He Xin has watched a lot of movies in the past two years. Many of them were considered "not good to watch" in his previous life. Once you watch them now, you will find them very interesting, and they will trigger thoughts and aftertaste after watching them. But some of them still feel dull.
I couldn't stand watching it several times, such as Chief Jia's famous work "Xiao Wu".
In the process of reviewing the films, he discovered that the so-called sixth generation directors seemed to have a unified pattern in their shooting techniques, that is, they liked long shots.
For example, Wang Xiaoshuai's "Bicycle", Chief Jia's Hometown Trilogy, Lou Ye's "Suzhou River", Zhang Yuan's "Going Home for the New Year" and other realistic-themed works, they all seem to like to regard themselves as spectators.
The author looks at this society indifferently through a long lens.
Among them, the most insane use of long lenses is undoubtedly Wang Chao's "Anyang Baby".
Ning Hao was obviously also infected with this problem. Rather than expressing it, he was simply imitating it.
Because through this book, He Xin can still see to some extent that compared to the plots of Chief Jia, Zhang Yuan, Lou Ye and others that are difficult for ordinary viewers to understand and the strong sense of personal expression, "Incense" still has a strong sense of expression.
The story and the black humor revealed intentionally or unintentionally.
Caotai Team finally turned on the camera. In fact, it is not accurate to say that it was turned on, because Ning Hao had already shot a lot of material while carrying the camera, and it was only now that he began to officially shoot people.
There are very few lines in the script. At the beginning, he asked He Xin to wear ill-fitting monk robes and ride a 51-type heavy bicycle that was even worse than when he delivered express delivery and kept falling off the chain.
While riding in the streets and alleys of the county town, he would set up his camera across a road, or sit in a van and follow along to take pictures.
This is very handy for He Xin, because when he was filming "Bicycle", he had filmed scenes like this, and he also had a lesson: just ignore the camera and just do what you have to do.
One advantage of DV shooting is that you don't have to worry about wasting film and you can shoot as you like. Apparently Ning Hao had the same idea as him. As soon as the machine was turned on, he was asked to let go as much as possible and act however he wanted.
Ning Hao, who originally came to help, and his former colleagues from the Taiyuan Repertory Theater learned that He Xin was the Golden Horse Best Actor and the Best Newcomer of the Berlin International Film Festival. They all gathered around the scene with curiosity and reverence. After all, this kind of award is so far away.
They are too far.
But looking at them, they all felt a little confused and confused, because the monk they saw was wearing ill-fitting robes, carrying a sachet, slightly stooped, and riding a broken bicycle on the street.
. Occasionally, I will come down to promote. When I hear a certain noise, I will look around. When I see a crowd gathering, I will stop and stretch my neck to see the excitement.
Maybe it’s because the monk’s robe is a little thin, and sometimes I wake up with runny nose. The hand that pinches my nose naturally touches the wall or telephone pole, then I lift my sleeve to wipe my nose, and look at the flow of people on the street or squint.
He raised his eyes to look at the faintly shining sun hanging in the gray sky.
His eyes were always unfocused, floating and blank. He seemed to be no different from those people wandering around on the street with nothing to do. If it weren't for his spiky bald head and conspicuous yellow monk's robes, throwing him into the crowd, he wouldn't have looked at all.
You can't tell that this is an actor and he is still acting.
Is this the standard of a movie king?
But only Ning Hao's eyes became hot, and he stared at He Xin's figure in the viewfinder. He wanted to shoot this kind of image that was extremely close to reality, and it was best not to have any trace of performance.
When he first wrote this script, he wanted to find a real monk to play the role, or a non-professional actor. But he is not a stubborn director for the sake of art, nor is he purely for self-expression.
To put it bluntly, he makes movies just to become famous and for his works to be seen by more people. So just like his character, it is easy to compromise for reality, which is why he later turned into a director of commercial films.
.
His purpose in finding He Xin was to attract attention and participate in the Asian DV Film Competition at next year's Hong Kong International Film Festival. He was even mentally prepared to sacrifice his original intention. But he never expected what He Xin presented to him.
Just the kind of performance he wanted without any trace of acting.
He Xin leaned the dilapidated bicycle against the telephone pole, and squatted aside to bask in the sun. He might have really caught a cold. He raised his right index finger and pressed the side of his nose, and shook his head to the left.
A long string of snot sprayed from the left nostril on the ground like an arrow. Then he wiped the bottom of the nostril with the thumb of his right hand. He put down his hand and naturally rubbed it on the telephone pole. A few fingers
He rubbed it again and continued to hold his hands on his chest.
His eyes swept around the street in boredom. Occasionally, pedestrians passed in front of him, and not far away there was a blind man wearing sunglasses who was setting up a stall to tell fortunes...
Ning Hao stared at the picture in the viewfinder, his whole body trembling. He knew very well that for a director, it was his greatest luck to meet such an actor.
"Ah sneeze!"
