1. About the title
【Earth and Longevity】There are both the concept of space "heaven and earth" and the concept of time " long and long".
Echoing the English name [So Long , My Son], the questions all fall into the length of time .
The background music "Friendship Is Everlasting" played several times in the first part of the film, symbolizing the farewell , and expressing the helplessness and sadness of "this time, it will be a goodbye".
As the music came to an abrupt end , the beauty and expectations of life were forever fixed in a specific youthful time.
Time is impermanent, disturbed like the sea breeze , eroded like the tide ; destined to change everyone in this sad story.
There are traces of the years, and what will always remain in their hearts is an indescribable pain.
Second, the time axis
Simply draw the time axis of "Earth and Sky". If the [central line] is used as the watershed of space, the long time scroll will be folded in the space transformation .
From Baotou, Inner Mongolia in the north , to Lianjiang , Fujian in the south .
In the great transformation of the north-south space, the audience felt the grand social change.
The changes of the times and society have created a series of historical events (the return of educated youth to the city, family planning, crackdowns, reform and opening up, the wave of laid-offs, the wave of going abroad, the second-child policy...), which together constitute a chain of interlocking. And time is like a gear on the machine tool of a giant processing production line , driving the ups and downs of the individual destiny of the characters . Whether you like it or not, it pushes you to go, pushes you to change , and processes you and me into batches of neat and uniform batches. "Finished product" . And the defective products among them will be doomed to be eliminated.
In addition, it is obvious that from 1995 to 2010, there were not many incidents and conflicts in the film; after around 2000 (Yaojun and Moli met and Liyun committed suicide), there were a lot of leftovers in the nearly 10 years from 2010. White. Such an "unbalanced" plot arrangement has been widely criticized by the audience. We can’t help but ask: Is this because people choose to forget after living for a long time? Or because "something can't be said" ?
3. Narrative axis
In terms of narrative style, the first half of the film uses a lot of [interlude] narrative techniques to restore the theme by deliberately disrupting the timing and reorganizing memory fragments .
By simply sorting out the relationship between the narrative time of the film and the duration of the film, a simple trend graph is obtained, much like an electrocardiogram.
The constantly beating timeline in the previous section, accompanied by the fleeting scene changes, gives people a sense of pressure from the " passing of time" , mobilizing the audience to maintain a high degree of concentration, and feel the .
In the 60 minutes after the film, life gradually returned to normal , and the audience's nervous emotions were released; it symbolized the intractable pain in the hearts of the characters in the film, and finally returned to peace .
On the whole, it is tight and then loose. There is no subtitle prompt about the time and place in the first 120 minutes; of course, this may not be important, because in the "buffer time" of the next 60 minutes, the audience will be in their minds. Complete the story chain in chronological order.
But objectively speaking, this arrangement made the three-hour story less exciting , resulting in a gap in expectations before and after .
Four, a few details
1//The tide
The tide in the coastal city, the ebb and flow, symbolizes the unbearable depression and sadness in Yaojun's heart.
The scars left to them by the times engulfed him like a tide; he and Liyun should have worked hard for a new life, but with the adoption of Xingxing gone, he once again fell into depression and a sense of failure. Looking at the tide, listening to the sound of the tide, the tide tickled his heartstrings over and over again, sighing at the vicissitudes of life, and could not help but feel sad.
This leads us to sigh about fate: the society has undergone great changes, beliefs have declined, and family accidents have changed. Life has lost both joy and light, but also lacks expectations and meaning. What should we do? How to adapt to sudden changes? Thinking alone, where is home? Where is the last safe haven?
2// The pain of being alone
Is being alone really that painful? Need a forbearing couple to spend most of their lives saying goodbye to their dead only son? There was once a documentary about a group of parents who lost their only child; in fact, even if they gave birth and adopted again later, the pain of losing their only child was never easily forgotten.
3// Haiyan and Haohao
Let's start with the lens in the picture below. The characters in the two levels (foreground and background) in the picture form a strong echo. In the foreground is Haiyan 's panicked look, and in the blurred background is Haohao 's figure curled up in fear. Both the background and the background illustrate the character's state of mind at the time: Haiyan should have thought of protecting .
When Haohao grew up, he confessed that he felt embarrassed in the face of the laughter of his friends , and pushed the stars.
This reminds me of Haiyan, who was also forced to send her best friend to the hospital for birth control under pressure from the group .
Under the subconsciousness of "everyone is watching", the mother and son chose "self-protection" and " sacrifice friendship" by coincidence .
This is not only the distortion of human nature by a pair of "invisible hands", but also worthy of reflection by every "unconscious" perpetrator.
