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The film "Decoded", written and directed by Chen Sicheng and starring Liu Haoran and John Cusack, will be officially released on August 3. The film is adapted from the novel of the same name by Mao Dun Literature Award winner Mai Jia. It tells the story of Rong Jinzhen, who is extremely talented in mathematics. He was hidden in the Rong family's deep house as a posthumous child, and was later adopted and educated by his cousin "Xiao Li Li", the principal. In college, he met the teacher Shees, who was also a mathematical genius, who inspired his talent. Finally, he was appreciated by Zheng and entered 701, devoting himself to the complete life journey of the country's hidden agency to engage in code decryption.

Chen Sicheng first read the original book of Mai Jia's "Decoding" when he just graduated from college. What impressed him most about the book was the interview-style writing style, and the content also moved him. 20 years later, Chen Sicheng adapted it into a movie and extracted the core theme of "Everyone is a unique code, and this life is a process of decryption." "This is my own feeling about that era, the ups and downs of the life of individuals driven by fate in the era."

Chen Sicheng

This year marks the tenth year that Chen Sicheng has been making movies. Whether it is directing, writing, or acting in the "Beijing Love Story" and "Detective Chinatown" series, or the "Manslaughter" series, "Gone Girl", and "The Third Squadron" that he has produced, all of these have proven Chen Sicheng's success in commercial exploration.

"Decryption" is "a film that the creators burned themselves to create", and director Chen Sicheng made the greatest effort as a creator in this film. In the process of creating this film, he tried to "break" himself and reshape himself, and at the same time he realized that "the practicality of the film is very important."

01

The simplest model for success is

“Put Yourself in Others’ Situations”

China Film News:In "The Decryption", you used a lot of dreams to participate in the narrative, and there were a lot of wild imaginations. I personally like the scene where Jin Zhen finally walked into Xiyis' dream and played chess with his teacher on the red beach. It echoed Xiyis's previous dream. How did you conceive of these plots at the time?

Chen Sicheng：I think the easiest person to defeat us is the one who knows us best. In fact, this dream is very important to Xi Yisi and Jin Zhen. There is a clue in the beginning of the movie. When Xiao Lili first met Jin Zhen, he asked Jin Zhen to interpret his dream. At that time, Jin Zhen refused Xiao Lili and said, "I only interpret it for myself." Because of Jin Zhen's personality, he will definitely not easily approach others and accept others.

When Xiyis asked him if he could help interpret his dream, he immediately took out his notebook. From this, we can see that Jin Zhen and his relationship are already very trusting and close, and Jin Zhen is open and even completely accepting of Xiyis. Similarly, the dream that Xiyis told him was a dilemma deep in Xiyis' heart. In the dream, there was an indescribable huge marine creature stranded on the beach. In the end, Jin Zhen explained part of it to him with some so-called fear of change and the passage of time.

Later, when the two sides were playing chess across the air, Shees used some things in the dream to trap Jin Zhen. He sent Jin Zhen a record with a walrus in it. The walrus was the huge marine creature. It was a clue in Jin Zhen's eyes, but it was actually a distraction, just like when Shees stole a chess piece that was eaten by Jin Zhen when he was teaching him how to play chess.

In the game of these "geniuses", the details will exist in a certain part of their memory. Using a similar thing to induce will produce an interference effect. In the end, Jin Zhen walked into Xi Yis's dream and saw the true face of the walrus. It was not only Xi Yis's dream, but also his dream. They are highly consistent not only in the professional field, but also in spirit.

In fact, I don’t want to explain the dream in a very clear way, as this would lose the meaning and fun of watching the movie. I hope everyone can have their own analysis without having to set a standard answer.

China Film News:What do you think of Liu Haoran’s performance this time?

