Interview: Film illustrates Chinese family values amid drastic changes of society

Liu Shumin, 41, was rarely known on the cinema scene before his first film Jia, or The Family, debuted and provoked heated discussions on the opening day of the 72nd Venice Film Festival, on here from Sept. 2 to 12.

The 280-minute film, written, directed, filmed and edited by Liu, was chosen to participate in the festival's International Critics Week, and was the first Chinese film screened this year.

Jia tells the story of a typical Chinese family from a small inland city. An old couple decided to go on a long journey to visit their three children, who lived far away and barely had a chance to visit their parents.

The length of the film raised some questions when it was selected for the festival, such as "whether this generation of audience will be able to sit still for over four hours to enjoy a film on a rather heavy topic?"

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Liu said he originally planned to make a film of regular length, but he didn't want this to become a restriction for the actors and actress who are all non-professionals and were playing roles resembling their real lives.

"I wanted to give them space to perform, and let them develop the story according to their true feelings and emotions," Liu said. "When I got the feedback from the organizers of the festival, I felt more confident about keeping the original version and screening the film as it is."

Liu tried to work with professional actors in the beginning but soon realized that their performance was too theatrical for this film. The whole cast was replaced by non-professionals only two weeks before shooting started.

Tokyo Story by Japanese director Ozu Yasujiro, which has a similar family relationships theme, was an inspiration for him, Liu said.

"Tokyo Story has always been one of my all-time favourites. The old couple in the film reminds me of my parents. The caring and love of parents for children is an eternal topic," he explained. "In my film, I try to convey my understanding of Chinese family values based on my personal experience."

Born in a small town in China, Liu followed the life path of many children of his generation -- growing up and moving far away from their families to big cities for education and work. After graduating from Tongji University in Shanghai and Beijing Film Academy, he moved to Australia to work as a cinematographer.

"I didn't have a very specific goal in mind when I started creating the film. I just wanted to make something that would touch me. I wanted to dedicate it to the generation of my parents, putting in my personal sentiment," Liu recalled.

Without a dramatic storyline, Jia captured several fragments of the journey of the old couple using poetic montage. Liu gave up the traditional cinematic narrative method and turned to a more realistic, documentary-like approach.

"The storytelling and the production process of Hollywood movies was not something that I pursued. I preferred to use the fragmented narrative to demonstrate the real living conditions of Chinese people," he added.

The work took Liu almost four years to complete, and was shot entirely on 35mm film, a rare investment for independent films nowadays. He said he hadn't thought about the commercial aspect of the production yet.

"By showing the contrast of traditional Chinese values and the drastic changes of people's lives, I want to project a real image of the Chinese society. I hope that more filmmakers will be encouraged to do so," Liu said. Endit