4// If you have money, you can give birth
Before her death, Haiyan said, "We have money to give birth now."
It seems that in the era of "no money", the harm caused to Liyun is unintentional.
It's not about money, but it seems to be about money. The tragedy of Liyun's infertility is not a fine or insufficient feeding, but the fact that reproductive rights must be subordinated to the overall situation of economic development.
5// Liyun's letter
The letter Liyun wrote to Yaojun was only read by Yaojun, and the whole text contained the word "complete" .
Just as the husband and wife left their hometown back then to complete the peaceful life of Haohao's family, Liyun's suicide was also to complete each other.
Yaojun
I'm sorry
Follow me to escape for so many years
Since getting here
Time seems to have stopped
We have nowhere else to go
But the days go on
let's go
I thought there were stars
everything can start over
Looks like I was wrong again
look alike
Not our star after all
Thank you
never give up on me
we all tried our best
I'm tired
very tired
I think
if i go
you can also start over
I would have thought
the sea is in sight
But I'm still afraid
you can't find me
send me home
Director Wang communicated with the audience in the live broadcast room of #Elephant Dianying#, and patiently answered the audience's questions. There are a total of 28 questions, from which you can get a glimpse of some of the director's creative intentions in "Long Time".
The questions and answers roughly follow their themes:
01. Control of narrative rhythm
02. Yaojun and Jasmine's extramarital affair
03. The departure and return of the adopted boy
04. The difference between Chinese and English names
05. The meaning of the hospital
06. Memories that should not be erased
07. Laughter and "nothing to say" through the window
08. How the new generation "understands" the film
09. Art, Photography and Scheduling
10. Whether the two companies finally "reconciled"
11. Filling the memory of the 80s
12. Social Change and Humanity Transformation
13. Spatial Choice: Inner Mongolia and Fujian
14. Consideration of the dense interspersed time and space in the first part of the film and the gentle narration in the latter part of the film
15. Liyun's Forbearance and Powerlessness to Fate
16. How to evaluate Wang Jingchun's performance
17. About the only child coming of age and the release of the second child
18. The long-term absence and return of realist films
19. Shooting Planning and Preparation
20. The mutual fulfillment of the two families
21. Why are Yaojun and his wife cowardly and forbearing
22. The impermanence and cruelty of life
23. The tree in the body
24. How to evaluate Wang Yuan's performance
25. The bitterness beneath the warmth at the end of the film
26. How to view Liyun's role
27. A superficial settlement
28. The pain of bereavement and life itself
The record is as follows:
Question 1: About the control of narrative rhythm
Good guide Wang! How did you manage to grasp the narrative rhythm in the two family stories spanning three decades and the changing background of a big era ?
Director Wang:
This span is very long, and it is impossible to cover everything. So I chose the beginning of this story: these two families, and then have this wonderful child, and (their) expectations for the future; but, life is still very long, time is still very long, and many things are lost in time ( become) uncontrollable, and various changes will occur. Therefore, from this perspective, we can extract this and their changes, and then extract their destiny , and then in the long river of time, just like memories and memories , extract it in pieces , so that both It ensures the span of time, and at the same time allows the audience to follow in emotion .
And although everyone hopes to have a better life and future, the changes and changes of the big era, society and the whole will affect their individual destiny at any time . So after the several story nodes of this story happened, you can look over and watch , and then look at the whole society. What was the situation at that time ? What big changes have taken place? (Put these) in and out, thus combining the destiny of the individual with the destiny of the times .
Question 2: Yaojun and Jasmine's extramarital affair
Hello Director, there is a plot that I have been unable to figure out. In the movie, why Yaojun had different feelings for Jasmine , Liyun told him that they were living for each other now, and if she wanted to divorce, she agreed. Did she know that there was a child between them? What effect does the design of this extramarital affair have on the emotional changes of the couple in the movie?
Director Wang:
The main purpose of this episode is that in a long period of time, our lives will undergo unexpected changes . These changes may not be possible in the original life, but they often occur. Some unexpected, we often say that the plot of life may be more complicated and unexpected than the script, the movie .
Then, in the process of Jasmine's growth as a teenager, in the process of puberty development, in fact, she grew up in two older brothers and this big family, and there is a big age gap between her and several older brothers, so she is affected by this . Influence, she has a kind of deep affection . And this thing, after Yaojun and the others left in an accident, deeply hurt her, and she (for this) deeply felt heartache ; in this case, this relationship would be buried in her own heart , if they (Yaojun) Husband and wife) have been living like this, there may not be so many things. When they meet again after so many years, they are actually hidden in Liyun (here should be Jasmine), including the inexplicable one in Yaojun . Emotions worked . Therefore, this accident between them is not a derailment of life or an expansion of desire in the general sense , but a re-invigoration of memory . But what was unexpected was that I was pregnant, and then everyone had to face a new problem. In the end, everyone chose to be rational, and life had to go down.
