Selected films of Wei Junzi

Xu Anhua is one of the most important Hong Kong film directors in recent 30 years. 1982 directed "Going to the Angry Sea" was one of the few Hong Kong films with the theme of international political events (the liberation of Vietnam by the Viet Cong). It was a blockbuster, but Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung were not allowed at the local box office. It was the golden age of Hong Kong movies, and commercial action comedies were popular. Bosses and directors are also willing to shoot realistic films or literary films that focus on society and self. Xu Anhua was a famous figure in that era, calm and confident. Even if the collective creation of the New Art City becomes the mainstream, he is still accustomed to the director's arbitrary author style, and he dares to try any theme type regardless of success or failure. In the 1990s, the Hong Kong film market declined, and another film, Forty Women, created another box office myth, which made her enter the three major film festivals in Europe (Berlin) for the first time. /kloc-after 0/997, Hong Kong films fell to the bottom, and Xu Anhua said a lot, but in the face of the general trend, he also drifted with the tide and wandered in the ghost domain. Jade Guanyin and My Aunt's Postmodern Life show their hesitation in going north. In recent years, two small-budget Tin Shui Wai have shown their ease in returning to the local theme. However, if Xu Anhua, who is over 60 years old, can applaud the awards and create a taste of appealing to both refined and popular tastes again and win the market, I think the new film Sister Tao is still promising, but this has nothing to do with the so-called revival of Hong Kong films.

Sister Tao is based on the true story of Enlin Lee, a Hong Kong filmmaker, falling in love with her maid. Although it is a rare large-scale production in recent years, her creative mentality is confident. No matter whether the mainland audience knows what kind of master-servant relationship contemporary Hong Kong should be, she just keeps telling the life story of Tao Jie facing death in her later years. The most rare thing is to be able to handle this heavy realistic theme easily and find a balance between day and night in Tin Shui Wai and Forty Women. Generally speaking, it is "laughter and tears", and careful aftertaste is the consistent embodiment of Xu Anhua's discussion on family ethics and humanistic care.

Sister Tao has been an ordinary person all her life. Her fate is not ups and downs, and she doesn't even have a self. She only pays attention to the "young master" three meals a day. When she is sick and can't work, if she has no home to take care of her, she will have to live in a nursing home. This life without a sense of belonging is an important theme in Xu Anhua's early films. However, Tao Jie neither saw the mentality of "passing by" nor embarked on a journey of "seeking roots". Instead, she affirmed Tao Jie's self-worth from the perspective of "young master" played by Andy Lau: I have no worries and don't feel any difficulties with her taking care of everything at home. Without her, I know that housework is a burden to the elderly. "When the silkworm dies, the night candle tears." The poem in the play is a portrayal of people like Tao Jie and even parents all over the world. The gratitude of the "young master" and the deep affection between master and servant are rare in the world, so the plot may be thin and dull, but Xu Anhua can describe the touching details of "human feelings", and at the same time use the nursing home to discuss the relationship between life and death and the attitude he should adopt. In this respect, Sister Tao and Forty Women are quite similar, and Andy Lau and Ye Dexian are like Xiao Fangfang and Roy Chiao. Both of them changed their relationship because of personal accidents. Although there is no dramatic conflict between the dependence and helplessness of the elderly, the responsibility and pressure of the middle-aged and the warmth of mutual support, the interest of life fills the whole film, making the audience sigh in laughter.

It must be pointed out that the narrative technique of Sister Tao is concise and the editing rhythm is leisurely. Yu Liwei's mirror moves steadily, and I took a few panoramic photos of the nursing home from the inside out, which is very layered and informative, and quite durable. The plot seems dull, but it is progressive step by step, such as Tao Jie's "Cow's Tongue" and Young Master's "Going North", which are all key plots that echo before and after. Xu Anhua also takes Tao Jie as the carrier of words and appeals, which includes both a calm discussion of death in The Anticorrosion Master and a mockery of the social status quo. For example, TV stations open nursing homes to collect money to make movies, and Mid-Autumn Festival condolences to nursing homes become a mere formality on the spot. In addition, because all the characters in Andy Lau's plays are filmmakers, we can also make fun of the various embarrassing situations of filmmakers. Tsui Hark, Sammo Hung, Yu Dong and Ning Hao have their own duties and are full of entertainment spirit.

