Huayu: Reborn in 97, transferring to the Central Academy of Drama's star-studded class

As July arrived, Zhang Yi led dozens of people in cars and trucks into the village.

This means that Jiang Lai's experience as a rural teacher is coming to an end.

After accompanying the children to raise the national flag for the last time and attend their last class, Jiang Lai bid them a reluctant farewell. The little ones were all teary-eyed, and Jiang Lai could only promise to come and see them again in the future before the children wiped away their tears.

Old Zhao remained as awkward and shy as ever, simply waving his hand without saying a word.

Jiang Lai just smiled, turned around and left.

That's life; meeting and parting always require no words.

Director Zhang looked at Jiang Lai and Zhang Ziyi's current appearances—one with the air of a scholar, the other a typical country girl—and was very satisfied. However, he still reminded them, "You two shouldn't act too much. What I want is this authenticity and simplicity."

Director Zhang led the crew to begin some pre-filming preparations. Jiang Lai and Zhang Ziyi got together to re-examine the script. Their long-term life experience meant they would definitely have a different feeling when reading the script again.

When it comes to screenplays, Zhang Yimou is quite skilled at adaptation.

The story features three main characters: the father, Luo Changyu; the mother, Zhao Di; and the son, Luo Yusheng.

The original novel unfolds from the father's perspective, telling the story of his lifelong dedication to rural education. The opening scene shows the elderly father being woken up by his mother in his sleep, and he can't help but reminisce about the past.

The original novel only mentions their acquaintance in their youth through casual conversations, saying that the mother was quite beautiful back then, and the father was handsome and spirited. That's all.

The novel portrays the couple's love most through their unspoken understanding and care in their old age. For example, the mother would prepare the father's favorite dish, stir-fried eggs with chives, and would feel sorry for his hard work. She would compare him to "two wheels of a carriage," implying that they depended on each other and were indispensable.

Such feelings are like those described in Mu Xin's poem "In the Past, Things Were Slow": In the past, the days were slower, carriages, horses, and mail were all slow, and a lifetime was only enough to love one person.

It's a kind of love where people support each other through thick and thin, and it's written with considerable restraint.

What about Zhang Yimou's adaptation?

It is told from the perspective of the son, Luo Yusheng, who gradually recalls how his father and mother met. The story focuses on their love story and describes a pure and simple yet passionate love. The father's background as a teacher is merely a stage for showcasing this love.

Such a radical adaptation is remarkable. So why is it said that Zhang Yimou is a master of adaptation? This is because, as a director working within the system, he possesses top-notch survival wisdom.

The original work involves the historical background of a special period, but he directly blurred the description of the turmoil of this period, extracted the simple and honest characteristics of the original work, and made bold imaginations about the love between the young father and the young mother, which was not described in depth, and turned the story towards pure Eastern-style love.

This is not only safer in terms of censorship, but also allows for a broader audience base.

Compared to many directors who only talk about art, he didn't fabricate stories to pass censorship, nor did he create reality out of thin air or make things up for the sake of reality.

This is what a director should really consider: how to bring the project to fruition, how to make it visible to the audience and how to make it enjoyable. Only after doing these things well should one think about how to integrate their personal artistic ideas into the film.

Fortunately, Jiang Lai was just a minor actor and didn't need to worry about these things. He only needed to figure out how to play the role of Luo Changyu well.

When Jiang Lai reread the script and acted with Zhang Ziyi, he always felt that the character was strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why. He just assumed it was because the character was different from the original novel.

Director Zhang was still inspecting the filming locations chosen by Yate. He stood on the hillside, looking at the open field scenery, frowning and pondering for a long time before finally saying, "No, this is not the scene I want. We have to wait."

No one knows what kind of scenery Director Zhang wants, but what if the director doesn't want to film? Usually, a film crew can only wait it out or disband, but Director Zhang is different; he just waves his hand.

Build a house!

That's right, build a house.