And Liyun, I don't think she knew exactly what was going on. But a woman's intuition may have a texture in her aura in her life, which led to the association: "Do you think it is this kind of mutual dependence, all for me and for each other? In fact, Yaojun is a man in this world. At that time, he still has a chance, and he can have a second chance in life , is it because I delayed him here?" So her sixth sense in this kind of aura raised this (question), maybe they This kind of topic I have encountered in my life appears in a special, ambiguous, and inexplicable atmosphere. This is also a common situation in life.
Question 3: The departure and return of the adopted boy
The boy played by Wang Yuan, why is it so easy to rebel, leave home, and return ? What is the purpose of setting such a line?
Director Wang:
I understand the meaning of your general question. Actually, it is not easy, but it is: in the whole process of such a long time and life, some things may omit their antecedents, and only see this result. We are often in life, I don’t know how old you are, if you go further down, you will often see the result, but you don’t know the antecedents and causes. So many things in life, not all (every thing) you know the cause and effect, the role of Wang Yuan we saw, he is a result, there was a lot of time and blank before . This is the normal state of life , and we can't see everything from the perspective of our lives .
Liu Xing, played by Wang Yuan, is precisely at the juncture where this result is about to appear. His rebelliousness caused this result, and then he was tired of playing their role as their biological son , plus his youthful rebellion . So this is a play of results, we can push back and imagine, (causing) this life situation for them for so many years.
Question 4: The difference between Chinese and English names
Director Wang, this film depicts the changes in the fate of ordinary Chinese families over the past 30 years, and the long-lasting friendship has witnessed their precious friendship. Very impressed to see. Here I have two questions: 1) What is the meaning of the difference between Chinese and English names ? 2) In this story, there have been so many changes but there are no bad people. Is this your wish to believe in the inherent goodness of human nature ? Thanks! !
Director Wang:
In fact, this play is mainly about life itself, whether it is "Long Time" or "so long my son". This pair of parents, after losing their child, spent almost half their life with this ceremony to say goodbye to their child . This is all made up of time and life ; ,nothing! Because the cause of their incident is an unspeakable affection, an unspeakable thing, because no one can blame it. Life has encountered such a change and disaster, and it is impossible to blame the children. It is impossible to blame anyone, so as a (I still think) two kind people, when such kind people face this kind of change, many times, they can only bear it by themselves .
And in this life itself, of course, there must be bad people and good people. However, in a large part, there is actually a gray area, not black and white, it has a gray area. In this kind of thing, everyone may act out of his own not subjective or active, but helpless ; It is a kind of life itself, or this society, whether it is a structure or a state, which endows a kind of behavior pattern of [you cannot decide yourself] , so you can't say how bad it is? Or how good is who? It is a very complicated and ambiguous life.
Regarding the plot, usually in melodrama and genre dramas, there will be opposites, good and bad, so that the audience can distinguish good from evil, but in this kind of life drama or our real life, sometimes it is really difficult . In this matter, such as the temporary misunderstanding between your classmates, or this temporary injury, you think it is a huge injury , but it is pulled into the long axis of time, or how many years later you see, the actual There may be misunderstandings, omissions, or hostility that should not exist at all . But this kind of reconciliation takes time, and this kind of understanding and seeing clearly takes time; for a while, you may decide with your emotions, but it doesn’t matter in terms of time.
Question 5: The meaning of the hospital
I would like to ask about the four hospital appearances in the film . The first time Xingxing died, the second time the second child died, the third time Yongmei was rescued, the fourth time Haiyan died, and Haohao also became a doctor when he grew up, do these have any meaning? What about ?
Director Wang:
right. Yes, the hospital. Well, this movie, whether it's "Long Time" or "So Long My Son" from the title, is actually mostly about time, about life and death , and the occurrence of these things is of course directly related to the hospital. , So when Haohao grew up to be a doctor, might it have something to do with his childhood experiences and his personal thinking about life? I didn't say it explicitly, but subconsciously, I felt that there are actually a lot of inevitable things to experience in human life.
Question 6: Memories that should not be erased
What is sadder than a person being forgotten by the world is that an era is forgotten. When an era is forgotten, the proof that everyone in this era existed is erased. Thanks to director Xiaoshuai for using his film to record the proof that we ordinary people and this era once existed.
