director of "bianshui past": constructing, reflecting and dismantling the "three slopes" world
2024-08-31
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stills from "the past by the water". photo provided by the production team
"climbing the mountains, collecting water, and making a living; brother, sister, don't think too much", "this is daban, lacking water, electricity, and front teeth"... in a rap song with a strong sense of melody, at the end of summer, a "memories of the border water" became popular.
"the past by the edge of water" fictionalizes a complex exotic world - "sanbianpo". the rookie worker shen xing (played by guo qilin) goes deep into the secret realm to adventure and survive. in the process of looking for his uncle, he meets the mysterious gangster cai shu (played by wu zhenyu), thus starting an adventure full of dangers and difficult choices in human nature.
deep in the dense forest of sanbianpo, shen xing kept opening new maps: daband, mokuanshan, maniu town, daqulin... he met all kinds of people, repeatedly fell into danger but never backed down, and was always unwilling to lose his kind heart.
at present, the adventure of "bianshui" has not ended, and the douban score has reached 8.2 points. recently, the director of "bianshui past" mou xincen accepted an interview with reporters.
"i am more 'obstinate'." mou xincen had encountered similar themes a long time ago, but due to lack of opportunities, she never filmed it. until the producer of the drama, the famous filmmaker cao baoping, approached her with the project of "bianshui past", mou xincen agreed without hesitation.
"i didn't think too much about it at the time. i just felt that i had been shaking my fists at the air for so long before, and now that i had this opportunity, i had to do it again!"
mou xincen, a young director born after 1985, uses "suan" as his stage name and has directed highly acclaimed dramas such as "the beginning".
during the early stages of preparation for "border water past", mou xincen felt that the story had a bit of a similar temperament to the game "red dead redemption". "that game is very profound, and the world view is about righteousness, chivalry and tenderness... but later on you will reflect on whether that world is a world where they can really take root and survive?"
the series "bianshui past" has built a virtual and unique visual world of sanbianpo, and even created a new language like "dune" and "avatar". in sanbianpo, locals speak bomo language. for example, this bomo language pronounced "vasali" means "good luck and good fortune". "bomo language" is a brand-new language system created by the main creators based on linguistic principles by experts.
mou xincen believes that "fiction" gives the story a more extreme and free space to play. although fiction, it is necessary to "treat this world as real" so that many rich things can be nurtured.
in his opinion, to create an imaginary worldview, it is not enough to just make some strange symbols and clothing elements, but it must be closely linked to human survival.
what kind of world is sanbianpo?
mou xincen gave a very specific, visual and tangible description, taking us through the three-dimensional "dialysis" of sanbianpo: there, the climate is hot, the north is closer to the mainland, and there are many mountains. so, when you go to mokuangshan, you will find that the mountain road is extremely tortuous and difficult to walk, and the cliffs have a large altitude difference; there are few shade trees, which makes the people there have dark skin; there is less water in the exposed areas of the mountain, so you will see many buckets in mokuangshan forest - water is scarce, and everyone has to line up to wash their faces; when you break into the lumberyard, you will see that everyone is wrapped in long sleeves and long pants, because they want to avoid mosquito bites.
the impact of the environment and climate is directly reflected in the way people live and work, and is also imprinted in people’s personalities. “with each layer of influence, it’s like playing a real sandbox.”
the opening of "past by the water" uses a sand table-like perspective to present the regional features of each unit story, showing the unpredictable and complex map that is gradually expanded as shen xing searches for his uncle.
mou xincen said that the first half of "past events by the border water" is about constructing three slopes, and the second half will dismantle the three slopes.
"when you create a world, you have to reflect on it, because it reflects your understanding of reality. why is a chaotic world like this? can it be changed? we can't answer this question, but we use it as a mirror to raise this question. the rest of the series is about dismantling this matter."
in "the past by the water", the ignorant "xiaobai" shen xing can always turn danger into safety when facing difficulties. mou xincen admitted that shen xing is a lucky protagonist, which was set from the beginning. "luck is also part of ability, that is, good luck, plus a little cleverness. but if you think about it carefully, it is not just luck that protects him. in such a dangerous place, it is his persistence in good intentions that protects him, like a glimmer of light. this is what we want to convey the most."
"even in a world of slash-and-burn farming, people sneer at kindness, but when kindness appears, it always brings good luck to shen xing because it is rare and scarce."
mou xincen pointed out that this drama involves some industries that people are not likely to come into contact with in the current social environment, such as the gem market, gem mines, primitive logging sites, etc. these industries bring out the people who manage and engage in these industries, and they appear one after another.
"we prefer unit access, like brushing a dungeon, a narrative structure that touches on one scene after another. so, following shen xing's perspective, everyone will also get to know all walks of life. this also makes it easier for us to present the entire world view from different social status and roles."
from "the beginning" to "the past by the waterside", mou xincen believes that the creation of suspense dramas should move towards the path of "information superposition" rather than just suspense or solving cases. he believes that "information superposition" will also become a trend in the development of future dramas.
china youth daily and china youth network reporter shen jiequn source: china youth daily
(source: china youth daily)