In the past, he only had to wear autumn clothes and long trousers in the room, but now, even though he took a long hot shower as soon as he came back, and then wrapped the quilt around him, he was still shivering and his nostrils were blocked.
, I could only breathe through my mouth, my head felt dizzy, and I felt extremely uncomfortable.
"Are you feeling better?"
Ning Hao pushed the door in with a bag in his hand.
He Xin glanced at him and shook his head, not even thinking about talking.
"Here, Nana bought this for you. Put it on later. I said you too. You know clearly that this dress is thin, but you don't know how to wear more underneath. Do you know that today's highest temperature is only minus 7 degrees!
"
Ning Hao took out a set of thermal underwear from the bag, complained and touched He Xin's forehead. Perhaps he was unsure, and then touched his own forehead. After comparing the two, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's okay.
No fever."
He Xin rolled his eyes at him, then looked at the box containing thermal underwear, and then said in a low voice: "Thank you, Sister Na, for me."
"Hey, your voice has changed. Why don't you go to the hospital to have a checkup? Get a diaphragm and get better quickly."
"It's okay, it's mainly because my nose is blocked, I'll be fine after a nap!"
In his previous life, he lay in the hospital for a long time, until he finally reached the end of his life. Perhaps out of fear and disgust, after his rebirth, he resisted going to the hospital. Even if he had a cold, he would at most just take some medicine.
, just carry it through.
"Okay, then you can sleep."
Ning Hao stood up and asked before leaving: "Can you go down for dinner?"
Probably seeing He Xin's listless look, he waved his hand and said, "Forget it, I'll help you pick it up later."
He Xin nodded, and after he went out, he tightened the quilt around him and lay down.
Maybe the cold medicine I took took effect, and I fell asleep in a daze, but it seemed that I didn't sleep deeply. It was like a movie playing in my mind. Scenes flashed randomly, including scenes of quarrels with my wife in my previous life, and original stories.
When He Xin was a child, he was spending the New Year with his parents, and he even dreamed of Cheng Hao proposing to break up with him, which frightened him awake.
His whole body broke out in a cold sweat, and his heart was beating hard. He took a long breath, secretly glad that this was a dream, and at the same time comforted himself with the fact that the dream was the opposite.
He finally calmed down. Maybe it was because he was sweating all over, but his blocked nose actually became clear. Afraid of catching a cold again, he quickly jumped out of bed, went to the bathroom, took a hot shower, and put on his previous clothes.
The new thermal underwear that Ning Hao brought over.
My nose was clear, my breathing was smooth, my spirit instantly improved, and I felt hungry. Looking out the window, night had already fallen, but that guy Ning Hao had promised to bring him dinner, but he was still nowhere to be seen.
Just as he was cursing, the door to the room was opened from the outside, and Ning Hao crept in with the plastic bag and a bottle of wine in his hand. He looked up and saw He Xin standing in the middle of the room, which scared him.
One jump.
"You're awake, I thought you were still asleep!"
As he said this, the guy looked him over and said with a smile: "It fits him quite well, and his complexion is much better than before."
He Xin dragged the coffee table to the middle of the two beds.
"Put it on. If you don't come, I plan to go down and eat it myself."
While taking out the lunch box from the bag, this guy explained: "After I left your place, I have been sorting out the materials I took today. If Nana hadn't reminded me, I would have forgotten to eat."
Ning Hao brought a lot of things, including white-cut mutton, mutton liver and mutton tripe, fried peanuts, cold kelp shreds, and a large box of steaming scallion oil noodles.
The goods were laid out one by one, and he said with a smile: "I originally planned to take it back to the room to drink by myself if you have no appetite and can't eat much. How about a couple of sips?"
"Fine."
He stood up, took out a pack of twenty disposable cups from his suitcase, and took out two.
"Hey, this guy is so well-versed! Hey, don't pretend to be so, you'll share half of it with me later. I used to drink from the toothbrush cup in the room."
He Xin counted five cups and kept them for himself, and threw the rest to him along with the packaging bags. He said with a look of disgust: "You always bury Tai like this, don't you think Sister Na will talk about you?"
"I used to say it often, but after you have been with me for a long time, you got used to it. Don't tell me, sometimes she is even less particular than me."
As he spoke, the guy poured half a glass of wine into each of the two glasses, picked up one of the glasses, and said, "Come on, let's take a sip first in your Northeastern dialect."
"No, let me eat some food first, my stomach is growling with hunger."
After finishing half a box of shaved noodles in one go, his stomach, which was so hungry, finally calmed down. He then picked up the cup, touched it with Ning Hao, took a sip, put a piece of mutton into his mouth, and asked while eating
: “How was the material you shot today?”
“Excellent!”
Speaking of this, Ning Hao immediately slapped the coffee table, gave a thumbs up and said excitedly: "A Xin, you are truly worthy of being the best actor! It turns out that when I saw you filming the TV series, I was still muttering in my heart. I didn't expect you to become the best actor so quickly.