Director Wang:
Well, I probably understand your question, or statement. Yes, I think, from the earliest time in our human history, we have to look for some kind of recorded symbols , like oracle bone inscriptions or like some unearthed things. Therefore, this kind of sorting out of memory and tradition is the most important ; without this, we would not know about the previous history, "Where do we come from? Who are we?" Our development is so fast, so we still can't forget, there are some things to remember, no matter what era you have gone through, good or bad, no matter how good or bad your family and your personal experience are, this memory is still very important . Of course, for bad things, people tend to want to delete, delete memories, and format them; they want better things, but it's not that you can forget them if you want, but you need to face them.
The working class reflected in this movie is actually a very mainstream and dominant class in a large part of our time in China. Then, after social transformation and reform , they will gradually become marginalized and are no longer this mainstream group. . However, we don't necessarily have to adopt an attitude of forgetting. They once existed, were important, and were brilliant. Maybe they were old, retired or laid off, went to the sea, or transferred their identities to become businessmen and so on. But this is all part of our China's history , and it is now. I made this film probably just to sort out and record this history, and tell them that we will not easily forget .
So I hope that this movie will let your grandparents, parents, brothers and elders watch it, that is, let them touch this part of their lives, and some movies are still recording and remembering these things. This is also a kind of psychological comfort and relief to us ordinary people .
Question 7: Laughter and laughter through the window and "nothing to say"
Hello, Director Wang, may I ask what is the meaning of the camera filming the laughter and laughter of the house gathering through the window after Zhao Yanguozhang's Xinjian was released from prison, and then when Shen Yingming returned to Xinjian, the relationship between the Shen and Liu families was "going to the house". One piece, I have nothing to say." Liu Yaojun's family has been forbearing after the loss of his son, but he did not vent and quarrel broke out . There is only a fragment of Shen Yingming carrying a knife to Liu's family and letting his son pay for his life. Liu's family endured the pain and separated from Shen's family and his hometown. Is processing too much? Because in my opinion, forbearance is always limited.
Director Wang:
Shooting through the window is actually a kind of fun in the big winter; we often have this in our life: when we are alone, we see other houses brightly lit and a little foggy, and then everyone is happy in it, and it will be more Seems lonely outside.
Yaojun and Liyun's departure, I think, has multiple meanings: First, when such a change occurs in ordinary life, the family and the surrounding environment are indeed in a relatively delicate and awkward situation ; because In order to protect them , you can actually not mention it, but they ( Yaojun and his wife ) will feel other people's eyes, whispering behind their backs, and if they reunite with their best friends at the same time, then some things will be It’s hard to mention, I’m always avoiding something and avoiding something. In this case, all the original beauty has changed, and the best past cannot be returned . Just like if the husband and wife are in a commotion and have some troubles that cannot be avoided, there will be cracks in the reunion after breaking the mirror. But this matter is a big deal for them. In a small circle, when they want to go out, people behind them look at him. For example , when people are laughing and laughing , they will be silent when they appear , etc. This is a huge torture for them; They can only hide, so it's better to go far away and fly to a new place, so that without these visions, they can start a new family , such as adopting stars, letting others see them as normal, and forgetting their past, which is a intention.
The other is that they (Yao Jun and his wife) are also trying to help each other (Yingming family), because their situation is actually a kind of torture to Shen Yingming's family . So instead of doing this, it's better for you to be fine, let's go, you live a good life, and you live together with Haohao, don't worry about every time you go out because we are together and everyone is so close. That is, if your life is like this, you will take it on yourself. This is also what I want to say, not only Chinese people, but also people with kindness, conscience and conscience. He is generally like this. It is often this way that is easy to think for others. Really saddened . It's from life, it's not the whole thing, but it's part of it.
Question 8: How does the new generation "understand" the film
Good guide Wang. I am about the same age as Haohao and Xingxing in the movie. There are a lot of symbols about those times in the movie. If they are looming, I or my parents can understand them. But those young people born in the 1990s or younger, regardless of their understanding of the background of the times, can they empathize and "understand"? Are you confident? Or were you making this movie expecting them to grow up and come back and understand?
Director Wang:
No matter what era it came from, I think watching such a film, his basic and final results, motivations, and motivations are: not to understand , these many things in life, not to understand and understand concepts , It is the concept of experience, the concept of seeing . In this way, although the post-95s or post-00s now see these landscapes or scenes that they have never seen before, and this scene is the road their parents and grandparents have traveled, they will feel it. It's alright, not necessarily to understand.
Of course, the premise is that the young man, if he cares , he is willing to accept this. Of course, if he doesn't want to accept it, when he grows older and reaches a certain age, he will care and pay attention to this, and then he will have a deeper understanding.
