Chapter 295 Hell is empty, the devil is in the world
Most movies usually don't have just one element, but a mixture of various elements.
Especially commercial movies should be more watchable.
"I'm Not the God of Medicine" is a tearful film, but it does not hinder the comedy elements in it.
However, you can’t add them casually. Basically, they are concentrated in the first half. It would be difficult to have a sudden funny plot in the second half, which would ruin the overall atmosphere.
The laughter in the first half is more about showing the shortcomings of the entire medical system and the life difficulties of critically ill and chronic patients in front of the audience. These low-level people live a very difficult life, but they also laugh sometimes, even if it is just for a moment.
Cheng Yong has lived like that. In middle age, his wife and children have been separated, he has nothing to do all day long, and he still has a sick father, but he can still laugh.
Even though he didn't see the hope of getting rich this time before coming to Yindu, he was always happy when he had dinner with his son and took a bath.
A tragic story also needs to have some laughs and a place where the audience can relax, otherwise it will be too tiring.
This hilarious scene at the beach is designed to make the audience relax, and it also shows how relaxed Cheng Yong is at this time.
Before this, the only time this character could relax was spending time with his son.
At the beginning, when the hotel owner next door said that his magic oil was useless, for the character Cheng Yong, it was actually normal for him to make some obscene remarks and make fun of the hotel owner.
However, after Li Qian thought about it, he still didn't add it and suppressed it.
This kind of film needs jokes and humor, but they are not added casually. Every laugh point is combined with the plot and character changes.
This is not a funny movie, it's just funny for the sake of being funny.
While letting the audience relax, the crew was also very happy during the afternoon filming. Even just watching Xu Zheng and the Yindu actors perform, they were very happy.
"Ahem...ka!"
Li Qian coughed lightly, trying hard not to laugh, and raised the walkie-talkie, "Brother Zheng, make your head-shaking action more funny, don't move your body, and relax."
This part wasn't that easy to shoot. It was a bit different from Xu Zheng's previous comedy style. I was always looking for a feeling, but it always came up a little short.
Li Qian, who was in front of the monitor, was also holding back his laughter. It was so funny to hold hands and shake his head while cursing.
Maybe it was because I didn't get enough rest, and I started filming without much sleep after running all the way. The scene at the beach, which lasted less than thirty seconds, took a whole afternoon to film.
"Okay, let's call it a day. Take the time to clean up and go back to the hotel."
Li Qian breathed a sigh of relief, and everyone on the crew, including Xu Zheng, also breathed a sigh of relief.
...
At almost half past six, Li Qian took the crew back to the hotel, a Chinese hotel near the embassy area, the New Delhi Inn.
No one had a good rest. I arrived in New Delhi at 2:30, went to bed at around 3 o'clock, and got up before 6 o'clock.
At the dinner table, Xu Zheng, who had been tired for a day, ate big mouthfuls, drank a large amount of water, and sighed, "Our authentic Chinese food is better. The curry rice we had for lunch was really unappetizing."
"I really haven't considered this. I'll contact the hotel later to see if they can provide packed lunches."
I had never thought about food before. In the past, when filming, I would just find a local restaurant, but now that I am abroad, most people are not used to Indo cuisine.
Especially when filming on the street, the vendors on the roadside making food are so dirty and they use their hands the whole time.
Although this is a local custom and it is not good to look down upon others, it is indeed unacceptable.
This hotel is owned by the Chinese. Many Chinese hotels like this in the embassy area are opened by the offices of Chinese-funded companies in New Delhi, specializing in serving Chinese people who come to India for business trips.
A single room costs US$50, including three meals a day, authentic Chinese food, and internet access. It is a very high standard for the crew, and it costs RMB 300 per night.
The room is not small, so two or three people can live in one room. It doesn’t cost much to shoot for a week.
They were all very hungry. After quickly finishing the food, Xu Zheng leaned on the chair and picked his teeth with a toothpick.
Li Qian smiled and said, "Brother Zheng, if you pick your teeth more arrogantly, you will look like Cheng Yong himself."
Xu Zheng chuckled and said, "Be civilized."
"By the way, Director Li, how did you come up with this scene at the beach this afternoon? I can even imagine the laughter of the audience in the cinema now. It's so amazing."
"It was just a flash of inspiration. This scene was the beginning of Cheng Yong's change. Even if he was stabbed by the Indians and paid more money, he was not reluctant at all. Instead, he was very happy, so that's it." Li Qian said.
"The main thing is that you acted well. You mixed Chinese and English. You said no, no, no... not dangerous, not dangerous. Your tongue burned and you stuttered, just like the real thing."
