Compared with those movies Li Yi made in the past, whether it is "Warm Spring" or "Into the Dust", in terms of hardware, the requirements can be said to be extremely low.
Basically, it can be said that once the actors are in place, the filming location is selected, and the crew is in place, filming can begin.
Because almost all the scenes that need to be involved in the film are ready-made.
The Baozhu family in "Warm Spring", the Ma Youtie family in "Into the Dust", etc., Li Yi can all be found in this small village.
And sometimes you really don’t know it without looking at it, and you’ll be shocked when you look at it.
Li Yixiang had some concerns about the idea of making two movies together before. After all, "Warm Spring" and "Into the Dust" are indeed two completely different stories.
Moreover, the backgrounds seem to be somewhat different, so would it work if they were placed in the same village?
the answer is negative.
Because there is a big difference between poor villages and rich villages.
Yes, there is a gap between rich and poor in rural areas, but in reality, it is basically not that exaggerated.
Give a simple example.
If there are several small Western-style houses in a village, then the economic conditions of other families in the village will not be too bad.
At the same time, there is another point. There is a big difference between the era when the story of "Warm Spring" takes place and the era when the story of "Into the Dust" takes place.
However, this trip made Li Yi feel that it was a worthwhile trip.
They are just two neighboring villages, but the gap between the rich and the poor is unbelievably huge.
Of course, the so-called adjacent villages are actually very far apart in geographical location, just because the two villages are already the closest to each other within a radius.
The two villages also have two completely different looks.
One is called Baisha Village and the other is called Huaqiang Village. The mental outlook of the villagers in the former village is very different from that of the villagers in the latter village.
The saying that poor mountains and poor waters bring out unruly people may be too absolute, but it definitely has a certain truth to it.
Huaqiang Village is much better than Baisha Village.
This is probably because having enough food and clothing means knowing etiquette, and having enough food and clothing means knowing honor and disgrace. If a person does not have enough food and clothing, he will naturally not have other thoughts.
In the end, Li Yi decided that filming could be done together, but "Warm Spring" needed to choose another filming location.
Some scenes can be shot together, but some scenes are obviously not suitable to be shot together.
After all, one of the highlights of "Warm Spring" is the natural scenery of the mountain village. Although Baisha Village is filled with yellow sand and has a rough beauty, it is more desolate.
As for joint promotion, there is no need for it, because the two films actually tell stories about rural areas and were released at the same time. Naturally, the audience can use them for comparison. There is no need to worry about whether they happened in the same period.
The same place.
Li Yi did not rush to start filming, but took the leading actors to live in the village together.
The villages experienced by the actors in the two films are not in the same place.
When visiting this village, Li Yi also heard a lot of related things.
There are really many examples like Ma Youtie and Cao Guiying.
There is even a couple like this in Baisha Village. However, unlike the desolate scene at the end of "Into the Dust", this couple, although one has short legs and the other is mute, still enjoy each other.
Li Yi was also led by the village chief to visit this family's home.
The two seemed a little awkward at first, but after quickly getting to know each other, Li Yi could sense that the relationship between the couple was really good.
They talked about some shortcomings in the family. The husband couldn't speak, but his personality was very plain. The wife was a talkative, and her personality seemed a bit shrewd.
After leaving their home, the village chief also told Li Yi about their affairs.
The two people were introduced to each other. Lao Shitou, also known as the mute, although he could not speak, was famous for being able to endure hardships and be diligent.
It's just that his character is a bit cowardly, or too honest, and he has always been bullied by some people in the village. However, since Lao Juanzi got married, such things have become much less common.
Because although Lao Juanzi has long and short legs, her personality is very fierce.
The old village chief said that she always smiled and didn't care what others said about her, but as long as someone called her a man, it would be serious, and she could scold them all day long.
In fact, Li Yi had only heard about the quarrels among people in the countryside before, but this time in Baisha Village, he had real experience.
The language is not only vulgar, but also the actions can be added. As long as a man and a woman are scolding each other, the man basically does not win.
During this period, Li Yi gained a lot.
In fact, he didn't say that he had never filmed in rural areas before, but those were not real rural films.
Most of them just borrow the background, but this time it is different, it is a real rural drama.
Many details are difficult to grasp for those who don’t understand rural life.
For a director, you have to know how to control those details, such as what crops are grown in the villages here in the Northwest?
You can’t just bring crops from the south to the north, right?
This is just the most basic, there are many others, so after this month, Li Yi did not say that he knew everything about the village, but at least he had a more realistic concept.
Filming of the movie started soon.
There are few actors and a small crew, so filming is actually very easy for Li Yi at this stage.
Some people may ask, how can the play "Into the Dust" be so relaxing when it is clearly about suffering?
But it’s really not.
Yes, the play "Into the Dust" is indeed about suffering, but in fact, except for some unsettling plots, most of the time, the main plot is actually bitter yet sweet.
The daily life of Ma Youtie and Cao Guiying is definitely sweet.
As for the actors, Li Yi's requirement is not to be bitter and resentful all the time.
Because for Ma Youtie and Cao Guiying, it is sweet for both of them to be able to come together and hug each other for warmth.
Life is difficult, but spiritually, it is sweet for the two of them to comfort each other.
Although this sweetness is joy in suffering, it cannot be bitter and resentful.
In another film "Warm Spring", Li Yi didn't have much involvement and left it directly to Zhuo Yixiong. He basically only paid attention to it occasionally.
As for the actors, it is different from another world where the crew is too poor to afford the pay, so the heroine still appears for zero pay.
Although his acting skills are considered to be strong among actors, it still lacks a bit of flavor.
For Li Yi, are problems that can be solved with money still problems?
Therefore, whether it is Ma Youtie or Cao Guiying, he has found real actors to play. Maybe they are not that famous, but their acting skills are definitely sufficient.
Even some of the supporting roles, such as the village chief, are played by well-known veteran actors.
