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* Go to Statement by Mok Chiu Yu The Continuing Relevance of a Radical - An Interview with Evans Chan Q: What attracted you to the story of Wu Zhong Xian? Q: How relevant do you think this work is today? 問：電影以殖民統治下對香港的關懷作開始,你怎樣把吳放在香港歷史的脈絡上呢？ 問：吳死於癌症，死時比較而言仍算年輕，在這之前，他在澳洲的生活看似完全非政治。你會否認為他的政治鬥爭是失敗了？ 問：很多你的電影都處理香港歷史中的殖民光景。經歷這些年來的生活，你在這部電影中會有著一個怎樣的政治觀點？ 問： 吳仲賢在莫昭如作者式的舞台上呈現，你怎樣把這舞台作品活現在銀幕上？現在的數碼影象和舞台的演出有什麼不同？你又怎樣在這裡賦予個人的藝術印記？ 問： 這電影包涵舞台的演出、歷史性影片和戲劇性的再創作。在創作過程中你怎樣塑造各種不同的元素？組合這些歷史影片是否困難？ 問： 我知道你在這部電影上已花了一段時間，那一部份最困難？片長有多少？ 問：John Huie的音樂既漂亮又令人不易忘懷，你可以評論一下嗎？又，你跟他的合作情況如何？
Director's statement While these anecdotes come from real life, the landscape in which they are portrayed is entirely imaginary. For some time, Hong Kong's outlying islands have been the dwelling places of the Bohemian fringe. I was struck by the image of a girl, who looked lost and forlorn, in an artisan shop in Lamma. Somehow I felt she should run into a gay neighbour. I also felt that the third protagonist, the filmmaker, would meet them. At first, I thought of a heterosexual romance between the girl and the filmmaker. Eventually, I turned the filmmaker into a gay character, because homosexuals, as much as Jews, were also victims of the Third Reich. In an earlier stage, the film was titled "Three Secrets," referring to secrets personal -- personally hurtful as experienced by the girl and the gay dancer -- as well as secrets public and historical, like the Nazi Gold allegations in Macau. But the film is undoubtedly about sex(uality) and love. Linking them to the map, I hope, will suggest the uncertainties -- hence pain, exhilaration, and the unquenchable need for orientation -- of one's personal and historical existence. -- Evans Chan
Statement by Mok Chiu Yu (Actor/Playwright/Executive
Producer): Wu was arrested in 1980 by the Chinese authorities during one of his many visits to mainland China, where he traded views with dissidents on the ills and hazards of both communism and capitalism. In an acutely controversial move, he persuaded the Chinese authorities to release him by providing false collaborationist information. Upon his return to Hong Kong, he was instantly expelled from the Revolutionary Marxist League, of which he was a founder. Subsequently, he established himself as a journalist and savvy editor, putting out the Chinese edition of "Playboy," into which he boldly injected political articles and interviews. However, his "Playboy" success led to his ill-fated attempt to publish a daily newspaper for children and a weekly news journal, both of which quickly failed. As the British handover of Hong Kong to China on July 1, 1997 approached, Wu decided to find a safe haven for his wife and children by migrating to Australia, where, soon enough, he was diagnosed with liver cancer. Finally, he decided to return to Hong Kong -- his last resting place. While dying, he wrote an essay, calling on Chinese authorities to release prominent dissident Wei Jingsheng, and Chi Yang, a Hong Kong journalist arrested in the mainland at the time, as well as all prisoners of conscience.* Wu was a close friend of mine in the early 70's when we were both involved in a radical youth alternative publication called the "70s Biweekly," of which Hollywood director John Woo, from Hong Kong, was also an active participant. The many political positions that Wu and I shared included our protest against British colonialism, against American involvement in the Vietnam War, against Japanese imperialism, and against the communist bureaucracy in China. Wu later parted company with those who became libertarian socialists (including myself). However, our paths continued to cross as we fought for social and political changes in Hong Kong and China. Written to commemorate a friend, the original play, The Life and Times of Wu Zhong Xian, was occasioned by a Hong Kong Arts Centre project "Hong Kong: Past, Present & Future" that took place in