 But if I introduce this to my parents and elders, maybe they will have a better understanding, because they all came from here. After the long-term marketization of Chinese films, there is a lack of realism .
Question Nine: Art, Photography and Scheduling
Hello Director Wang, you have replaced a Korean photographer this time. For the 1/2 of the handheld photography and 1/2 of the fixed shot, the director is arranged differently due to the conflict of the plot or is arranged according to the timeline, and In terms of film art, how did the director instruct the artist to plan the art atmosphere of three different periods to express the emotions of life?
Director Wang:
In fact, the most important thing about this play is that there is a lot of work in terms of art. Because its time span changes, sometimes it is very subtle, sometimes it is very large, and now this time and space has undergone huge changes . These are all carefully produced by art. I spent a lot of money and energy and Time, let's look for all the details at that time to fill it in, make it all look believable, and change is going to happen , every few years later, there is a change, this is to be done fully. Well, if such a foreign photographer comes here, in fact, if the reality you provided is real, he will be in it as a dispatcher, and he will implement it as a light; and the housing structure in China is relatively simple. , especially in the past, a small room lived in a few people, or even several generations, then our scheduling would be limited, in this case, whether it is hand-held or fixed, as long as he can display this space, let the actors in There are very free activities and performances inside.
Question 10: Will the two families finally "reconcile"?
How does the director view the Yingming family? Especially the role of Yingming , compared to Haiyan, the role of Yingming seems to be less three-dimensional, and his guilt is not very obvious. Did the two really reconcile?
Director Wang:
The word everyone uses here is "reconciliation" , but I don't agree with the word "reconciliation" . In this film it extends the timeline and the breadth and length of life, it cannot be solved by "reconciliation" . It's not a hug of "Okay, okay, I forgive you". There is a meeting and hug here. There are a lot of things that can't be said . These words are hidden underneath , and on the surface they are friendly , so That is not a reconciliation of its own, but a kind of life . After years of being together, there are some things that need not be said explicitly . This kind of concept, and then modern people will use material things to solve it, don’t buy a suite, give you a suite, hope to resolve, hope for redemption, hope for repentance, etc. These are not words, but caused by life itself .
If everyone is interested, for example, when you go home, ask your parents or grandparents to learn about it; for example, in this area where you live, do your elders have anything to do with neighbors, colleagues, or not? What kind of grudges would there be? Because you usually can't see it. Right? After you go back, it is impossible for everyone's parents to tell you these things, so you have to observe, if you ask carefully, the so-and-so family and the so-and-so family are actually so reconciled on the surface, and they actually have that kind of past, What a misunderstanding and hostility. But in life, everyone seems to be in harmony . This is the phenomenon of life itself . In fact, if you are not good, you might as well ask.
Then once I know my grandparents, my grandparents and grandparents over there, there was such a thing in the early years, or (because of) some kind of thing, so I can't solve it, but in today's society everyone They all live in this community, and everyone has to live like this. Because you can't move, and he can't move, so it's impossible to meet each other every day with angry eyebrows, or mutual hostility. Life has covered this up , everyone is normal, and you can even nod to each other. In a certain occasion, when you need to appear together, you will find out, "Why is life so complicated? Why don't they take revenge? Ah? Why don't they quarrel?" It's all over, so you can learn about it, through this movie and thinking, to think about or ask about some past events, maybe it will give you inspiration .
Question Eleven: Filling the Memory of the Eighties
Some people say that the 1980s are actually farther from us than the Qing Dynasty, and it is difficult to grasp the essence. Others say that every 30 years of history will form deviations. Do you agree with this view?
Director Wang:
Regarding the concept of the 1980s that is farther than the Qing Dynasty, it is because you may watch too many Qing palace dramas on TV dramas now. Every day is a Qing palace drama, and there are various shooting bases everywhere; on the contrary, the traces of the 1980s become more It wears off more and more, and then there are too few film and television works, so you will feel as if the Qing Dynasty is closer than that time, which is precisely why a lot of things have to be done to fill the history .
Question 12: Social Change and Humanity Transformation
When we face injustices and even tragedies in the world, we often attribute the reasons to the society and the system. It is necessary to investigate the shortcomings of the society and the ills of the system. But in terms of literature, we remind readers to face human nature, especially the evil nature of human nature , I am afraid it is a more important mission . Do you think you have been talking about the era of cross-length issues, do you think this is more profound , and will it be good for artistic completion?
