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"if you really want to find something,

you will definitely find it.

the premise is whether you are willing to find it. "

fang li makes a movie.

this matter sounds very abstract when it is put into words.

it’s not that he’s not a good filmmaker, but in this era, he’s a “spiritual three-body man”—

fang li's behavior transcends the cognition of an industry and an era.

when we make a movie, we consider the subject matter, genre, cast, status, market and box office.

fang li said:

hey, i'm just playing.

in fact, this description is not accurate.

it is not as good as the first sentence of "the four poison uncles" when commenting on "the sinking of the lisbon maru":

"fang li is an idealist."

on the night of the premiere, i finished watching the movie and then watched fang li take the stage. the audience applauded loudly.

it comes from the heart, not out of courtesy.

he first went on stage alone and then introduced the film's creative team one by one.

there is a detail in it:

he also brought team members who were not on the list to the stage, including chinese and foreign people. a large group of people stood on the stage in a friendly and warm manner, laughing and joking like a family. unlike the usual film production team, everyone was more or less reserved and had the industry's signature smile.

i really like this atmosphere, but i also know that the box office will not be very good.

fang li doesn’t care anyway. what he wants is to salvage history, not to please the market.

therefore, he is an idealistic "literary old man", not a "qualified" filmmaker.

just like when he knelt down and begged the theater to schedule the film "a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix", fang li is the kind of person who says, "if it's good, it's good."

i admit that "the sinking of the lisbon maru" is an excellent documentary, but i also expected it not to sell well.

to be blunt, it is not certain that it will make back its investment if it is released in any time slot. the channels through which audiences now absorb nutrients have deteriorated, or there has never been room for such films in the mainland market. if the art lovers want to refute this, they might as well look around and see how many films their friends watch in a year and what types they watch before discussing it.

therefore, before getting into the topic, we must first briefly explain fang li’s film journey, so that everyone can understand what kind of person he is and what he has done, and then understand his behavior.

a man of honor

when the media reported on "the sinking of the lisbon maru", another wish of fang li was revealed:

searching for malaysia airlines flight mh370.

here’s what he told reporters:

"in fact, we were ready to take action three years ago. later, they (malaysia) restarted the search for mh370, so i put it aside for the time being. if they can find it, that would be the best; if they still can't find it, why not let us, the civilian forces, give it a try? of course, we may also shoot a documentary at that time."

in march this year, malaysia said it would resume the search for mh370, which crashed ten years ago, as soon as possible, but only if "convincing evidence emerges."

but half a year has passed, and there is currently no official information on the progress of implementation, or perhaps the flights that were impossible to find ten years ago will also be difficult ten years later.

judging from fang li’s attitude when accepting the interview, he has the attitude of “it doesn’t matter, i will take action”.

if someone else said this, they might be bragging, but i believe fang li really dares to do it.

before "the sinking of the lisbon maru", fang li gave most people the impression of being a "producer", and most of the films he had worked on were difficult to describe:

he invested in his first movie in 1998 and then disappeared without a trace. he invested 1.2 million in that movie. he then invested in another movie, spending 8 million, but it also flopped.

the reason is simple: the themes of the two films are hard to describe in a few words.

from 2002 to 2007, fang li invested in three films in a row, but they all failed miserably.

same reason as above.

in fact, i had an encounter with him in 2007. i had just started working in the industry that year and wrote a promotional article for his movie. i was still a young boy at that time and thought the movie was good, interesting and worth watching.

but there is nothing we can do.

fang li probably also became a "unlucky guy" in the eyes of some people from then on -

he is not a filmmaker who focuses on commercial films.

but he can still give money to young directors to film small characters and the lower classes of society.

so, i think fang li is lonely.

it wasn't until he met han han and made "see you tomorrow" that fang li became his most well-known film in the mass market (non-art film).

he said, "the money you earn can be lost again."

during this period, he learned the history of the "lisbon maru" from a group of fishermen in the zhoushan islands, and he asked people in the circle to "help out and support" this documentary.

so every time i see the name "fang li", the first question that comes to my mind is -

where does he get so much money?

then the second question -

what does he want?

until one day when i was reading jin yong's novel, i heard peng yingyu say:

"even if i tell you how to be a good man, you still won't understand."

i think this is very suitable for fang li.

just like when he knelt down and said that "a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix" was the posthumous work of teacher wu tianming, and it tells the story of disappearing folk artists.

thinking about it today, it turns out that fang li has always been "salvaging" history.

past events

at 1:20 am on march 8, 2014, malaysia airlines flight mh370 lost contact shortly after taking off from kuala lumpur international airport to beijing capital international airport. on march 24, malaysia finalized confirmation.

