Casting off the past
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E-mail China Daily, December 5, 2019
When director Diao Yi'nan stumbled upon a photo of the actor Hu Ge in a magazine, he suddenly realized he had found the ideal lead for his new movie, The Wild Goose Lake.
From the image, Diao could recognize that Hu-then widely regarded as a pop idol whose major screen roles were usually handsome heroes-had the potential to play a rebellious yet struggling soul, who is shadowed by a complex past.
So, for the first time in an acting career spanning 14 years, Hu stepped out of his comfort zone to play a gangster, a character far removed from the charmed life led by the suave Shanghai native born in 1982. The film also marks the first time for Hu-who shot to stardom through hit TV series like Nirvana in Fire-to play the lead role in a silver-screen feature.
During a recent promotional event held in Beijing, Hu recalls that when he was contacted by Diao, he was at a crossroads in his career.
"I was waiting for an excellent script and a good character then. Honestly speaking, I was quite nervous about joining the film as I was worried about whether I would be up to the job," says Hu.
Diao is not known as a particularly prolific director. He has established his prestigious reputation and gained fame for his unique style. Diao's last film, Black Coal,Thin Ice, won two awards-the Golden Bear for best film and the Silver Bear for best actor (Liao Fan)-at the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival.
Driven by his desire to make a breakthrough, Hu says he set aside all his acting experience to reset himself as "a blank sheet of paper" to prepare for this unprecedented role, which involved learning the Wuhan dialect and taking part in a harsh physical-training regime.
Thanks to Hu's devotion as well as the efforts of the other cast members, including actress Kwai Lunmei and actor Liao Fan, the movie-which will open on Friday-has become one of December's most anticipated films.
The film was shortlisted as the only Chinese-language film to compete for top awards at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.
Loosely adapted from a real-life story, the movie set in the humid city in central China unfolds with Zhou Zenong, played by Hu, a hoodlum on the run after he accidentally kills a policeman. In order to make his isolated wife turn him in to the police to receive a 300,000 yuan ($42,400) reward, the outlaw turns to his friends for help-but things go wrong and end in bloodshed.
"I spent two years writing the script, using a blend of my imagination and news stories," recalls Diao at a recent promotional event held in Beijing.
Speaking about the dark tone of the movie, Diao reveals up to 85 percent of all sequences were shot at night. Around 2,000 extras were recruited.
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