Note: This article contains spoilers

On November 1, the film Old Gun will be released nationwide. The film was nominated for the main competition section at last year's Tokyo International Film Festival and ultimately won the "Best Artistic Contribution Award."

Director Gao Peng delivering his acceptance speech at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

This film, directed by Gao Peng and starring actors such as Zu Feng, Qin Hailu, Shao Bing, and Zhou Zhengjie, tells the story of a security guard named Gu Xuebing, who was once a shooting athlete, set in an era where gun control was not yet established.

Guns represent violence, authority, and can also symbolize lonely dreams. Director Gao Peng recalled a profound childhood experience with guns, which still resonates with him today. Growing up in a compound, he and a group of kids would gaze at the armed guards at the entrance, admiring their imposing presence while thinking about how to "get their hands on a gun to play with." One day, a new young guard took over, and Gao, eager for some adventure, bet the guard that if he could climb the tall watchtower without help, he’d get to play with the guard's gun. Reflecting back, Gao felt he was so bold back then that it made him nervous just to think about it.

As he grew older, he began to notice the shooting athletes. Unlike most competitive sports, shooting is quiet and solitary; there are no extravagant moves or fierce confrontations—it's often a silent battle within oneself. News about retired athletes struggling in post-competition life further ignited Gao's curiosity about this unique group.

In the film, Zu Feng's character, Gu Xuebing, is portrayed as someone pushed by his circumstances. The character's hearing impairment adds to his sense of alienation from the world. Through steady cinematography and narrative pacing, Director Gao Peng reveals the inner world and emotional struggles of his characters.

Ultimately, Old Gun is a "story about people who can't keep up with the times." In the film, the shot fired by such a character resonates amid the changing tides of history, echoing in the long, desolate seasons of Northeast China.

Gao Peng graduated from the directing department of Beijing Film Academy and is a truly trained professional, though it wasn’t until 15 years after graduation that he had the chance to film his debut feature.

In the years leading up to this, Gao accumulated extensive experience in the advertising industry and had directed web series. However, even as a "service industry" director, he continued to write scripts as a means to find a genuine expression of his inner self. In 2018, Old Gun was included in the "Green Shoot Plan," and standing on the threshold of turning 40, Gao decided to cut off his safety net and wholeheartedly embrace his original dream, believing, "If I don't make this film now, I might never have the chance to do so in my lifetime."

The trailer for Old Gun mentions, "When you are in your best state, you take the best shot, and at that moment, you hear nothing." After years of waiting, filming this movie felt like a "shot" for Gao.

Before the film's release, Director Gao Peng was interviewed by a reporter from The Paper.

Gao Peng

[Dialogue]

In times of change, people sway in different degrees

The Paper: What observations and thoughts about shooting athletes does the character Gu Xuebing carry?

Gao Peng: I conducted interviews with athletes of various levels, including Olympic champions and relatively less renowned athletes. This group tends to have introverted personalities, which closely relates to the nature of the sport itself. Shooting is an individual sport, requiring prolonged training alongside guns, which naturally favors individuals who are more introverted and can focus. Understanding them requires time and effort to open their hearts.

For a long time, Chinese athletes operated under a planned economy; shooting athletes were trained in a centralized and isolated environment from a young age. Many set their life goals before the age of ten, leading to a disconnection from real life. After retirement, the strict gun control within the country makes job re-entry extremely difficult for them, leaving very few options. Furthermore, in terms of physical strength and endurance compared to athletes from other sports, they hold no advantage, making even jobs like physical education teachers unattainable. Coupled with their introverted nature, it becomes almost impossible for them to reintegrate into roles within the sports system.

Additionally, shooting in China is highly competitive; there are many athletes in the shooting team, and for those who have achieved decent results, it's very difficult to further improve. Thus, many athletes face significant challenges in finding new paths after retirement, struggling to reintegrate into society and start anew. This has always been a story I wanted to write.

The Paper: In the film, you place characters in situations akin to a trolley problem, reflecting several contrasting pairs. How did you go about establishing these contrasts?

Gao Peng: Zu Feng’s character, Gu Xuebing, is someone who matures late. Growing up in the shooting team within a vacuum environment, he spent his days alone with his gun, living within a relatively closed-off inner world and placing great importance on dignity and honor; he is, in some ways, quite immature. When facing dilemmas, where 8,000 lives are at stake on one side and a single life on the other, he becomes conflicted about whether the truth matters, which pushes him to grow up. He also questions if some futile persistence is causing suffering for himself and others.

