The Red Lover: Years of Burning Passion
Source: Author: Grey 7-3-17 3:44:53
A thrilling summer
There is no memory about any summer. It's as if an old-fashioned flashlight suddenly burst into dazzling light on its head. In an instant, news about the film "The Red Lover" was all over the world. At that time, even people who were not interested in movies knew that there was a revolutionary romantic film in which a Hong Kong star played party member. Even though Titanic was sinking luxuriously in the cinema, how many boys and girls were moved by tears, Red Lover still attracted everyone's attention and triggered waves of discussions about Hong Kong actors, American screenwriters and directors of revolutionary descendants.
At that time, the Internet was becoming more and more popular, and more and more people were keen to communicate through the Internet, including Leslie Cheung fans from various countries and regions who spoke different languages. Foreign and Hong Kong and Taiwan fans who have not been baptized by the consistent pattern of mainland revolutionary films are full of expectations for the role of Jin, thinking that it is fresh and challenging for him to play such a mainland * * * production party with political stance and full of affection for children for the first time; As a child, we have seen countless times on the screen the image of party member, a hero who is invincible, humble and immovable, and who has devoted himself to the motherland and the people physically and emotionally, but we have to worry a little more: can he grasp the feeling and positioning of party member, who grew up in Hong Kong and received British education?
Although he has been filming for 2 years, at that time, we couldn't find any previous role images for reference. Song Zijie? It's too immature. Xu Wenqiang? That's so cool. Song Danping? It's so literary. Cheng Dieyi? That's paranoid. Twelve less? Does he ... Does he know anything about politics? ! He Baorong? You, you, you, joke again. I'm in a hurry with you. ..... Besides, our idea of * * * produced in party member, which is not heavy, the word face, dressed in simple homespun yellow clothes, a pair of cloth shoes at the foot? Putting this outfit on him doesn't feel like it.
At that time, the mainland's reports were in full swing, and the response from Hong Kong, Taiwan and foreign countries was inevitably slow, so mainland fans put news reports on the Internet for sharing at the first time from time to time. A fixed makeup photo is enough to surprise everyone and discuss for a long time.
I still remember the first time I saw Jin's face, which was on the cover of Popular Film. He wore a shabby but neat cotton gown and a long scarf, and half knelt in the rain to listen to the heroine's bulging abdomen. At this glance, I have accepted the role with all my heart. This man has nothing to do with Leslie Cheung, a Hong Kong star. His hair is wet by the rain and hangs on his forehead. His face is full of sorrow and pity. He is a scholar of the old times with rich feelings and persistent beliefs. In fact, many of our older revolutionaries are like this, right? They received a good education and a good family background, gave up a stable life for their ideals and beliefs, plunged into the torrent of revolution and became pioneers and leaders of the new China. Who said * * * made in party member must be heavy-eyed, with a straight face, dressed in simple homespun yellow clothes and a pair of cloth shoes?
At that time, it seemed that the average temperature of the whole summer had increased because of this movie, so I walked through the streets in such a hot summer to enjoy every report about this movie. Open the magazine at the newsstand-ah! It's his head, accompanied by numerous interviews and reports on The Red Lover. I saw the advertisement in the bookstore-yeah! "Crazy English" released the soundtrack of "Red Lovers". I heard that this film is 8% English dialogue. See the poster at the gate of the cinema-yeah! There are three or four stories high posters, and Leslie Cheung's side face takes up two-thirds. You need to look up before you can see them ... Even when you turn on the TV at home, you can see the trailers rolled out by the six central movie channels from time to time. Is that the first time that CCTV played a trailer for a movie? I still remember that Jin, who wore a plain robe and a long towel, came out of the burning ruins with a suitcase; I remember him standing on the locomotive and giving a speech to the students, with firm eyes and confident expression; I remember that he was crazy and convulsed to the ground; I remember his farewell with his lover in the heavy rain ...
"If I can't live proudly, then I choose to die."
On August 28th, The Red Lover premiered nationwide, pushing the red tide that burned all summer to its climax.
In order to cooperate with the promotion of the film in China, Leslie Cheung, who has rarely participated in the promotion of the film, also came to the mainland, went to various cities to attend various interviews and premiere ceremonies, and also boarded CCTV to participate in talk shows. Just as The Red Lover has created an image of a * * * production party that is quite different from everyone's mind, Leslie Cheung's several appearances have completely overturned the soft and weak impression he left on the mainland people because of films such as Farewell My Concubine: his action is vigorous, his personality is frank and atmospheric, and he is more witty when interviewed, which makes the reporters gain great treasures and makes many people have never had a chance to contact with him before.
