relevant person in the film industry said: "Putting aside the issue of film production scale and remuneration, it is worth paying attention to the actors who want to work together to resonate with the willingness of producers and directors. "In the trend of high actor remuneration and participation in dividends, "Zishan Fish Recipe" has been unusual since the beginning of production.
1. The birth of the individual
Li Maoyi's fourteenth film, Zishan Fish Recipe, tells the story of Ding Ruoquan (Xue Jingqiu), who was exiled to Montenegro Island, and Chang Da (Bian Youhan), a fisherman of Montenegro Island, sharing knowledge and hearts with each other. This narrative of friendship integrates the values of sexual theory, Western learning, and practical learning, and adds the charm of black and white films.
The film begins with the image of Ding Ruoquan, sitting alone on a sailboat in the vast sea, on the way to the island of Montenegro, a place of exile. Transcending the image of loneliness and uneasiness drifting, Ding Ruoquan is faced with the beginning of a new relationship. There, he searched for new paths and met new people.
Among the newcomers Ding Ruoquan met on Montenegro Island was a young man named Changda. Born on the island of Montenegro and fully aware of marine life, Changda, a fisherman who is more concerned with reading than a fish. In 1814, the name Changda was mentioned several times in the ichthyological book "Zishan Fish Recipe" written on the island of Montenegro.
The preface reads: "There are Zhang Deshunchang on the island, Dumen Xieke, Du good ancient books, Gu family poor books, hands can not release the scrolls, and those who see can not be Bo." Naturally, the nature is quiet and precise, and all the grass, trees, birds and fish are connected to the eyes and ears, and they all scrutinize and contemplate their sexual reasoning, so their words are credible. Yu Sui invited the museum, and with it paid attention to the order of the compilation, the name is "Zishan Fish Recipe". ”
The name "Changda", which appears in the preface to "Zishan Fish Recipe", is the beginning of the movie "Zishan Fish Recipe". Just as the story of the artist Kong Ji briefly mentioned in "The Diary of Yanshan Jun" gave birth to the movie "The King's Man", director Li Maoyi also told the jewel-like story of the shadow-like existence in history, although it did exist, but did not leave a detailed record.
Li Maoyi's black-and-white era drama "Zishan Fish Recipe" tells the story of Ding Ruoquan's encounter with Changda and the process of writing "Zishan Fish Recipe".
On the surface, it is the story of Ding Ruoquan and Changda transcending identity, age and thought, and sharing friendship, but the story does not stop there, and continues to extend to the road of "The Book of The Heart of the Shepherd" and the road of "Zishan Fish Recipe", telling the performance and practice of modern thought.
His brothers Ding Ruoyong and Ding Ruoquan, who had studied together since childhood, were also exiled together. The two brothers, who were favored by Zhengzu, were unhindered in their studies, and they were also deeply addicted to Western studies (Catholic studies), which became a curse. During the "Xin You Persecution" (a Catholic persecution that occurred 1 year after Zhengzu's death) in 1801, Ding Ruoyong was exiled to Kangjin, while Ding Ruoquan was exiled to the further island of Montenegro.
The two parted ways at the Liting Shop in Luozhou, and the parting at this time was the last time the brothers met. Until Ding Ruoquan's death, the two brothers kept in touch by letter. Ding Ruoyong left his brother Ding Ruoquan with many poems and letters full of thoughts and worries.
In the flow of land, Ding Ruoquan and Ding Ruoyong took different paths. Ding Ruoyong wrote the famous "Letter of the Shepherd's Heart" and hundreds of books in kangjin, a place of exile, criticizing the tyranny of officials and recording the policies that chiefs should follow.
On the contrary, Ding Ruoquan left behind the marine biology book "Zishan Fish Recipe", the "Song Government Private Discussion" criticizing the state's erroneous pine tree management policy, and the "Beginning and End of the Drifting Sea", which records the fisherman Wen Shunde's Sea Crusoe, which are all practical books or books related to people's lives.
There are also episodes in the film that set the book in the background. At the same time, Ding Ruoyong also expressed the idea of deciding to take the "road of "Zishan Fish Recipe", "From now on, I decided to turn my attention to pretentious learning." ”
With the help of Changda, Ding Ruoquan recorded his personal observations in writing from the growth of the fish to its use. The fish is also given the correct name, which means that it has an inherent meaning of existence.
