Chinese director Zhang Yimou discussed his latest box office hit Full River Red, the seventh-highest grossing film of 2023 to date, at a wide-ranging talk at Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF).
Zhang, whose filmmaking career spanning four decades includes Raise The Red Lantern, Hero and House Of Flying Daggers, took part in the festival’s TIFF Lounge series of talks, moderated by TIFF senior programmer Kenji Ishizaka.
Full River Red has received its Japanese premiere at TIFF, following its release in China in January. The at-times comedic thriller takes place in 12th-century China and stars a large ensemble cast including Shen Teng, Jackson Yee and Zhang Yi.
“The film features a roster of top actors, and I wanted to capture every single second of their acting, including facial expressions,” said Zhang. “We used anywhere from six to 10 small, manoeuvrable cameras, training one or two cameras on each actor. With all that equipment, sometimes it appears on camera, but these days you can easily paint it out with CG. With this system, we were often able to capture the action in one take, so we wrapped quite quickly.”
The filmmaker described his process for prepping a film as one that involves a lot of discussion and what he described as “homework”.
“As a director, you’re in charge of a creative team, so I need to be prepared for everything before a shoot,” he explained. “If the next film I’m going to shoot is stylish, artistic, and colourful, I talk to the art director and explain things like the colour and the tone. Based on that, I choose the locations, costumes, etc., and prepare everything before the shoot.”
One reason for this intense pre-production discussion, the director explained, is to free up on-set time to spend talking with his actors.
“For me, actors are the most important link in the filmmaking chain, because if there are no characters, there’s no movie,” Zhang said. “Talking with the actors about the screenplay gives me a lot of inspiration.”
The director said there had been times when these discussions prompted shutting down production for a week or two to give screenplays extensive rewrites.
Takakura tribute
Zhang’s connection with TIFF stretches back more than 35 years. He won the best actor award at the 2nd edition of the festival for his star turn in 1987’s Old Well (“my first and last award as an actor, I’m sure,” he said with a laugh) and is being feted with a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s festival.
His film Riding Alone For Thousands Of Miles, starring the late Japanese actor Ken Takakura, premiered at TIFF in 2005. During the master class, Zhang reflected on Takakura and his dedication to cinema.
“That was the only film I directed while standing the whole time,” Zhang said. “That’s because Takakura, despite being in his 70s, didn’t sit at all on set. Between takes, instead of going to the car or rest area, he would observe the crew. I asked his interpreter why and was told he was very serious and had a lot of respect for everyone on set. So I had all the chairs removed and added high tables to make things conducive to standing.”
Responding to an audience member who asked what keeps the director going after four decades in filmmaking, Zhang explained that “filmmaking doesn’t tire me that much, because I truly love cinema”.
He added that while his decision to study film production in his 20s was less about a love of cinema than wanting to “change the course of his life,” once he entered the industry, his passion for the artform grew.
Investor advice
Zhang also offered practical advice for directors: keep your body physically fit and your investors happy.
“No smoking and no drinking is my policy,” he said. “Your health is the base of what you use [while making a film].
“It’s also important to have many investors willing to cooperate on your projects. Of course, you have to be an artist, but you have a financial responsibility to your backers, too. It’s an important balance.”
Looking ahead, Zhang noted that several of his children are pursuing filmmaking, including one son who has been influenced by Japanese directors such as Makoto Shinkai (Suzume, Your Name) and is now looking to move into animation.
“My wife told me, ‘If all of our children become filmmakers, this is going to be one chaotic family. I won’t know which set to visit!’,” said Zhang with a laugh.
The discussion was translated from Chinese to Japanese and then into English.
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