Portraying Hu Ge’s soul companion and mirrored confidant in <All Ears>

The movie <All Ears> is currently in theaters, it tells the story of screenwriter Wen Shan, played by Hu Ge, who makes a living by writing eulogies after going through some setbacks in his life. He meets many people and experiences many things along the way to get a deeper understanding of the meaning and value of life and of humans’ emotions. Wu Lei plays the role of Xiao Yin, a character that Wen Shan hasn’t finished writing in his work and can be described as a spiritual representation of Wen Shan. The solar and straightforward Xiao Yin will appear at critical moments to debate with the slow and sensitive Wen Shan, gradually guiding him to voice out the sound of his own heart. Despite Xiao Yin not having his own chapter like the other characters, he is a key figure who pushes the plot forward.

Xiao Yin is a character that Wu Lei has never portrayed since he first entered the acting industry, and he said he had many deserving reasons to participate in <All Ears>. Not only is it produced by Cao Baoping and directed by Liu Jiayin but there is also the reassuring presence of Lao Hu (Hu Ge). “This is a very quiet and spirited filming crew, even the cue to begin shooting is gentle. I have also given a lot of my own understanding and actions to Xiao Yin. It is a movie that makes people think a lot, especially after the shooting ended, I really wanted to have a little Xiao Yin too. Although he is an abstract character, if it’s possible, I’d like to make him concrete in my life, having him, discussing with him, being in his company would be really great“.

– ABOUT THE ROLE –

Full of mystery, very challenging to portray, existent and non-existent

The first time he finished reading the script of <All Ears>, Wu Lei spent a lot of time digesting it because the story really ‘shocked his mind’. Behind every eulogy Wen Shan has written, there is a heartwarming story. When he put down the script, all his emotions were mixed. He started to have a new way of thinking and examining his own life. Wu Lei frankly said he had no choice but to accept the role this time because this Xiao Yin gave him a feeling of excitement to participate in the creation of the character: “This is a character I’ve never played before and the script has a very original and realistic theme, this movie genre and script are rarely seen. In addition to that, producer Cao and director Liu are very good at their job, most of my scenes are with Lao Hu (Hu Ge), it’s very suitable for me in all aspects“. Wu Lei says that another reason why he wanted to try portraying Xiao Yin, is because this role is full of mystery, stands in a very unique space and represents a state of existence and non-existence : “As Wen Shan’s companion, he accompanied him through each and every deceased. In other words, Xiao Yin also experiences more or less the same things as Wen Shan, he can feel Wen Shan’s feelings and emotions. From my personal perspective, I also want to understand Wen Shan sometimes, whether it’s onscreen or offscreen, we have this in common, how interesting is that!“

In the eyes of his partner Hu Ge, the character Xiao Yin played by Wu Lei is extremely difficult to act. Hu Ge indicates, “The character of Xiao Yin cannot seem to find a pivot point or a psychological foundation, he’s very difficult to play, but from another perspective, he also allows a big creative space. But before the start of filming and table read, everyone just had a rough idea of Xiao Yin, it can be said that Xiao Yin is a character that was built through discussion while filming”. Wu Lei also thinks this character leaves a strong room for creativity, he is in Wen Shan’s heart, his mirror image and his roommate, a straightforward young boy. Although he is relatively young, he is Wen Shan’s partner, like a teacher and a friend, interacting with each other like intimate confidants.

– ABOUT THE PARTNER –

Collaborating with Hu Ge once again, becoming more mature and stronger tacit understanding

Hu Ge and Wu Lei both played different age stages of Yang Liu Lang in <The Young Warriors>, sworn brothers Mei Changsu and Fei Liu in <Nirvana in Fire>; and now, they are collaborating a third time for <All Ears>. This time, the characters they portray respectively, Wen Shan and Xiao Yin, seem more like a pair of “soul companions”. When Wen Shan was writing his script, he wrote the virtual character Xiao Yin. He always felt Xiao Yin wasn’t perfect enough and kept talking to him, ultimately finding a comfortable way to coexist. Director Liu Jiayin once stated in an interview, Xiao Yin is Wen Shan’s embodiment of his unfinished task, self-projection and mirrored image of himself. “Many people have this kind of self-dialogue situation in their life. For Wen Shan, Xiao Yin can be a partner, he can bring warmth or exert pressure, he can expose him, question him”. Liu Jiayin also says, that finding Hu Ge and Wu Lei who share a mutual tacit understanding to portray these two profoundly meaningful characters could not have been more suitable.

