Discuss the tension between "desire" and "truth" through "performance". It must be the best Hong Kong feature film of the year - "Corridor of Justice"

"Corridor of Justice" ( The Sparring Partner, directed by He Juetian , 2022)

This is the best Hong Kong drama feature film so far this year, bar none. Possibly the best of the year. Sincerely recommend everyone to buy tickets to enter the venue, there is no need to shout to support local production, not to take advantage of the market for two or three times, just to enjoy a good movie, this is the most important reason to watch the show.

1. In fact, before its official release the day before yesterday, "Justice" had done no less than 20 or 30 premiere screenings, and it had an excellent reputation. It can be boldly predicted that it will be nominated for many movie awards in the coming year, so there is no need to introduce it. But after all, it is a third-level film. The film is nearly two and a half hours long, and the cost is not high. The cast is solid, but not every one of them is a name familiar to mainstream audiences. All friends are needed to tell each other and recommend more audiences to enter the venue. Director Ho Juetian is a friend, and everyone is a member of the "Film Cultural Center (Hong Kong)" (FCC). If you know our friends, they may have watched the "Half Filmmaker" film review program hosted by our partners. People think that I only have good things to say for my friends, and although I like this film from time to time, most of it is only a sentence or a sentence, and I have not elaborated it in detail. Now that the movie is officially released, I decided to write a few more sentences for friendly publicity and to express my opinions. I believe everyone will know that I am not bragging.

Second, He Juetian is a new director, but of course he is not a newcomer who popped up suddenly. Graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, he has also held various positions in the industry and has certain experience. Many viewers agree that the style of "Justice" is unique and mature. In fact, He Juetian's creation is not achieved overnight, and the form of "Justice" is not his inherent skill. "FOUL" (2012), which he won the "China Outstanding Student Work Award" in the 11th International Student Film and Television Works Exhibition, is a relatively youthful and plain story. He participated in Fresh Wave's "The Crisis of Pang Shimai" ( Mrs. Pong , 2013) focused on social issues in the form of playful stories, and only participated as a screenwriter in the 6th micro-film "Creation + Production" Support Program (Music) "A Corpse Song to Save the Earth" ( Save The Earth) World With A Zombie's Song , 2019) is also pretty out of the way. Eclectic, at the same time, he also sincerely loves movies and watches a lot of movies, which may be the reason why he uses different film expressions. The director's next work "Forty-Four When the Dead Died" invited Mao Shunjun, Zheng Zhongji, Lv Jue'an and others to star in it. In fact, many directors don’t watch much drama on weekdays, and they only throw a few names of masters such as Kubrick as a taste when they are interviewed. Friends who have watched the [Half Filmmaker] program should know that He Juetian is not such a net movie celebrity or A cheeky director.

3. Therefore, because "Justice" is supervised by Weng Ziguang, it also shoots strange murders, and also has bloody or exposed scenes, so they think of Weng Ziguang's " Port of Call " (2015), and feel that the style is close , in fact, whether it is the theme of the film, the shaping of the atmosphere, the style of shooting, the differences between the two are far greater than the same. Weng Ziguang naturally has many guiding opinions on "Justice", but the final formation of "Justice" has its own movie life, which cannot be decided by one or two people. It can be said that it has been consistent, and among the many new director works in recent years, this film is the one that successfully uses the characteristics of the actors. In fact, "Treading Blood" is more lyrical, and it is about the closed world of Bai Zhi and Chun Xia. "Justice" is re-expanded, and everyone tries to reveal and perform to the outside world. It is completely different and should not be casually linked. Let's talk. Regarding the "performance" of "Justice", I will discuss it in more detail later.

Fourth, this is the first feature film of the new director, but insisting on the length of the film and not giving up on the third level is a rather bold decision. Faced with the pressure at the box office, there was no compromise between the top and bottom, and the plan was to cut a short version for another day and then get a director's version. Not only is the director a newcomer, but there are also many new names behind the scenes. The photography of this film is believed to impress many viewers. The design of lighting only for the actors' eyes in the dark courtroom, and the contrasting bright and dark lighting in the food stalls are all the work of Liang Youchang. With a Vadalama-style explosive head, he is the director of photography for the first time, and it is a name that can be paid attention to in the future.

