A leading voice among China's post-1990s generation of filmmakers, Wei Shujun has made four thematically diverse feature films in as many years, including three that premiered at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. This week he is in Japan to present his latest critically praised film, Mostly sunnyat the Tokyo International Film Festival.
The new film, which premiered at the Shanghai Film Festival in June, stars Huang Xiaoming in a transformative performance as a cheerful but mentally challenged man who lives with his nearly seventy-year-old mother (Hsiao-Fen Lu). Just as the man has begun to find community and joy in a mysterious organization called the Sunshine Club – led by a vaguely cult-like figure played with remarkable charisma by famed Chinese author Jia Zhangke – his mother becomes gravely ill. The man and his brother, a doctor, then embark on drastically different missions to cure their mother, the elder turning to medical science and the younger turning to the feel-good vibes championed by the Sunshine Club.
“Mostly sunny”
Shanghai International Film Festival
Ahead of the Tokyo Film Festival, The Hollywood journalist connected with Wei to discuss Mostly sunny— and how he persuaded China's most acclaimed author to play a key supporting role.
How did the premiere of Mostly sunny going to the Shanghai Film Festival during the summer?
It was pretty good. Unfortunately the theater only had 300 seats, so the audience was quite small. But the atmosphere was light and friendly. Towards the end of the film, when the last long shot came on the screen, I felt that we were all in the story together, breathing the same atmosphere – and this is what the cinematic experience is all about.
Do you have different feelings when you premiere a new film in China compared to the Cannes Film Festival, where you presented your last three feature films?
Premieres in China make me much more nervous because audiences here understand the language, culture and details of my work much better than international audiences ever could. So it's a lot more stressful waiting to see if they'll accept what I was trying to do. I was really nervous before the premiere of this film, but I felt that the audience connected to the film, so I was happy.
AS, Mostly sunny It doesn't have a release date yet. In the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, there appeared to be a shortage of high-quality Chinese films in the local market. This has also been true on the festival circuit, where Chinese titles have become rare for a while. Even though the Chinese box office is down, the industry seems to be making a comeback in terms of production. This was presented at Cannes, where there was a large bill of Chinese premieres; and it's also true in Tokyo this year. There are four Chinese films in competition here. Is the release calendar at home starting to feel more crowded?
Yes, I would say yes. Choosing a theatrical release date is very important in China, more than in other markets, I think. You really have to pay attention to what types of movies are in theaters at the same time and how your title will fit into moviegoer options at the box office. But Hollywood films haven't really delivered as good box office results in China as they have in the past, so the schedule with respect to Hollywood films is less of a concern for our schedule than it was in the past. That's one less thing to worry about for a smaller film like this.
Mostly sunny creates a contrast in how the two children respond to their mother's fatal cancer diagnosis. Her older brother, a doctor, dedicates himself to science and travels to the United States in the hope of finding a new long-term treatment that can save her. Her younger son, with mental problems, tries to help her with unconventional means inspired by his naive beliefs, which amount to innocent faith. I was struck by the fact that the younger son's efforts – such as knocking down a wall in the house and creating a huge window, so that the mother can get more sun – probably help and comfort her more than any other medical intervention based on science. the doctor son tries.
So, the older brother is an elite in our society. He has an education, a distinguished job, a lot of money and a high status, but none of this is able to help his mother at this stage. And as the story progresses, we see how the older brother becomes more and more superstitious, or even non-rational, as he begins to lose hope in the power of medicine to save her. What I wanted to demonstrate is that as we become educated adults, we are trained to rely on our rationality and our evolved thought structures. But there are moments in life – often the most important moments – when all we have left is the innocence and purity of our feelings. There are no miracles, but the inner strength of our will and desires is all we have left sometimes when we face enormous difficulties. And the [younger] brother is still in touch with this.
Tell me about using Bobby McFerrin's “Don't Worry, Be Happy” in the film.
It's similar to what I was saying about brothers. I loved “Don't Worry Be Happy” since I was a kid. It's such a pure song that I think a lot of people fall in love with it as children. Later, maybe you'll start to think it's a bit simplistic and corny. But then if you listen to it again, depending on the circumstances, perhaps its pure beauty will strike you again. It's a simple and beautiful song, with a simple and beautiful message.
What can you tell us about casting director Jia Zhangke as the guru, who the younger brother follows as a sort of spiritual leader or life coach? He is an ambiguous character. At first I thought he was the leader of a cult that was operating some kind of scam. But as the film progresses, he seems quite sincere in his beliefs, and you never give us clear evidence that we should interpret his motives suspiciously.
Jia Zhangke is a person who sincerely cares about young people and the next generation of filmmakers. He founded the Pingyao Film Festival in China to support young filmmakers and always undertakes activities to bring us all together and create community. He is also someone who is really good at persuading people by speaking from the bottom of his heart. So when I wrote this part, I immediately thought of him. Thankfully, he agreed to do it. I didn't want the character to just seem like a crazy guru, so I gave him a doctorate in agriculture. So when he says he believes he can help people and the earth by raising money to plant trees in the desert, there's some credibility to that. I was very careful to give this character a subtle balance, so it's really hard to say with 100% certainty whether his intentions are good or bad. What is certain is that he is charismatic. Jia has appeared in films before – even in some of his own films – but he usually plays really cheap gangsters (laughs). He likes to do it. But he said he was happy to play such a different character. I thought it was perfect.