SOLVING A CLASSIC DILEMMA
Many older people around the world have at least one common concern: How to get younger people, hooked on their electronic gadgets, interested in classic literature. Take the Monkey King, or Sun Wukong, as an example. The protagonist in the 16th-century classic novel, JourneytotheWest, is a romantic figure of bravery and adventure that had enthralled millions of readers before the appearance of online attractions.
HavocinHeaven, a Peking Opera film released recently, may attract the wider public to the glamor of the traditional Chinese performance art, featuring one of the best-known chapters from Journey tothe West.
The remake, presented by Fujian Film Studio and Fujian Peking Opera Theater, is an eagerly awaited highlight of a national project initiated in 2011 targeting Peking Opera films, and is, so far, the only production focusing on martial arts in the repertoire, said Cheng Lu, director of the film.
“It’s a big challenge to combine Peking Opera and film, each of which has its own rhythm. HavocinHeaven includes nearly all the key ingredients of Peking Opera: It covers all the basic techniques, more than 10 classic tunes and makeup for dozens of facial representations of different figures’ characteristics.
“If we can use a fresh approach to present the traditional art form, it may create a new channel to promote Peking Opera.”
Cheng grew up in a Peking Opera family and used to be a performer in the Fujian Peking Opera Theater, which staged classic pieces such as Havoc inHeaven. He later switched to work as a director for other genres of films and TV, but his affection for the traditional art form never diminished.
“My parents used to tell me: ‘Love for Peking Opera is like an incurable disease. Once you’ve got it, you’ll never get rid of it.’ I only began to understand what they meant since I came back to direct this film in 2017.”
Every child in China grows up hearing the story recounted in Havoc inHeaven. It is a coming-of-age tale in which Sun Wukong turns from a carefree character into the great Monkey King. Sun Wukong obtains a golden cudgel, a magical weapon, from the Dragon Palace under the sea, leading the Dragon King to appeal to the heavenly court. Sun Wukong is then enticed to heaven, where a scheme to ambush him is set and he is put into a furnace. However, after burning for 49 days he changes and evolves, until finally breaking free with a glaring pair of “gold-gaze fiery eyes”. The climax of the tale begins with the birth of the Monkey King and ends with his heroic victory over the troops of the heavenly army.
HavocinHeaven has been a key production in the classic Peking Opera repertoire since the late Qing Dynasty (16441911). The new film follows the script and performance formats of the 1950s, when HavocinHeaven became hugely popular on stage, turning Sun Wukong from a previously laid-back youngster into an untamed hero.
Decades later, one challenge that Cheng and his production team face is how to balance the new approach with sticking to the fundamentals of the art.
“The basic principles and performance skills in Peking Opera cannot be changed,” he said.
For example, performances in Peking Opera often emphasize symbolism over accurate portrayal of motion. There are never real horses on stage, and the film reflects that. And when Sun Wukong eats peaches, he merely mimics the action of eating without taking a bite.
Some background images on stage, such as a painted waterfall, remain, and a live band was on set to provide a soundtrack for the film, rather than overdubbing prerecorded music.
“If we change the traditions to cater to people’s taste and preference for a regular film it will no longer be a Peking Opera piece of art,” Cheng said.
On the other hand, some creativity is needed because Cheng and his team do not just want to document a stage performance.
To facilitate a more film-like rhythmic flow, Cheng cut some interludes that are typical to stage performances and uses montages to move the story along. Computer-generated imagery is also applied in a restrained way to achieve some visual effects and to realize impossible scenes, such as explosions or the heavenly court floating in the clouds — things that in a stage performance, rely solely on the viewers’ imagination.
For Zhan Lei, 37, one of the four actors playing Sun Wukong, taking part in Havoc inHeaven is the realization of a childhood dream.
“You give me any line from (the 1986 TV series) Journey totheWest, I can tell which episode it comes from,” Zhan said. “Because I admire Sun Wukong, I want to be impeccable in the performance.”
He used to display the most difficult martial arts skills onstage, but he said production of the film has made him realize that the skills needed to fit the role to best reflect “the exceptional personality of the cultural icon”.
To help Zhan and the other young performers achieve this goal, the production team enlisted the help of several veteran Peking Opera actors to guide them and ensure that every detail of their performance was well honed.
The combined effort has paid dividends. Wang Xiaoshuai, a well-known film director, said: “Thanks to the remarkable martial arts scenes, this film will be a new attraction for future generations, possibly drawing more young enthusiasts to Peking Opera.”