Ye Dexian skillfully plays the role of "Sister Tao". It is not difficult for her to play an ordinary old woman. It is the subtlety of acting that shows the character and sensitivity in the details of life. In this respect, Ye has unique skills, especially the subtle grasp of anger and sadness. Every game with Andy Lau is vivid and unforgettable. It can be predicted that the winner of the Hong Kong Academy Awards next year is already in the bag, and even the winner of the Venice Academy Awards is expected to win. Other actors, such as Huang Qiusheng, Qin Pei, Tian Liang and Amanda. , are excellent dramatists. Only one or two plays can create characters, and Xu Anhua really gives them room to play. On the contrary, Wang Fuli felt a little stiff at first glance, and felt that it was still an old problem for mainland actors to shoot Hong Kong films. However, after seeing her alone with Andy Lau in the middle of the night, she realized that this was the director's original intention. The simple and rigid mother-child relationship is not enough to show that Tao Jie's meticulous care for the young master has risen to another mother-child relationship. The audience in China may still have doubts about the idols of the past, but the effect of the film proves that Andy Lau is now qualified for a film with a strong quality of life, and his tacit understanding with Ye Dexian for many years is upgraded again in Sister Tao. Of course, playing a role close to his true identity obviously makes him more comfortable.

"There is no way from Pengshan to Bluebird. Listen! -bring me what she said! " . At that time, Xia Meng, a Hong Kong movie star, set up a film company and asked Jin Yong to name it. The master of martial arts novels picked out the word "bluebird" as a gift from Li Shangyin's untitled poems. The pioneering work of "Jade Bird" Company is "Go to the Angry Sea", which is by far the most popular movie in Xu Anhua. Andy Lau, who just debuted, cooperated with her for the first time. Many years later, Andy Lau cooperated with Xu Anhua again as an investor and actor. According to him, it's for the director's sentence "I haven't had enough money for filming for a long time", so in a sense, both inside and outside the play of "Peach Sister" are repaying kindness.

Xu Anhua and Du Qifeng are both famous actors in Hong Kong movies. What is an actor? No matter how many people are in the audience, no matter how brilliant and lonely they are, they can persist in singing their own plays. Now that the stage has moved to Venice, it is gratifying to see that this corner is still fashionable. Feng's character remains the same, but Hong Kong movies will not die. To say that in the field of martial arts films, there are not many masters, and it is rare to be famous for martial arts films. 200 1 Ang Lee won four Oscars for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and later Zhang Yimou won the Alfred Bauer Award at the Berlin Film Festival for Hero, but none of them were famous for making martial arts films. Furthermore, the "Martial Arts Film" won awards at major international film festivals, far exceeding contemporary masters such as Ang Lee and Zhang Yimou. As early as 30 years ago, the martial arts film Woman directed by Hu Jinquan won the comprehensive technical award at Cannes International Film Festival, which gave the west the first taste of the unique charm of China's martial arts films. Hu Jinquan was also named one of the top five directors in the world by French authoritative magazine 1978 for his achievements in the field of martial arts films (which China enjoys).

Martial Arts Culture In the 1960s and 1970s, Jin Yong and Gu Long were the most popular novels, while Hu Jinquan and Zhang Che dominated the movies. Although Zhang Che shot many Jin Yong's novels, his characterization was elegant, his movements were concise and powerful, and he publicized the beauty of masculinity and the aesthetics of death and violence, with a sharp and cold style. On the other hand, Hu Jinquan is very similar to Jin Yong. His films have historical background, costume props and detailed details, while his style is simple and dignified, revealing Zen. Although Zhang Che's films are almost box office, they seem to be above them in terms of artistic achievements and avant-garde atmosphere.

