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the movie "wild child" currently in theaters has brought the social topic of "de facto orphans" to the public's attention, and has been recognized by the audience for its strong humanistic care and delicate character emotions. as of september 22, the cumulative box office of the film has exceeded 200 million yuan. the film is directed by young director yin ruoxin, starring wang junkai, deng jiajia, chen yongsheng, pan binlong, guan zixie and others. yin ruoxin said that he hopes to quietly present the most sincere emotions of the characters with a level perspective and a plain style.

deeply touched by the news of "wandering brothers"

from "my sister" to "wild child", yin ruoxin has always paid attention to the plight of the little people in her creation. her works are delicate and full of humanistic care. she admits that this habit has become her creative consciousness. as an image practitioner, she pays close attention to social events in her daily life, and wants to use the lens to show the plight and fate of people in different eras and explore the relationship between people.

when the story of the "wandering brothers" was reported by the media, it attracted widespread attention, and yin ruoxin was deeply moved by the news. the two homeless children formed a brotherly relationship beyond blood ties in their difficult and wandering lives. the elder brother used the stolen money to buy snacks and toys for his younger brother, but he resolutely refused to let his younger brother steal... in addition to being moved, the relationship between the two brothers also aroused yin ruoxin's interest in exploration: "i find the connection between strangers between people magical. what kind of stories are behind these two children? how do they share their lives together?"

in may 2022, the producer found yin ruoxin with the "wild child" project, and everything came naturally. after a lot of visits and research on related juvenile cases, yin ruoxin had a strong desire to create, hoping to pay attention to the "de facto orphans" behind the scenes through the "wandering brothers" ma liang and xuanxuan. "i hope to stand in their perspective as much as possible, neither looking at them from a high place, nor looking up to them or beautifying them, but using a relatively plain perspective and companionship to present their most sincere emotions."

facing the social issues behind “de facto orphans”

the value of "wild child" lies in the fact that the emotional bond between ma liang and xuan xuan is indeed touching, but the focus of the film is actually to bring out the group of "de facto orphans" they represent, to ask why they have families but no one to take care of them, what are the missing links that have caused them to become "de facto orphans", and how to save them when they are on the verge of committing crimes... these questions give the film a strong social significance.

yin ruoxin admitted that during the film creation process, she had been in close contact with officer zhou jiao, who was in charge of the original case, and learned many details of the story from her. "xuanxuan is still a minor, and ma liang has been seriously hurt. we can't disturb them, but officer zhou has been following up on their situation, and we also have some understanding of it."

some of the "de facto orphans" in the film are due to problems in their original families. for example, xuanxuan is the result of his parents getting pregnant before marriage. his mother ran away and his father worked outside. only his grandfather who made a living by picking up scraps and his grandmother who was paralyzed in bed were left at home. later, officer zhou visited xuanxuan's home and found that there was another little girl in the family - that was xuanxuan's cousin. her parents also left her to her grandparents after giving birth to her. these sharp issues of giving birth but not raising children are not avoided in "wild child", but are presented truthfully, which makes people sigh with regret.

original family, economic difficulties, lack of education, lack of guidance during adolescence... the reasons for the formation of "de facto orphans" are complex, and each factor may cause them to lose the protection of love, become "wild children" without anyone to take care of them, and even fall into the abyss of illegal crimes. "we also come into contact with some children whose original families are relatively happy and wealthy, but they may have made a mistake during their rebellious period and went out to do bad things. later, their parents really couldn't control them and didn't know how to control them, so they let them go. when they were about to be sentenced, their parents even said that they should just keep them in prison for a few more years and not let them out." yin ruoxin said that after coming into contact with a large number of real cases, they created different "de facto orphans" such as ma liang, damao, and lao shu in the film.

for example, da mao, played by chen yongsheng, is more mature and complex among the "wild children". as the "king of children", when he faces the two "intruders" ma liang and xuan xuan, he feels that his status is threatened to a certain extent, so he shows some hostility. "but he gradually sees the companionship and warmth between people in ma liang and xuan xuan, and realizes that people can have companions, so he later has more love for the 'rats'."

capturing wang junkai's alert and sensitive side

wang junkai plays ma liang, which brings more traffic to "wild child", and the film also becomes an important work for him to move from the stage to the big screen. yin ruoxin admitted that she thought of wang junkai as early as the early stage of script creation when the character of ma liang was gradually taking shape.

"although ma liang is wandering, he is a person who has a certain sense of order in life. he retains a trace of kindness and a glimmer of hope that life will get better in his heart. this is his most sincere and profound personality background. xiaokai has many bright and sunny textures in his calmness, and he is a big boy between a teenager and a young man. this is what he and ma liang have in common." yin ruoxin also captured wang junkai's vigilant and sensitive side from his previous film and television works, and wanted to magnify these traits to interpret ma liang's solitary life and the occasional violent outbursts for survival.

after wang junkai took on the role, yin ruoxin shared some book lists and song lists with him. on the one hand, they found a match in aesthetics, and on the other hand, the description of loneliness and isolation in the book allowed wang junkai to get closer to the character. "when i get to the set, i will tell everyone in detail about the scheduling of the scene, the actions and tasks that the actors have to complete. i spend a lot of time rehearsing and walking through the play, and it will be very smooth when it comes to the official shooting. xiaokai will also put forward some of his small designs and suggestions. after each scene, i will tell him what to adjust, and he will also share his feelings about the previous performance." yin ruoxin said with a smile that she enjoys the improvisational sparks that collide with the actors based on the actual situation on the set.

the filming of the film basically follows the story line. at the beginning, ma liang and xuanxuan were relatively unfamiliar with each other, and yin ruoxin would lead them to do some exercises on approach and resistance. as their relationship deepened on and off the stage, they spent most of their time together, becoming closer and closer, and sharing each other's little secrets. these secrets, which yin ruoxin still doesn't know, belong exclusively to the two actors.

source: beijing daily client

reporter: yuan yuner