The article is originally posted on CineClub18 with 152 views.
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/2IeF1QO4c-FoShypcfJ1qg
Jiexiao Ying 2019.03.22
Translated by Lan Lin 2019.06.14

Today, March 22nd (Friday), Ash is Purest White is released in more American cities. Everyone is welcome to bring friends and go back to the good old days of Jianghu (criminal underworld) in this film. What are your thoughts on the film? Let’s hear the honest discussion from the New York Cinephile Club.

At 3:50 pm on March 16th, 19 people from the New York Cinephile Club watched Jia Zhangke’s Ash is Purest White at Quad Cinema. After the film, fans from different backgrounds such as drama, editing, technology, and international relations went to Ootoya to have dinner and discuss the parts of the movie that puzzled and surprised us.

Participants: Vivian, Shelby, Jessie, Elaine, Xiaojia, Motao, Amy, William, Sean, Vincent, Yunkai…

Q1: What story did this film try to tell for you?

Vivian: I realize that different people approach the story differently, so I would like to ask everyone what kind of story Ash is Purest White is to you? When I first watched it at the New York Film Festival, I thought it was a woman’s history of growing up in Jianghu. After the fall of the leader, she bears the symbol of love and righteousness. Now I think it is also a story about migration, migrating both in time and physical space. Characters take various forms of transportation and walk on land and waterways. The migration aspect of the story resonates with me as I am currently living abroad.

Shel: I think it is a bit similar to Cold War, approaching an ever-changing era from an individual’s emotional perspective. The timeline is very interesting, but as a fan of Pawlikowski, I kind of got distracted.

William: What I see is a love relationship that has constantly been disappointed, and the chosen era of the film enhances the tension of the story and the fatefulness of the characters. I really like the use of dialects in the film, (though sometimes I have to read English subtitles to understand). From the Datong dialect in the opening sequence to the Mandarin in Fengjie, and the occasional English phrases that come out from students who usually speak Mandarin and Cantonese, the dialect adds complexity to the characters. Unfortunately, the complexity in dialects can’t be fully presented through translation. The English title of the film is well drafted. As said in the film, Ash Is Purest White, “After burning in the volcano, the ashes are the purest white.” it connects with the volcanic ash scene while portraying of Qiaoqiao’s emotions. Why would Qiaoqiao save the unfaithful brother Bin over and over again? Qiao keeps saying “I saved you because people in Jianghu are loyal to each other, not because I still have any feelings for you .” But after all, how could one distinguish love from loyalty in her case.

Elaine: Personally, I think the director wants to tell a story about redemption through the concept of Jianghu, which loosely translates to “the criminal underworld” in English. However, the shaping of Jianghu lacks depth and context. All I saw was killings, unreliable brotherhood, and fragile love relationships. I don’t see anything unique.

Amy: Jia Zhangke has been exploring commercial films for recent years, but my favorite is his film “Platform” in 2000. Commercial films are products that cater to the tastes of a mass audience, while arthouse films focus on self-expression. But this new film fits either side, which is a pity.

Jessie: My overall impression of the film is that the director is trying to construct a woman’s 15-year-long psychological journey. The film’s expression power heavily depends on each character’s action and the acting of actors. This allows us to focus on Qiaoqiao’s emotions, but I hope the connection between different characters can be stronger.

Q2: Why does the Three Gorges(San Xia) appear in the film?

Vivian: It is probably an effort to mummify the ephemeral landscape and. The landscape of the Yangtze River has changed. After many years, what we are familiar now will require archaeology to recreate the settings and let future people understand our feelings. So there is an awkward tour guide talking on the cruise, the rumbling sound of the bus, and the WeChat notification sound  (audience in the front row said they thought it was from their phones).

Q3: Is Er’sao (the second sister-in-law) the woman who visited the prison?

William: I was also trying to figure out who was visiting. It seems like there are no other related female characters except Er’sao. I’m sure that woman is not the fictional “sister” Qiaoqiao created to blackmail the rich men.

Q4: Why is there a UFO in the movie?

Vivian: At the New York Film Festival, Jia Zhangke said that the UFO introduces a perspective of the aliens. They look down on humans who are struggling in this criminal underworld, and every conflict, gathering, and farewell are as insignificant as a grain of sand.