In the story, Luo Changyu came to the village to teach. The classroom was built by the village, but it was not finished before Luo Changyu participated in the construction.

Director Zhang's original idea was to find a house in a village to use as a classroom, and the construction scenes would just be some close-ups of materials being moved.

Director Zhang has changed his mind; he now wants to actually build a classroom and film some scenes of building the house.

The others were fine, but Jiang Lai suffered because he had to be involved in the whole process.

Director Zhang, with his characteristic masterful demeanor, said, "Only in this way can one develop an emotional connection to this classroom."

Well, fine. Anyway, Jiang Zi has been working ever since he arrived, so this little bit won't make a difference.

So the production team found men from nearby villages who hadn't gone out to work, paid them daily wages, and chose a location next to the well where Jiang Lai and Zhang Ziyi used to fetch water.

Once all the villagers were gathered, Jiang Lai joined in laying the foundation. First, they dug a deep trench, then used gravel and fired clay bricks to build the foundation in the trench. Once that was done, they could set up the scaffolding.

Photographer Hou Yong set up his camera to the side, put his hands behind his back, and watched Jiang Lai work.

Jiang Lai, carrying a wooden beam, walked past and said with obvious displeasure, "Brother Hou, you seem pretty relaxed here. Why don't you offer to help?"

Hou Yong chuckled and pointed at the camera, saying, "My job is to make sure this thing keeps filming you and makes you look really handsome."

Jiang Lai rolled his eyes. He didn't believe this nonsense. This guy was skinny and shrewd.

"If the photos don't turn out well, I'm going to tell Director Zhang!"

Don't worry, I guarantee you'll look handsome!

Jiang Lai pursed his lips and continued working.

Hou Yong also graduated from the cinematography department of Beijing Film Academy. He was classmates with Tian Zhuangzhuang and Zhang Yimou, but he was younger than them. He graduated in his twenties and started working with Tian Zhuangzhuang and director Xie Jin. Now he works with Zhang Yimou and has been Zhang's go-to cinematographer for the past few years.

Filming Jiang Lai now isn't the official start of filming. Director Zhang hasn't done the character makeup for Jiang Lai yet; it's mainly to warm up the equipment. After all, the altitude here isn't low, and it's easy for the equipment to malfunction if it's left unused. Since nobody knows when Director Zhang plans to start filming.

Even if these scenes of people working don't make it into the final cut, they can still be used as behind-the-scenes footage.

At noon, the wives of the men came one after another to bring them food, and Jiang Lai also sat under the shade of a tree to wait for Zhang Ziyi.

It was too hot after finishing the work, but going shirtless would make him feel cold from the mountain wind, so Jiang Lai could only open his arms and fan himself, his chest covered in sweat.

Not long after, Zhang Ziyi came running over, carrying two large bowls in his hands.

"Slow down!" Jiang Lai quickly went over to help.

Zhang Ziyi was panting heavily, and he was also quite exhausted.

"Sorry I'm late. I came here to try out Zhao Di's makeup and styling with the director."

"It's okay, it's late, no need to run. Be careful not to fall."

Jiang Lai took the bowl; it contained millet rice and stir-fried mushrooms with meat. Ever since Liu Ye gave him a big bag of local specialties, he had developed a liking for mushrooms, and Zhang Ziyi had remembered it.

"Have you eaten?" Jiang Lai asked, his mouth full of rice, his words muffled.

"I've already eaten. Take your time eating so you don't choke."

The two squatted under the tree, one with his chest open, wolfing down his food, while the other propped his head up and watched happily.

Director Zhang quietly walked over to Hou Yong and looked at the two men, saying, "How about it? Aren't these two actors I picked good?"

Hou Yong rubbed his chin and nodded in agreement, "That's definitely the feeling. Hey, when are you planning to start filming?"

Director Zhang, with an arrogant expression, as if possessed by an ancient scholar, pointed to the mountains that had not yet turned completely yellow.

"Wait until autumn comes on the eighth day of the ninth month!"