Zhang Yimou Receives Lifetime Honor at Udine, Talks Talent Development and Perseverance: ‘I Doubt That I’ve Made My Best Possible Film Yet’

Patrick Frater

Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou this week made his first-ever trip to the Far East Film Festival in Italy’s Udine, and appeared to fall in love with the theatrical and festival experience all over again.

At a masterclass on Thursday morning, Zhang spoke of his filmmaking techniques and priorities, his enduring quest for the human touch and why not all films need to be masterpieces.

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“Nobody has pure talent. Success also comes from hard work and the kind of luck that pull together an optimal crew and a cast that gels. I don’t believe that all films can be masterpieces and I doubt that I’ve made my best possible film yet. I’m still on the way,” he told a packed audience at Udine’s Teatro Nuovo, most of which had moments earlier watched a screening of his sensational “Raise the Red Lantern,” which had been restored to 4K.

The festival, which later in the evening presented him with its Golden Mulberry lifetime achievement award, described Zhang as “a filmmaker who had revolutionized the aesthetics of 1980s China,” a director who “pursued a free and total vision of cinema” and over the years has explored multiple genres, “from rural drama and wuxia to period thrillers and big budget blockbusters.” He pursues “a cinema where individual stories have always been a cultural, ethical and political mirror of collective history.”

Prompted by producer and former talent agent Peter Loehr, Zhang explained his hesitant origins at the Beijing Film Academy, being torn between cinematography and directing and winning an acting prize at the Tokyo Film Festival for “The Old Well” while he was making his feature directing debut with “Red Sorghum.”

“In a fit of boldness, I said why not [to acting as well as lighting ‘The Old Well’]. I think I represented a new style, one of not being able to act. I quickly regretted my decision, but it was too late,” he said.

He said that the multiple prizes for “The Old Well” came as a surprise. So too did the international festival acclaim for his first directing efforts. “Festivals are beautiful,” he said. “They are important for developing talent. They help directors get in touch with each other. Cinema cannot exist without festivals. Cinemas nowadays think of box office first. Sometimes, festivals are the only opportunity for young directors.”

Observing other transformations over his 40-year career, Zhang said that speed and technology favor youth, but he remains confident that cinema will endure the challenges of artificial intelligence.

“Everything has changed. Many people may think that ‘Raise the Red Lantern’ is too slow. Images today are quicker. Rhythm is changing, faster,” Zhang said. “Now, in the web and multimedia era, everyone can be a director. Thanks to short films and sharing, the barrier to entry is very low, but I’m often impressed by the shorts I see online. We have much technology to help production, but human feelings are the most important. Reading the many screenplays that I receive, I look for a story that moves me inside. I’ll reread it and see if it touches me again.”

Zhang continued, “Technology cannot create feelings. Humans are sharing animals. We share what means things to us. As technology develops, feelings will become more important, not less.”

Zhang is famous for having given career-defining roles to many actors, notably Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi and Zhou Dongyu. His selection process is about empathy, but Zhang does not leave the decision to anything as crude as gut feeling.

“Everyone can act a role, but not everyone can be an actor. An actor needs to be able to portray,” he said. “My team looks online, particularly at art and creative schools. One in five may be good, but only one in 1,000 have the characteristics needed. I always use my camera to do the tests. Later, I assess them again to find the proper face for the big screen. A cinema face is one that really gets to the audience, it need not be especially beautiful or ugly, but it needs to be special. Voice, movement, delivery of the lines come next. They must be able to express feelings – crying, laughing – must not be embarrassed by performance. My camera does the choosing. Even with first-timers. Then they undergo training. One year at least.”

Zhang was at his most wry when talking about the big international stars such as Christian Bale in “The Flowers of War” and Matt Damon in “The Great Wall,” suggesting that their skills make them economical on set and their reputations are reassuring for investors. But they still need to be given care and attention on set, even though they do not share a common language.

“There is no sound or photography [ruse] that can help you if the actor is not good. It took me 10-15 years to understand this,” Zhang said. “Big stars are fascinating. I don’t understand their words, but just watch their acting. Then, they come to me afterwards and ask how it was. I always had to invent some suggestions about improvements for Damon. All actors need to have a conversation. They expect feedback.”

Asked what tips he had for aspiring filmmakers, Zhang said that advantages such as people’s background, education and knowledge have been largely evened out by the internet.

“Everyone starts from roughly the same basis. There is no trick. I’m a living example,” he said. “To succeed, you need to be resilient and keep going. Many things don’t happen the way you want or expect. Second, you never know when an opportunity will come or what it looks like. A 20-second short done perfectly may be all you need to reach millions. Destiny is a combination of opportunity and the ability to latch on to that chance. Nurture your passion, keep training.”

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