Ding Ruoquan not only often called things by their names, but also often by Changda's name. When encountering something, it is called "Changda", and if there is a doubt, it is called "Changda".
Ding Ruoquan is not known as Confucius in the Zishan Fish Recipe, but in the name of "According to Changda", indicating his existence. Not a common man, a pariah, but an inherent individual through his name, this is the birth of the individual, the birth of modern times. From this we can see the practice of equality, the elimination of differences in identity, the emphasis on the value of the individual, which is modernity.
The bluebird that appears in the black-and-white picture at the end of the film clearly shows where "Zishan Fish Spectrum" is headed, and the director's coloring emphasizes that the bluebird is a desire for an equal and free world.
According to Ding Ruoyong's records, after Ding Ruoquan entered the island, "he drank and drank with fish and birds, and no longer added to his pride." The island is very happy and competes for the main one. "It seems that Ding Ruoquan gets along more happily with the locals, and the locals are happy to welcome him to his home, and the islanders cherish Ding Ruoquan very much."
Ding Ruoquan in the film dreams of a world without two classes and civilians, so he becomes "a more dangerous character than his brother".
The film shows the path of sexual theory and the road of Western learning, the road of the Shepherd's Heart Book and the road of "Zishan Fish Recipe", but none of the roads is the real answer. The path of "Zishan Fish Recipe" and the path of "Herdsmen's Heart Book" are indisputable to each other, just as Ding Ruoquan and Ding Ruoyong have always shared ideas.
Although Ding Ruoquan and Changda go their own way, they also worry about each other. In the second half, the emotional fiery mourning and the content of "Zishan Fish Recipe" appear at the same time, which is the climax of the two roads connecting one. This makes us aware of the old adage "The more I know my fellow travelers, the more profound I become."
2. Production process
The black-and-white film set in the Joseon Dynasty, combined with the production process of "Zishan Fish Recipe", which was mainly filmed on the island, is full of stories as interesting as movies. Let's take a look at how they made The Fish Recipe and learn the story of their production process.
Where the Zishan Fish Recipe was born.
Ding Ruoquan's home aunt's grass house, where Ding Ruoquan was exiled to the island of Montenegro, slept, ate, and wrote is one of the most important spaces in the film. Taking into account various conditions, the production team did not go to Montenegro Island but went to the nearby Daocao Island to build a house.
The house was designed by director Li Maoyi himself, and the two rooms looked at each other across the hall floor, and the middle was suddenly open, and the sea could be clearly seen.
Art director Lee Jae Sung explained: "I hope to see the house on the hillside of the sea, and after finding such a standing land, in order to enjoy the fun of hanok, I opened the window and built the house." ”
The construction site of the house is not a general movie set group, but a person who specializes in building a hanok. The film crew did not dismantle the set after the shooting, but left it intact on Dokusa Island.
Kim Sung-chul producer said: "The Shinan-gun government in South Jeolla Province plans to make use of it as a tourist attraction, so from the very beginning we wanted to make the house as strong as possible." Another reason is that although the view is nice, the same measures were taken to prevent the house from being blown away by the wind because the house is located at the outlet.
The beauty of shadows and textures.
Although the interior of the house can be imagined to be not rich, it gives the impression of cleanliness. The first thing that catches the eye is the texture of the window paper that has been pasted many times and the uneven walls.
Art director Lee Jae-sung said: "There is no smooth part of 'Zishan Fish Recipe', and we will deliberately coat it with a layer of Korean paper to make a texture like a grass hut a long time ago." Because "Zishan Fish Recipe" is a black-and-white film, there are many parts that do not use color, but use shadow and texture to produce visual effects. ”
In the film, the clothes of the fishermen of Montenegro and the costumes of the characters are too old and rough, which is also the intention. In black and white films, the characters are more vivid as the colors and textures of the costumes take on. The picture is not monotonous, but deliberately adds texture to the costumes and art, and the wrinkles of the characters are also greatly increased.
The sea is changing all the time.
Countless expressions of the sea appear in the film. There is the sea of wrath, there is the sea at sunset, there is the sea that is bright in the day, there is the sea that shines in the moonlight. Photographer Li Yitai always carries a small video camera with him on the shooting scene. Because I don't know when and where I will encounter a special moment.