I still remember that at the premiere in Beijing, he naturally became the focus of media attention, and everyone rushed to ask him questions. He said, "Don't always ask me. The people in our crew are excellent. You should ask them more." He introduced Ye Dandan, who plays his daughter, to recite a poem for everyone. Xiao Dandan seemed to have prepared it, but it was still not fluent. Many people laughed. He didn't laugh, but kept looking at her with encouraging eyes. It is estimated that it is time to ask Mei Ting the next question. He quietly handed the microphone to Mei Ting around him, and took the initiative to hold her bouquet for Mei Ting, indicating that Mei Ting was ready to answer. When the lottery was answered first, the host asked an audience what the three films directed by Ye Daying were. After the audience said two films, they got stuck and watched the silence. He stood up and said, "Shall I make an action to remind you?" Then inhale and exhale exaggeratedly ... The audience remembered: "It's Panting!" " The reporter interviewed him and asked him why Ye Daying found him to play party member. He smiled: "I was just idle." The reporter said: "Everyone said that the film was really good." He said, "Then I would like to congratulate Director Ye." ......
I live in a small and medium-sized city, so there is no premiere, but there is still one thing worth looking forward to, that is, a cinema in the city has introduced the first Dolby surround stereo in Northeast China, which makes me lucky enough to enjoy an audio-visual feast with my ears and eyes. Even though my heart was completely stirred by the plot at that time, in retrospect, I still remember the parting scene between Jin and Qiu Qiu. It seemed that the rain was falling around me, and I was like a ghost with nowhere to go in the rain, silently watching him and her, and where will you go.
The cinemas were all full that day-it was a grand occasion that you can only see when you watch Titanic. The audience accepted Leslie Cheung's image as the leader of the * * * production party, and even applauded and cheered when Jin gave a speech to the masses. Outside the screen, I watched him stand on the locomotive calmly and freely, and his words were humorous and so inflammatory. I couldn't help thinking, I don't know how many young people were impressed by such leaders with personal charm and career passion in that long revolutionary history, so as to follow the beliefs they followed and embark on this revolutionary road. Jin's revolutionary work is not reflected in the film. After all, he is a seriously ill patient, and his main task is to recuperate rather than work. But he still spread maps all over the house, cared about the progress of the revolution, and skillfully used the pen of American doctor Payne to make positive publicity for the Red Army in foreign newspapers. No matter in front of the enemy or in front of the disease, I don't spare my life: "If I can't live proudly, then I choose to die!" "
Just as it is natural that Qiu Qiu fell in love with Jin, Payne also fell in love with Qiu Qiu, a mysterious and beautiful girl from China. She is so gentle, so affectionate and engaged in such a dangerous job, but she is willing and fearless like this place. In all fairness, Payne is a lovely American young man, but you and I both know that Jin is different. He has been integrated with the revolution and has become Qiu Qiu's belief and strength. This feeling even transcends love and revolutionary friendship, and it is a kind of piety that people can't wait to burn for. So when we watched Payne kneeling in the rain, we were forced at first, and then cried out "I love you!" to Qiu Qiu. I can only sigh for him. In front of him, Jin's eyes were clear and calm, even with a hint of pity, and he just said, "You dare not shoot." That kind of ridicule and awe-inspiring righteousness made Qiu Qiu's eyes, the eyes of the audience, shine with admiration and admiration.
Qiu Qiu's affection for Jin is not selfish, but she is a qualified revolutionary at heart. The mediocre idea of being together with her lover is not her ultimate ideal. It is what she hopes to do to advance hand in hand with her lover for the victory of the revolution. Therefore, she did not hesitate to shoot her own father, hoping to catch Jin, a "big fish", and was imprisoned as a pregnant woman. Jin, who is protected, knows that his life is dying. Even if Qiu Qiu is just his comrade-in-arms, is he more valuable than himself, a young, promising and thoroughly loyal comrade-in-arms? What's more, from the letter left by Qiu Qiu, he has understood how Qiu Qiu has always loved him deeply, and how to bear the helplessness and pain that he mistook for his dead wife ... Jin did the last and only thing he could do: exchange his life, which may come to an end at any time, for Qiu Qiu and the children in her belly.
Meeting in the heavy rain was the only memory that made people feel damp and cold in that hot summer. Off-screen, we all understand that their love for each other has surpassed life, and they also understand that this separation is separated from life and death. But no matter how much you don't give up, no matter how much you cry, you can't prolong that last hug for more than a moment. Such a rainy day, such a parting, is colder than death. Qiu Qiu, whom Payne met in prison, has completely empty eyes.
