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

Director Hou Xiaoxian said the following when he was fifty years old:

I've noticed that many directors around fifty years old start trying to incorporate their complex views of the world into their films, resulting in films that are difficult to watch. You'll also find that the best directors' early films are the most powerful, direct, and accurate. So I feel we should return to that kind of purity.

Then, when Hou Hsiao-ch'ang was sixty years old, he said this:

You have to turn your back to the audience before you start creating. Don't keep thinking about the audience or winning awards. It's about purity. The deeper you go, the further you may stray from the audience. Turning your back to the audience is a way of doing things.

These words are hard to explain or understand. Perhaps Director Hou's original intention was to turn his back on the audience and return to the original intention of creation.

Unfortunately, Hou Hsiao-hsien may have overreacted later on. After keeping the audience in the dark for too long, he started to become a riddle-maker, making some films that were shrouded in mystery.

But Jiang Wen is different; he never turned around.

Every film he made was filled with his boundless imagination. Some of them resonated with the audience and are indeed timeless classics, but others can only be described as ridicule.

"Devils on the Doorstep" may fall somewhere in between.

Ever since Jiang Wen decided to make Jiang Lai a cripple, he's been obsessed, spending the last two days pondering whether Jiang Lai was born lame or suffered from a war injury, and whether he should keep his leg or not.

Jiang Lai accompanied him like this, sometimes acting as if he was walking on tiptoe, sometimes as if he was dragging his feet, and sometimes as if he had no feet and was jumping, but Jiang Wen was not satisfied with any of them.

Finally, it was decided to put a cast on Jiang Lai's leg, wrap it in bandages, and have him use two crutches. Then, someone was sent to the county to buy crutches.

Jiang Lai was very curious about what kind of war drama Ya was filming, so he took advantage of the break to get the script from before.

After reading it, he became curious about the character in the script who sent the Japanese soldiers but never appeared again.

He went directly to Jiang Wen and asked, "Who exactly is this 'I'?"

Jiang Wen, his voice hoarse, said, "Who cares who it is! It's power! It's the rules! It's fate! It could even be yourself."

Jiang Lai could only chuckle; he didn't understand.

A high platform for opera performances.

Gu Changwei set up the camera, and Jiang Wen called for action.

Jiang Lai, leaning on his cane, stood on the high platform. Below him, a group of Japanese soldiers stood in formation, and nearby were crowds of onlookers, along with flocks of sheep.

"Attention!" The Japanese soldiers lined up.

Jiang Lai impatiently said, "At ease!" and immediately moved his head away from the microphone.

He saw himself as a superior who had been forced to step down due to injury, which is why he was so impatient.

A Japanese soldier stepped forward and reported, "Sir! All forty-six prisoners of war are here! They are all assembled!"

"Okay! Back to the team!" Jiang Lai said.

He looked at the neatly lined-up figures below the stage and heard from Jiang Wen that he had even taken these people to the military region for military training. They were said to have received a warm welcome from the men of the military region, and the scene was extremely cruel. The actor named Kagawa said he didn't want to recall it at all.

Jiang Lai increasingly felt that Jiang Wen was doing this on purpose.

"We will show absolutely no mercy to those who work for the Japanese devils! Those who slaughter their own compatriots!"

Jiang was reciting his lines when Jiang Wen asked him to portray an absurd feeling. So he simply pinched his throat and exaggerated his body language and facial expressions. He felt quite good about himself, however...

"Click!"

Knowing Jiang Lai was unavailable, Jiang Wen strode to the front of the stage and said, "Little Jiang, I told you not to be a fool, but not an idiot. Why are you flirting with that guy?"

"Uh, shall I try again?" Jiang Lai scratched his head.

"Don't rush, let me demonstrate for you."

Jiang Wen jumped onto the stage with one hand, and Jiang Lai quickly hopped aside to make way.

Jiang Wen stood in front of the megaphone, instantly exuding an imposing aura, displaying a kind of contempt from a superior towards the lower class.

"We will show absolutely no mercy to those who work for the Japanese devils and slaughter our compatriots!"

Jiang Lai blinked. "You're being quite serious."

"That's right!" Jiang Wen patted Jiang Lai on the shoulder, "The more serious you are, the more absurd this whole thing seems!"

Jiang Lai nodded as if he understood, then he would just act according to the director's instructions and stood back in his position to prepare.

Jiang Wen watched on the monitor and felt the scene was too monotonous, so he found two foreigners to stand behind Jiang Lai. He had no other requirements but to have the two men chew gum to show the contempt of the victorious nation.

"Action!"

Jiang Lai had a serious expression, exuding an air of commanding authority.

"We will show absolutely no mercy to those traitors who work for the Japanese devils and slaughter their own compatriots!"

He pointed with his little hand, "Bring the traitor Dong here!"