June 1997, the last month of Hong Kong under British colonial rule. A sense of uncertainty, of deep-seated impotence pervaded the community. The general feeling was that while things might stay more or less the same, Hong Kong would become, instead of being a British, a Chinese colony. And in anticipation of a probable revision of history under the new regime, local theatre artists were engaged in a conscious effort to preserve their own version of history. Wu's story had to be written because it was also a chapter of radical hopes and little known political organizing that have nonetheless left indelible mark in the history of Hong Kong. The play itself was collectively devised. For a whole week ten of us, members of the Asian People's Theatre Festival Society, worked together in Nepal at the foot of the Himalayas, away from Hong Kong's inescapable mobile phones and wireless pagers. The modest funding support we received from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council was just enough to cover 10 round-trip air tickets to Pokara. In every respect, it was a great experience. Two members, including myself, were contemporaries and friends of Wu; and all of us pored over the voluminous -- 1,000 plus pages -- "Collected Works of Wu Zhong Xian." We studied and revisited the social and political turmoil of Hong Kong's yesteryears. We told real life stories of Wu and they were re-enacted immediately -- using what is known as the Playback Theatre technique. With the Himalayan ranges in the distance, we improvised in front of villagers who had gathered; we were doing object theatre; we were developing environmental pieces; we showed our enactment to our theatre friends in Kathmandu who gave us valuable comments. Then the play received its world premiere towards the end of June. The theme and content of The Life and Times of Wu Zhong Xian caught the attention of both the international and local media. It was filmed by a number of TV stations, including those from Germany and Japan, as an important cultural and political statement on the eve of the Sino-British Handover of Hong Kong. The play seemed to have struck a chord with the audience as well. At the end of each sold-out performance, those friends of Wu Zhong Xian in the audience reminisced about him and the stories were immediately re-enacted as playback theatre. Wu was affectionately remembered. So how is Hong Kong five years later? The British Governor was replaced by a Chief Executive handpicked by the Beijing government without public consultation. The electoral process was rigged and the legislature was set up in such a way that the opposition, despite landslide victories and a popular mandate, could only be the minority party. Life in Hong Kong is still a far cry from conditions in the repressive mainland. But civil liberties have become much more restricted. (Now the proposed enactment of various laws regarding treason, subversion, sedition etc. in accordance with the Article 23 of the Basic Laws, the mini constitution of Hong Kong, will move Hong Kong closer to conditions in China. So the fight initiated so passionately by Wu Zhong Xian actually continues.) Can one be too optimistic about the future? What would Wu Zhong Xian have said? In 1999, director Ann Hui incorporated scenes from this play into her movie, "Ordinary Heroes." Finally we have this DV film by Evans Chan, giving the play its latest incarnation. Hopefully, Wu Zhong Xian will still be a beacon of inspiration for future generations. * Both Wei Jingsheng and Chi Yang were eventually released. However, there's no question that human rights violations remain widespread in China. --- Dec 12, 2002