Director Wang:
This kind of good or evil, tragedy or comedy, and some kind of injustice in life and the world. It is comprehensive, not isolated, and it is not the evil of human nature that can cause this transformation of the other party and others . Of course, the major trends and changes formed by society and the entire political or system itself will of course affect people, because everyone is in this pattern, so it is a very complex and three-dimensional aspect. Specifically, the evil between people; from a larger perspective, some big values formed by the relationship between society and people, as well as changes in the value system, will also form injustice among people . Therefore, any point involved needs to be related to specific stories and specific needs. A movie like this "Long Time" is about time and a long life, so there are many more complicated things in it. .
Question 13: Spatial Choice: Inner Mongolia and Fujian
Hello director, the film forms a spatial connection between Baotou, Inner Mongolia and Lianjiang, Fujian. Why did you choose these two locations as the geographical background of the story?
Director Wang:
If their family wanted to leave, they would choose a place that was relatively isolated from the past, and could avoid a similar reminder to them . At the same time, when they had an accident, going south was a trend of social change in China at that time. They all went to the south to start a business, develop, make money, re-employ or leave their jobs and go to the sea. So these are all major trends. Finally decided their direction. In the north, as Inner Mongolia is in the north, it is also a relatively heavy place for the entire Chinese industry. There are a large number of working classes there, which just fits the character setting of this movie.
Question 14: Consideration of the dense interspersed in time and space in the first part of the film and the gentle narration in the latter part of the film
Hello, after the movie got out of the narrative mode of intertwining memories and reality, you still made such a long "reconciliation" scene, I would feel that Haohao's mother died and the repentance began, plus the showdown scene of Haohao, telling the story The change in the method, the reduction in the amount of information, and the more explicit and direct way of expression will make you feel a particularly strong sense of separation from the first two hours. What do you think about the last hour or so of the movie? Will there be some regrets?
Director Wang:
Well, again, you can reconsider the meaning of the word "reconciliation". If some people say that as soon as they see everyone's reunion, as soon as they see everyone's mutual exchange, this smile on the surface, or "Oh, why are you here?" , this kind of polite remarks are words of reconciliation? You can think about it, in fact, in our life, I mentioned a lot of such scenes just now, all of which are the surface of this life , it does not mean that it is a reconciliation deep inside , and the world needs time to think about it , this is impossible Children elaborated. So what about the latter case? It is because they entered the present time and space later, and the two of them in the present time and space encountered such a thing, so everything in this matter stopped and returned to the original; then in the first half, these intensive time condensed them. In the first few decades, so it has a considerable amount of information , and the change and structure of this narrative also changes according to our space and time.
Question 15: Liyun's Forbearance and Powerlessness to Fate
Hello director, Li Yun's life has always been restrained and forbearing, which seems to be typical of women in that era, but there is no emotional explosion from beginning to end. As an audience, it is also distressed and depressed. The closure of this emotional outlet makes people feel Aftertaste. Is this expression to highlight the goodness of human nature or to make us reflect on the unspeakable pain that the times have given to everyone? or something else?
Director Wang:
Liyun does not mean to represent all or all of the universality, but it may be a typical person among the elders I have come into contact with, and they are also part of the crowd; and my tolerance for their fate will Even more compassionate , and whether this is caused by the society of the times and their fate in life, how many people are under fate ? ! It can only be like this, then how many people are lucky enough to escape under fate, and even reverse? This is all in life, any situation of that kind can happen in life, and Liyun and Yaojun may really come down like this in this tide of fate . In this regard, I think that with our fathers, all our fathers can do something... Under the tide of this big society and the big era, it is really difficult for people to say that they can solve problems completely on their own. , so you are lucky to be on the shore when some floods break out; if you are in the water, you are really powerless .
Question 16: How to evaluate Wang Jingchun's performance
Why did Director Wang invite Teacher Jing Chun to play this role, and will there be any cooperation in the future?
Director Wang:
Well, if you are interested, you can watch the film I made a few years ago called "Me 11". This film is played by Wang Jingchun. In a certain way, it is my father's characteristics. This way, a deep friendship has been established. Then his acting skills are also increasing day by day, becoming more and more mature, so when it comes to "Long Time", I think he is a very natural and Yaojun role player.
Question 17: About the only child coming of age and the release of the second child
Hello Director Xiaoshuai! I am a post-00 and an only child. At my age, the adults around me say the most is that the children of our age are lonely, and it is not as good as the older generation who are accompanied by brothers and sisters. But before I watched this film, I had never considered the impact, or even the pain, of the family planning policy on them from the perspective of my parents' generation. But we went through the second-child policy, so there were problems around us thinking we were adults and having an extra brother or sister. Do you have your own views on this reality?
