Casting off the past

When director Diao Yi'nan chose Hu Ge to star in his latest crime thriller, the suave Shanghai native took the opportunity to shed his pop-idol image once and for all, Xu Fan reports.

When director Diao Yi'nan stumbled upon a photo of the actor Hu Ge in a magazine, he suddenly realized he had found the ideal lead for his new movie, The Wild Goose Lake.

From the image, Diao could recognize that Hu－then widely regarded as a pop idol whose major screen roles were usually handsome heroes－had the potential to play a rebellious yet struggling soul, who is shadowed by a complex past.

So, for the first time in an acting career spanning 14 years, Hu stepped out of his comfort zone to play a gangster, a character far removed from the charmed life led by the suave Shanghai native born in 1982. The film also marks the first time for Hu－who shot to stardom through hit TV series like Nirvana in Fire－to play the lead role in a silver-screen feature.

During a recent promotional event held in Beijing, Hu recalls that when he was contacted by Diao, he was at a crossroads in his career.

"I was waiting for an excellent script and a good character then. Honestly speaking, I was quite nervous about joining the film as I was worried about whether I would be up to the job," says Hu.

Diao is not known as a particularly prolific director. He has established his prestigious reputation and gained fame for his unique style. Diao's last film, Black Coal, Thin Ice, won two awards－the Golden Bear for best film and the Silver Bear for best actor (Liao Fan)－at the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival.

Driven by his desire to make a breakthrough, Hu says he set aside all his acting experience to reset himself as "a blank sheet of paper" to prepare for this unprecedented role, which involved learning the Wuhan dialect and taking part in a harsh physical-training regime.

Thanks to Hu's devotion as well as the efforts of the other cast members, including actress Kwai Lunmei and actor Liao Fan, the movie－which will open on Friday－has become one of December's most anticipated films.

The film was shortlisted as the only Chinese-language film to compete for top awards at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.

Loosely adapted from a real-life story, the movie set in the humid city in central China unfolds with Zhou Zenong, played by Hu, a hoodlum on the run after he accidentally kills a policeman. In order to make his isolated wife turn him in to the police to receive a 300,000 yuan ($42,400) reward, the outlaw turns to his friends for help－but things go wrong and end in bloodshed.

"I spent two years writing the script, using a blend of my imagination and news stories," recalls Diao at a recent promotional event held in Beijing.

Speaking about the dark tone of the movie, Diao reveals up to 85 percent of all sequences were shot at night. Around 2,000 extras were recruited.

"When we shot a chase scene in the streets of a town, thousands of locals flooded to the location, believing Hu Ge would be there. We hadn't planned for this and even I was held back by the crowds. All my directorial work had to be done behind a remote monitor," recalls the director.

Interestingly, all the scenes were shot in the same order as the narrative sequence of the film, making it easier for the performers to immerse themselves in their roles and develop their characters more fully－but at the cost of forcing up the budget.

Diao is known for his style of using the genre of crime thrillers to explore the complexity of humanity. He says the new film again turns his lens on struggling people existing on the fringes of society, examining their attempts to find self-esteem and meaning.

For instance, Hu's character leaves his wife and son for five years, making a living stealing motorbikes. But the film doesn't simply define his role as a thief or a ruthless cop killer but also as a man racked by regret, who wants to use his life as the last stake to make a brighter future for his family.

Taiwan actress Kwai－who also starred in Black Coal, Thin Ice－plays in the other main role as a woman struggling on the margins of society.

Her character, Liu Ai-ai, works as a "swimming escort", a euphemism for sex workers who ply their trade on the shores of a local lake. A gangster assigns Liu the task of entrapping Zhou in exchange for the hefty reward, but she instead develops feelings for him.

Since all the lines are spoken in the Wuhan dialect, Kwai spent several months living in the Hubei provincial capital to learn how to speak and act more like a local.

Sneak previews were held for the film in Xiamen, Wuhan and Beijing, and there are plans to expand promotions to more cities, including Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

The film has already notched up 7.7 points out of 10 on popular review site Douban. It has garnered praise from many industry insiders.

"The movie portrays a group of people who have been ignored by mainstream society via a well-choreographed story, which is not just driven by the lines but also by the music and the sets," comments veteran director Cao Baoping.

Contact the writer at xufan@chinadaily.com.cn