"I really stuttered." Xu Zheng said helplessly, "I didn't feel much about the words in the script. When we actually started filming, the lines were really amazing. Director Li, your comedy skills are so strong, you can't even shoot a comedy."
What a pity, it will definitely make a lot of people laugh."
"Comedies are hard to make, especially popular comedies. It's even harder to make them into classics," Li Qian said.
Xu Zheng laughed and said, "This scene is so funny. I really look forward to Director Li making a comedy. The whole movie will be so funny."
"Maybe, maybe I want to have some fun and be happy sometime." Li Qian smiled.
...
I just flew to India and slept for two or three hours before shooting for a whole day. The next day, Li Qian asked the crew to take a good rest and recuperate before starting filming in the afternoon.
It was still an outdoor scene, this time on a different street, and the scene was filmed when Cheng Yong came to India for the second time.
I chose to shoot in the afternoon, and when the crew was ready, it was probably around five or six o'clock, close to evening.
At dusk, in line with the plot of the movie at that time, Lu Yiyi's life came to an end.
"Please pay attention, let them all be careful, it's such a heavy fog."
"Ahem..."
Li Qian was staring around the street on the side of the road, and almost choked when he spoke.
Toward evening, someone was spraying thick fog on the street. This was insect-killing smoke. After all, India is a tropical country with many mosquitoes. During the season, the streets and alleys will be cleaned of insects.
"Ahem...boss."
Wen Muye covered his nose and ran all the way to Li Qian's side.
"What's wrong?" Li Qian asked.
"Boss, you've never been to Yindu, and you're not familiar with this place. How do you know that there will be large-scale pest control in Yindu?" Wen Muye asked puzzledly. This plot was in the original script, and it was obvious that he did not come to Yindu.
I added it later when I learned that this custom existed here.
"Have you heard of "You and Me"?" Li Qian asked.
"I heard it before. You and I have a heart-to-heart connection."
"Bah, bah, bah, who has a heart-to-heart with you?"
Li Qian looked like a villain, "I'm talking about living in the global village. The earth is a village. How can we still understand the things in the village? Just search online and you will find it.
There was an outbreak of dengue fever in Indo that year, and large-scale insecticides were carried out across the country. At that time, our national government suspended Indu's domestic flights out of epidemic prevention considerations, so Cheng Yong failed to return home in time after buying the medicine, which indirectly led to Lu's death.
Benefit's condition further worsened and he eventually ended his life."
"Boss is really thoughtful." Wen Muye sighed.
"Also, do you see any difference between the scene and the street we shot yesterday?" Li Qian asked, pointing to the foggy streets around him.
Wen Muye thought for a moment, "It's evening again, and there's a feeling of lack of vitality in the foggy place. We took the photo in the morning yesterday. The beginning of a new day and the sun is shining, which means hope?"
"Yes." Li Qian nodded, "It's just a comparison. Although the streets of Yindu yesterday were backward and dilapidated, people were performing their duties, the streets were lively, and children were full of laughter, but now the streets are desolate.
, in comparison, the streets of Yindu where Cheng Yong looked disgusted yesterday are actually paradise and heaven, and this is hell."
Wen Muye listened carefully and took notes in his mind, as if he was as eager to learn as Guo Fan.
However, when he heard Li Qian's analogy, he still twitched his mouth and said, "Hell... Boss, your analogy is really strange."
"It's hell!"
Li Qian said matter-of-factly, "Not only is it a contrast, this scene also wants to show the atmosphere of death and decline. It also tells the audience that from now on, the plot will no longer have laughter and laughter, and it will begin to turn to gloom and death. Lu will benefit from it, and Huang Mao is the only one."
One after another they died."
"By the way, why do you feel it's not even interesting?"
Li Qian said and pondered that he was very satisfied with this shot. According to his opinion, this scene can be called art.
However, when it comes to death and decline, I always feel like something is missing.
"Give me the storyboard."
"okay."
Wen Mu was stunned for a moment, then immediately turned the storyboard script he had brought with him to this page and handed it to Li Qian.
Looking at the drawing boards on the storyboard, Li Qian thought about each shot of this scene in his mind.
"Death...death..."
I always felt that I had missed something, so I looked at the street again, and saw several people spraying smoke along the street.
"Bug spray..."
"correct!"
A flash of light flashed in Li Qian's eyes, and he said loudly, "What I say is that death is missing."
This nagging voice shouted again, making Wen Muye startled, "What's going on, boss?"
"No more deaths. Go get some mosquitoes or something. I'll add a close-up shot of the mosquitoes being killed later."
"But what to do with mosquitoes? Can they fly?" Wen Muye was a little confused.
