Jia Ling, a talented artist who is both an actress and a director, shared her journey to direct the film Hot Hot in a conversation with Harper's Bazaar. This film is not only her second directorial work, but also a true portrayal of the loneliness, entanglement and fear she experienced during filming.
The director's creative journey is an inner exploration, and Jia Ling shows the audience the many challenges in this creative journey through her own immersion. Her multiple roles as a director, screenwriter and lead actor have left her deeply immersed in emotional waves. From the initial uneasiness, to the torment during the filming, to the joy when it is finally completed, every emotion is surging like a tide, outlining the rich inner world behind the film.
In order to better create the atmosphere and emotional expression required for the film, Jia Ling made a decision, which was to conduct closed training. This is not just a physical isolation, but also a spiritual isolation. She minimizes daily communication with the outside world and only keeps in touch with a small number of members of the work team. This loneliness is not an escape, but a journey of deep thinking and emotional grinding.
Throughout the creative process, Jia Ling's climax is not only emotional fluctuations, but also a combination of art and challenge. She plays the role of a director, not only focusing on the control of the plot, but also thinking about the way the image is expressed. As a screenwriter, she is responsible for the logic and rhythm of the whole story, and as the leading actor, she has to present the emotions of the characters realistically. This collision of multiple identities makes the creative process full of infinite possibilities.
The design of the boxing gym in the movie is not just a scene, but also the crystallization of Jia Ling's artistic inspiration. She wasn't content to just set up a boxing ring, but made it a part of the film, a scene full of metaphors and symbolisms, through careful design. This scene not only echoes the theme of the movie, but also conveys Jia Ling's deep understanding of the changes in life through every prop and every setting.
Jia Ling sees the boxing gym as a symbol of life, and conveys an important moral through this scene. It's not just a place to train, it's a stage that symbolizes challenge and change. Here, the characters are not only exercising their muscles, but also challenging their hearts and wills. The allegorical design infiltrated by this artistic technique makes the depth of the film highlight.
In the movie, Jia Ling emphasized that character building not only pays attention to external muscle training, but also pays more attention to the internal emotional changes of the character. Through the performance of the actors and the setting of the plot, she presents a human story about kindness, sensibility and perseverance. This is not a deliberate attempt to cater to the market, but Jia Ling's sincere pursuit of film art. The emotional changes of each character are a portrayal of real human nature, and Jia Ling makes the audience feel more real emotional resonance in the movie through such a presentation.
When choosing the leading actors, Jia Ling mentioned Lei Jiayin and Zhang Xiaofei. This is not only because of their excellent performances, but also because the tacit understanding and familiarity with them can lead to more authentic performances. Jia Ling's character in the film chooses not to pursue gorgeousness, but to strive for reality. Each role is a deep reflection on human nature, and through these roles, Jia Ling presents a picture of human nature where sensibility and persistence coexist.
Jia Ling spoke affectionately about her film in a conversation with Harper's Bazaar, emphasizing that the original intention of the film was not to cater to personal weight wishes, but to convey a deeper message, a story about sticking to the original intention and achieving self-consistency. This makes the film no longer a simple piece of entertainment, but a perfect blend of truth and persistence.
The movie "Hot and Hot" is not only about losing weight and gaining muscle, but also about the pursuit of the original intention. Jia Ling uses the film to express her understanding of the themes of encounters and stages of life experience. Through the ups and downs of the characters and the development of the plot, she shows how life maintains its original authenticity and purity in the face of external pressures and changes in itself. This theme runs through the entire movie, allowing the audience to see not only the exercise of muscles, but also the growth of the soul.
Jia Ling's attention to movies is not only limited to external muscle training, but also pays more attention to the in-depth insight of human nature. The movie shows the struggle and perseverance of ordinary people under social standards, making the story closer to reality. Through the interweaving of the characters' fates and emotional entanglements, she makes the audience think about their own choices under social concepts and pressure in laughter and tears. This profound depiction of human nature makes the film transcend a single subject matter and become a profound ** of human emotions.
In filmmaking, key shots often determine the direction of the whole story. Jia Ling mentioned a key scene in the conversation to express the inner state of the character, and she bravely chose to keep this scene, showing the director's insistence on the authenticity of the story. This is not only a dramatic decision, but also a trust in the wisdom and understanding of the audience. Jia Ling believes that the audience can understand and accept it, and this sincerity and courage make the film more attractive.