Hu Jinquan and "brother" Li Hanxiang are both movie prop artists, and painting posters in front of the cinema is their specialty. Therefore, Hu Jinquan had arranged for the hero to do this work in his own Children of the Earth. The brothers Li and Hu were highly valued by the brothers who made the classic cartoon "Make a scene in Heaven", and later they mixed up with actors. Movies such as Chang 'e and Jiangshan Beauty can also play an important supporting role.

Speaking of Hu Jinquan's ability as a director, Li Hanxiang, the eldest brother, played an important role. 1952 Hu Jinquan's first film, The Slayer, was introduced and recommended by Li Hanxiang. 1962, his first work, Yu Tang Chun, was also planned and helped by Li Hanxiang. However, due to Li Dage's overall planning, Hu Jinquan has no room for self-development. On the contrary, Children of the Earth, written and directed by 1964 independently, fully embodies Hu Lao's talent as a director and won the Golden Horse Award for Best Screenplay in Taiwan Province Film. What really made him famous, and formed his own unique film style, was naturally "Come with me for a drink", which was the first modern martial arts film with Zhang Che's One-armed Knife and Zhang Xinyan's "The Jade Bow in the Sea of Clouds".

Compared with Zhang Che and others who can shoot a considerable number of martial arts films in a year, Hu Jinquan's works are typical of quality and light weight. In his 35-year career as a director, only 15 films have been handed down from ancient times, among which "joys and sorrows" and "Great Samsara" were co-produced by Bai and Li Hsing, which can only be regarded as two and a half films at most, somewhat similar to the great hero Jin Yong. However, among this 15 work, only Come and have a drink with me, Longmen Inn, Chivalrous Woman, Fengyun in Yingchun Pavilion, Martyrs' Picture, The Best in the World and the legendary swordsman can be called real martial arts films, and perhaps the Beijing Opera Sanchakou adapted by Hu Jinquan can be added. The rest, such as the early "Jade Tang Chun" is a Li Hanxiang-style costume folklore, "The Son of the Earth" is an anti-Japanese war life film, and "Lifelong Event" is a fashion satire film at 198 1. As for the last works, Rain on an Empty Mountain, Legend of Mountain Dwelling, Great Samsara and Painting the King of Yin and Yang, Hu Jinquan has opened up a brand-new creative situation outside the field of martial arts films-that is, pursuing the ethereal mystery of Zen.

In fact, Hu Jinquan's pursuit of Buddhism and Zen was involved as early as Xia Xia. However, in this film, if the female Xia played by Feng Hsu wants to convert to Buddhism, and the monk played by Roy Chiao wants to achieve Lohan's golden body, she must kill Dongchang eunuch by force, so she has not completely jumped out of the category of martial arts films. By the time of the later "Empty Mountain and Spiritual Rain", the meditation of the eminent monk had a more philosophical significance: the indifferent interpersonal relationship between disciples, literati and warriors was used to kill each other, which increasingly set off the value of good deeds. Hu Jinquan is keen on "Martial Arts", and only "Martial Arts" exists in the film as one of the manifestations of the film.

The Legend of the Mountain, which was published at the same time as Empty Mountain and Spiritual Rain, is a step for Hu Lao to move towards the theme of ghosts and gods. The important achievements of movies not only reveal the significance of the ghost domain and the human greed struggle through stories, but also mainly reflect in the application of film technology. The strange atmosphere created by the stunts of fighting between ghosts and gods and the freehand brushwork pictures of Yunshan water and water is quite artistic even today. And China's traditional art and culture can only be so pure in Hu Jinquan's films.

Although most of Hu Jinquan's films can become classics handed down from generation to generation, the longer they are, the more mellow they become, but they are not necessarily popular at that time. 1979 The movies Rain under the Empty Mountain and Legend of the Mountain experienced the embarrassment of being hailed as a box office panacea, which greatly hit Hu Jinquan. Fashion satirical comedy "Wulin Master" and costume martial arts comedy "No.1 in the World" are obviously the products of bowing to business, but it is difficult to regain their former glory. As a result, Li Hsing and Bai, two friends who are both Taiwan Province movie master, were basically in a state of silence throughout the 1980s.