A still from Old Gun, featuring Zu Feng as retired shooting athlete Gu Xuebing

A still from Old Gun, featuring Shao Bing as Lao Tian

Shao Bing plays Lao Tian, who grew up alongside Gu Xuebing. Unlike Gu, Lao Tian is more restless and always eager to move forward. He also served in the military and experienced the battlefield in the late 1970s, losing all his comrades and returning alone to this place, where he entered the security department. He has his quirks, like always having a cigarette in hand, holding it with the end pointing towards his palm—a habit forged during his experiences in combat. A removed scene showed him placing a cigarette before a photo of a fallen comrade before smoking it himself.

In the security department, he acts as a mediator. Everyone wants a little extra money; if someone gets caught, they leverage that to let them go for a price, even engaging in corruption, which he does as well—but he tries to maintain a balance. He might lock Gu Xuebing up, but he also lets him out and leaves him his share, trying to ease tensions between the two sides. After an incident at a restaurant involving the local gang, his dignity is shattered. He says he wants to travel south; in fact, he’s preparing to take his final actions. Right until the end, he struggles to maintain his balance, yet ultimately finds himself unable to do so.

Also, there’s the younger generation like Xiao Jun, who grow up with parents seen as remarkable figures, "Grade 8 fitters," "model workers." Such titles represent the notion that through hard work and responsibility, one can support a family, earning the respect of the entire factory. However, as they enter their teenage years, their parents collapse in stature, while another group seems to succeed, leaving them facing a choice.

The Paper: There are many media works focusing on the narrative backdrop of "Northeast decline." What new perspectives or findings did your research uncover?

Gao Peng: There are indeed many stories in this regard. For instance, the issue of theft as depicted in the film was common at that time, potentially surrounding a factory's theft that formed a vast chain of underground crime. The mountains behind the factory, which appear to be a junkyard, actually serve as a reception point for stolen goods—raw materials, products, and equipment. After collecting, they break down some for recycling while others get distributed to southern regions or small workshops.

Some large factories may have ceased operations long ago, presenting a lifeless appearance. However, the resources and value they accumulated over decades could nourish an extensive underground network that silently thrived for many years until exhausting its legacy.

The Paper: When it comes to the sense of loss hidden within the "scar narratives," what new angles does Old Gun aim to present?

Gao Peng: What I want to showcase is the struggle individuals face in maintaining moral boundaries during times of change. And the issues of Northeast China aren't unique; similar situations exist nationwide. It's just that with the heavy development of state-owned industries in Northeast China, the shift has been tough. As the economy stagnates and people rely on jobs within the system, employment opportunities become scarce, intensifying feelings of loss.

During this transitional period, a state of social disorder emerges, where the heroes everyone admired and trusted start to change. In these times of transformation, in order to survive, are people forced to revert to a more primal state? How far can one push their original boundaries? Each character in the film reflects their own spectrum of struggle.

A still from Old Gun

"Guns" are what everyone carries in their hearts

The Paper: The background commentary in the film includes a few representative competitions; were they intentionally selected?

Gao Peng: Yes, the commentary is logically curated. One scene features a young shooter emerging, exhibiting great psychological resilience and precise shooting while older competitors grapple with their waning prominence. The commentary mentions, "This is an era of newcomers," before being interrupted.

Later, when Gu Xuebing loses control, the background commentary refers to an older South Korean athlete who fainted due to the pressure, which actually happened in real life. Athletes face immense pressure during competitions, and this commentary aligns perfectly with the characters' emotional states and plot developments.

The Paper: Another notable aspect is how you’ve handled the action scenes involving shooting. Audiences are accustomed to Hong Kong or Hollywood-style gunfights, yet you opted for a different approach.

Gao Peng: Our first consideration was realism. Every action sequence in the film avoids conventional designs, beautiful moves, or dramatized excitement. We focused first and foremost on authenticity, drawing references from real-life cases.

For instance, during the gunfight, firecrackers were set off, which is typical in Northeast China, where entire neighborhoods celebrated, creating a scenario where gunshots went unheard.

The Paper: Compared to the previously realistic action scenes, that final shot seems almost "extravagantly skilled."

Gao Peng: For that last shot, it still resonates with me as genuine. It stems from interviews with shooting athletes, who shared that despite many disturbances, like audience shouts or referee calls, for an athlete to shoot accurately, they must clear their minds, entering a state of calm where they can hear nothing—not even the gunfire. This perspective comes from a champion marksman.

The Paper: The gun serves as the film’s most significant prop and also carries strong symbolism. How do you hope the audience interprets it?

Gao Peng: Indeed, after screenings at several film festivals, many spectators inquired about the gun's significance in this film. When writing the script, we often don't ponder, what does a key prop symbolize? In some sense, such reflection doesn't serve as a scriptwriting method.

If I had to articulate its meaning, it represents Gu Xuebing's past—his