A filmmaker's breakthrough

A director's debut film recasts a classic US courtroom drama in modern China

On the closing day of the 9th Rome International Film Festival in October, the Marcus Aurelius Award for the festival's best movie went to Xu Ang's debut film Twelve Citizens.

No other Chinese film had ever reached such heights at the Festival, though other films from China have been nominated, including the disaster epic 1942 directed by Feng Xiaogang and the romantic drama Life Is a Miracle, that starred Zhang Ziyi and Aaron Kwok.

But months after hoisting up the award in shock and awe, the youngest director at the renowned Beijing People's Art Theater - at 36 - is still the humble man who prefers to keep a low profile.

"When we decided to shoot the movie, we had no commercial considerations or plans to compete for international prizes. So winning the award in Rome was an unexpected surprise," Xu says in a small cafe in eastern Beijing.

Twelve Citizens, adapted from the 1957 American court drama 12 Angry Men, tells the story of a court composed of 12 Chinese people from different walks of life. In an abandoned gymnasium, their discussion and votes will decide the fate of a young suspect who is charged with murdering his father.

The 1957 movie, which starred Henry Fonda, swept a slew of major film honors, including three Oscar nominations and a best actor award from the British Film Academy.

More than 55 years later, the first attempt to transpose the film and the Western legal system onto the Chinese big screen has also received acclaim.

Marco Mueller, the festival's director, says he had never watched an ensemble production that reflects the real China, adding that it was a good adaptation of a classic production.

Serge Losique, Montreal International Film Festival director, says he had watched the Chinese remake before the Rome premiere, when it was still in the post-production stage. He says the social conflicts between the rich and poor portrayed in the movie are an accurate depiction of the reality in the fast-changing country.

"Almost all of the major countries in the world have remade 12 Angry Men. A French adaptation was sent to the Roman film festival last year but was not nominated. The American hit TV series The Good Wife used the story as a template for its second episode in the second season," Xu says. "It's very interesting. Different versions show the different values in their respective countries."

Xu says he tried to adapt the American film in 2005, but found it hard to write a script about the Western jury system in modern China. He finally arrived at a clear concept in 2012. Before Twelve Citizens, the veteran theater director wrote a script for a drama set during the 1911 revolution that got a tepid reception from audiences.

"At the very beginning, I planned to make it a stage play. But a drama requires all the 12 actors to show up at the same time, whenever it's a rehearsal or an official performance. It's very difficult," he says, "Movies can solve that problem. Once the shooting is finished, actors are free to leave."

As he spoke at the cafe during a two-hour interview, Xu was eloquent and often wove philosophy into his conversation. He says the capital's chaotic central business district, where the caf is located, inspired him.

"I live in this area and it gives me an unreal feeling," says the Beijing native. "The streets and commercial buildings are noisy on typical days. But when the Spring Festival comes, all the buildings are empty."

"Beijing (during Spring Festival) looks like a city that suffered from an alien army invasion and all the citizens are gone," says Xu, joking that the Chinese capital could be a good option to shoot science fiction movies during the traditional holiday period.

The different feel that different times in the downtown neighborhood offered gave Xu a fresh angle to think about prejudice.

"People usually just believe what they see, but it's actually a bias," he says. "My movie tells of 12 biases from the mouths of the 12-member jury, which reflects the social conflicts in today's China."

During the film's screening at the Rome Film Festival, Xu says he was heartened when the film's humorous dialogue won many laughs from the audience.

"I have been to Rome many times. Some Italians rely on relations to do business, quite like Chinese," he says smiling.

"Rome includes two parts: the new area and the old downtown. People with comparatively low incomes have to take rides to downtown to work every day, just like Beijing commuters flock to the center business areas from the Fifth Ring Road."

In making Twelve Citizens, Xu says he explored experimental ways to shoot the film.

Before production began, all of the actors were required to have a 15-day rehearsal, a method usually used for theater plays.

A graduate from the Central Academy of Drama, which has trained numerous A-list stars in China, Xu showed his talent on stage after co-starring in a college play with Chen Hao, winner of the 2011 Golden Eagle Award for best actress.

The play's sponsor, Beijing People's Theater, then made Xu the youngest director ever in the country's top art house.

Chen Wei, a theater actor and Xu's studio partner, attributes Xu's achievements to his simplicity.

"He is the person who can ignore all the wordly affairs and just concentrate on the artistic creation."

Xu still remembers the day many years ago when he rode his bicycle to the Central Academy of Drama to check out the institute he had never heard of but that his classmates had suggested he apply to.

That day, Li Yapeng and Wang Xuebing, two renowned actors in the making, were playing basketball on campus. The sun was setting and Xu thought it was a beautiful college. He decided then and there that he would alter his direction in life from painting to directing.

"It's good. I love directing. Teachers think I'm a diligent student because I choose to stay for rehearsals during summer vacations. Truth is, I just love the stage."

xufan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 01/02/2015 page28)