Huayu: I rely on hit-movie tactics to interweave...

Chapter 35: Return of the Chapter

During the week that Liu Yifei and Wang Jinsong went to the fishing village to experience life, the filming of the movie did not stop.

Liu Yu moved her scenes back, and filmed the scenes with Li Xuejian, Song Dandan, and Luo Jing first.

In May in Weihai, the sea breeze still carries a chill, but the sunshine already has the feel of summer.

The film crew was stationed in a small fishing village on the outskirts of Weihai. The village was small, with about a hundred households, and the people relied on the sea for their livelihood. The air was filled with a salty and fishy smell.

Liu Yu chose this place because it was authentic; fishing nets were drying on the cement road, buoys were piled up in the corner, old women were mending fishing nets by the roadside, and men went out to sea in the morning and came back in the afternoon with their skin tanned and shiny by the sea breeze.

Li Xuejian plays Chen Jianguo, the father, who is deaf and mute. He spends his life either going to the beach or working as a fitter in a factory and has never spoken a word.

This character doesn't need any lines, but he needs much more than just lines: eyes, expressions, body language, and the rhythm of his breathing.

For a normal person to play a deaf-mute character, the hardest part is not learning sign language, but forgetting the habit of expressing themselves with their voice.

When ordinary people speak, they think about how to say what they mean, while deaf-mute people think about how to gesture to express what they mean.

Li Xuejian grasped this difference on the very first day.

In the first scene, Chen Jianguo comes home from get off work and sees his daughter singing in the yard.

Filming begins. Li Xuejian stands at the gate of the courtyard, holding a lunchbox in her hand, looking at her daughter in the yard.

His face didn't show any major changes in expression, but his eyes shifted from tiredness to tenderness, from tenderness to pride, and from pride to a hint of barely perceptible loneliness.

The entire process took less than ten seconds and involved no dialogue.

Liu Yu watched from behind the monitor, his heart skipping a beat. This wasn't acting; this was real life.

After he shouted "Cut!", the scene was quiet for a moment, and then someone clapped softly.

Li Xuejian stepped out of character, smiled, and asked, "Do we still want to keep one?"

Liu Yu answered without hesitation, "Protect."

Li Xuejian walked back to the courtyard gate and did it again, this time it was different from the first time, but just as good.

...

Song Dandan joined the crew only three days before filming began.

The mother she plays, Wang Shufen, is also deaf and mute, and works as a stock clerk in a local supermarket.

Song Dandan is a comedian by profession. She has appeared in shows like "The Overpopulation Guerrilla Team" and "I Love My Family". People all over the country want to laugh when they see her.

Liu Yu knew she could act in serious dramas; she had honed her skills on the stage when she was young and had also acted in many tragedies.

On her first day on set, Song Dandan shed all the burdens of being a comedian; dressed in the simplest clothes, with her hair casually tied up and no makeup on her face, she looked like a middle-aged woman from a fishing village.

Song Dandan and Li Xuejian's first scene together is a silent conversation between the couple in the kitchen.

Chen Jianguo and Wang Shufen communicated in sign language, talking about family matters: their daughter's tuition fees, their son's job, and the prices at the vegetable market.

This scene has no conflict or contradiction; it's just the daily life of a deaf-mute couple.

Li Xuejian and Song Dandan worked together very well, even though they used different sign language.

Li Xuejian's sign language is clean and crisp, as if she has been doing it for many years; Song Dandan's sign language is gentle and delicate, with a mother's unique softness.

There's a silent aura between the two of them. Just by looking at them sitting together without saying a word, you can tell they're a married couple, the kind who've spent their whole lives together.

Sitting behind the monitor, watching the scene, Liu Yu thought of the word "human touch".

These two people have truly become the characters they portray.

.....

Luo Jing's older brother, Chen Lei, has a small role, but every scene he plays is important.

He works at a car repair shop, interacts with normal people, has an outgoing personality, loves to laugh and gesture, and is an optimist.

Luo Jing learned sign language specifically for this role and even spent a week at a car repair shop, learning from the master how to change tires and repair engines.

In one scene, Chen Lei is working at a car repair shop, his hands covered in grease. His sister comes to find him, he looks up, sees his sister, smiles, and gestures to say, "Why are you here?"

