Overthrow Yourself, Shu Qi: Breaking Past Stories | Actor | Shu Qi
On the evening of June 14th, actor Shu Qi maintained a consistent sense of fashion by appearing in high top boots, black vest, and long pants at the post release meeting of the movie "Looking for Her". As expected, this meeting was a popular event at the film festival. The banquet hall was full of seats, and many fans simply stood in the aisle - they had to pass through the gaps between a pair of raised hands to take a frontal photo of the actor.
"Seeking Her" is the only young director's debut work in the main competition unit of this year's Golden Earl Awards, and also the only Chinese language film that focuses on women among the three finalists in the main competition unit. Director Chen Shizhong was born in 1994, which was his first feature film.
As a new big screen work brought by Shu Qi after a 4-year hiatus, her choice is somewhat surprising. "I feel quite fashionable about myself, and playing a role completely different from myself this time, a rural woman living in the countryside, is a very big challenge." Shu Qi said, and after taking on the role of "Chen Fengdi", she had some hesitation. "Few people would give me a script for a rural movie. I am allergic to the sun and a bit afraid of feeling unwell, so I initially refused." The producer, Don He, did not give up and showed Shu Qi a short film directed by the director, which moved her. "The 5-minute film was shot exceptionally well and fantastical, and I suddenly became curious. How would this filming method be combined with this script?"
"Seeking Her" tells a story that takes place in a rural area in the south. In this place with a large sugarcane forest, Chen Fengdi unexpectedly loses her daughter. Faced with family questioning and societal prejudices, she bravely pursues herself and gradually overcomes difficulties. The film was written and directed by Chen Shizhong, who admitted to reporters that when creating this story that takes place in rural Guangdong, the image of "Chen Fengdi" in his mind was originally Shu Qi. "I have lived in both urban and rural areas for a long time, and filming rural stories is my most instinctive choice. The four main characters in the film are all rural, but none of them are dry and thin." Chen Shizhong wore a black suit and leather shoes, a pair of black framed glasses, and was nominated for the Golden Jubilee Award for his outstanding work. In his speech, he also had a youthful and inexperienced feeling as a young director. "The addition of actors will fill in more details in the text. When writing the script, the face that I imagined was Shu Qi. Her sincere emotions and displayed energy made it difficult for me to imagine other actors performing."
For the first time meeting Shu Qi, Chen Shizhong made sufficient preparations. He used a large cardboard poster to display the tone of the movie, the appearance of the sugarcane field, and even watched a movie for Shu Qi. "The picture is of a farmer selling sugarcane. He is particularly handsome, with a slick hair and shaved hair on both sides, which is very neat. The sugarcane cart is also very fashionable, which is different from what I imagined." Shu Qi said.
From the perspective of rural women, "Seeking Her" is set in Huizhou, Guangdong, with the director's father playing the role of Chen Fengdi's father in the film. The actor performed with Cantonese original voice, which was Chen Shizhong's insistence. "I am from Guangdong, and the film was filmed in Guangdong. None of the leading actors are from Guangdong, but language is also a means of performance. The four actors have different temperaments, and I hope to unify everyone's performance through language." Chen Shizhong said, another reason is that the public's perception of Cantonese films is that they are produced in Hong Kong, but the two are not the same. "In the past two years, there have been many films that speak Chongqing dialect, Northwest dialect, Northeast dialect, and Shanghai dialect, and I hope to see more Cantonese films appear."
Collaborating with young directors, Shu Qi finds it quite challenging. "The new director's ideas are particularly jumping and fast. His biggest advantage is that he is very persistent and can do a lot of work to achieve the desired effect." Shu Qi said that during the filming, there were inevitably some discussions and even arguments between the two. "I think acting has a rhythmic and hierarchical progression, just like going up stairs, step by step. But sometimes the director wants me to jump down the stairs step by step." She smiled and even didn't want to talk to the director when the argument was serious. "However, the energy and enthusiasm of young filmmakers can infect you, especially when working with a new director. Their exploration of the film and the pursuit of their dreams actually ignite the director's charm." Shu Qi sighed, facing the big sun during filming, returning to a very enthusiastic filming style, and inspiring the girl she once had in her heart.
In Shu Qi's view, the role of Chen Fengdi is very rich. She is both a mother, a daughter, and a wife; This character has a particularly bitter side, she grits her teeth in life. "When filming, I walked around the local area and went to many different places. Nowadays, the countryside is very modern and receives a lot of information from the city." Chen Fengdi is also like this, which is almost a metaphor in the film. "When she was searching for her daughter, she always felt like she heard the roar of monsters from the sugarcane forest. As she crossed the sugarcane field, she realized it was just the sound of a truck, and she began to connect with the city. Searching for the simple emotions of the countryside in such an environment and finding a woman's awakening from it was very special for the actress."
Having acted in movies for so many years, Shu Qi now has a greater sense of relaxation. When she's not filming, she watches almost everything and doesn't stick to movies. Novels, TV shows, variety shows, and anime are all her hobbies. "Recently, I have been enjoying the role of 'Ni Douzi' in the anime 'Blade of Ghost Destruction'. The times have changed. Let's take a look at these different anime, connect with AI, and see what everyone's thoughts are. 'Shu Qi said that acting is the same, and she yearns to' overthrow herself '.' Collaborating with young directors can create what kind of works that can break my previous performances, and I am also looking forward to it. '"
At the end of the interview, someone asked Shu Qi what her expectations were for the film's Golden Jue Journey. Shu Qi smiled and said, "I'm already very happy to be shortlisted, everything else is a bonus."