Yunkai: As far as I know, Jia Zhangke believes in the existence of extraterrestrial civilization. He thinks that shaping a character and a relationship in a film is like building a world. People who build this world are the filmmakers, and they are more or less playing the role of God.

Amy: I think it is a forceful move to express the director’s personal feelings and art ideas. The UFO sequence is particularly strange.

Vivian: I think it’s intriguing to insert a fantasy moment into your daily life. The recurring UFO concept is like an easter egg in Jia Zhangke’s cinematic universe. The characters treat the UFO seriously and Qiaoqiao calmly says “I have seen a UFO before,” which highlights the absurdity of everyday life.

Q5: What are Jia Zhangke’s comments about China in this film?

William: Many details in the film are characteristic of our era. The small kitchen filled with spices, the faded Spring Festival couplets on a wooden door, the antique radio broadcasting at the village, the stone road, the new downtown of highrises, the Three Gorges Dam, the thief in the cruise, the shirtless young artist singing the old song “How Much Love Can Start Once More”, the iPhone, and the WeChat QR code… These scenes we take for granted is probably a unique and realistic portrayal of China for foreign viewers. (It’s interesting that your reception of a film changes when you watch a Chinese film abroad.) I find a lot of the sly innuendos about a certain time period very funny, such as waiting at a KTV, or Dr. Feng presenting his WeChat QR code to the patients and etc.

Shel: Feng Xiaogang’s cameo as the doctor who pulls out his WeChat QR code distracted me from immersing in the film. Everyone laugh whenever he appears.

Q6: What do you think about different frame ratios in the film?

William: I noticed that some dancing scenes at the beginning are a 4:3 ratio. I am not sure if it is a deliberate effort to create a sense of the past?

Vivian: I remember director Jia said that some of the scenes were footages shot from the streets and later edited into the film. I really like the surprise of the documentary footage inserted into the drama.

Q7: What are the roles of the caged lions and tigers and the song “How Much Love Can Start Once More” in the film?

Sean: Maybe I read too much into it, but people of Jianghu are the caged lions and tigers. They are the kings in their small realm.

Vivian: I think brother Bin and Qiaoqiao’s situation is identical to the situation of the trapped beasts. “How Much Love Can Start Once More” is a beautiful yet cheesy song which pokes at Qiaoqiao’s pain. Although it is a sad scene, you find it funny, then you find deeper sadness in the funny setting. The experience is similar to “A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella,”’ where there is a famous line, “A true love was once presented to me, but I did not cherish it…” It was funny the first time you hear it, but you feel the profound love underneath the second time you hear it. Therefore, gaudy things can also express sophisticated emotions. Actually, we ​​often ponder about love through cheesy pop songs every day.

Elaine: The interpretation of the kings and the trapped beasts are quite amazing. In the end, Qiaoqiao says she will leave the underworld, but the truth is she still lingers between the Mahjong tables. The Mahjong room doesn’t change much. People are still bad-tempered and wanderer around places. The volcano at the beginning never erupts. After all they have been through, Qiaoqiao and brother Bin return to this small field. They have no bigger world to go.

Q8: The acting is amazing!

Yiyi: I think a lot of details were hilarious. The leading actress shows the character trait from innocence to mature is well played.. However, the plot does not have any highlights.

Sean: Zhang Yi’s part is amazing. His sudden change of expression makes the audience fully aware of him immediately.

Yunkai: Er’shu (second uncle), the character who died at the very beginning was great.

William: I think character design and production design are the biggest highlights of the film. From the pretty disco girl in the late 90’s to the plain-looking female tourist with a ponytail, and the seasoned Mahjong room boss, Zhao Tao is extremely precise in acting each phase of the character. Her acting goes beyond shaped the changes of costumes and the story setting to showcase the nuances from age and experience. City and village buses, sedans, motorcycles, and trains…. The character’s development records the changes of an era and the living conditions of ordinary people. People of Jianghu, some went to jail and some became bosses.

Vivian: Thank you all for your thoughts. It seems that our first screening event to watch “Ash is Purest White(People of Jianghu)” is destiny! I feel lucky and honored to get to know everyone away from our homeland. I am looking forward to the next screening event and the open discussion.

New York Cinephile Club  / North America Cinephile Club

If you are interested in movies, especially Chinese arthouse films, please join the New York Cinephile Club. You may do so by scanning the WeChat QR code, note “Name-Location-School or Work”. Come participate in the screening events and discussions!

