Wang Fen began studying acting when she was young. She soon turned her interest to making documentaries. Unhappy Person Is More Than One, her first documentary, won the New Wave Prize at Yamagata International Documentary Festival in 2001.
How did the idea of The Case arise?
The story that I first wanted to make was different, but I had to keep the production within budget limitations. On my travels in Yunnan to look for locations, I was inspired by the house we ended up filming in. The stream that flowed nearby gave me some ideas, and I was able to convince the producer, Lola, that the story would be ready within three days. The story of The Case lends itself nicely to the scenery and atmosphere of Lijiang. I wrote the story with Zhang Cheng, one of the writers of the film Crazy Stone.
Why did you include the dream within the story?
The dream is an integral part of the story. I believe that in life it is possible to perceive dreams as reality and vice versa.
What part did you find most difficult to film?
I found the part relating to the dream the most difficult to adapt for the screen. I didn’t want to create that dissatisfaction that occurs when an audience discovers that it has seen the unravelling of a dream with no justification. The dream here has a value within the story. With regards to the actors, the performance of the leading male character, played by Wu Gang, was the most complex. In the dream, the character has a nervous disposition, but he’s also intense and frenetic. He needs to be able to express and maintain two different states: one exterior, the other interior. I often wanted him to reveal himself as “empty” and at the mercy of his own thoughts. I didn’t want his acting to be too loaded, as the story itself was already highly charged.
How did it differ from directing a documentary?
As a documentary director, I have always worked with a small bunch of people. Even though I feel that I am a sociable person, my experience as an actress has already taught me that I am not really an extrovert. One side of my personality is very shy, and finds it hard to adapt to working needs which, in the case of a director, require you to be able to communicate with a lot of people constantly. So I learned a lot working on this film.
What significance do the contents of the case hold?
In the dream, everything is rendered clearly. In the dream the contents of the case are something horrendous and frightening. In reality, the frightening thing is the concept of time. That is represented by the reminder of life as part of a couple. Life is full of situations and things that make it sweet, comfortable, and warm. But its opposite side is scary. The objects represent what has been experienced and therefore how time has been spent.
What are your future projects?
I am in talks about my next project with a producer from Hong Kong. To be honest, I’m not really considering any type of film in particular - it can be artistic or commercial. Everyone sees commercial films in a different light. I think it’s wrong to consider a film commercial just because it has a big budget. Apart from films for which producers aren’t interested in recovering their investment, all others are commercial de facto. There is always someone who is interested in making money.
What is your personal outlook on cinema?
In my opinion, a film should not be made solely to satisfy your own desires. The public has to judge it. Each individual will take away whatever most touches them from the film. My aim in life and in my work is to dedicate myself to something in such a way that I can understand it in-depth. That way I can let it out of my system. Since I was a small child, I have always had a terror of loss, and this makes me suffer enormously. The only way to overcome this fear is to get closer to whatever I would most hate to lose - to get to know it and face it. Only in this way can I consider it a closed chapter, and therefore be able to move on.
Maria Ruggieri