“To be honest, there’s nothing different. He has always been like this, he has never changed. It’s just that this time, our characters’ relationship is different so naturally the creative experience is slightly different. Plus, I have also grown up, so I see him in a different perspective now. We worked together three times and for each time, our roles varied. The first time (for <The Young Warriors>), I can’t remember if I’m being honest but I have a slight impression of the wrap party when I had dinner with him; the second time, the impression was particularly deep, we were shooting <Nirvana in Fire>; at that time, I had the role of the relatively immature Fei Liu and it was so silly and joyful on set everyday. After I finished reading my lines and after the director explained the plot, we each shot our own parts. In the drama, we had our own distinct channels. This time, it’s more like two men talking, considering I’m also an adult now. It feels similar to how we interacted during <Nirvana in Fire>, he would always ask me if I’m too mature or he’s the one too immature. I replied, ‘That’s definitely your problem, it has nothing to do with me’ (laugh)”. Wu Lei replies while laughing, actually they hadn’t met for a long time before filming <All Ears>, usually they just talk on WeChat, “In the end, after talking and filming together, we realized we are still the same as back then, so it’s a rejoice. He is someone I’m very familiar with so the filming went very smoothly. Once we started shooting, we just cooperated and understood each other. We could say anything very openly, it was very relaxing and it was a very natural creative environment“.

– EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW –

To listen more is the only way to ‘make this trip worthwhile’

Beijing News: Wen Shan has gone through a lot and has met many people. As his companion, Xiao Yin leaves his life at the end of the film, how do you understand this disappearance ?

Wu Lei: At the end of the movie, both have grown up a lot. Xiao Yin is a character written by Wen Shan, he is also another side of Wen Shan’s inner heart. Xiao Yin is actually Wen Shan’s another representation, so at the end of the movie, Wen Shan has already let go, he could finally take his pen to finish writing Xiao Yin’s character so that Xiao Yin could obtain a chance at a new life. From the perspective of a companion, because Xiao Yin and Wen Shan have both undergone personal growth, in a way, they no longer needed each other. Both of them can walk on their own now, so Xiao Yin naturally disappeared at the end and probably went to a world he has always wanted and had to explore.

Beijing News: You are very extroverted, and Director Liu Jiayin is relatively introverted. Can you talk about how you felt during your collaboration?

Wu Lei: Time flew by from the first meeting to the start of filming. Director Liu Jiayin was very straightforward and efficient, she can very accurately tell you what she wants and doesn’t want but sometimes you need to give her time to think, including in the early stage, we discussed how to approach the character of Xiaoyin together. Actually, we were all experimenting at first, we didn’t know what to do. It was only when we started filming that we decided on how to portray the roles, how to shoot. But once we have decided, from an actor’s angle, she won’t give you any opportunity to be confused, she will encourage you ‘This is right, do it this way, be a bit more like that to find the feeling’. She is a very interesting person, and also a teacher in our film academy (laugh).

Beijing News: How do you evaluate Teacher Cao Baoping? It’s your first collaboration with him, he is also teacher at the Film Academy and a well-down director.

Wu Lei: I didn’t think Teacher Cao would be there everyday (on set), I saw him everyday. I remember when I first started shooting, he was monitoring us very tightly. I was actually very nervous seeing Director Liu and Producer Cao sitting there. But Producer Cao is great at storytelling, he knows how to convey his ideas to the actors. When I was unsure of my acting, he would help me strengthen my confidence and make me understand the real motivation behind my performance. Besides, in front of so many cameras, he still could provide excellent suggestions. When one scene wasn’t going smoothly, he could overcome the difficulties with just a sentence or two. I learned a lot from him.

Beijing News: The english title of <不虚此行> (lit. Make this trip worthwhile) is “All Ears” which means ‘to listen’. The movie also tells the story of the listeners, how do you understand the meaning of this title ?

Wu Lei: To listen more can truly ‘make your trip worthwhile’, is it what that means? I don’t have a lot of scenes in the movie but when I think of some lines from the script that were incorporated into the filming process, they were so appropriate. Everyone has to confront their ordinary side. Even though I was very nervous during this filming, there were a lot of moments that were as plain as water. But beneath these plain feelings and words, extremely deep emotions were concealed. Whether it’s for me or for my character, we have to get used to this kind of ‘plain’ and ordinary.

Translation credit to @eowuli. Original article on Beijing News.