Transition to shooting martial arts epic
Jia Zhangke
He visited a total of 88 individuals and their descendants who had close ties with the development of Shanghai. Many were really hard to find! During this year, I didn't dare to turn off my phone even when sleeping, for fear of missing any big shots. Ultimately, the film selected 18 characters including Yang Xiaofu (son of Yang Xingfo), Du Meiru (youngest daughter of Du Yuesheng), Zhang Xinyi (great-granddaughter of Zeng Guofan), Fei Mingyi (daughter of Fei Mu), Wei Ran (son of Shangguan Yunzhu), Chen Danqing, Chen Tuohua, Han Han, Yang Baiwan, etc., to narrate the century-long legendary story of Shanghai. The film is 138 minutes long, but Jia Zhangke still feels there's more to say, planning to create a TV version as well as publish a book of the same name.
Not a promotional video for the Expo but an exhibit
The filming lasted over a year. Jia Zhangke revealed that his original idea was about a traveler carrying a bag, boarding a ship in Chongqing, passing through Wuhan, all the way to Shanghai, along the way people would tell their feelings and memories about Shanghai, and when the ship finally arrived in Shanghai, the movie would end. However, he eventually overturned his own concept: the original idea was a trick, because I am not from Shanghai, this way I could avoid my shortcomings. But I found that since there are ample funds and time, it might be better to directly confront this city, which is indeed tiring, but very exciting. For this, Jia Zhangke reviewed a massive amount of historical materials. To select scenes, he spent a month as a backpacker, leaving home at 6:30 every morning with his bag, walking until it got dark, using his eyes and feet to feel this city.
Jia Zhangke remarked that he was often moved by the words and life details of those he interviewed. Professor Zhang Xinyi is the great-granddaughter of Zeng Guofan, and her father was also the secretary-general of Wu Peifu. She told Jia Zhangke her love story. Jia Zhangke said: I asked Chen Danqing to watch this segment, and he said it preserved the language of old Shanghai, her Shanghai dialect is completely different from the current young people's Shanghai dialect, extremely elegant. Listening to her language, it feels like reading a novel by Eileen Chang. I asked her what she felt after so many years without returning to Shanghai, she said, as a woman, following her husband around, for me, this kind of wandering is romantic. I thought it was very moving, feeling like a novel.
Unable to understand history but moved by stories
Shooting "Legend of the Sea" was a special experience for Jia Zhangke. He was always ready to fly somewhere to interview some legendary figures, falling into deep thought after each interview for several days. Jia Zhangke stated that previously his films focused on ordinary people, while this time almost everyone was a legendary figure. He set a rule for himself when choosing interviewees: not finding experts and scholars, but directly finding historical participants and people with stories. Because I don't need theoretical narratives, I'm looking for vivid, precious personal recollections from the participants, seeing individual fates within historical events. He cleverly combined some valuable visual materials with the interviewees. For example, when interviewing the Chinese producer of Antonioni's film in China, he shot images in the same position Antonioni used in his 1972 documentary "China," in the middle of the lake pavilion.
The 63rd Cannes Film Festival will open tomorrow. Jia Zhangke's "Legend of the Sea" and Wang Xiaoshuai's "Sunset Over Chongqing" respectively entered the Un Certain Regard and main competition sections, marking the first time the Sixth Generation twin stars simultaneously entered Cannes. Yesterday, Wang Xiaoshuai was dashing in Beijing, emboldened by alcohol, while Jia Zhangke quietly came to Chengdu to attend an event, laughing and saying, it would be best if each of us won an award! Sipping a cup of tea, Jia Zhangke recounted his own Shanghai legend. It is known that on the 14th, Jia Zhangke will bring the freshly made copy to Cannes, where the global premiere will take place on the 16th, followed by screenings at the Shanghai World Expo in June and then commercial theaters domestically. After shooting documentaries for four years, Jia Zhangke will transition again, with his commercial martial arts epic "In the Qing Dynasty" scheduled to start production in October.
Embarking on Cannes Again from Chengdu
Du Qifeng personally served as instructor
The film was initially named "Shanghai Legend," but during the editing process, his idea changed again. Originally, "Shanghai Legend" was meant to tell the history of Shanghai, but the final 18 characters in the movie narrated from the 1930s all the way to 2010, encompassing not only personal history but also the history of the city and, to some extent, the history of China. "Shanghai Legend" seemed too limiting, as if it was just about Shanghai, which wasn't true. It included a description of China's modern survival experience. Wanting to change it to "Legend of the Sea," providing greater inclusiveness and more information. The film was assisted by the Expo Bureau, but Jia Zhangke emphasized: this is still a Jia Zhangke work, not a promotional video for the Expo, but an exhibit to be presented to the world at the Expo.
Since the 2006 release of "Still Life," Jia Zhangke has been passionate about shooting documentaries, with "Dong" and "Useless" successively entering the Venice Film Festival, pioneering the precedent for Chinese documentaries entering Europe's top three film festivals. After "Legend of the Sea," cities like Nanjing and Tianjin also hope for him to shoot "Nanjing Legend" and "Tianjin Legend," but Jia Zhangke does not want to turn his legends into Zhang Yimou-style impression series. I now particularly want to shoot feature films. "In the Qing Dynasty" will begin production in Shanxi in October this year, a plan set since 2006, delayed so long due to busy documentary shooting, some overseas producers who paid deposits had to return them. This is not only Jia Zhangke's first commercial blockbuster but also a martial arts film. Jia Zhangke is quite confident: I myself am a martial arts fan. I think there's still space in martial arts films. It is reported that after confirming the kung fu choreographer, they will determine the cast, deciding whether to choose actors who can fight or those who need stunt doubles, with plans for the film to be released during next year's summer blockbusters season.