1905 movie network news "This is the most played drama."
In an exclusive interview with 1905 Film Network, the director smiled and responded to Donnie Yen’s contrast performance in the film.
In the new film Search and Rescue, which was released on October 3rd, Donnie Yen changed the image of a kung fu superstar and played an ordinary father who lost his son. Together with the search and rescue personnel, he overcame many difficulties and sought hope for life.
Not only was he beaten the most, but Donnie Yen also contributed many firsts in the film: the first time he faced the camera, he burst into tears; For the first time, I starred in such a large-scale and high-intensity emotional drama; The first time shooting in the northeast location of MINUS 30 degrees and so on.
Some viewers commented: This is the most different Donnie Yen and the most touching Donnie Yen.
In Chi-Leung Law’s view, Search and Rescue is not only a breakthrough for Donnie Yen to jump out of his comfort zone, but also a simple reflection on family relations and the value of life through Donnie Yen’s "return to the ordinary".
"Before the accident comes, cherish every minute, pay more attention to your family and do something for the people you love. It doesn’t need much. It can be a hug and a good morning. "
"Sincerity"
Let Donnie Yen return to ordinary.
"Can only act, but can’t perform literary drama" is a stereotype of action actors by many audiences, and Chi-Leung Law is very opposed to this statement.
Especially after watching it, he was impressed by Donnie Yen’s acting skills and saw his determination to break through the comfort zone.
This two-way choice has made their cooperation in Search and Rescue. Just finished the first draft of the script, Chi-Leung Law showed it to Donnie Yen, who liked it very much.
Different from the master IP Man or the heroic policeman before him, Donnie Yen is interested in the "ordinary" texture of this role, and there are no heroes, only the stories of ordinary people and the problems that every ordinary family may encounter.
So, we see Ade played by Donnie Yen, who embodies many typical characteristics of Chinese father. On the surface, he is grumpy, rough and a little macho, hiding all his love and dedication to his family behind the scenes.
Chi-Leung Law interprets this: "You can say that this role has many shortcomings, but no one is perfect in real life. In the face of big and big, he has advantages, depending on which angle we look at it."
In the process of improving the script, the team also considered adding a more "tailored" character background for Donnie Yen’s role: for example, he could be a fireman or a policeman, or he had cancer and had a heavier burden, but finally decided to cut the complexity and return to the original intention of creating this story.
"Search and Rescue" don’t do a great thing, just want to do a very ordinary thing. Let ordinary people see their own lives when they see this movie. "
For this reason, the two words that Chi-Leung Law often said to Donnie Yen are "sincerity". "Acting can of course be skillful, but in many cases, it should be done with sincerity. I hope everyone can see that Donnie Yen plays this role with sincerity."
"Being beaten"
When Donnie Yen jumped out of the comfort zone,
His face was red and swollen, and he was beaten by people on the ground. The audience had never seen the "down and out" appearance of Kung Fu star Donnie Yen before.
Director Chi-Leung Law also responded with a smile: "They said that this is the most beaten play in Donnie Yen, and I confirmed that it is indeed the case."
Especially in the scene of rescuing abducted children, Ade, played by Donnie Yen, goes to the danger alone. When you expect him to beat the quartet with one enemy and ten, as in previous movies, what you see is a middle-aged man with limited strength, who endures punching and kicking again and again just to save innocent children.
Chi-Leung Law revealed that before the filming of this scene, the action director had designed many complicated routines, but Donnie Yen took the initiative to suggest that this design did not conform to his own characters.
"If you think the play is good-looking, there is only one reason, because he didn’t take it as an action play. He is just playing a father who wants to save his child. What attitude should he show? "Chi-Leung Law said." If there is no emotion, it is useless to play brilliantly. The audience will not go with you. "
This selfless state of devotion is also reflected in another climax scene. Faced with the misunderstanding of his wife and everyone, Ade, who is indisputable, did not hesitate to "sacrifice" himself in exchange for his son’s rescue opportunity. Strong emotional tension puts high demands on the actors’ performance.
Chi-Leung Law remembers that continuous shooting wrote five articles at that time, but he never reached the ideal state. He found a real event video similar to the film and showed it to Donnie Yen with music, which quickly reminded Donnie Yen of his family and found the feeling of the characters.
"He asked to try again, which is what you see now. He played well … He didn’t believe the play at first, but at that moment he believed it and did it. I also hope that there will be more such performances in Donnie Yen in the future, "Chi-Leung Law said.
Not only that, after his own part was filmed, Donnie Yen offered to stay on the scene and take a show for other actors, helping even the extras to find their state more quickly.
Chi-Leung Law recalled with emotion: "I don’t know if other plays are like this, but he didn’t leave the scene in this play, even without his play, he was always there. Let me see that he trusts the whole team and is willing to jump out of his comfort zone. "
"search and rescue"
Work miracles with faith
Before writing the script, Chi-Leung Law had seen a true news: the father left his 17-year-old son alone in the ice and snow because he lost his temper, and when he went back, he found that his son had disappeared, and finally found it after seven days.
During this period, too many incredible things happened, and public opinion changed from sympathy at the beginning to blaming and doubting the father. This story, which is both realistic and dramatic, gave Chi-Leung Law an impulse to create.
In the process of scriptwriting, Chi-Leung Law also put a lot of thoughts on real family problems.
Donnie Yen’s father, who bears great pressure of life alone, is busy with his work and ignores the care and communication for his wife and children, hiding his love and dedication in unknown places. This is also a dilemma that many families will face in reality.
Many of Cecilia Han’s lines were written by Mrs. Chi-Leung Law, such as the sentence: "After ten years of marriage with you, I have no job. Is it for myself?" It tells the voices of many housewives, which makes people feel the same.
In the movie, in the face of the huge accident of the loss of their son, Ade and his wife began to rethink the dribs and drabs of their past family life. Outside the play, Chi-Leung Law also hopes to guide the audience to think about what is the definition of happiness?
"Unhappy time in life is always more than happy time. Should we cherish every minute and do more things for the people you love, such as a hug and a good morning, which is already a great progress?"
This pursuit of "realism" is also reflected in the shaping of forest police and snow search and rescue teams. The creative team has communicated with the local ordinary police in Changbai Mountain many times to understand their living conditions.
What impressed Chi-Leung Law the most was that, unlike what they imagined, there were no earth-shattering stories in their lives, and they were more concerned with trivial matters for residents and tourists, guarding this land for decades.
In the actual search and rescue work, in the face of harsh natural environment and various unknown situations, it is often not technology or equipment, but the belief and responsibility of search and rescue team members.
"I really respect all the search and rescue team members. Many of them are voluntary. Everyone has worked hard and has to face the pressure of public opinion." Chi-Leung Law said, "The equipment is of course important, but the most important thing is the inner belief. You believe you can find it."
It is this belief that supports the father in the play to move forward all the way, and it is also the search and rescue team members who do not give up and make a miracle of life.
In the snowstorm, some people supported the continued search, while others thought it was hopeless. It seemed that the discussion was about search and rescue, but it was actually about life.
"The same is true in life. No one can predict whether there will be hope if you move on, but why not try a few more steps? There may be no result, but at least you still have faith," Chi-Leung Law said.
Just like the goldfish that runs through the film, it has completed the impossible survival in a harsh environment. It is the embodiment of "hope and love", accompanying the protagonist and the audience all the way forward.
