Romance film director Xue Xiaolu has made a cross-genre suspense thriller "The Whistleblower" with love story elements to provide a new challenge for her filmmaking career.

The film, written and directed by Xue, is about a Chinese expatriate who discovers a conspiracy at the firm for whom he works after meeting his mysterious ex-girlfriend again in Australia.

The renowned Chinese screenwriter and director has been known for writing and directing romantic blockbusters such as "Finding Mr. Right" and "Book Of Love," both starring Tang Wei. Tang worked with her again in "The Whistleblower" as the leading actress, with the leading man being veteran actor Lei Jiayin.

It is quite a challenge for Xue as she usually likes to make popular romantic films about overseas Chinese. This time she is not only trying her hand in a new genre, but also had to travel to three continents - Asia, Australia and Africa - to shoot it, which proved a test of her capabilities to manage and deal with a cross-continent production packed with intense action scenes.

To ensure quality, the director worked with Hollywood professionals for this project, including the cinematographer Marc Spicer who worked on the blockbuster "Furious 7" (2015) and action director Chris Anderson who worked as stunt coordinator on "King Kong" and "Hotel Mumbai."

Speaking at the premiere of the film in Beijing on Tuesday, which was also her birthday, Xue said she always pays attention to social and realistic issues and wants to develop her perspective on women's roles. "Choosing to do such a film is a new adventure," she said, revealing she actually loves suspense and crime films and was inspired by several news stories about overseas bribery cases.

"'Whistleblowers' are usually from inside of a company, institution or organization who become informers. The reason why they report corporate or government crime is not for personal gains but for public security and interests. They are in danger, but they are willing to risk their careers and life to do so, I think they are heroes," Xue said. "The Whistleblower" is the first Chinese film to shed light on such group of people.

The director also shared her views on flawed leading roles she has usually created for her films, "Human beings have their flaws and make mistakes. However, I'm willing to show how they evolve and reflect on themselves, then reposition their life direction."

Actor Lei Jiayin added: "This film has social value. After graduation from college for so many years, I and my friends talked mostly about how much we ate and the intensity of our daily life. But this time, when I went back to some universities to promote the film, I found young students are raw and with great ideals. We can't forget these ideals and spiritual things, and this film touches on justice, good and evil, and persistence -- it is the thinking on higher level."

He chose an "ordinary good man" to describe his role, while the leading actress Tang Wei chose "awakening" at the premiere. "My role is awakening from the confusion and darkness and stepping into the sunlight eventually and being true to one's real self," Tang said. She is no stranger to the genre of thriller films as she rose to stardom by starring in "Lust, Caution," a 2007 espionage erotic film directed by Ang Lee.

"The Whistleblower" is set for theatrical release in China on Dec. 6.

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)