What does Gu Changwei's Peacock really mean?

Respecting the lives of ordinary people —— Interview with Director Gu Changwei

On February 5, 2005, Gu Changwei walked into the riverside cafe near the Beijing Embassy District early in the morning. He was the first customer of the day and interviewed the author here. This famous cinematographer has never made his own films in front of the media, even Red Sorghum, Sunny Day and Farewell My Concubine, which won him Oscar nominations for best photography. He is used to keeping a low profile and not appearing in the media. Now, when Gu Changwei appeared as a director, he said frankly: "I am sitting here now, facing the media with such talk."

My wish is to accumulate publicity effect for the film I am about to direct. "-all for the peacock.

As a finalist in the 54th Berlin Film Festival, the premiere date of Peacock was scheduled for February 18, which coincided with the full release of the film in China. Previously, Peacock had been shown in a Beijing cinema. "Screening is actually very risky. If the word of mouth is bad, then the film will not be shown again. We estimated in advance that the audience would have a good reputation for this film before we dared to let it out. " Obviously, Gu Changwei is full of confidence in his first film.

"It took me five years to do it."

Gu Changwei, one of the "Top 100 Photographers of the Century", had the experience of studying abroad and cooperated with some famous Hollywood directors. However, many years of photography have blurred his vision in one eye, and the doctor diagnosed him as strabismus, so he should not engage in too much photography. 1at the end of 999, after filming Autumn in New York directed by Chen Chong in Hollywood, Gu Changwei has been recovering from illness in China. "In fact, in addition to the occupational diseases caused by long-term photography work, I was forced to rest at home and was a little lazy. I have only done such a thing in the past five years, which is absolutely impossible in the United States. " Gu Changwei intended to make a new choice for the film industry, and being a director was his best choice at that time.

Li Wei's play Peacock was completed in 2000. The script was circulated by many directors, and even one director started shooting in Anyang, the location described in the script story, but after shooting for more than ten days, he stopped shooting for some reason. Although everyone who read Peacock agreed, Gu Changwei finally got it. "I like the script very much after reading it, and I feel that I can't live without it." Gu Changwei took action-on April 9, 2003, proud as a peacock was in a small town called Shui Ye near Anyang.

Peacock tells the fate of three brothers and sisters in an ordinary family in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The original idea of this film was to invite Zhang Ziyi or Jing Lei to star in it, but they didn't take part because the schedule couldn't be adjusted. In the end, Zhang Jingchu was chosen to play sister and Feng? Play the elder brother, and Lv Yulai plays the younger brother. Judging from the finished films, Gu Changwei, the first director, made a correct choice of actors.

"My movie is a bit bleak."

"As a man, every work can make people feel what kind of person the director is. I am a very ordinary person, and I like things that look simple and have deeper content. Peacock is such a movie. " The same script, different directors will produce different effects. Peacock was destined to be branded as Gu Changwei from the beginning of shooting. For example, the dialogue language of the film is Anyang dialect, the lens is calm and blue-gray, the composition is delicate and exquisite, and the long lens is widely used. These are Gu Changwei's unique designs for Peacock.

Peacock tells the story with narration from the perspective of his younger brother. The film was once regarded by Gu Changwei as a story flowing down the river from beginning to end, but he finally gave up this form. Now, the story of the film is divided into three stages, which tell the fate of sister, brother and brother respectively. This form, Gu Changwei called it "more memorable". In the film, the director deliberately weakens the background of the characters and the era of story description, and pays more attention to the individual life in an ordinary family. Gu Changwei said that no matter what era, individuals will encounter such stories in their own life. "My film is a bit desolate. It is not to evaluate the background and times, but to express the theme that ordinary people also have a lot of hope. I always respect the lives of ordinary people. "

Gu Changwei said that he is a delicate person, which can be seen from many details he arranged for the film: "Hunting" is being broadcast on TV; The whole family makes briquettes together; Bottle painter wearing a white work hat ... "I hope this film can make people go back to that era and recall life at that time. When I was reading the script, all I could think about was what happened in that era. "Gu Changwei filmed a total of 156 scenes, and finally only 130 scenes were used. He said: "I hope there should be blank space in the movie to give the audience some space. In some cases, the audience can enrich themselves."