The film "Stop and Go", which will be released nationwide during the Dragon Boat Festival on June 8, is directed by Long Fei, written by Huang Jia, and starred by Hu Ge and Gao Yuanyuan, Yue Hong, Zhou Yemang, Jin Jing, Gan Yunchen, and Liu Jun and Liu Yiwei. The film previously won three awards at the 14th Beijing International Film Festival, including Best Film, Best Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress.
The main creative staff at the Beijing Film Festival Tiantan Award ceremony
The plot of the film revolves around the life and psychological changes of Wu Di, played by Hu Ge. After experiencing failure in the workplace and frustration in love, the "crispy youth" chose to leave the hustle and bustle of the city and return to his hometown. This decision is not only to escape the pressure of reality, but also a journey of self-exploration and reconstruction. Wu Di's return home broke the peace of his home and forced him to face his family and his inner world again. It was in this seemingly ordinary life that Wu Di met his high school classmate Feng Liuliu (played by Gao Yuanyuan), and her appearance brought new color and motivation to his life.
On May 31, the film came to Shanghai Film City for a road show. Director Long Fei, actors Hu Ge, Gao Yuanyuan, Yue Hong, and Zhou Yemang attended the post-screening exchange activities and shared the behind-the-scenes of the film. The light comedy of life reveals a casual sense of relaxation and the profound philosophy of life contained therein, which harvested the laughter and tears of the audience.
The main creators took a group photo with the audience during the roadshow in Shanghai
Hu Ge shows his funny side, "One Family" Shanghai actors challenge Sichuan dialect
The movie "Stop and Go" uses a light life comedy texture to depict a typical yet relaxed and lovely Chinese family story.
Hu Ge changed his previous melancholy screen image in the film and showed a comedic side that was quite different from the impression. Following the character's circumstances and psychological changes, Hu Ge vividly portrayed the image of a "crispy young man" who faced life pressure but remained optimistic, wavering between "finding a job" and "finding himself".
Talking about comedy, Hu Ge said that the director and screenwriter of Stop & Go were very good at handling the comedy part, and there was a feeling of using little effort to achieve a great result. "In fact, a truly advanced comedy is one where you don't know what will happen in the next second, and it can produce a comedic effect amidst uncertainty and unknown."
Hu Ge
The film uses dialect interpretation. Interestingly, among the actors who play the four members of the family, Hu Ge, Zhou Yemang, and Jin Jing are all from Shanghai, and only Yue Hong is from Sichuan. Three Shanghainese people speak Sichuan dialect together, and the leading actors admit that the language challenge is very great. Yue Hong revealed that a dialogue teacher was also invited to the filming site. During the break every day, several actors would ask the dialogue teacher to correct their dialect pronunciation sentence by sentence, and they were very serious. Zhou Yemang said with a smile that he, Hu Ge, and Jin Jing talked about the play in Shanghai dialect and acted in Sichuan dialect on the spot, "sometimes the brain can't react."
Actress Yue Hong, who performed outstandingly in the film, said that this was her first collaboration with Hu Ge. She commented that Hu Ge was a very "excellent, dedicated and self-disciplined actor" and that during the collaboration, he often gave the opponent actors unexpected collisions and interactions, making the entire creative process very enjoyable.
Yue Hong
Stop and go, there is no standard answer in life
In the film, Hu Ge returns from a big city to a small place. Feng Liuliu, played by Gao Yuanyuan, is an "older young woman" who chooses to leave her hometown and venture out after having enough "stability" in a small place. Gao Yuanyuan also talked about her deep feelings about Feng Liuliu's role, saying that in the real society, the high-pressure workplace environment places very high demands on women. Friends around her are all mobile phones in their hands, and they frown when they receive messages. They seem to have age anxiety of 35+, and Feng Liuliu can choose to go to a city she couldn't go to when she was young at this age. "I think she will give some courage to women who are facing confusion now."
The parents played by Zhou Yemang and Yue Hong provide many laughs and also become the biggest tear point of the film. As another generation that forms a reference to the fate of today's young people, the parents have more regrets in their lives. The serious father still lives a tense life, bound by rules and regulations, but he also loves his family sincerely in his heart. The mother lives a transparent and relaxed life, expresses her preferences directly, and wisely "sees through but does not speak out" about the complexity of human nature.
When talking about his view on the character's situation, Hu Ge said, "Wu Di is a person who has no idea about his future and direction. His father and mother have always given him strength and support behind the scenes." When he played Wu Di, he found that "the images of his father and mother overlapped at a certain moment, allowing Wu Di to see that they have always stood behind him and will always accompany him on his future journey." Although Wu Di's parents "are not perfect in life and have not achieved so-called success, they are both kind and lovely people." Hu Ge said.
Director Long Fei also lamented that he was "very lucky to meet Lao Hu and a group of very outstanding actors during the filming. Each of them injected fresh life and full spirit into the characters."
Director Long Fei
Previously, in the screening at the Beijing Film Festival, "Stop and Go" received rave reviews from a large number of moviegoers and audiences. "The creators embedded comedy elements into daily life, the level of humor exceeded expectations, and it exuded a lovely and lively temperament", "The emotions are delicate without being pretentious or procrastinated, and can give some inspiration and resonance to contemporary young workers." It was well-deserved to win the highest award of the Beijing Film Festival as unanimously approved by the seven judges.
Director Long Fei shared in an interview that the inspiration for Stop and Go came from his observation of modern life. In a fast-paced social environment, themes such as personal growth, family relationships, and social belonging resonate with the audience. The film conveys the "self-consistent" mentality that those in the middle ground who are facing a stagnation period in life should have, relax a little, and allow everything to happen. This is also the reason why many viewers feel "healed" after watching the film.
"Stop and Go" will be released on June 8.
