Shanghai Director Luo Dong: I am the same Shanghai as "Mei's Day and Night" | Director | Night

On June 16th, Shanghai director Luo Dong won the Best Director Award for the Asian Newcomer Unit at the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival Golden Jubilee Awards for his film "Mei's Day and Night".

Having wandered the film industry in Hong Kong and mainland China for a long time, Luo Dong, born in the 1970s, appears to be a wealthy Shanghai man: confidently speaking but softly whispering, wearing comfortable and casual clothing that reflects attention to detail. However, his film is not about romance in wutong District of Shanghai - although he lives on Wukang Road, it focuses on Yumei, a 73 year old aunt from the grassroots in Shanghai.

85 minutes, two clues form a closed loop of the story: one begins with a blind date meeting between Yumei and a man, and ends with a new blind date meeting at the subway station; Another is that she worked hard to find a new suburban residence and ultimately completed the process of moving.

As long as she goes out, she pulls a trailer and wears a duckbill hat. Yumei is not good-looking, speaks harshly, has meticulous logic, and reacts extremely quickly. Around this character, the movie presents the complex lifestyle of "ordinary elderly people" in Shanghai from a very close perspective.

The observer's perspective and proficient audio-visual language make the narrative of the movie quite compact. Yumei's mundane life is laid out in a leisurely manner, and the audience is easily attracted by the natural and lively dialogue between the characters. During the journalist's viewing sessions, the audience occasionally emits various laughter - either burst into laughter or knowingly sneer.

During the Shanghai International Film Festival, it was difficult to get a ticket for "Mei's Day and Night". Luo Dong invited his friends to watch, but he also had to rely on himself to grab tickets online. Many film critics and bloggers gave the movie a positive review in the first place.

On Douban, some people can't help but compare "Mei's Day and Night" with "Love Myth", and some even explicitly "warn" not to "touch porcelain" in the title of the film review.

It is not surprising that two Shanghai language films released at the same time, one that attracted phenomenal attention and the other that won international awards, were compared.

The documentary style of "Mei's Day and Night" uses restrained and calm audio-visual language to sincerely tell the audience the existence of "another group of people" in this city, which is also an indispensable part of the process of constructing the character of this city.

On June 18, the second day after the end of the Shanghai International Film Festival and the second day when Shanghai entered the Plum Blossom Festival, the rain poured down on the Wuxing Road, which was full of wutong trees. The reporter and Luo Dong made an appointment to interview and shoot in a small western-style building here.

Winning a grand prize, life goes as usual. He brought a pack of fresh lychees sent by a friend and carefully sealed them in an IKEA sealed bag, repeatedly emphasizing that they were "very sweet and fresh.". So, we each spread out a tissue on the table in front of us and started talking about Mei's day and night.

Looking at the news: It seems like the last time we met was ten years ago.

Luo Dong: Yes, in 2014, I was preparing to shoot my first feature film "New York, New York" to participate in the venture capital stage of the Shanghai International Film Festival. I have been using the portrait photos you took for me since then.

Looking at the news: What changes have occurred in life and mood since winning the award this time?

Luo Dong: I just feel like I won't be able to be a newcomer in the next round of awards, haha! I am a film director, and even when making documentary style films, I use the language and specifications of the film to make them. This kind of creation requires the team to put in double the time and effort, and the film is even larger than it can be measured, and the production difficulty is also very high. I am very grateful to producer Shen Yang, and the producer of this movie, Zhou Xun, also gave me many valuable suggestions during the filming process. We are peers, and like me, she has a strong empathy for the character or generation of Mei.

At the party after the closing of the film festival yesterday, an Indian old man caught me and said he had watched my film and really liked it. The staff around me told me that he is the father of Indian director Dita Das, a judge of the Golden Earl Awards at this film festival.

I am glad that although the movie "Mei" has strong local cultural attributes, the survival status of the elderly is actually a global issue. An elderly person from a different cultural background likes my movie, which makes me believe that the content expressed in "Mei" is universal.

On the News: How did you find a character like "Mei"?

Luo Dong: Actually, at first I wanted to make a feature film. My team and I brainstormed and found many social places for elderly people in Shanghai to enter their lives through a field survey. The first time I saw May was in an underground Salya room. Her expressive ability and sense of relaxation really touched me. She didn't think making a movie was any big deal, "Where can I do it?"

Firstly, due to the infectious power of the character Mei, and also because I gradually gained a deeper understanding of this group, I felt that instead of filming a fictional story based on them, it would be better to use a documentary like narrative approach. The dramatic tension in their interactions and conversations is difficult for professional actors to portray.

Looking at the news: This movie can be overwhelming at certain times, with many paragraphs clearly not deliberately designed and scheduled. However, the relationships and dialogues between the characters are too exciting, and even many conversations and behaviors are very private. How did this happen?

Luo Dong: What the audience sees is the material of our success, but there is actually a lot of failure behind it. Another thing is that I think Mei and his generation are accustomed to a state of collective life, so the sense of boundaries between strangers is very weak. Dialogue can start anytime between unfamiliar elderly people of the same age in Shanghai.