a total of 239 people were killed on board, including 227 passengers and 12 crew members, of which 154 were chinese passengers.

on november 27, 2023, the aviation transport damage liability dispute case was heard in beijing.

in the past decade, there have been occasional waves in the disappearance of malaysia airlines flight 370. for example, in 2021, british aviation engineer richard godfrey released a report claiming that he had discovered malaysia airlines flight 370. however, the media did not widely report the contents of his report.

in fact, this incident from beginning to end (from the loss of contact to the termination of the search) is full of mysticism:

after the plane lost contact, warships from 26 countries including china, malaysia, vietnam, the united states, britain, australia, and new zealand cruised in the sea area where the plane might appear. looking back at news reports from ten years ago, it is not difficult to find that media from various countries were updating new clues every day. regarding the question of "why did mh370 lose contact?", there were actually many doubts worth exploring at the time.

but it's easy to overlook if you don't look carefully.

i'll just mention a few doubts:

1. malaysia airlines did not respond for a period of time after the loss of contact. when ground personnel checked the flight simulator of the captain of flight mh370, they found that some data had been deleted.

2. reuters quoted sources as saying that malaysia airlines flight 370 was hijacked by unknown persons and flew to the indian ocean.

3. iran announced that it would cooperate in the investigation of two iranians who boarded the plane under false identities.

4. the associated press reported that malaysia airlines flight 370 was hijacked and at least one or more people with flying experience were involved in the hijacking.

5. malaysian police have stepped in to investigate the possibility of pilot suicide.

6. military radar showed that malaysia airlines flight 370 had flown across the strait of malacca and headed for the south indian ocean before it lost contact.

7. after losing contact, the flight showed signs of turning back.

8. when asked by the media why they did not release the flight track map, malaysia airlines said they did not have the flight track data on radar, and they were "currently" asking the military about the track on military radar.

9. regarding the speculation of "hijacking", malaysia airlines said that the police will make the information public after the investigation is completed.

10. malaysia airlines claimed that because the aircraft was manufactured in the united states, the united states national transportation safety board (ntsb) and the united states federal aviation administration (faa) are conducting an independent investigation into the aircraft and have sealed and removed the relevant information.

11. malaysian investigators revealed that on the day the flight lost contact, a crew member on board called for help using a mobile phone over penang. the call came from the co-pilot's mobile phone, but it is still unclear to whom the call was made.

12. as of july 30, 2018, malaysia released its final report on the missing mh370:

the cause of the flight crash could not be determined, and the cause of the disappearance could not be found out.

the chinese side expressed "high attention, maintaining communication and cooperation"...

obviously, this conclusion is unacceptable.

therefore, over the past decade, there have been many speculations on the internet in china and abroad about the cause of the crash of mh370. people have expressed various opinions on some directional clues, and the "hijacking theory" and "pilot suicide theory" are currently the two most important views.

here comes the question again:

if it was a hijacking, why did no organization claim responsibility after the flight lost contact?

if the pilot committed suicide, why did the malaysian police cover up the truth?

who did the co-pilot call after he lost contact? the captain's personal computer, call records, and information posted on social media platforms were not difficult to investigate ten years ago. then what?

after the malaysian flight crashed, the americans sealed up and took away the relevant information simply because the plane was made in the united states. isn't this a bit unbelievable for a sovereign country?

where exactly is the plane? civilian disaster management experts and various forces have provided various clues, such as the report of the british engineer mentioned above, but they seem to have been intentionally or unintentionally ignored.

in short, malaysia airlines flight 370 has been missing for ten years.

the last message it left in this world was a conversation message sent by the flight to the kuala lumpur regional radar at 1:19:29 on march 8, 2014:

"good night, this is mh370"

confused account

fang li said that finding mh370 is very difficult in my opinion.

let us first analyze the motivation for the investigation and filming of the "lisbon maru":

first, for the victorious countries of world war ii, britain, the united states and china, it was a tragedy as well as a positive event. the propaganda reason on the table was "heroic resistance and sacrifice, and the desire of all mankind for peace." japan, which underwent comprehensive transformation after world war ii, would not be so secretive about it.

that is why the audience can see interviews with the parties involved and their descendants from several countries in the documentary.

secondly, western countries such as the united kingdom and the united states have always had freedom of news reporting, and many major events are first reported by their own media before they attract attention. fang li can spend 2 million to find someone in the uk, but he may not be able to replicate this in malaysia.

especially when facing questions, they still say "the reason is unknown".

again, based on the twelve major doubts mentioned above (please search for other minor doubts yourself), as well as the investigations and evidence collected by many civilians over the past decade and the responses of relevant countries, it can be seen that:

figuring out “where the plane is” is not the main problem; figuring out “why the plane disappeared” is a hellish task.