In the same scene, a short film directed by Leung You Cheong himself:

Flowers Are Not Flowers ( Only Lovers Left Alive , 2021)

Works of the 8th Microfilm "Creation + Production" Support Program (Music)

"Justice" has a complex narrative structure and many characters, so it is necessary to figure out the clues, and the editing should be remembered. Li Qianming and Zhang Zhao in the responsible trio have certain experience, while Shi Shanying is a real freshman, the image of a cute and trendy girl on weekdays , is likely to be the one who decides the dark side of "Justice" (laughs). She is the soul of [Half Filmmaker]. Without her editing, everyone can only watch He Juetian and I, the two fluffers. Water, the picture is too ugly. During the period when Li Qianming and Shi Shanying dealt with "Justice", they were also responsible for the editing of " Mama's Affair " (2022). The styles of the two dramas are very different. It is also worth summarizing how to navigate between the two teams. experience. In addition to photography and editing, the screenwriting is the foundation of the film, of course, it cannot be ignored. This film adapts a sensational murder case, and the data collection effort is definitely not light, and the script not only focuses on the two defendants, but also extends the theme to the role of the court and the dispute over who decides justice. It's very challenging. The trio of Tan Guangyuan, Liang Yonghao and Ye Weiping is not easy. Tan is familiar, Liang and Ye are new, and Ye has appeared in "They Write on the Island: My City" (2015) - in When he was still a student ten years ago, he had adapted "Olympus" from Sisi's "A Woman Like Me" and won a short film competition award. This literary origin will also help him write scripts in the future.

5. "Justice" had its premiere at the Hong Kong International Film Festival a few months ago, and it is well-known, but I rarely read relevant commentary articles. After all, most of them can guess what they will write. I pay more attention to the general audience's reaction. People in the industry and friends in cultural circles sometimes have different perceptions from mainstream audiences. I listen to the opinions of people who like or hate this film, especially the latter. Creators and film critics who don't listen to criticism are meaningless after all. All of them were conveyed to the director to discuss the positive and negative opinions together. In fact, in the long creative process of "Justice", the narrative structure has been adjusted many times, and the backbone is naturally there, but the sequence of events, details and the reservation of dialogue are quite different from the original cut. We are concerned about what kind of information we receive and whether there will be much ambiguity.

The audience generally praised the actors for their outstanding performance, especially the courtroom group scenes are very eye-catching. This may be a rare courtroom interpretation in Hong Kong drama films. Lawyers and friends around me all agree, and journalists who often run courtroom news. They also agree that the new audience is very different from the provocative style of The Unwritten Law (1985) in the past or the outdated handling of The Attorney (2021) in recent years. "Justice" has clearly put a lot of effort into the mentality of the lawyers and the jury. Everyone claims to uphold justice, but at the same time, there is a mentality of working hard to stop work, and they do not want to attract unjust imprisonment. The truth is difficult to determine. , the script is handled very well. Interestingly, the audience appreciates the overall performance of the actors, but most of them feel that Lin Haifeng's relatively public performance is only consistent with his style, which seems to be the least realistic, but some lawyer friends say that he acts quite like himself, and even admitted that he once said similar The character's choked speech, while Zhou Wenjian looks like a certain female university in reality. This is definitely a mistake, so if you only focus on whether the adaptation of the case is true, it will be difficult for outsiders or non-professionals to prove it, and secondly, you will miss a lot of creative fun. For example, the murderer's hero Zhang Xianzong (played by Yang Weilun) admires Hitler's imagination, and once applied for Xiao Sheng's pornographic film. Those who don't know this case will think that the director is just grandstanding and adding salt, but in fact This is all based on the truth, and whether it is handled properly is left to the audience to decide.

Sixth, I also talk about my own reading of "Justice" here. My opinion may be different from the mainstream, or even from the director. As I mentioned in a short review I wrote for the Hong Kong Film Critics Society, Justice can easily be seen as a "strange case" series, focusing on the real and fictional of dangerous characters and gory plots, and it's hard not to mention Compare it with the previous "court scenes" and talk about its efforts in collecting information and the trial process, and the jury group play will also remind the audience of classic movies such as " 12 Angry Men " (1957). Immediately it would fall under the theme of "who decides what is right" or something like that. However, if the complex plot is flattened into these obvious themes in this way, it will weaken our sense of the ambiguity of the characters and the multi-faceted nature of the case - the director's understanding of the case seems to have a given direction, such as Tang Wenqi ( Mai Peidong (played by Mai Peidong) is there a murderer and whether he is acting stupid. Some scenes have strong hints. If the audience attaches great importance to the "real adaptation" and must maintain a fair and objective audience, they may not agree with this treatment. The point of the film is not to discuss these?