However, when Tsui Hark was preparing Jin Yong's masterpiece the legendary swordsman on 1989, he thought of Hu Jinquan, who was already in semi-retirement at that time, and invited him to direct the film. Khufu asked himself that he was not old, just to regain his glory, and Tsui Hark also wanted to combine Hu Jinquan's ability to control martial arts films with the amazing visual effects produced by his own film studio to create an outstanding martial arts classic and make his career by going up one flight of stairs. In this way, it hit it off.

But no one expected that the cooperation between Hu and Xu, who had long been predicted by filmmakers as "a story in the film industry", went wrong. Before the filming, Khufu quit! There have always been different opinions about the reasons. Tsui Hark said that there was something wrong with Hu Lao's physical condition, and actor Yuan Wah also recalled that Hu Jinquan really couldn't move at that time. Elliot Ngok, an apprentice of Lao Hu, thinks that Tsui Hark bullied the teacher and intervened in the directing work as a producer, and there are also major differences in creative ideas. Finally, another disciple of Khufu, Xu Anhua, came to the rescue, but the contradiction could not be mediated, so Master Hu had to quit. Elliot Ngok originally played Lin Zhennan in the legendary swordsman. After Hu Jinquan quit, Tsui Hark asked him to make up the play, but Elliot Ngok angrily refused, so Tsui Hark had to perform in Jinshan.

As for "the legendary swordsman" composed of six directors, Tsui Hark, Xu Ke, Jin, I remember someone commented: "It has the quaint and romantic style of Hu Jinquan, and its shape has the interest of ancient China woodcut figure painting; There are also Tsui Hark-style unconstrained style, fast and smooth martial arts design and changeable shots and clips; It can be said that realism and imagination go hand in hand, and there is a unique aesthetic feeling visually. " In my personal opinion, although this remark is mostly flattering, it is still fair. However, Hu Jinquan's contribution to the legendary swordsman seems to be only a part of the picture composition and the clothing design of the factory supervisor.

Shortly thereafter, Tsui Hark remaked Hu Jinquan's classic "Longmen Inn" and renamed it "New Longmen Inn" (it is said that he didn't greet khufu). The film inherits the romantic and masculine style of Hu Jinquan's old version of Longmen Inn and the tense rhythm of managing complicated strings, but it also adds many relaxed elements of laughing and cursing, making the overall style of the film more diversified. The action scenes of the film are even more sharply edited by Tsui Hark, which makes people feel shocked. Although it is too exaggerated and fancy compared with the original, it has the same effect, so it was a great success after being released.

At the same time, Hu Jinquan's film The Painted King of Yin and Yang (adapted from Pu Songling's Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio in Qing Dynasty, just like his old work Woman Xia) has a poor box office and reputation. This movie is like the exquisite carving of The Legend of Mountain Residence. The concept symbol of portrait painting (female ghost portrait) and the constant walking of characters (the road of demonizing real people) are also important features of Hu films familiar to fans in the past. Screenwriters Zhong Acheng and Hu Jinquan are also ambitious, trying to reflect the relationship between people and ghosts in traditional literati works through this film. Unfortunately, at that time, the audience liked Ghost Story 3 by Tsui Hark and Cheng Xiaodong, which was hilarious and lively, and they were not interested in this kind of stuff that needed to be carefully pondered. Coupled with the slow pace of the story and the backward visual effect, the final decisive battle between Adam Cheng and Sammo Hung was so crude that it remained at the technical level in the 1970s and 1980s, which made people unbearable to watch, and it was natural that the box office was bleak.

However, Hu Jinquan was hit hard by this, and his passion for movies remained undiminished. A few years later, I tried to shoot an ambitious work of Chinese workers in the history of blood and tears in the United States. Who knows that khufu became weaker and weaker, and soon died, driving a crane to the west. ...