If you are not in New York, I will invite you to join the North America Cinephile Club.

Next Screening Event:  “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” by Bi Gan will come with giveaways.

Jiexiao Vivian Ying Bio:

NYU Cinema Studies graduate, I hope to connect Chinese diasporas through movies.

纽约观影团 |《江湖儿女》圆桌谈（3.22新增上映城市）

关注公众号，获得北美华语片影讯，参与线上交流

纽约观影团

2019/3/16

影讯：今日3.22（周五），《江湖儿女》登陆了更多美国城市。欢迎大家邀上三五好友，温习江湖岁月。影片观感如何？请见纽约观影团的诚实讨论。

3月16日3:50PM，纽约观影团一行19人在Quad Cinema看贾樟柯的《江湖儿女》。结束后，来自戏剧、剪辑、科技、国关等不同背景影迷来到Ootoya，针对电影里让我们困惑和惊喜的地方，进行了饭桌交流。

参与者：Vivian, Shelby, Jessie, Elaine, 小佳, 墨陶, Amy, William, Sean, Vincent, 云开……

话题1：对你来说，这部电影说了些什么？

Vivian：我意识到不同人对剧情会有不同的侧重点，想问问大家《江湖儿女》对你来说是一个什么样的故事呢？在纽约电影节第一次看的时候，我觉得是一个女人的江湖成长史，在窝囊的大哥倒下以后，肩负着情与义。如今我觉得也是一个迁徙的故事，在时间和空间上的迁徙，人物乘坐各种交通工具，行走在陆路和水路上，可能目前个人在海外的处境让我对这种游走有了巨大共鸣。

Shel：我觉得有点像《冷战》，从个人情感的角度切入一个不断变化的时代背景。时间线很有意思，但是我作为Pawlikowski的粉丝有点出戏。
William: 我看到的是一个不断被辜负的爱情故事，特定的时代背景增加了故事的张力和角色的宿命感。我很喜欢影片中方言的运用，（虽然有时要看英文字幕才能听懂😹），从开篇的大同方言到在奉节的普通话方言切换，还有大学生国语粤语中偶尔蹦出的英文，方言本身给角色增加了一层深度，可惜这一层在翻译中表现不了。影片英文名拟得很好，Ash Is Purest White，“最纯的白是火山煅烧的灰烬”。呼应片中火山灰的桥段，也是巧巧人物情感的写照。为何巧巧一而再再而三地救“渣男”斌哥？嘴上说“江湖人讲的是义气，我对你已无情”。但是江湖情义，几分是义几分是情呢。
Elaine：个人感觉导演想通过江湖的概念讲述关于救赎的故事，但对于江湖的塑造并不很深刻，除了打打杀杀、脆弱的兄弟之情、男女之情之外，没有看出什么独特的质感。

Amy：贾樟柯这几年一直在探索商业片的路径，但是我还是喜欢《站台》。商业片是迎合着观众口味制造的商品，而艺术电影重在自我表达，现在两边都不合适，有点可惜。

Jessie: 我对影片总体印象是导演在尝试塑造一个女性十五年内的心理成长。表现形式我感觉是以展现每一个人的action为主的，有些依赖演技。好处是提供了更多空间去关注巧巧的情感，只是对不同角色之间的联系展现得还可以更强。

话题2：为什么会出现三峡？

Vivian：大概是为了用影像留住消逝的事物。长江的景观已经改变了，而我们现在熟悉的事物在若干年后也需要考古才能感受我们当下的心情。所以有游船上生硬的风光介绍，有轰隆隆的巴士，有微信提示音（前排的观众说总以为是自己的手机响）。

话题3：来探监的女人是二嫂吗？

Wlliam：我看的时候也在想探监的是谁，好像除了二嫂没有其他有关联的女性角色了，也不是她用来骗人的“妹妹”。

话题4：为什么电影中出现了UFO？

Vivian：在纽约电影节的时候，科长大致是说UFO引入了外星人的视角，这么俯视滚滚红尘里的江湖儿女，能看出聚散离合的事件都微小如尘埃。

云开：我印象中是科长是相信地外文明存在的，他觉得在影片中塑造一个个人物和一段段人物关系就像是在影片中塑造一个世界。而塑造这个世界的人就是影片的创作者们，他们多多少少是在扮演上帝的角色。

