Chen Kaige: Well, I’ve wanted to make this particular picture for 13 years but I
never thought I could make it because I was busy doing other things and I
understood it would be a big movie and I would have to spend a lot of money on
it. But I was pretty lucky. I was so interested in those characters. They are
fantastic characters [and it’s a] fantastic story. Really like a Shakespeare
play or something similar. Five years ago I got some money from Japan and I
started pre-production while I finished the writing of the script and started to
do the research. That took a long time to do [since] I had to travel around the
country. We had to go to many museums and look at historical records and
costumes.
M: Could someone watch this film and view it as history or have you taken some
liberties?
CK: Yes. Most of the things were real. Of course some of the direction is my own
creation. But we have some real costumes. Some in China have said that the
costumes were similar to Japanese but I say no because the Japanese society was
influenced by the Chinese -- especially the Cheng dynasty some 2000 years ago.
M: How much did you know about the assassin?
CK: The assassin (Jing Ke) really existed and was written about in historical
books. He hated the first emperor. I guess that’s the reason the assassin is in
the historical book [we used] because he’s not really the one who helped create
China. He’s less important. Why did he put him in the book? I think the author
is trying to say there is a spiritual significance there. Like he is a star over
us. I compare this guy with the guy who was standing in front of tanks ten years
ago [in Tianamen Square]. Most people forgot about that. He was just standing
there. When I saw that image for the first time I started to cry. This is the
hero. I think the assassin is the same; just like him. Because he is facing the
terror and the military force and the most powerful emperor in the world and he
is saying, "Fuck you. Stop it."
M: One of the bigger themes in your movies is the theme of betrayal. Can you
talk about that?
CK: I think betrayal is always the theme of cinema. Betrayal is something that
is part of real life. This emperor while he used to be an innocent reasonable
person he tried to be a big protector of everyone but later on he betrayed
himself and what he used to dream about. And he betrayed his beloved. As a
filmmaker I was deeply involved in this story. I feel like I was one of them.
Especially this emperor, I felt sorry for him. You see how lonely he was at the
end of the story. He was a loser. He was standing on a bridge just saying
something to himself like, "I’ll never forget what I wanted to do." I remember
when we did that shot the guy who played the emperor (Li Xuejian) came to me and
he started crying. He said he felt so sad and so bad for the guy.
M: You often frame the emperor alone on this large canvass. Can you talk about
cinematography and the framing?
CK: I always try to find a different style for different film. I think this time
you don’t see a lot of camera movement except those battle sequences. I frame
the characters and you see a lot of things happen in the background. The people
stay in the background and walk toward the camera. Something is continually
happening behind him. That’s how I wanted to make the story. Each character can
be important in the same frame walking back and forth. Creatively it’s
interesting talking about a style because it’s so different from Farewell My Concubine and all the other movies.
M: Some of the criticism of your films in China is that you make films that
deal with feudal decadence and Westerners love that. Yet some of the criticism
in the West is that the nature of your films are too artistic and emotionally
remote. How do you feel about the criticism?
CK: I think this is normal that some people like my films and some don’t and
that’s fine with me. I think it is great to hear a different voice from people
no matter if they like the film or criticize the film. I think that’s normal.
But you have to do that with kindness. You have to be nice with the filmmaker.
In my country some people have lost respect for anything. They don’t believe.
They don’t trust and that is so bad. In this country film critics always want to
see something so different from Hollywood. Maybe they think this film is
commercial. I cannot do anything for someone. I’m not making a film just for
critics although I have received strong support and I appreciate it. This time I
might pay attention to what critics say about my movie. For FAREWELL MY
CONCUBINE some critics in New York said I should make small movies and
concentrate on the minority people who live a simple life. But as a film
director you can’t… you have to do something different.
M: Can you talk about working with the actors and what they bring to the film?
CK: Well, obviously I’m the decision maker. I know pretty clearly what I want
and what I want [the actors] to do. But sometimes it’s not so easy so we have to
do a lot of work. We prepare so well. We had a very detailed discussion every
evening before we started to shoot each sequence. We would talk and we both
would say something like, "we are going to do this tomorrow." That’s really
helpful. If you have a close relationship with your actors that’s a good thing.
But I appreciate when that they brought something in. They say, "Well I think we
should act this way because..." That’s good. I’m open to discussion.
M: I notice that you often don’t work with the same actors. Gong Li being the
exception. Any reason?
CK: Well I always wish to find new talent. There is always new talent and they
want to work with me and I want to work with them. But unfortunately we only
have one Gong Li. I think that she is good and lucky and doing okay. Let’s see
what happens in two or three years time. As you know I think I’m going to do
another picture here soon in this country. And I ‘m developing a project in
China.
M: The scope of your films must impress the Hollywood producers. Have you been
offered many scripts in the past?
CK: Yes, I’ve got several offers. But I regard myself as a demanding director
and it’s difficult for me to compromise. It really depends on the project.
Artistically, sometimes you feel you’re not afraid. And that’s fun.
M: I know Miramax cut some of your last film. Did Sony Picture Classics cut
anything on this one?
CK: They gave me some suggestions For instance there may be something I don’t
know about Western audiences. But I don’t think that hurt the film. I cut the
film in a way I really wanted.
Matt Langdon