without a reason, the "story" is incomplete.

just like some stories, they only talk about the present and not the past.

during the entire interview, investigation, filming and production process of "the sinking of the lisbon maru", fang li had to overcome the problems of time and funding. he would not encounter any resistance, and even the relevant departments of his country would provide assistance when necessary.

mh370 is something completely different.

will fang li and his team be disturbed during the search and interview process?

i have my doubts about this.

before fang li, there were civilian forces that continued the search.

in january 2018, malaysia commissioned an american undersea exploration company, ocean infinity, to restart the search for malaysia airlines flight mh370, and signed a contract on the principle of "no payment if no one finds it." in may, the company's search for malaysia airlines flight mh370 ended.

on november 27, 2023, the aviation transport damage liability dispute case was opened in beijing, and more than 40 families of chinese passengers filed lawsuits.

there are five defendants in this case, namely malaysia airlines, also known as the old mas, malaysia airlines berhad, also known as the new mas, boeing of the united states, aircraft engine manufacturer rolls-royce of the united kingdom and allianz insurance group of germany.

the families of more than 40 passengers had different requests for litigation, but they mainly focused on two points:

the first is to demand that the truth behind the disappearance of flight mh370 be ascertained through trial, and the second is the issue of compensation.

however, the biggest difficulty in the trial of this case lies in finding out the truth of the incident.

without truth, there is no accountability.

very brotherly

in 2023, netflix produced a documentary "mh370: the lost flight", which is also an investigative documentary focusing on the disappearance of flight mh370. it attempts to solve the biggest mystery in aviation history and reveals the various strange events that actually occurred during the disappearance of flight mh370 in shocking details.

the argument is the same as what i said above, but it also lists an assumption:

a certain country accidentally shot down a flight during a military exercise, causing it to crash.

this view appeared in a book titled "the mystery of flight mh370" (published in australia). the author believes that the perpetrator (the us-thai joint military exercise) wanted to cover up the mistake and that the search and rescue personnel were misled.

here we can see the problem:

time.

the time background of "the sinking of the lisbon maru" is during world war ii, more than 80 years ago. during this period, many materials have been declassified, making it easier for future generations to intuitively quote documents and piece together a complete story.

mh370 is different. it has only been ten years since its disappearance, and it is still in the state of "salvage if convincing evidence emerges."

friendly tips:

on september 3, 2018, the investigative experts of the independent investigation team of malaysia airlines mh370 made shocking remarks:

the information released by malaysia airlines and the investigation report released by the malaysian authorities are incomplete and may have been modified.

the investigation team was subsequently disbanded.

all i can say is that now is not the right time to search for mh370—

it's too early for people to know the truth.

fang li was born in 1953 and is 71 years old this year.

if we follow the 50-year declassification period for general archives, perhaps when the true contents of the report on malaysia airlines mh370 are declassified...

forget it, not many people can live to be over a hundred years old.

there are not many "fang li" in the world who are willing to spend nearly ten years shooting a complete documentary.

just like few people would spend money like him to make a few movies that are destined to be "not good enough".

so when he said he planned to search for mh370, i was happy at first, then sad.

i tried to put myself in his shoes and complete this imaginary feat, but then i rejected all options.

how can the power of mortals compare to that of "gods"?

reality is not a marvel movie either.

i know fang li will take action.

he is from chengdu, sichuan, and always has the temperament of "a brother of the pao family who never show off".

he also knew:

if you really want to find something, you can find it.

the premise is whether you are willing to find it.

but what you usually find is what others are willing for you to find.

isn’t it?

back to "the sinking of the lisbon maru", that day i remembered the line in the film, "goodbye! dad!"

that is the common sorrow of all mankind.

fang li always observes the world from a high perspective.

he is an idealist and a bard in the real sense.

love from the heart, sing from the heart, whether there are listeners or not.

this is the value of art. it never starts from "what you want to hear", but is motivated by "what i want to tell you".

this is fang li’s value.

"four poison uncles" interviewed fang li in 2020, and he said:

"when the epidemic is over, we will be lucky if chinese films only regress ten years."

today i can say...

he was really optimistic at that time.

as a junior, i hope he can protect himself.

as a colleague, i hope to be as enthusiastic as he is.

although he is an "unlucky guy", he is also an unlucky "literary old man".

while i was calling him "stupid", i was also applauding enthusiastically and from the bottom of my heart.

it's not that we hope he can create another miracle, but that we recognize him as a totem of idealists.

〇

author/jamaica dog

editor/xiaobai

typesetting/die