"The human spiritual world is very complex, and you often need to spend your entire life to find a balance in it." Talking about the experience of being in the "madhouse", actor Xiao Yang had a lot of feelings.
The film "Sunshine in Youth", which will be released on April 4, is a healing film that focuses on people with mental disorders and interweaves absurdity and warmth. On April 2, director Zeng Hairuo and lead actor Xiao Yang came to Shanghai Donghua University to share with young audiences the various "mental states" of growth and life.
"Sunshine in Youth" road show
"Sunshine Shines in Youth" tells the story of programmer He Liwei (played by Xiao Yang) who was sent to the rehabilitation hospital "Qingchunli" for being labeled as "mentally abnormal" because of sabotaging the company's financing plan. Here, he met a group of "patients" who were marginalized by society. From the initial escape to the final resistance with everyone, he broke the rules with a "crazy" attitude, defended his dignity with legal weapons, and completed a struggle against fate and self-salvation.
Movie Posters
As a drama that truly features people with mental disorders as the protagonists, the film uses a perspective of respect and understanding to show their daily lives and true feelings. Through He Liwei's perspective, the film presents an absurd yet real world: patients use absurd imagination to reconstruct reality and fight secular prejudice with pure authenticity. Behind these wild imaginations, there are often life traumas that are difficult to face. Although many characters in the film are "patients", they are also people with more vitality than so-called "normal people". In their youth, the hospital is their shelter and the soil for the free growth of their souls.
Xiao Yang, who "goes crazy" in the movie, has gone through a process spanning fourteen years, from denial and resistance, painful struggle to calm acceptance of himself. From high pressure in the workplace to the pain of the original family, the seemingly absurd and crazy adventures experienced by the character also carry many realistic concerns.
Xiao Yang
Wang Zichuan, the director of "Zhu Tong Lost His Superpowers in Grade Three", played Xiao Yang's alter ego "Camel" in the film. This role triggered many interpretations and discussions among students at the scene. Xiao Yang talked about his understanding of the character, "Camel represents the discipline and rationality in his personality, and often gives negative comments"; while Chunchun, played by Chun Xia, is another positive encouragement, "She is more like a maternal love, representing acceptance, acceptance of all your badness."
Wang Zichuan plays "Camel"
Chun Xia plays "Chun Chun"
"Should we use a simple label to describe a person, saying he has this disease or that disease? Instead, we should look at his original strengths and talents. In fact, everyone has his own unique side." Director Zeng Hairuo responded to his thoughts on the fate of the characters in the film. "It is not that you can be cured and discharged from the hospital only after taking medicine to get rid of it. The most important thing is that you can accept it in your heart, so that it will no longer affect you, and you also know why such a problem exists."
At the event, many students also shared their experiences with the creators, talking about how they had various life intersections with friends who were in deep mental difficulties. Some regretted "not giving her a good hug", and some spoke up for their good friends, "They are actually very hard-working and need more understanding." Xiao Yang said, "This movie can open up this topic, which is actually not easy in the current context. I hope that because of these topics, everyone can better understand the spiritual world of special people. Without the way of movies, it is difficult for you to express it clearly to others."