Amy：我觉得刻意插进来的导演个人情怀部分都有点奇怪，UFO这段特别明显。

Vivian：不过我觉得在日常生活中平静地插入奇幻的时刻很有意思，反复出现的UFO梗，像是贾樟柯宇宙里的彩蛋。人物认认真真对待，平静地说“我之前看到过一次UFO”，更突出了日常生活的荒诞。

话题5：科长对时代的点评？

William：影片中很多细节都带着时代的印记，摆满调料的狭小厨房、木门上老旧的春联、村里的老广播、石板路、高楼林立的新城、三峡大坝、客轮小偷、光着膀子唱着《有多少爱可以重来》的卖艺青年、苹果手机、微信二维码……对于我们习以为常的场景，对外国观众来说，大概是独特又写实的中国年代图鉴。（在外看华语电影心境会不同诶）。我觉得很多暗戳戳地评论时代的部分都很搞笑，比如在ktv守株待兔，冯医生拿出微信二维码之类的。

Shel：冯小刚当医生扫码加微信的部分很让我出戏，他一出现全场都笑。
话题6：不同的画幅？

William: 我注意到开场的时候有一些片段（蹦迪）是4:3电视比例的，是为了营造年代感吗？

Vivian：记得科长说，有些画面是从前在大街上拍的素材，剪辑到了电影里。我挺喜欢剧情片里插入的纪实片段的惊喜。

话题7：笼子里的狮子老虎，《有多少爱可以重来》在影片中有啥作用？

Sean：按照过度解读地说法是不是，江湖儿女，就是被关在笼子里面的狮子和老虎，只在自己的一亩三分地是个王。

Vivian：我觉着斌哥和巧巧的处境就是困兽，《有多少爱可以重来》是用很艳俗的歌舞形式不经意戳中女主内心的伤痛，悲凉中有些搞笑，搞笑了以后更觉得悲凉，有点类似《大话西游：仙履奇缘》说两次“曾经有一段真挚的感情摆在我面前，我没有珍惜……”第一次搞笑，第二次深情，所以艳俗的东西也可以表达出复杂的真实情绪，而日常生活中我们常常是在口水歌里反思爱情。
Elaine：一亩三分地的王和困兽的解读都蛮惊艳的。最后巧巧说她离开了江湖，可人还是在麻将桌之间徘徊，棋牌室没有太大变化，人们依旧暴躁，依旧流浪。开头的火山到最后也没有喷发。经历了沧海桑田的巧巧和斌哥还是回到这一亩三分田的地方，没有更大的世界可以去。

话题8：演技的确惊艳！

Yiyi：我觉得很多小地方很搞笑，女主的演技carry，从懵懂到成熟，演得真的很棒。故事情节其实没有多大的惊人之处。

Sean：张译那段很精彩，一下子表情就变了，观众一下子就能看出来。

云开：那个一上来就领盒饭的老大二叔演技真好。

William：我觉得角色刻画和场景设计是影片最大的亮点。从90年代末最靓的迪斯科女郎到扎着马尾看似不起眼的朴素女游客，再到张罗着棋牌室的有故事老板娘，每一个阶段的状态赵涛都把握地极为精准，在服装造型之外塑造出了年龄和阅历的变化。城乡巴士、小轿车、摩的、动车……人物的发展记录着时代的变迁和普通人生存状态的变化。混江湖的人有的入了狱，有的搭上时代的顺风车飞黄腾达做起了大老板。

Vivian: 感谢大家的坦诚交流。第一次观影活动看《江湖儿女》，似乎是一种”天注定“的安排。我觉得很幸运能在异乡认识大家，共闯江湖。期待下回观影聚会，再度敞怀讨论。

「纽约观影团」/「北美观影团」

如果你对电影，尤其是华语艺术电影感兴趣，欢迎加入“纽约观影团”，扫描微信，备注“姓名-坐标-学校或工作”，受邀入群，参与观影活动和映后讨论。
如果不在纽约，我会邀请你加入“北美观影团”，播报影讯，线上讨论。
下期活动预告：4.12左右组织大家感受毕赣导演的《地球最后的夜晚》，还有珍贵的周边礼物赠送。

应婕晓 Vivian
NYU电影研究毕业，希望通过电影联结异乡人

“肝胆相照 走一个”
-Fin-