The Promise - Wu ji (2005)

Wu ji - Die Reiter der Winde

The Interview With Chen Kaige (Director)

Chinese director and writer Chen Kaige gained critical acclaim for the first time for his film Yellow Earth which received - amongst other awards - a Silver Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival. Since then, the 54 years old son of a filmmaker has been awarded prices at festivals all over the world. He directed movies such as Farewell My Concubine, The Emperor and the Assasin and Killing Me Softly (featuring Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes). For a short period, Kaige lived in New York.

On the occasion of the European Premiere of Wu Ji - The Promise at the Berlinale 2006, we had the opportunity to ask the calm, reserved chinese director our questions...

» Das Interview in deutscher Sprache.

ON: With Wu Ji - The Promise you created a myth out of your imagination. What inspired you to do it? And how did you construct the story?

CK: First, I must say something about the Chinese market. Hollywood films play quite an important role in the Chinese market and the Chinese audience has been able to see Hollywood movies for over ten years. As a result, they expect quite a lot of Chinese directors and expect them to do big films as well. I think it is sort of a market requirement. Furthermore, I really wanted to do something quite big. I was inspired by old myths, probably written three thousand years ago. There is a famous myth, for example, about a man who could run very, very fast. He wanted to get to the sun and ran after it, until he broke down and died. I feel that this is very interesting - it is about the beginning of the Chinese race. That sort of myth is both naïve and powerful. You feel that there is a strong, spiritual power being created by a very young nation. That is why at the beginning of the film everything looks like made last night. It is a new world, the colours are magnificent and everything feels like it has never been seen before. I also think that it is important to combine different elements in one story, for example drama and action. In fact, I told myself at the beginning that we needed to do something with great images. There are some shots I am very proud of. The scene, for example, where the slave is trying to open the gate in order to let the princess and the general escape and the horse jumps over him - I really do like this shot.

ON: You mentioned that many people in China watch mostly Hollywood movies. Why is that so?

CK: I think it is because of the globalisation. Hollywood studios do everything they can to make sure their products are sold world wide. Also, China is unlike India. I think that the Indian people love the dancing and singing in their films because of their religion. With the Chinese, it is different.

ON: What is the Chinese market like?

CK: It is very unpredictable (laughs). You never know what the audience wants to see. I was very lucky because The Promise broke records in the Chinese market. I should be happy about that, but at the same time I am worried because only few movies, only few local productions can be shown in theatres. The distributors and theatre managers probably say that some films are too small, and that people will not want to watch them. That is why I think we're still in the process of establishing a good system; films of good quality should get a Chinese distribution even if the number of interests is limited.

ON: Please tell us more about the character of the slave Kunlun...

CK: I think that the slave is the only person in the film who behaves like a real human being, because he is not polluted by the others and their wrong-doings. He just keeps his pureness as a human being. Me creating this kind of character means that I still believe in an ideal. It is a bit similar to what I did in Farewell My Concubine with the Leslie Cheung character, who is more ideal than others.

ON: Values such as honour and the keeping of promises play an important part in The Promise. What is the status of these values today?

CK: I think that life itself is a promise. We should respect life as a gift and realise how lucky we are to be able to enjoy life here. I think the reason why I called the film The Promise is that too many promises are broken nowadays; both promises to other people and to ourselves. I strongly believe that we all are controlled by our personal destiny. But there is a chance for us to have a better destiny if we improve ourselves.

ON: You were brought up in the time of a contra revolutionary China. Do you think this era still influences Chinese movies?

CK: I do not know how exactly to describe my feelings about the cultural revolution. I think that some interesting stories can be told, not necessarily about the cultural revolution but about the people's spiritual world. I just save those stories for the future, and I believe that there are still many important things to learn.

ON: Do you think historical knowledge is important to understand the world and its incidents?

CK: I think that history is important for every culture and for every country, and China has a particularly long history. I think there is a reason for me to look back so often: I want to show the Chinese people what we had in the past, and tell them that we do not need to run that fast to leave everything behind and say it has no value. There is a value in the past.

ON: Is it possible for different cultures to get together, live with each other?

CK: No, I am not that optimistic. I think that there is still a big difference between East and West, sort of a culture battle. I do not believe that cultures really can be combined, become one. I even think it is important to have one's own culture, because we are different. But I do not hope to see that any culture manipulates the world. I think that is wrong.

ON: What is special about Asian films?

CK: (laughs) I really don't know. Probably their beauty. It is something the western audiences are not so familiar with; I think there is a beauty they can discover in Asian films. I believe that the visual aspect is very important and the images created by Chinese directors are quite amazing. Even I am sometimes stunned by the beauty of Asian films. However, there is also another kind of Chinese movies. I think that the directors of the younger generation are doing completely different films compared to us. They don't want to show any beauty - maybe because some of them believe live is ugly. They want to show how people try to survive. I think that a movie is always the mirror of the director's heart, a reflection of what he thinks and believes in.

ON: Mentioning the younger generation: How is the situation for young filmmakers in China?

CK: I think some of them are in quite a good shape; they can raise money from different sources. But of course, just like us, they have limits.

ON: Are there also other limits for filmmakers in China, such as censorship for example?

CK: Censorship is a very tough topic. Let's not talk about it (laughs).

ON: Was it easier to make films in earlier times than it is now?

CK: I think I preferred the time when I made my first movie because there wasn't a market to be considered. You did not have to think about it and you just did everything from your heart. You did not have to follow the market's demands and did not have to consider so much what the audience wants to see.

ON: Are you bothered by marketing?

CK: Yes. But I must be able to cope with it.

ON: Are these market requirements a new form of censorship?

CK: Yes, sort of. There are always two sides to the market: you either get something from it or you lose something.

ON: Do you feel pressured by the box office and its statistics?

CK: We do need the success at the box office, that's for certain. But at the same time, I do my best to keep real meaning to my films.

ON: The Promise is an epic movie set in the past. How do you feel about doing a smaller, more contemporary focused film?

CK: Actually, I have done both already; the movie I did before The Promise was a smaller, contemporary piece. I think I can do both big and small films. Basically I look at myself, trying to figure out what kind of filmmaker I am. I would say that although I do not believe in revolution, I am quite strongly influenced by it. Actually, in the filmmaking world I am quite a revolutionary. I just think that I can create new stories for the world cinema and sometimes, I probably go a bit too fast and too far. I don't know, this is just how I feel. But sure, when I decide what kind of film I am going to do next, that could definitely be a smaller and/or contemporary one.

ON: Thank you for the interview.

12.02.2006 / rs, th