The sea scene in the film was also filmed at lunchtime. "It was also raining that day, and it was a little brighter at noon, and I saw the beautiful scenery of the sun shining on the sea, and I was lucky enough to take a picture while sitting in the studio."
In the first half of the film, there is a scene where Ding Ruoquan, who misses his brother, falls into the sea. This scene also hides a secret. There is no suitable light source for the sea at night on the island of Montenegro. There is only a space of moonlight around. Setting up lights on the rocks by the sea makes it difficult to shoot from a realistic point of view.
After much thought, Lee decided to film the scene during the day. "Generally speaking, the 'day and night' of color films uses the power of blue to produce night scenes, and it is difficult to predict how the situation of black and white films will behave. So even though the color of the moon doesn't represent darkness very well, I thought that if the moon rose it would be like night, I made the moon with CG in post-work. ”
The colorful faces of black and white movies.
Although "Zishan Fish Recipe" is a black-and-white film, it gives people a bright, warm and vivid feeling. That's because the main story of the film takes place on the island of Montenegro, and the scene of Montenegro island is also very clearly filmed.
The space of the Zishan Fish Recipe is roughly divided into four places. Ding Ruoquan's Hanyang, Ding Ruoquan and Changda's Black Mountain Island, Ding Ruoquan's Niu'er Island, Changda's Luozhou.
Photographer Li Yitai uses different contrasts in different spaces to adjust the atmosphere. "The first half of Ding Ruoquan's exile contrasts strongly, giving people a bright, warm and emotional feeling when shooting on Montenegro Island, and Ding Ruoquan's Niu'er Island gives people a slightly darker feeling than it.
Changda's Luozhou was shot brightly to emphasize the irrationality of the day. Although his face is black, his clothes are white, so the contrast of the characters will also become stronger. "'Zishan Fish Recipe' is a film that shows how black and white emit a colorful light.
Magical moments.
"Most of the crew and actors continued filming on the island. The director is the most fixed, and the second is the Bian Yohan actor. "During the filming, Lee Yoo-woo, who had other schedules, traveled between the island and the land, and whenever he entered the island, he bought a lot of food to cook ramen and decoction soup for people, showing his cooking skills.
Kim Sung-chul producers said that the scene of "Zishan Fish Recipe" was "a scene of joy and intensity mixed", especially "almost all the staff on the day of the final shooting were in tears and could not forget".
That tear proved that everyone on set was immersed in the relationship between Ding Ruoquan and Changda. The cinematographer also gritted his teeth to shoot, and director Li Haoyi also cried. Xue Jingqiu, who did not shoot, worried about affecting Bian Youhan's feelings, wore a hat in the back. The scene of "Zishan Fish Recipe" is full of magical moments. ”
3. The essence of human beings lies in choice and action
A page of history engraved with light on black and white film. A faithful reproduction of history, which is the merit of director Li Maoyi. The film begins with Ding Ruoquan and Ding Ruoyong embarking on the road to exile. On the island of Montenegro, the exiled land, Ding Ruoquan met the fisherman young Changda.
In the process of exchanging knowledge with each other, Ding Ruoquan compiled the "Zishan Fish Recipe". The chemistry of the two in the process makes the plot interesting. However, they are divided by their different views of the world.
Changda, who dreams of getting ahead, wants to follow the path of Ding Ruoyong's "Herdsmen's Heart Book". Ding Ruoquan was dissatisfied with this, and he hoped that Changda would see the world from a different perspective, but Changda's vision was limited to the island.
A total of 3 color scenes are introduced in the film, all of which are images that are influenced by Ding Ruoyong's thoughts. Surprisingly colorful scenes decorate the final scene of the film.
Changda witnessed the tyranny of the officials seen in the "Pastoral Heart Book" and tried to implement it according to the guidelines in the book, but ultimately failed.
Although the plot is carried out through the so-called prisms of history and black and white film, there is a soft feeling of the "Side Mountain" version. Lee's recent film shows young people who have been frustrated by the world for holding on to their beliefs.
For these people's troubles, the solution to the way of the movie is death, release from prison, and return to their hometown, and the same is true of "Zishan Fish Recipe". The trivial fun and warmth that the film brings to people is indeed very charming. But watching this movie, I only feel very sorry.