I can get into the zone, and it’s the one I want.”
He Xin smiled faintly, but he was inevitably a little proud. Maybe he was uncomfortable with acting in a TV series because of the large number of lines and the fast pace of filming, but to say that he had few lines and played a tough character, it was right
It was relatively easy for him, because like "Bicycle", from a certain point of view, he was actually playing the role himself.
Ning Hao is still very excited, saying that with the support of He Xin's natural performance, this movie will undoubtedly make the picture more full and three-dimensional; and what else about his performance is simple, calm and unassuming, but you can see it if you look closely
There's a sense of contrast, it's really great, all kinds of praise.
Hearing the last part, He Xin felt embarrassed. He quickly picked up the wine and said, "Stop talking, drink! Drink!"
Good guy, this guy was so excited that he drank nearly half of the wine in the glass in one gulp.
I don’t know where this guy’s nerves were wrong today, but he actually started to confide in him under the influence of alcohol.
"...My favorite thing is still painting, but I don't have the talents of Van Gogh and Picasso. I can't even afford to eat just by painting, let alone dream about it. To be honest, I used to take pictures
In commercials, I shot music videos just to earn a living. Later, I became more ambitious and wanted to try making movies. This thing can make me famous and make money quickly. When I have money and food and clothing, I can come back to it again.
Go pursue your dream of painting..."
“What a fart dream!”
While He Xin was eating peanuts, he interrupted unceremoniously: "I heard that artists can only create great works when they are poor. Then who, the Van Gogh you just said was hungry?
Damn it!"
"Nonsense, Van Gogh didn't starve to death, he shot himself." Ning Hao glanced at him with disdain and quickly corrected him.
However, He Xin shook his chopsticks nonchalantly and said: "No matter how he died, poverty is inevitable. I heard that when he was alive, his paintings could not be sold. After he died, they started to become more valuable. This
I just don’t understand. Isn’t it all art? Why is it that no one appreciates his paintings when he is alive, but only when he is dead are they sought after? Do you think this is also a kind of hype?”
"Well……"
Ning Hao wanted to refute, but after thinking for a long time, he couldn't seem to come up with any strong refutation evidence, so he had to give up and said: "Forget it, I won't talk about painting with you anymore, let's talk about movies."
So he started talking about his original intention of creating this movie, and also talked about the Yongning Temple in his hometown of Nanxiaozhai Village.
It is said that Yongning Temple has a very long history. As early as the early Yuan Dynasty, the place was very popular. The name Yongning Temple was given by Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty.
It was because Yongning Temple was first established and the incense was so popular that people thought it was a treasured land and moved there one after another, and that was how Nanxiaozhai came to be.
Ning Hao said that the reason why their family was named Ning was because their ancestors moved here during the reign of the Yuan Dynasty. The status of the Han people was extremely low and they did not even have a proper name. It was because of this Yongning Temple that they begged the Buddha to bless him and bring him peace.
Treat it as your own surname.
He Xin didn't know whether what he said was true or not, but hearing what he said, it seemed to be quite true.
But when talking about the movie, He Xin couldn't help but complain: "I think the name of this movie might as well be renamed "The Transformation of a Monk"."
Because the monk in the script was very simple at first. He is a monk, and a monk must have a temple. The elder brother advised him not to guard the ruined temple, but to join the newly built temple and become a shareholder. But the monk was unwilling to give in. He didn’t want to
He destroyed this small temple passed down by his master into his own hands. Besides, since the village is full of sheep-killers, there should be a temple.
At first, the county had no money to help him repair the collapsed Buddha statue, so he went to beg for alms, but was arrested by the police. He was imprisoned with a prostitution girl. The girls planned to pool money to help him repair the Buddha statue, but he felt that the girl did not have enough money.
It was appropriate to refuse.
But the money he finally got through begging was confiscated by the police. The monk had no choice but to do it. Inspired by the young man who asked him to pretend to tell fortunes, he went to set up a stall to tell fortunes. However, because he robbed the fake blind man's business, not only the money was robbed by the gangsters, but he was also tortured.
Got a beating.
Just when he was desperate, someone asked him to see a doctor. He bought a Buddha statue from a street stall for 12 yuan. He lied that it was consecrated by a master from Mount Wutai and could cure his wife's illness. After selling it for 3,000 yuan, he finally raised the money to buy it.
Enough money to repair the Buddha statue.
In order to raise money to repair the Buddha statue, a simple monk transformed all the way and finally became a deceitful liar. It must be said that this is a great irony.
Of course, God opened his eyes in the end. Just when the monk finally repaired the Buddha statue and held a grand consecration ceremony, he was told by people from the county that the small temple was on the roadbed of the "Getting Rich Road" planned to be built by the county and would be demolished immediately in the coming year.
Looking at the big word "Demolish" on the wall, and the sound of Amitabha Buddha coming from the loudspeaker, the monk could only look at the sky speechlessly.