Jia Ling made it clear that making movies is not just about chasing the box office, but also about word of mouth. She hopes that the audience can feel the sincerity and effort behind the film. This sincere devotion to the creation of films makes the film no longer a commercial product, but an outpouring of real emotions. While appreciating the movie, the audience can also feel the director's attention to every detail, and this sincerity is the eternal charm of the movie.
Jia Ling's changes at the end of the movie show a strong pursuit of optimism. She called on the audience to stick to their choices, overcome cowardice, and fall in love with themselves again. This change to the ending challenges the audience's preconceived expectations of the ending, making the whole film more controversial. While the audience is thinking about the ending, they are also forced to think about their own understanding of perseverance, choice, and love. This is a deep torture of the audience's heart, and the sincerity of the film lies not only in the expression, but also in the audience's choice and thinking.
In the end, Jia Ling's message through the film is not to ask the audience to find satisfaction in appearance, but to find the power of self-redemption on the spiritual level. Every plot and decision in the movie calls on the audience to re-examine themselves, stick to their choices, overcome cowardice, and fall in love with themselves again. This is a journey of self-redemption, and it is also the ultimate goal that Jia Ling hopes the audience can get from the film.
Through Jia Ling's perspective, the movie "Hot and Hot" is not only a film about weight loss and muscle gain, but also a profound inquiry into truth, perseverance and courage. While enjoying this film, audiences may be inspired to think about their own choices, courage in the face of challenges, and the strength to fall in love with themselves again. The sincerity of the movie lies not only in the director's intentions, but also in the audience.
On the road to filmmaking, directors often have to make difficult decisions, and the selection of key shots becomes a gamble. Jia Ling admitted frankly in the conversation that there was a scene that expressed the inner state of the character, and she made a brave decision to choose to keep this key scene, taking a gamble that the audience could understand and accept. Behind this decision is the director's persistence in art and trust in the wisdom of the audience.
Director Jia Ling's choice to keep the key shots is a commitment to art. In filmmaking, sometimes in order to cater to popular tastes or commercial considerations, the director may choose to cut out scenes that are too real or profound. However, Jia Ling's decision shows that her quest for authenticity and depth is not influenced by external factors. She hopes that through this key shot, the audience can have a deeper understanding of the inner world of the characters, making the film closer to life and touching people's hearts.
Jia Ling's gamble is not only a commitment to art, but also a trust in the wisdom of the audience. She believes that the audience can understand and accept this key shot, and this trust is a tacit call between the director and the audience. The audience is not only a passive recipient in the film, but also a participant, and they have the ability to understand the story in depth. By retaining key shots, the director challenges the audience's wisdom, hoping that the audience will find resonance in the details and jointly construct a richer and deeper cinematic world.
Key shots are often able to deeply express the inner state of the character, which is a bridge for emotional transmission. Jia Ling chose to keep this key shot in order to give the film more sincere emotional power. Through this key scene, the audience can more intuitively feel the emotional changes of the characters and resonate with them. This is a director's attempt to establish an emotional connection with the audience through the language of film, and it is also a manifestation of sincere expression of film.
In the process of watching a movie, the audience often longs to be able to establish an emotional resonance with the movie. The presence of key shots provides the audience with such an opportunity. Jia Ling's decision to keep the key shots is seeking a deeper emotional exchange with the audience. When the audience feels the joys, sorrows and sorrows of the characters in the movie, they are also experiencing their own emotional fluctuations, and this resonance makes the film no longer a one-way performance, but a two-way exchange of emotions.
The key shot is often a vivid presentation of real life by the director. By retaining this shot, Jia Ling tries to break the boundary between film and real life, so that the audience can feel the authenticity of the character more deeply. This is an exploration of the art of film, trying to make the film closer to the audience's life experience through key shots, making the story more convincing and appealing.
Audiences tend to seek a sense of immersion in a movie, and the presence of key shots provides them with an immersive experience. Through this shot, the audience seems to have traveled to the inner world of the characters and experienced ups and downs with them. This is the director's care for the audience's immersion, and it is also an attempt to explore the film art more deeply.