Two guards escorted a disheveled and seemingly insane man to the front of the stage.

"You aided and abetted evil! You fled to escape punishment! Your crimes are heinous! Your hands are stained with the blood of your compatriots! How can you appease public anger if you are not killed! What else do you have to say?"

One of the guards glanced at the traitor Dong and said, "Sir! He's laughing."

His words, spoken in a local dialect, made the people burst into laughter.

Jiang Lai spontaneously shouted, "No laughing!"

The people ignored him and laughed even harder.

Jiang Wen looked at the screen and curled the corners of his mouth; it was interesting.

Seeing that he couldn't stop the crowd from laughing, Jiang Lai frowned and continued, "Laughing? Doesn't he look like he's crying?"

The guard took a careful look. "Sir, he's really laughing!"

The people laughed heartily once again.

Jiang Lai's face darkened instantly. He glanced around, then looked at the disheveled traitor Dong Han, and shouted angrily, "Laugh? Let him laugh in the underworld!"

He then suppressed his emotions and looked up: "Fellow countrymen! If anyone sees another scoundrel like him, report him immediately! The government will reward those who report him! I hereby give the order!"

Jiang Lai gritted his teeth and pointed to the audience, "Execute the traitorous dog Dong Hanchen by firing squad! Execute him on the spot!"

Jiang Wu crouched down and ran up from the side, raising the tortoise shell box in his hand.

"Bang!"

A gunshot rang out, and Dong Hanchen fell to the ground.

"Okay, click!"

Jiang Wen stood up with a smile and led the applause. Everyone present followed suit, including many local villagers who had been brought in as extras and found it very interesting.

"Okay, thank you all for coming! Come to the stage to collect your money and small gifts!" Jiang Wen shouted through a megaphone.

The small gift was a keychain, which he had the props person buy wholesale when they went to buy the canes.

"Old Yuan, are you alright?" Jiang Wen walked over and asked.

Old Yuan's real name is Yuan Ding, the actor who played the traitor. He was being untied by the staff. He had been bound hand and foot before the performance started, and the fall to the ground was a real tumble. Jiang Wen naturally had to check on him.

"It's nothing. I was tied up in the village for so many days before, this is nothing."

Yuan Ding made a joke at the opportune moment.

Jiang Wen didn't say anything, but just gave a thumbs up. This guy just acted out that expression of being tortured to the point of madness perfectly.

"How's it going, Xiao Jiang? Are you getting used to this specially made limp?" Jiang Wen turned to the side and laughed.

Jiang Lai was sitting on the edge of the stage, struggling to remove the bandages from his plaster cast leg. Filming would take several days, so they couldn't actually put a cast on him; they just made one based on his leg shape.

"Boss, why don't you give it a try?" Jiang Lai rolled his eyes. Didn't you see that he hadn't even taken it off yet?

"Okay! I'll give it a try."

"No, wait! I was just kidding."

"I was worried you might have athlete's foot! Here, let me help you take it off."

Jiang Wen smiled and stepped forward to help Jiang Lai pull it off.

Jiang Lai stood up and jumped around a couple of times, then asked, "Boss, how do we film the rest? You always seem to come up with ideas on the spot."

Jiang Wen didn't say anything. He lit a cigarette, leaned against the table, took a deep drag, and tapped the ground.

"Wait, let me explain further!"

When Jiang Wen talks about "going over things," he means going over the plot with the screenwriter and producer.

Because the words he wanted Jiang to say next mentioned some important and sensitive people, and these people might not agree with them. But frankly speaking, the entire crew still had Jiang Wen in charge.

In this era and for a long period to come, China is basically a director-centric system, meaning that the director has the final say in the entire production team.

Until various major internet companies entered the fray, many productions became production-centric, meaning that traffic and big data dictated everything.

If my big data analysis shows that the audience likes this, then I'll make a film on this subject. I just need to find a director who is reasonably suitable. In this case, the director's role is equivalent to that of the cinematographer. The cinematographer is in charge of the camera, and the director just needs to instruct the actors on how to act.

What does this lead to? It results in a serious overproduction of homogenized dramas. When historical romance dramas become popular, they make more historical romance dramas; when CEO romance dramas become popular, they make more CEO romance dramas.

The only thing to look forward to in a show like this is whether the actors can perform well. The plot doesn't offer any surprises because the producers have already planned it out; it's just a matter of how it's filmed to attract viewers.

Fortunately, this model is mostly used in dramas, and it's not as serious in movies.

The most serious issue in this regard is actually Hollywood, with its various forms of political correctness. Do you think the directors want that?

Sometimes people keep talking about censorship, but in reality, it's pretty much the same in every country.

The president of the American Directors Guild once said, "Film is an ideological field. This is true in China, and it is true in the United States."