Chen Sicheng：I kept telling him to break himself. If you are a container, you have to pour out all the water, break it and reshape it. A role like Jin Zhen is very rare for an actor, and it is worth doing your best. It was not easy for Liu Haoran this time. He is 1.85 meters tall, and finally lost weight to less than 120 kilograms. When filming the ending scene of Rong Jin Zhen, he almost didn't sleep for three days and three nights, and didn't eat anything. In front of the camera, he presented a state of a genius who was exhausted, which everyone could intuitively feel. Haoran did a very good job this time, and the actors gave me a lot of surprises.

China Film News:How do you view the relationship between you and the audience?

Chen Sicheng：I think audiences are individuals, and the times are made up of individuals. Movies are a footnote to the times.

I particularly agree with the concept proposed by a German philosopher, "What has the Internet brought to mankind? In fact, it has brought more information, but information is meaningless." Narration is meaningful. Just as it is more meaningful for us to look back at movies from 50 years ago than to watch fragmented information from 50 years ago. Information on the Internet is piled up and superimposed, making it difficult to find the truth, but the narration of movies is meaningful, because it not only has the traditional and classic nature of the story, but also the timeliness and currentness. Every story is told by people at the moment to the audience at the moment, and it naturally has a strong sense of the times. Therefore, I am an audience myself, and I believe that what I care about is the same as most of the audience.

China Film News:Objectively speaking, the films you directed or produced have indeed achieved great commercial success. Have you found a model that can be replicated in such commercial films?

Chen Sicheng：Put yourself in someone else's shoes. Whether it's making a movie or cooking, it's nothing more than putting yourself in the shoes of a customer or experiencer. But we can't just be experiencers, we have to go beyond experiencers a little bit. The same is true for film creation. When I create a movie, I feel like I am the audience. I stand with most of the audience. I also believe that the reason why the world has not collapsed is because kindness and warmth are still the mainstream. From the perspective of the audience, I think the creators should strive to get closer to the truth and essence a little bit.

02

"I gave my all without distraction.

This is the most important"

China Film News:At the end of the film, what did you want to express in the scene where you saw Jin Zhen in the mirror?

Chen Sicheng：In fact, it is a kind of intersection and expression between a creator and a character. It is not the intersection between me and Liu Haoran, but the intersection of time and space between the creator and the character. In the play, we create stories, but outside the play, who knows that the world we exist in is real?

Stills from Decryption

China Film News:What kind of footnote does the movie "Decoded" become in your personal directorial career?

Chen Sicheng：I have had a particularly strong feeling recently that when I am shaping my work, I am actually reshaping myself.

After filming this movie, I love movies even more, and I know that doing something seriously and devotedly is so satisfying, and that life should be about doing what you want to do without hesitation.

China Film News:Over the years, you have made a lot of industrial explorations in this kind of large-scale production. What was your original intention for this exploration?

Chen Sicheng：I think the practicality of a film is more important. For me personally, what I care about is whether I have any regrets about this work. If there are no regrets, at least at this moment, in this situation, under the conditions that I can still give, I have given my all without distraction. I think this is the most important thing. So, my current creative point of view is, don't think too much, just do it the best way!

China Film News:The meaning of "country" is mentioned many times in the film. "Decryption" also tells the story of such an unsung hero. Many people may not understand why these people would spend their entire lives doing such a thing?

Chen Sicheng：For me, there is only one true heroism in the world, and that is to love life after recognizing the truth of life.

Most of the successes in this world are driven by idealism, whether it is to bring greater happiness to future human beings or to make more people live better. Looking back at those who sacrificed, those who truly dedicated themselves to the country and the society, they were all driven by strong idealism. The reason why civilization has come to this point is also because of the shining idealism of every individual.

I get closer to these people through my creations. Their idealism is definitely not just a distant dream or floating in the air. I would rather trace its origins. “What is supporting their idealism? What is the relationship between their personal experiences and their every breath?” I want to find those clues from their living conditions.

arts/Zhao Li

edit/Tan Yu

Editor/Du Simeng

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