For me, the focus of this film is not the controversy over who kills and who is guilty. What is worth reading is the "character's self-presentation" itself. This is an idea I formed after watching the film several times - the audience of the film all I was deeply moved by the actors of this film, but what about the "audience" such as the jury and reporters in the real event? As mentioned above, "Treading Blood" was filmed in a private and dark psychological space, but "Justice" is most commonly used for "public performance" occasions such as job-seeking, filming, murder, interviews, interrogations, gatherings, etc. things are done alone). Zhang Xianzong is a real loser with an anti-social personality. What he hopes most is "to be seen". Making a salty film is a performance, killing someone may also be a performance (Tang Wenqi is an audience), and seeking an interview with a reporter is a performance; whether Tang Wenqi is a performance How much participation in the murder case, the only way to get rid of the crime is to "be seen". Lawyers' tongue-in-cheek arguing is naturally a "performance"; whether journalists want to expose the truth or fan the flames, they can't help but "perform" in front of the camera. What about the jury? Lin Shan, who acts with a cold eye, cites the classics according to the classics, of course it is "acting" (even a philosophy graduate, wouldn't talk about "Okan's razor" to ordinary people on this occasion?); Talking loudly on the phone and pretending to be busy after work is also a "performance" that people see every day; Zhang Kaiyu, who is as beautiful as a real person and a photogenic woman, plays a woman who is afraid of troubles and faints at once, which is undoubtedly a "performance". This is not the so-called "everyone lives with a mask" and so-called cliché, but the film is used to bring "performance" to the foreground, showing how people choose how to present themselves under various hidden or explicit desire operations, and also reveals How we are affected by the various performances in front of us. In the end, Tang Wenqi's "expressionist" lens design, which was entangled in spider webs, is not about whether he is acting stupid, but whether he feels guilty or not. I tried to attract attention with extreme performances, but when I went to court, I found that I couldn't perform at all, so I gave up my defense. Later, no one came to watch my performance. In the end, I finally found myself in the dialogue with my brother in prison. No one wants to see this play, so it will collapse. People have to "perform" to be seen, but the more they perform, the more they will be rejected. This is the real sadness of "Justice".

7. Therefore, what must be praised independently is the performance of Yang Weilun and Mai Peidong. The two are the souls of the whole film. The latter won the "Rookie Film Competition (Chinese) - Best Actor" award for this film at this year's HKIFF, which is well deserved. Congratulations, I hope the two will be in the future. Continue to receive more awards and recognition, and shine on the film and stage amphibious. After receiving the news of the award, I was fortunate to spend the night with the director and the two actors. I was a small character, just watching, and I saw them and other non-participating actors and friends encourage each other and pat each other from time to time. , sincerely moved. They are a group of professional performers dedicated to acting and deserve a lot of applause from the audience.

8. Of course, there are still many good actors. In fact, the first time I watched "Justice", I felt the most shocking was the performance of Yang Shimin (played by Tang Wenqi's sister). One of the shouting scenes, watching it on the spot, must be dumbfounded, it's amazing. The time is limited, so I can't comment on the performances of the actors one by one here, but looking at the reactions from the public, the audience is obviously impressed. Even if they can't remember all the names, they must be imprinted in their minds. Everyone appreciates the acting skills of "Justice". One of the reasons is because the crew decided to hire an acting coach. Even if the top and bottom are good actors, how to adjust the details and unify the performance cannot be performed by the actors alone. The director also needs the opinions of those who specialize in this way at the scene, and the performance guidance is very important. Not every movie is willing to put resources into this position. It is Mao Yeying who plays this role in "Justice". You may be more familiar with her role as "Miss Zhu" in "I SWIM" (2022) recently. She also has a cameo role in the play this time, but more importantly, behind the scenes contribute. She has just been promoted to a beautiful mother recently, and I wish the baby a healthy growth, and then continue to struggle in the entertainment industry.

9. Mr. Au Shaoxi, who plays Zhang Xianzong's father, has been in the industry for many years and is also a film critic himself. He is the author of the book "Hong Kong-made Film Zinba Shu" (2016), and has been silently supporting young filmmakers. At the beginning of this year, he passed away due to cancer. , everyone is very sorry. I believe that he will be happy when he sees the reputation of "Justice" in the spirit of heaven.

10. Although the director is the film critic's partner, I just follow the film process as a friend, and exchange opinions in my spare time. Filming a courtroom scene, seeing the main cast up close and not having a chance to talk, was a fun and enjoyable experience. In fact, I am more interested in the food stalls, interspersing the interrogation process between reconstruction and fiction. Such a form is not common in Hong Kong movies. The same kind of peculiar viewpoint changes, such as Luo Shouyao's "The Disappeared Murder" ( A Murder Erased , 2022) and Park Chan-wook's "Decision to Leave" ( Decision to Leave , 2022), perhaps the techniques and emphasis are slightly different, and the roughness of each other, the handling of "Justice" may not be the best, but it is more memorable, It should be more interesting if you can watch the creation live. The audience should have unforgettable clips when they watch "Justice". I wonder which one is the most special to everyone?

What? Haven't watched the show yet? Take advantage of these two days to buy tickets and enter the venue immediately. If you don't watch "Corridor of Justice" this year, you will be called a Hong Kong movie fan in vain. Finally, let's listen to the movie theme song "Whose Life to Live" by Hong Jiahao: