Movie《The Light of the White Tower》cast introduction

The 73rd Berlin Film Festival is coming to an end. What domestic movie fans are most looking forward to is whether the two Chinese-language films shortlisted for this year’s main competition will win the grand prize in Berlin.The first is director Liu Jian's second animated film shortlisted for Berlin - Art Academy -, and the second is the one we are going to talk about today, director Zhang Lu's - The Light of the White Tower.

《The Light of the White Tower》 is a film directed by Zhang Lu and starring Xin Baiqing, Huang Yao and Tian Zhuangzhuang.This film mainly focuses on the life and emotional story of food journalist Gu Wentong. It depicts the story of Gu Wentong, who turned to be a food reporter after his divorce. He accidentally learned that his father, who was kicked out for suspected hooliganism, was living in Beidaihe.In the movie, the confrontation and emotional development between Gu Wentong and his partner, food photographer Ouyang Wenhui, are also a highlight.

At the end of the film, the “shadow play” part was very wonderfully depicted. After drinking, Gu Wentong and Ouyang Wenhui had no shadows under the streetlight in front of the White Tower, and then their shadows appeared again after hugging each other.This plot is also used to show the situation where the relationship between the male and female protagonists is on the verge of collapse.

In addition, the performance of Xin Baiqing, who played Gu Wentong in the film, was also praised as outstanding. He vividly expressed the frustration, loneliness and helplessness of a middle-aged literary man.His outburst at the class reunion and his final aggressive questioning of the heroine’s friend show his character arc finally being developed.

Looking at this movie, it can be said that it is a model of happiness and sadness. The happiness and sadness come from Beijing and its cultural background. The whole movie is full of laughter.It is worthy of director Zhang Lu to tell such a sad movie in such a humorous manner: two stories and countless relationships between people.This time, the director abandoned the classic relationship of "three people" and changed it to "multiple people".The reason is that the director said that this movie is very suitable for building a multi-person relationship, just like his previous movies are very suitable for a threesome.In the film, the emotional state of the two protagonists circulates between multiple people. Without the relationship or sight of other people, it would be difficult for them to get together.

The title of the film - Light of the White Tower - comes from a youth hostel near the White Tower Temple, and the English title “The Shadowless Tower” can be translated as “无影 Tower”, which refers to the one in the White Tower Temple in Beijing.White Tower.Rumor has it that no shadow can be found in this white tower no matter what time of day it is. It can be said to be an important clue and image in the film.

Regarding the image of the White Tower, the director explained this: Beijing is a square and square city, and it is not easy to get lost.But it is difficult for people to find the true path in their hearts.There is such a round, upward tower in Beijing, which can give people a sense of comfort.%The inspiration for the creation《Light of the White Tower》came from an encounter with director Zhang Lu.Long before filming the movie Yanagawa-(The Long Confession), the director went to Beijing to discuss the production work of the crew.One day, the director and his staff went to a Yanbian cold noodle shop in Xisi. After eating, they walked to the Baita Temple where they often wandered when they were children.When he climbed onto the second-floor terrace of the cafe closest to the White Pagoda Temple, Director Zhang Lu was surprised to find that the White Pagoda was so oppressive.Perhaps because of the perspective and distance, he never noticed this as a child.From this, he came up with the idea of ​​creating a story about Beijing and the White Tower.The timeline stretches to after the director finished filming Yanagawa.Due to an emergency in his hometown, the director flew back to Beijing from South Korea.During the quarantine in Guangzhou, the shadow of the White Tower kept popping up in his mind.So, during the fourteen days of isolation, he worked hard to complete the script.This is the origin of the Light of the White Tower.

Director Zhang Lu's unique technique of using long shots to change time and space is still quite amazing in this movie.Especially the last shot of the film has a trance-like feeling that makes people wake up from a dream; the fixed lens frames the characters and shows the depth of the alley quite meaningfully; and the characters' dialogues always guide the camera,Make the lens language in the dialogue more flexible.Mirrors are also a very important visual element in the film.The male protagonist Gu Wentong unties his knot with his father and dances in the mirror. This is an unforgettable moment in the entire film.The two looked at each other in the mirror and saw each other that they had never observed in real life, which represented their letting go and relief.

Finally, I would like to talk about an interesting phenomenon of cultural isolation.Any movie must be closely related to the culture where the story is located.From this point of view, - The Light of the White Tower - is actually very local.Therefore, during the entire movie watching process, our Chinese audience's reception of the film's information is obviously higher than that of foreign audiences, and even domestic northerners can understand some details in the film better than southerners.For example, when adding coriander to the stew, the chef's movements and facial expressions are confused. The reason is due to differences in food culture.This is also reflected in the French film "Beasts of the Jungle" in this year's Berlin Panorama Section. It is difficult for us to understand the European disco culture, just as it is difficult for them to understand what "Beijing Welcomes You" means to us..

However, there is another type of film that is rapidly emerging at film festivals, represented by "The First Life", which I would like to call “global movies”.It is not rooted in pure Korean or American culture, but a fusion that allows all viewers, whether Korean or European and American, to be deeply immersed in it.Of course, there is no difference between the two, they are just different discoveries.

The above is the entire content of this article. Friends who like it may wish to go to the theater to see the style of director Zhang Lu when the movie is released.