Thanks to Director Ye Daying, he kindly abandoned the scenes of torture of Jin, such as tiger benches and pepper water, which he originally planned to shoot, and only hinted at what Jin had suffered with prison clothes stained with blood and feet bruised by shackles. It was the most worn-out style in all Leslie Cheung's films, but it impressed me deeply, perhaps because his expression was so calm, so relaxed, so ...... he died. Knowing that death is at hand. Since all the people who care about it have been arranged, Death is just like returning home. At the sound of a gunshot, his chains danced to the sky like an eagle he never forgot. At the same time, a cry broke through the desolate atmosphere: he and her child were born.
When Payne took their children on the road to celebrate the victory of the revolution, he seemed to see Qiu Qiu and Jin dancing in the crowd. At that moment, he finally understood the true romance between them. They integrate their passion into history, and their loyalty to each other and their career makes them worth remembering forever.
Different * * * party member
As for why Leslie Cheung was asked to play party member Jin, it was not for hype, as the media speculated. Director Ye Daying told us:
At first, I didn't want Leslie Cheung to play Jin. What I wanted to reflect at that time was the image of the early * * * production party, who could speak English, had a cultural temperament and had a weak sense of material things. Considering that the characteristics brought by the family background of the characters are easier to find among overseas Chinese, it is more difficult to find them in the mainland-party member, who is in his forties, generally belongs to the image of one who is not afraid of hardships and the other who is not afraid of death, which is rough. In terms of cultural temperament, the things that really come from the heart to express personality and spirit are not as delicate as those of the actors outside-so he took the script to his friends in Hong Kong and asked them to find it.
John Lone was considered at first, but we were frightened when we heard that John Lone's style was particularly large. When I arrived in Hong Kong, I didn't expect many friends in the Hong Kong film industry to agree that Leslie Cheung was suitable and he could act. My mind has always been the image of him in Farewell My Concubine and Romantic Moon, and I have never considered him at all. Later, when I met Leslie Cheung for dinner and talked, I had a feeling that the role must be his. He is also in his forties, just the right age. Not only does he have the feeling of vicissitudes, but there is something calm in his eyes, that is to say, there is no material desire that contemporary people often reveal. When I told him the story, his eyes changed slightly, and his attention to people and emotions appeared, which was felt and moved by his heart, so that you could feel it at once. He has a soft surface, but behind it is a rare tenacity. He is the best actor I have ever seen.
At first, many people were worried about whether Leslie Cheung could be competent. After filming, everyone said: Who can play this role except Leslie Cheung! Leslie Cheung himself is very picky about English. He studied in England, and his English should be the best among us, but he must be the most accurate. When shooting the long shot of him telling his wife, Leslie Cheung practiced his lines first and then said that he could shoot. He asked me, "What do you want me to do?" I said, "I can't shed tears anyway, but I have to." He said, "Don't worry." He is really able to play the kind of play that "can't stand it", and he can find every subtle feeling. When he played it back, he said I could do better.
Leslie Cheung has his own understanding of this role. He doesn't want to play the image of a "Gao Daquan" producer in the eyes of the public, but wants to show the audience in the new era a different red romantic revolutionary. In his eyes, the * * * producers should have the calm and mighty demeanor of leaders such as Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping, and have the ideal and infectious personality like John Woo. Therefore, Jin, who is interpreted by him, is elegant in temperament and delicate in emotion. He not only has the courage to be fearless in times of crisis, but also has a flexible and agile mind.
After the film was released, the media gave mixed comments on the plot of The Red Lover, but no one raised specific objections to Leslie Cheung's acting skills. The comments were nothing more than questioning how a Hong Kong star who grew up in a colony could interpret a revolutionary, just as when Farewell My Concubine began shooting, some people questioned how a sexy and hot young idol played a famous Peking Opera actor in old Beijing. But Zhang Ruifang, a famous actor, said, "I'm party member, the old man who joined the Party in 1938, and Leslie Cheung plays Jin. I can accept it." Sun Daolin, who once played Li Xia, an underground party member, in Never Gone Radio, also said: "Jin played by Leslie Cheung is different from mine, but it is also the image of an underground gangster." The evaluation of these two "red actors" of the older generation is much more pertinent and valuable than the scolding voice trained and edified by many films of the old revolutionary mode.
Leslie Cheung in the eyes of other actors
On Red