Q: What attracted you to the story of Wu Zhong Xian? A: I came across The Life and Times of Wu Zhong Xian, the play, while filming Journey to Beijing (1998), my documentary about the Sino-British Handover of Hong Kong. As program advisor to the New York-based Yangtze Repertory Theatre of America, I liked it enough to bring it to the attention of Joanna Chan, Yangtze's artistic director, and suggested that she present it in New York. Joanna also loved the play and invited Mok Chiu Yu, the actor/playwright, to co-direct it for a two-week run at New York's Theatre for the New City in 1998. For the New York presentation, I adapted, with Mok, an English-language version with a view to eventually making a film out of it. Later I concluded that the idea of Wu Zhong Xian becoming a film in English wasn't viable, but in fact was almost sacrilegious in terms of the play's fervent concern for giving a voice to alternative, or micro-, history. TopQ: The film begins with a quotation concerning the colonial conquest of Hong Kong. How do you see Wu within the context of Hong Kong history? A: As I just mentioned, Wu political involvement may be little known but is significant in its repercussions. The Chinese Language Movement was an important step toward decolonization & the Protect Diaoyutai Movement which involves a territorial dispute between Japan and China - while problematic for some people, including myself, should nonetheless be examined within the context of anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism of its times. The influence of Wu and his fellow-travellers was subtle but far-reaching. TopQ: Wu died relatively young of cancer, and before that his life in Australia seemed fairly apolitical. Do you think his political struggles were a failure? A: Maybe judging by the standard that he wasn't able to bring about a revolution, Wu could be called a failure. At any rate how do you measure success? Wu is no Mandela or Wei Jingshen. However, if Wu was able to raise a stink and made some people think, that, for me, is already some sort of a success. Remember Confucius was the first outstanding political failure in our civilization. Now we all thank Confucius - more than the first Emperor of Qin or Mao - for inculcating some wonderful values in us that enable China's revitalization or our Asian Success. W.H. Auden concluded his poem "In Memory of W.B. Yeats" with these two stanzas: With the farming of a verse Make a vineyard of the curse, Sing of human unsuccess In a rapture of distress; In the deserts of the heart Let the healing fountain start, In the prison of his days Teach the free man how to praise. I'm not saying Wu Zhong Xian is comparable to Yeats in any way, but it was in the spirit that Auden alluded to that I made this film. TopQ: Many of your films deal with the colonial aspect of Hong Kong history. How have your political views developed through the years from To Liv(e) to the present film? A: I've tried to explore the Hong Kong identity forged by the two-edged colonial experience, which is fairly unique in the world, meaning that its successful evolution made its positive side almost outweigh its negative side in retrospect. Hong Kong, and to some extent, Macau, are probably not typical examples of the devilish European colonial adventure. Maybe that was the comic irony of Wu's life - he started off fighting the British and ended up denouncing China's repressive measures. Hong Kong has always been a reluctant player between its colonial master and its motherland. While it may seem a moot point today - Hong Kong IS part of China - Hong Kong is nevertheless still trying to define itself within some of the civic institutions left behind by the British. To begin with, the recently proposed Article 23 notwithstanding, Hong Kong still enjoys a greater freedom of speech than the rest of China. TopQ: Wu Zhong Xian is actor/playwright Mok Chiu Yu's signature stage act. How do you make this stage work come alive for the screen? How is this DV film different from the stage act? How do you stamp it with your own artistic personality? A: I'm hoping that my interest and style can match the wonderful material that is the play written by Mok Chiu Yu and his colleagues at Asian People's Theatre Festival Society. Mok