Director Wang: I think, what about the only child? To a certain extent, he is also the proud son of the family. He has been spoiled all his life, and he has also received a lot of love. This is much better than that of several brothers and sisters in that big family fighting each other for food, but it is true that this feeling of loneliness must follow. It comes, and even grows bigger, and it will become more obvious when we grow up, but this is an era, and we have to face the basic structure of the era we live in. Fortunately, everything is changing, so the road to life is long and time-consuming, everyone protects themselves, and then can understand and care for their parents .
Question 18: The long-term absence and return of realist films
You once said, "This is the worst era for serious movies." Looking back now, do you think China's current movie ecology has improved compared to a few years ago? Are you looking forward to a long-lasting box office?
Director Wang:
right. Maybe a lot of things have to come over before you watch them. With such a big change in Chinese society, after everyone may have been absent from such realistic movies in the past , everyone still cheered and felt that these movies were not entertaining; but slowly I feel that these films may still be needed, so everyone has seen many similar films in the past two years and at the end of the year, and they have achieved good results. In fact, the audience is playing a role.
If our own domestic films can also be honored in such a good film festival, if everyone is willing to go to the cinema to see these kinds of films, then I think it may be from the big situation and the big environment. , will be improved by you, by the audience.
Question Nineteen: Shooting Planning and Preparation
Director Wang, your three-line trilogy is over, what else are you planning to shoot in the future home trilogy? Are you ready?
Director Wang:
Well, of course I am not ready, because the film is shot step by step, if you set this... Then set such a goal, in fact, it is also to give yourself a motivation and a hint to do as much as possible.
Question 20: The mutual fulfillment of the two families
In the scene of going to the grave, Director Wang clearly saw that there were a lot of weeds on the Xingxing's grave. It was obvious that no one had worshipped for many years. This arrangement seemed to be inconsistent with the deep guilt of the Haiyan family?
Director Wang:
In fact, there is no way to carefully explain the fundamental details of this problem, or why? Then when a family leaves and a new life is given to a family, everyone is fulfilled, burying the past , and then living as normal as possible. This is a process of fulfilling each other . So are individuals, families, and society. It seems that you are buried and deserted, but he is still there. When you look back, he is already out of touch with this society, and even the grave is out of touch with the new grave.
So if the Yingming family has been like ordinary people for a long time, going to pay homage to tombs every year, etc., it may not be what they should do. The harm to the child (Haohao) is actually inconsistent with their prior commitment. The promise is this: over time, hopefully the new generation will forget about this stuff , and it's not his problem, not his responsibility, and all of this I think is related to the normal routine of life.
Question 21: Why are Yaojun and his wife cowardly and forbearing?
When watching the movie, I wondered whether Liu Wang and his wife were a little cowardly. Thinking that this is not what you want to express, but the more you understand the choice of the characters, the more you feel that they are domesticated cowards, which seems to be impossible to ignore. I don't know what kind of thoughts Wang Director had when he created it. What kind of personal sense does a character trapped in sadness and times give you?
Director Wang:
Indeed, this question reminded me, and I also hope to know more about your younger generation audience. I believe that your understanding and understanding of society, yourself, and individual consciousness are completely different from those of the previous generation. The word "domestication" you used is actually used without any scruples now, but we rarely use this word because it is related to our entire society and our entire history. If you watch more movies like this or if more people like this appear, you will gradually understand why your parents were so forbearing? Why is the so-called kindness so helpless? Why does life and life come so far? You will have a deeper understanding.
Question 22: The impermanence and cruelty of life
Director: Hello! As a witness, thank you for retelling the not-so-distant but almost forgotten past in movies. Parents after the 1980s rarely tell the generation of only children about that unsatisfactory era, and most of them are the unhappy lives of star parents. , what I want to ask is, the director has thought about the ending if the stars don't come back, is it possible? And how long can the two old people last? In reality this is not the case
Director Wang:
The "replacement star" who grew up, of course, can not come back, he can come back, this is such a thing at the end of this film that is basically appropriate to life , because you don't know the long river of time. It is impermanent , so there are several paragraphs in this movie, which seem to be inappropriate in normal logic, including the relationship between Jasmine and him that you mentioned earlier, or the transformation of Jasmine's children, And it turned out that there should be a child, but how did he give birth to someone else's child? This is the cruelty of life. Since you have rejected this possibility, life is moving forward. Like the flood of Taotao, you can't stop it at all! And the return of the stars, then you can imagine how many years after he left, when he really looks back, such a lonely person may choose to come back even though the family relationship is not blood; this kind of experience after entering the society And cruelty, but also because of life, because time can give him such an understanding.
Question 23: The tree in the body
There are many written expressions in the film, such as: I have a tree growing in my body... and we generally don't say this in our lives. How did the director choose his lines?
Director Wang: Oh, then you gave this example. Well, if I can cite a few more written ones like you said, I can listen to them.