When Liu Yu was filming, he wanted to use a close-up shot, but Luo Jing said, "Director Liu, could you film my hand first, and then my face?"

Liu Yu asked him why, and he replied, "Because my hands are covered in oil. The audience should see my hands first, then my smile, and then they'll know what this person does."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yu realized that he hadn't considered this detail.

What surprised Liu Yu the most was not the lead actors, but the supporting actors.

The deaf-mute father's factory coworkers, the mother's supermarket colleagues, the village neighbors, and the fishermen at the dock were all extras hired locally.

Some are genuinely deaf and mute, while others are ordinary people who can't act; standing in front of the camera, they are more authentic than any professional actor.

Liu Yu found several deaf-mute people to act. They sat there eating, gesturing, and playing around. They didn't need to act at all because that's how they are.

With the cameras rolling, they didn't even feel like they were making a movie; they were just living their lives. That relaxed feeling can't be taught.

The filming of scenes involving deaf and mute characters is inseparable from sign language interpreters.

The production team specially hired two sign language teachers, one to be responsible for Li Xuejian and Song Dandan, and the other to be responsible for the extras.

Before each scene was filmed, the sign language interpreter would translate Liu Yu's meaning to the actors. After the actors finished performing, the sign language interpreter would translate the actors' sign language back to Liu Yu.

The shooting process was much slower than that of a regular film.

Liu Yu didn't urge him; he knew these things couldn't be rushed.

.....

Liu Yifei spent a week experiencing life in the fishing village, and when she returned, she was a completely different person.

She's gotten darker, thinner, her hair is a bit frizzy from the sea breeze, and her eyes have changed.

The ethereal aura is still there, but beneath it lies an additional layer: earth energy.

Liu Yu knew the moment he saw her that Wang Jinsong's method had worked.

Liu Yifei walked up to Liu Yu, stopped, and called out, "Director Liu."

Liu Yu looked her over and said, "She's gotten darker."

"From sun exposure."

"She looks better with a darker complexion. Liu Lu is a girl who grew up by the sea, so she doesn't look like someone who is too fair-skinned."

She didn't smile; her eyes held a seriousness that said, "I'm all prepared."

Liu Yu had Sun Yang start the camera and film a test shot.

Liu Yifei rode her bicycle down the embankment, the sea breeze blowing through her hair. She opened her mouth and sang Faye Wong's "Human World".

She didn't sing very well; half of her voice was swallowed by the wind. But that feeling, the first time, was right.

Liu Yu sat behind the monitor, watching the screen without saying a word.

Sun Yang turned his head and glanced at him, but Liu Yu ignored him and continued to stare at the screen.

In the picture, Liu Yifei's hair is blown by the sea breeze like a flag, her eyes are squinted, and there is a smile on her lips. She looks alive.

"Passed."

Liu Yifei stopped the car, turned to look at Liu Yu, and seemed to find it hard to believe.

Liu Yu repeated himself a second time, "That's enough, get ready for the next round."

Her eyes reddened, she took a deep breath, pushed her bicycle to the side of the road, and followed the sign language teacher to prepare for the next scene.

Liu Yu stood up, walked to the edge of the embankment, took out a cigarette and lit it.

The sea breeze was strong, and it took three tries to light the lighter.

He took a puff and looked at the distant sea.

The sun was setting, turning the entire sea a deep gold.

He finished his cigarette and stubbed it out. Back on set, Wang Chaowen was directing the camera for the next scene, Sun Yang was adjusting the aperture, Li Xuejian was resting with her eyes closed, Song Dandan was rehearsing lines with Liu Yifei, and Luo Jing was practicing sign language in a corner.

Everyone took their positions and waited for him to call "Start".

Liu Yu sat back down in front of the monitor and picked up the walkie-talkie.

In Weihai in May, it gets dark quickly, and he had to finish filming the scene while the light was still on.

"The entire team is ready."

The walkie-talkies crackled with responses from each group: "Camera ready," "Lighting ready," "Recording ready," "Actors ready."

Liu Yu watched the monitor showing Liu Yifei standing on the seawall, looking out at the sea, the wind blowing the hem of her clothes.

"start."