In the subway scene, Mei had a conversation with a female housekeeper from Anhui. The female housekeeper met completely by chance, and the two of them started very naturally. You don't even need to edit in the middle. From beginning to end, the content is full of sparks and still water flowing deep. The female boss didn't even care why there were a bunch of people in front of them, holding the camera and filming.

Looking at the news: The audience generally loves the character Mei, but some netizens commented after reading that an elderly person in Shanghai, who lives far away in the suburbs, has no partner, lacks care, has been working hard, but cannot break through the difficulties of their own life, which makes people think of their future situation as dangerous. How do you think of this interpretation?

Luo Dong: I don't think Mei's life is very scary. To outsiders, her life may seem terrible, but she herself does not have this feeling. The vitality on her body is more like a little girl, with a naive fearlessness, never feeling inferior.

The material conditions are very limited. You can see that there is a lot of things piled up in her house, but her life has a sense of ceremony. She wears a warm hat while sleeping, does exercises after waking up, brushes her teeth with salt, and sprays air freshener in the room before going out. She has many carts, and before turning off the lights every time she goes out, she thinks about where to go and what to do today, which determines which one and what size of cart she wants to use. Actually, what's the difference between her and us? There's no difference. When we go out, we have to think about whether to take a taxi, drive, or take the subway?

So I think Mei is a very typical Chinese woman, a Shanghai woman. She is the same as many people you see on the street.

Looking at the news: There is a strong contrast between Mei's limited material life and her pursuit of propriety in her actions, which seems to be the reason why people like this character.

Luo Dong: In the movie, you can see that there are actually many men who show their affection to her. However, she feels that the other person is reluctant to buy a grease stick, or wants to go to IKEA where they can "sit for free" on a date, or eat together outside. If they don't know how to take off their coat when they enter the house, they can't meet her expectations for men. If you are stingy and have a rough demeanor, it's better not to use it. In fact, both materially and in life, she is fully aware of the importance of making good contributions, but the first thing to consider is whether the other person is worth it. This reflects her pure longing for love, which is very girlish.

In a scene where she talked with the online taxi driver, she frankly admitted that she did not have many choices. She was too old and too young to be the final say. She was very conscious of her predicament, but she never gave up looking.

Is it a choice to be particular or to make do with it? Isn't that also a choice that many single young people today face?

Looking at the news: What triggered you to record Mei and this group?

Luo Dong: A very important concept in this movie is loneliness. The need for companionship is always strong and universal. Mei's complaint in front of her parents' cemetery, not giving herself the house and being biased, sounded like a little girl playing coquettish to me. And why did she live in the suburbs and lend out the house on Yongkang Road? This house is where she and her daughter have lived for 20 years, and it's not easy for a single mother. When her daughter grew up and got married, and moved out, that house was no longer her home.

After her parents passed away, she divorced her husband, raised her daughter, and got married. Mei's life was always searching for a "home". She is still searching now. In the movie, one is looking for a spouse, and the other is looking for a house, both are looking for their own ideal home.

Perhaps there is no end, still on the road, in my opinion, is the core theme of a road film. I believe audiences who have watched this movie will admit that "Mei" is essentially a road movie.

Looking at the news: You talked about the universality of Mei's experience, but from the perspective of the movie itself, the texture of the place is also very strong, and it is not only reflected in Shanghai dialect, but also includes their way of life.

Luo Dong: That's right. A very important scene in the movie is the subway. The subway in Shanghai has been developing for 30 years and has reached every corner of the city. If it weren't for the convenience of public transportation, you wouldn't have imagined Mei living in the suburbs and socializing in the city center.

Watch the news: Why did you use a 4:3 frame to shoot this movie?

Luo Dong: When I was doing forework, I felt that the elderly group was very friendly. I was very addicted to the state of entering their lives and I really hope to bring my myopia angle to the audience. The 4:3 frame has a stronger sense of focus and liveliness.

Looking at the news: Close, the photographer's experience has come into play here.

Luo Dong: A while ago, when you looked through Lu Yuanmin's new version of the "Suzhou River" album, you now know that the people and lifestyles he filmed at that time have completely disappeared today. Looking back, the author and the object being written are mutually accomplished in this process. Our original intention for creating this movie is the same. We break people's stereotypes about the elderly by entering Mei's life, allowing more people living in parallel time and space to understand the mental state of this group, and thus giving them more care.

Looking at the news: Do Mei and you still have an intersection now?

Luo Dong: During holidays and festivals, we send each other WeChat messages. Some of our main creators are usually in Beijing, and when they come to Shanghai, we also ask them to come out for dinner together. We try our best not to influence or intervene in her life, but we are all good friends.

Watch the news: What will the next movie be like?

Luo Dong: Director Guan Jinpeng once told me that both story and form are a shell, and the most important thing is whether the character development is well established. I am fortunate to have met Mei. In the next movie, I think we should still capture people's true feelings and inner world, and if possible, create some new things, personal style and aesthetics. I think every female lead in my movie is very beautiful, from Yujuan in New York to Yumei in this one.

Looking at the news: Will big productions create a strong sense of alienation in the director's expression?

Luo Dong: It's because there are challenges that make it interesting. Movie directors still need to have fantasies. Just like Yumei, right? She sleeps with a smile every day, and there may be too many beautiful things in her dreams, reminding her that her dreams have not yet been completed.