and his People's Theatre have been staging political plays since the 80's. I've attended some of his productions from time to time - they're always well-meaning, with the intent of political organizing. But there seems to be a critical consensus, and I'm definitely of the opinion, that The Life and Times of Wu Zhong Xian stands out from Mok's corpus because it touches a deeper level of humanity. The play commemorates not only Wu Zhong Xian, but also his friendship with Mok Chiu Yu & by extension a whole generation of activists. Yet it is essentially a solo - or what Mok called neo-solo - play, which features only Mok himself and a mime artist. I cut out some scenes/references that are really too convoluted for non-insiders, or concerning Mok himself rather than Wu, in order to keep the piece more focused. I rewrote a few lines with Mok - e.g. I suggested naming Gandhi as one of the dead souls in the prologue since it was supposedly set in India. And I created a number of intertitles to provide context and continuity. And of course, I intended to incorporate extensive archival footage. One major adaptation decision concerns casting Lindzay Chan to play Wu's girlfriend. TopQ: The film is an intriguing mixture of stage presentation, historical footage and dramatic recreation. In creating this work how do you shape the various elements? Was it hard to assemble the historical footage? A: To film a stage production and make it transcend the setting's claustrophobia and be more than a mere documentation is the primary aesthetic challenge for my stylistic approach. To film the production in Club 64 already enables us to break down the unified theatrical space into different sets for different scenes. To have Lindzay Chan as the love interest also helps break the monotony. What really enlivens the film is the valuable archival material - starting with Mok's own 16mm documentation of their activities back in the 70's. Transferring the film material into video footage allows for more visual manipulation. Next I located some historic Hong Kong footage from the Public Records Office. The coup is of course John Woo's permission for us to excerpt Deadknots, his early experimental short, in our piece. Other more contemporary footage came from various sources - e.g. the Victoria Park Tiananmen memorial service footage was provided by video artist May Fung. I've used footage with mythical and ritualistic import - the monkey king, the lion dance etc. - to create the aura for Wu's life and his quest. The one constant in his battle against both the colonial and the Chinese governments is, I think, his attempt to define what being Chinese means in our modern or contemporary conditions. TopQ: I know youe been working on this film for quite some time. How long did it take and what was the most difficult part of it? A: From the premiere of the stage production of Wu in 1997 till now, 6 years have gone by. At one point there was even the question of whether it still made sense to continue with this film project after Ann Hui presented scenes from the play in Ordinary Heroes. But both Mok and I and fans of the play like Ada Loke felt that "Wu" deserved to be seen in its entirety. And the window of opportunity arrived in the spring of 2000, at the tail end of my Map of Sex and Love shoot, because O Sing Pui and Gill Wong, Map's director of photography and production designer respectively, were both available. The whole shoot lasted a feverish 36 hours, with Lindzay Chan arriving at 5 am to participate. But right away I had to focus on completing the Map. Then 9/11 happened - I live in New York part of the year - and I had to work on other projects. Mok himself has always been busy, at times not very responsive to my queries. That's why it took longer than it should be to finish Wu Zhong Xian. TopQ: How relevant do you think this work is today? A: With the recently proposed enactment of various laws regarding treason, subversion, sedition etc. in