A tree grew in my body, not a written line, but the person's understanding of his own body, as well as his perception, his understanding, this thing varies from person to person.
Question 24: How to evaluate Wang Yuan's performance
Hello Director Wang, it is an honor to watch your work. The acting skills of the two leading actors are self-evident, and the acting skills of the other supporting roles are also quite good. There are those standards, including Wang Yuan's performance is also very unexpected.
Director Wang:
Let's talk about Wang Yuan first, because when you choose Wang Yuan, everyone has an inherent thinking, it seems that you use it for some reason. Wang Yuan, in fact, you only know after watching the movie. In fact, it is not. If Wang Yuan is like this among thousands of people, he is not simple; he must have his temperament, his aura, or he will not be able to. Getting so much success is just one point and another point. You have to find such an actor at the age of 15 and 16. Now you calculate, there is no such person; he has already been very successful, and he can't find it, but find it in the crowd. It will be a lot of effort, and now that Wang Yuan's choice has been proven correct, his performance, at least his performance, is acceptable to everyone.
Question 25: The bitterness beneath the warmth at the end of the film
After watching the movie, I thought of "Manchester by the Sea". Since Director Wang so emphasized that there is no reconciliation in "Long Time", do you want to express a Chinese-style attitude towards life and tragic fate?
Director Wang: Well, yes. If everyone is still talking about this question repeatedly, it is a good question. Just take the analogy of "Manchester by the Sea" , then Manchester, in fact, you see some kind of tenderness at the end, if you use "reconciliation" to explain it, That works too, but is it a "reconciliation"? Well, he is two generations who are not related to each other by blood, so watching the film, in fact, I don't think it is necessary to look at it with superficial appearance, this is it, if you can see the intention behind it, it will be interesting, so Manchester all It was the last time when he showed his warm side and the two of them were throwing the ball to each other, you saw that kind of laughter, but the bitterness in it was what he really meant .
Question 26: How do you view Liyun's role
What does the director think about Liyun's character? In the whole movie, Liyun lost his son, lost his fertility, lost his job, lost his adopted son in the middle, almost lost his husband, and even gave up his life,
Director Wang:
Well, my actual view of the character cannot be summed up in these few words. In fact, his long half-life presented in the movie can only be said for half a lifetime. It’s good for everyone to experience it, because this is our life .
Question 27: Superficial Reconciliation
Hello, Director Wang, do you think that at the end of the film, with Haiyan and Haohao's "repentance", what kind of conditions did the two families go from not communicating with each other to the apparent reconciliation? ? Where did their estrangement, resentment and guilt essentially come from? In the end, it seems like a big reunion, but the ending ended with Liyun's tears, is it also expressing some kind of incomprehension?
Director Wang: Ah~ I have actually said this before, life must go down, and when going up in life, it is not every day to see the enemy or war, it is the essence of such a life, we understand, everyone understands the nature of life. Complexity, to know: everything you see on the surface, is it really all this? I can't explain this.
Question 28: The pain of bereavement and life itself
Hello, Director Wang, the emotional flashpoint of the film focuses on the pain of losing a child, and there is no more expression for the relationship between husband and wife. The film has the opportunity to express the topic of feminism, but is it intentional to focus on the story line of losing a child? ?
Director Wang: Well, from the perspective of feminism, of course we are very concerned about it, but this is how life is. What I present is life itself , and I hope everyone can see the quality of life itself .
The line about bereavement is the most basic normality in the era we live in . Some people really live their entire lives in peace, while others are not so lucky. This is life .
postscript
Views and impressions on March 16, 2019:
I remember that I bought the DVD of Wang Xiaoshuai's "Seventeen-Year-Old Bicycle" at the audio shop next to the school gate in my senior year of high school. After more than ten years, I saw Director Wang's new work "Long Time". It felt like an old friend reunited after a long absence. I didn't understand why the title of the film was called "Long Time" until the transition music "Friendship is Forever" appeared several times in the film. It seems that the subtext is to talk about "friendship"; however, as the plot develops, it seems to want to express more. A lot of emotions... A couple's life twists and turns after losing their only child, helpless and dependent on each other under the social tide, what have they changed? What hasn't changed? The pain of bereavement has forever hollowed out a piece in their hearts. How can this piece be filled? Yaojun spends all day in liquor and peanuts, and Liyun Machinery does housework . I think Yaojun and Liyun didn't have a married life afterwards, so that the honest Yaojun would let go of his dishonest mistakes when facing Jasmine after a long absence; he seems to want to get back the lost past and youth? Or seek mutual comfort? So long, it's hard enough just to live .
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