Li Qian waved his hand, "Just get more, it's enough to capture a close-up, activate the surrounding Indians to collect the mosquitoes, alive!"
"okay."
Collect the mosquitoes... Wen Muye followed the order blankly, and soon the street became lively.
Some people actually paid money to buy mosquitoes. These things can be seen everywhere, and the Indian people who were watching the excitement were immediately shocked. It was almost like picking up money.
...
At 5:30 in the afternoon, the crew was ready to continue the filming of "I'm Not the God of Medicine" for another day.
Compared with yesterday, Xu Zheng has changed his makeup.
The originally messy medium-long hair has turned into neat short hair, the skin on my face is much better, my eyebrows and beard are much neater, and although my clothes are not suits and leather shoes, at least they are clean and tidy.
If yesterday Xu Zheng was a down-and-out idle man, today he is dressed like an ordinary office worker.
First I filmed a scene where I bought medicine from a pharmacy and walked onto the street, and then the main scene started.
"Scene 63, one shot at a time!"
Amidst the smoke, Wen Muye shouted "Start" loudly.
Xu Zheng covered his mouth and nose and appeared on the monitor with a heavy face, looking at the vast fog in front of him.
The camera opened Xu Zheng's eyes and presented the surrounding scenes one by one.
There was no excitement, no sound of children playing, and everyone hurried past with their mouths and noses covered.
Occasionally, a small cart passes by, and the bells on the cart make a long and melodious sound, the rhythm is a bit like the bells in a temple.
The camera then gave a close-up shot of a person who was spraying insecticide spray. The spray gun in his hand looked a bit like a Gatling gun. It was also carried and firing in all directions.
Suddenly, several mosquitoes appeared in the camera lens and hit the muzzle of the gun.
The camera moved forward and gave a close-up. The insecticidal spray sprayed from the sprayer drowned several mosquitoes, and then they fell straight to the ground, motionless.
The man continued to repeat this action, spraying around, without paying attention to the mosquitoes.
The cart from just now appeared again, and the sound of "Ding Ling, clang" floated in the street, and then left the camera's sight again.
"Okay, passed!"
Li Qian shouted loudly in front of the monitor and picked up the walkie-talkie with some excitement, "Lao Zhang, the long lens movement just now was perfect!"
This is art, a lens like a work of art.
Zhang Zhonghua just waved to Li Qian calmly, indicating that it was OK, and started preparing for the next shot.
The second shot shows Xu Zheng looking at the scene in front of him in confusion, surrounded by smoke, until he saw someone carrying two statues of gods walking past him.
These two gods are like the immortal couple in Indian mythology - Shiva and Kali. Shiva is one of the three main gods of Indian religion and the god of destruction, symbolizing destruction and rebirth.
Seeing the statue of the god passing in front of him, Xu Zheng slowly released his hand covering his mouth and nose.
The camera showed a close-up of the face. Xu Zheng watched the statue go away blankly, not knowing what he was thinking.
In the fog where he couldn't see clearly, Cheng Yong also began to struggle in his heart, wondering which way forward he should go.
This is Cheng Yong's inner change. The Buddha statue reflects Cheng Yong's desire to complete his inner salvation. He does not want to become a god, but just wants to have a clear conscience.
Just like the statue of the god just now, it holds a head in its hand, and there is a legend in it.
Legend has it that one day, a powerful demon appeared in the Three Realms. This demon was so powerful that every time it dropped a drop of blood on the ground, a thousand incarnations as powerful as him would appear on the ground to wreak havoc on the world.
Parvati, the Snow Mountain Goddess and the wife of Shiva, one of the three great gods, was furious after hearing the news and transformed into the goddess Kali to destroy the demon.
Goddess Kali was afraid that this demon would drop its own blood on the ground during the duel, causing a thousand demon incarnations with the same power to appear, so she sucked all its blood dry first, leaving not a drop left. Later.
Kali finally eliminated the demon, but she was affected and became violent. Her feet involuntarily trampled the ground, affecting the lives of all living beings in the three realms.
In order to alleviate the suffering of all living beings, his companion Shiva lay at Kali's feet and let him trample him to vent his hatred. This is also the reason why Shiva was lying at Kali's feet in the statue just now.
Kali is the druggist who sells high-priced medicine, and Cheng Yong is Shiva. The new medicine developed by the druggist saves all living beings, but the high price also makes him lose himself.
Cheng Yong felt powerless. He was caught between drug dealers, the government, and patients. No matter what he chose, he was not the one who benefited. However, his conscience prevented him from just leaving.
In order to prevent all sentient beings from suffering, he chose to lie down and let others trample on him.