accordance with the Article 23 of the Basic Laws, the mini constitution of Hong Kong, both Mok and I think the fight initiated so passionately by Wu Zhong Xian actually continues. The grand dreams of Wu, unfulfilled, constitute a part of an ideological sunset that shed its melancholic light on our new millennium. However, what may transcend a shattered dream is the force of yearning and the rigor of a search, which, for me, made Wu's life and times ultimately memorable and illuminating. TopQ: The musical score by John Huie is both haunting and beautiful. Can you comment on it and how do you work with Mr. Huie? A: I didn't work with John Huie directly
and this is not an original score. I just stumbled upon his CD, The Honourable
Retreat, at HMV one day and I decided that some tracks would make a wonderful
soundtrack for Wu. Interestingly enough, Huie's music - a hybrid of electronica,
folk, jazz, Chinese and Celtic instruments etc. - was, just as The Story
of Wu Zhong Xian, originally presented at the Hong Kong Arts Centre as
part of the program marking the 1997 Handover of Hong Kong. Another coincidence
is the fact that John is an Australian composer who has emigrated to Hong
Kong, which was the final trajectory of Wu's life - he returned to Hong
Kong after emigrating to Australia. I hope John's beautiful music will
also serve as a fitting requiem as well as a tribute to the life and times
of Wu Zhong Xian.
答：碰上《吳仲賢的故事》演出，我正在拍《北征》（1998），一部關於香港回歸的紀錄片。我很喜歡《吳仲賢的故事》，作為紐約美國長江劇團的節目顧問，便介紹給劇團的藝術總監陳尹塋，並且建議她把演出帶到紐約來。她同樣喜歡這演出，便邀請了該劇的演員及製作莫昭如合導這齣劇，在紐約的劇場上演兩星期。在紐約的演出，我和莫昭如把它改編成英文版，以及討論拍成電影的事，後來得出結論是：電影中用英文來表達吳仲賢的思想並不可行，這樣做幾乎是褻瀆了演出本身對另類聲音或微觀歷史的熱切關注。 問：電影以殖民統治下對香港的關懷作開始,你怎樣把吳放在香港歷史的脈絡上呢？ 答：就我剛才所提到的，吳在政治上的參予也許鮮為人知，但在事件的反響中具特殊意義。「中文運動」是通往解殖和「保衛釣魚台」的重要一步，雖然有些人，包括我自己對這些事仍有保留，然而它在當時反殖民和反帝國主義的脈絡上是重要的。他及其同路人的影響是含蓄卻又深遠。 Top問：吳死於癌症，死時比較而言仍算年輕，在這之前，他在澳洲的生活看似完全非政治。你會否認為他的政治鬥爭是失敗了？ 答：也許從標準來判斷，他並未能帶出革命是失敗的，然而有任何情況來衡量成功嗎？吳不是孟德拉或魏京生，即使他所做的令人難受卻為一些人帶來思考的話，對我來說便是一種成功。還記得我們文化上第一個出色的政治失敗者孔子，現在我們都感謝他甚過於清朝開國君及毛澤東- 正是我們受著這令人驚訝的價值觀教誨，故此能有中國的復興或是我們亞洲人的成功。奧登(W.H Auden) 用這兩節總括了他的詩《懷念葉慈》In Memory of W.B.Yeats： 以詩般的耕種 造一個詛咒的工場 為人類的不成功歌唱 在苦惱的狂喜中 在心坎的沙漠中 讓治療的泉水湧現 他在監囚中的日子 教曉自由的人怎樣讚美 我不是要把吳與葉慈作比較，但這精神正是奧登給我製作這電影的暗示
問：很多你的電影都處理香港歷史中的殖民光景。經歷這些年來的生活，你在這部電影中會有著一個怎樣的政治觀點？ 答：我嘗試由兩種殖民經驗打造一個香港身份，這在世界上是完全獨特的，因為它成功的發展，使它的負面在回顧中幾乎被正面所蓋過。香港及某個程度上的澳門都大概不是歐洲魔鬼般的殖民歷險典型。也許這是吳一生的喜劇諷刺-- 他從與英國的抗爭出發，卻以公開指責中國的鎮壓告終。香港在祖國和殖民宗主國之間永遠是個抗拒者。當今天討論到香港是中國的一部份時，我們無論如何仍嘗試界定自己的公民制度是英國所遺留下來的。就這樣開始說罷，儘管最近提出二十三條立法，但香港仍較欣然享有言論自由多於棲息在中國的懷中。 問： 吳仲賢在莫昭如作者式的舞台上呈現，你怎樣把這舞台作品活現在銀幕上？現在的數碼影象和舞台的演出有什麼不同？你又怎樣在這裡賦予個人的藝術印記？ 答： 我希望我的風格和興趣，能與莫昭如和他在亞洲民眾劇場的同事所寫那些絕妙的材料相配合。莫和他的民眾劇場自八十年代一直作政治性演出。他的作品我時不時有留意，都是很有意思且具政治涵意的。吳的生平和時代從莫的身體中呈現出來，因為它觸及一個深入的人性課題。這演出紀念的不只是吳本人，也是他和莫，以致那一代所有的基進者。至今，本質上它仍是獨腳戲-- 或莫稱之為新獨腳戲。我刪除了一些對於局外人來說太過迂迴以及關於莫太多的篇輻，使得焦點更集中在吳身上。我和莫重寫一些脈絡，例如我建議在開場時加插一個甘地的亡魂，因為假設故事背景在印度。我又使用一些小題來提供脈絡和連貫性。當然，我打算合併廣泛的歷史性的資料影片。在改編上一個主要的決定就是角色分派，由陳令智飾演吳的女友。 問： 這電影包涵舞台的演出、歷史性影片和戲劇性的再創作。在創作過程中你怎樣塑造各種不同的元素？組合這些歷史影片是否困難？ 答： 拍攝一個舞台作品而要超越那寂閉場境的侷促，而且又不只是單單的紀錄，從我的風格化考慮而言，是首次的美學考驗。在六四吧拍攝已讓我們可以解決劇場空間單一的問題，使不同的場境有不同的設置，而陳令智也很有興趣幫忙打破這單調。不過真正賦予這電影朝氣活力的是那些珍貴的檔案資料，例如莫的十六米厘影片，紀錄了他們在七?年代的活動，把電影菲林轉成錄像，使我們在視覺上有更多操控；其次我在歷史檔案署找到一些歷史性的香港影片；當然，最出乎意料的是吳宇森容許我們節錄他早期的實驗作品《死結》。另外還有從不同途徑找到的同時代的影片，例如，錄像藝術工作者馮美華提供有關在維多利亞公園觸光晚會內天安門紀念碑的影片。我把這些影片神話化和儀式化輸入，變成猴王、獅子舞等等，為吳的生命和他所追求的東西創造多一點靈氣。一個義無反固地對抗殖民政府和中國政府的人，我想，這裡他所指的中國，是企圖以現代或當代的情況來界定的。 問： 我知道你在這部電影上已花了一段時間，那一部份最困難？片長有多少？ 答：由九七年莫的首個關於吳的劇埸作品至今，已有六年，在許鞍華的《千言萬語》之後，我甚至懷疑繼續拍下去是否還有意義。不過我和莫以及一些戲迷如陸離覺得吳的故事值得全體朗現。二OOO年春天剛好有空檔，《情色地圖》近煞科，該片的攝影指導柯星沛和製作設計黃知敏都有空，整個拍攝長達三十六小時，陳令智早上五點加入，之後我又要回去完成《情》。接著是「九一一事件」發生，那年我剛好有一段時間住在紐約，忙著要應付其他工作，而莫自己也經常忙得透不過氣，偶而對我一些疑問也不大回答。這也是為什麼我們用的時間比預期的長。 答：最近，對根據基本法二十三條提出有關叛逆、顛覆、煽動罪等法例的激烈抗爭，莫和我都認為正是吳的延續。吳的夢想未能實現，卻成了意識形態夕陽的一部份，在我們新一個千禧洒下憂鬱的光輝。無論如何，渴望和嚴肅探索的力量或巳超越夢想的破滅，於我而言，也是最後吳的生平和時代之所以值得回憶及照亮的原因。 問：John Huie的音樂既漂亮又令人不易忘懷，你可以評論一下嗎？又，你跟他的合作情況如何？ 答：我不是直接與他合作的，而這也不是一個原作，我只是一天偶然在HMV聽到他的唱片《The Honourable
Retreat》【光榮徹退】, 於是便決定挪用其中一部分作為《吳》的電影配樂。 （翻譯：區惠蓮） |
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