Chen Sicheng: It takes time for creators to answer their own questions through creation｜Talking about Art
2024-08-17
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Cover News reporter Zhou Qin
Counting from the 2014 broadcast of "Beijing Love Story", this year marks the 10th anniversary of Chen Sicheng becoming a director. On August 3, two-thirds of the way through this year's summer season, he and Liu Haoran teamed up again to bring the movie "Decryption", adapted from Mai Jia's novel of the same name. The film was released for 14 days and the box office exceeded 315 million.
Chen Sicheng wanted to make "Decoding" because he was moved by the theme in the novel: "Everyone is a unique code, and this life is a process of decryption." He admitted that in "Decoding", he put his thoughts on film aesthetics, life, and philosophy accumulated over the past decade: "I have always said that creators use creation to answer themselves." Although different reviews came in after the film was released, he hopes that the audience can give him more time: "You will know what kind of creator I am."
Movie Poster of "Decryption"
On the motivation for creation:
I now believe in chance.
The movie "Decoded" is adapted from the novel of the same name by Mai Jia, written and directed by Chen Sicheng, starring Liu Haoran, John Cusack, Chen Daoming, Daniel Wu, Yu Feihong, Ren Luyao, Chen Yuxi and others. It tells the legendary story of Rong Jinzhen (played by Liu Haoran), who has a talent for mathematics and devotes himself to code breaking, silently guarding the safety of his country on the hidden front.
Chen Sicheng believes that starting the project "Decryption" is an opportunity. "Perhaps with the accumulation of experience and life experience over the years, I believe more and more firmly in the concept of fate. So I think that for an individual in an era, no matter if he is a so-called genius or an ordinary person, no matter what profession he is in, I believe that many things are driven by fate." Chen Sicheng saw this sense of fate in the character of Rong Jinzhen. Through this character and his special experiences, he hopes to tell the story of an individual's ups and downs in life in the era.
Movie Poster of "Decryption"
From "Beijing Love Story" broadcast in 2014, to the "Detective Chinatown" series, to the "The Accidental Manslaughter" series of films he supervised, and "Gone Girl" which was a hit in last summer's movie season, Chen Sicheng's works directed and supervised have received a lot of attention and market recognition. In Chen Sicheng's view, his previous works were more typological, but the genre was clear, which also constrained his imagination to a certain extent. "Decoding" expanded the boundaries of his imagination. He used "ten dreams" as a carrier, including red beaches, silent giants, golden reeds, code mazes, mysterious walruses, entangled infusion tubes, collapsed Ferris wheels, and train chases, etc., to put his imagination into the movie.
All ten dreams were filmed in a realistic way. Chen Sicheng wanted to emphasize the authenticity of dreams: "I have always said that creators use their creations to answer their own questions. Sometimes I wonder what life is, and whether life is a dream or a kind of virtuality."
Rong Jinzhen and Xi Yisi
Talking about the adaptation:
Let genius die in brilliance
The protagonist of "Decryption", Rong Jinzhen, is a mathematical genius with a rough life and a withdrawn personality. His talent led him to the covert front and made great contributions to the country, but it also led to the end of his genius burning out.
Chen Sicheng said that "Decoding" was the most difficult one for him in artistic creation. In the novel "Decoding", Rong Jinzhen did not die, but Chen Sicheng believed that "geniuses in the true sense will die young. I think he completed his own historical mission. If he died brilliantly, it might be more in line with the state I want." In the end, Chen Sicheng retained the interview structure of the novel, unfolding the fate of the character through the oral narration of Rong Jinzhen's distant cousin, wife and colleagues.
On Rong Jinzhen's road to growth, the principal Xiao Lili, the teacher Xi Yisi and Lao Zheng from the 701st Bureau accompanied him in their own ways at different times. Xiao Lili, played by Daniel Wu, gave him the warmth of home and planted the seeds of patriotism, Xi Yisi, played by John Cusack, discovered his mathematical talent, and Lao Zheng, played by Chen Daoming, made him understand the value of these talents.
In the film, Rong Jinzhen and Xi Yisi engage in a battle of wits between geniuses, and it is also a war without gunpowder between the two camps. In Chen Sicheng's view, geniuses of any era will definitely be influenced by the times. He believes that both Xi Yisi and Rong Jinzhen are very simple, and they are both looking for each other's flaws intellectually, hoping to win in the game.
Rong Jinzhen is a mathematical genius, but he also has the emotions of a mortal. In the film, Rong Jinzhen meets Rong Biyu, and eventually Xiaomei becomes his enlightenment of love, and the two go hand in hand. In Chen Sicheng's view, Rong Jinzhen has always been uneasy about intimate relationships. The film wants to show the growth of a teenager, and his emotional world cannot be avoided. It is important to grasp the right degree.
Liu Haoran as Rong Jinzhen
Talking about the actors:
Liu Haoran has a strong spiritual power
A good work requires the actors to be fully committed and give a performance with conviction. Rong Jinzhen is the soul of "Decryption". In Chen Sicheng's words, the movie is only successful if Rong Jinzhen is successful.
But when writing the script, Chen Sicheng didn't have a particularly specific actor in mind: "I can't imagine who is suitable, he is too unique." He searched while writing the script and doing the styling, and finally chose Liu Haoran to play the role because Chen Sicheng felt that Liu Haoran, like Jin Zhen, is a rational thinker. "And they have some inner strength in their bodies that is not perceived by others. I think this is the part that Haoran is closest to Rong Jinzhen. They both have strong mental strength."
In order to better fit Rong Jinzhen, Liu Haoran shaved his eyebrows, moved his hairline back, and lost 20 pounds in two months. When filming Jinzhen's last scene, Liu Haoran didn't sleep or eat anything for three days and three nights, just to get as close to the feeling of "burning out". An audience member commented, "He almost broke himself and reassembled himself into the role of Rong Jinzhen."
If Liu Haoran's performance surprised many people, Chen Sicheng's appearance in the Easter egg part made many people comment "Don't play it next time". In fact, the earliest idea of this role was for Mai Jia to play it, but he was rejected. Later, Chen Sicheng played it himself. Chen Sicheng accepted all the comments from netizens. He believed that the person who appeared at the end was not Chen Sicheng, but just a character created by the author, or a director and actor, "I want to tell everyone that the whole movie may be a dream." Finally, he humorously reminded the audience that there is a time of 1 minute and 41 seconds between the main film and the Easter egg, and the audience can use this time to leave.
Chen Sicheng
On the controversy:
Understanding takes time
The movie "Decoding" is the work of Chen Sicheng 10 years after he entered the director's industry. Stepping out of the comfort zone of "Detective Chinatown", Chen Sicheng has opened up a new frontier in addition to commercial films. The film's exploration of the definition of "country" and the spirit of dedication of "country first, family second" have expanded the ideological core of "Decoding" and sublimated the theme. He believes that "Decoding" is a burning creation, and all the cast and crew have devoted their all.
However, compared with Chen Sicheng's previous commercially successful directorial works, "Decryption", a film that the outside world has high hopes for, has grossed over 315 million yuan in 14 days, which is not a very impressive result. Chen Sicheng said, "It takes time to understand. I don't want to rush to express what kind of person or creator I am, but I hope the audience can give me time."
The summer movie season is coming to an end. Movies such as "Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagon", "Alien: Taken" and "Hedgehog" are currently being released or will be released soon. As for how far "Decoding" can go at the box office, only time can tell.
(The pictures in this article are from the film crew)
