Johnnie To’s ＂Detective＂ was screened in Venice, but reporters laughed and exited

　　　　An Zhijie, Wei Jiahui, To Qifeng, Lin Xilei, Liu Qingyun (from left) attended the press conference of "Detective".

　　　　At the "Surprise" screening last night, "Detective" was met with the exit and laughter of foreign reporters. Yesterday, Mr. To appeared at the press conference with the creator of "Detective" and his old partner in a group of Galaxy Images. As if he only regarded himself as a "producer", Mr. To threw all the questions asked by reporters about explaining the film to Wei Jiahui, saying: "This’Detective ‘is Wei Jiahui’s idea. With his reasons, I can’t mess with it."

　　　　The "God" of "Detective" – Liu Qingyun is very unhappy

　　　　Q: Is Liu Qingyun’s detective a psychopath? Or does he have special powers?

　　　　Wei Jiahui: Liu Qingyun’s character is actually very strict with human requirements. In the eyes of the world, he is a psychopath. But that doesn’t matter, we want to talk about something inside people. Why did Liu Qingyun shoot Lin Jiadong in the end? Why did An Zhijie go from being a hot-blooded police officer to being as scheming as he was in the end? These are the things the movie wants to explore with the audience.

　　　　Q. We were all a little surprised that "Detective" came to Venice this time, because we hadn’t heard much about the filming of the movie before. Was it deliberately so low-key?

　　　　Johnnie To: I hope to respect movies and give actors the space to make their own movies. I don’t want those gossip magazines to write too much or not. After the movie is released, you can write whatever you want, and you can scold it.

　　　　Wei Jiahui: I also prefer to shoot in a low-key manner.

　　　　Q. What difference does Liu Qingyun think this collaboration with director John To and director Wei Jiahui is compared to the early days of Galaxy Imaging?

　　　　Liu Qingyun: I used to think that Du Qifeng behind the camera was "directing" a scene, but now, he can wait for the camera to take the initiative to express the scene.

　　　　Q: What is Liu Qingyun’s evaluation of his "neurotic detective" this time?

　　　　Liu Qingyun: I have never been able to understand the character of my character, and his spirit is problematic. I often don’t know where his thoughts have gone, and he is very unhappy in his acting.

　　　　"Galaxy" in the next ten years – hope there will be more young directors in Hong Kong

　　　　Q: According to the introduction materials, "Detective" may be the filming direction of Galaxy Imaging in the next ten years. Does Du Qifeng agree?

　　　　John To: In the next ten years, I hope that there will be more young directors in Hong Kong. There will be more different types of films. "Detective" is also a search for experimentation and style, and in this sense, it may represent the next ten years. From my personal point of view, many people say that I will only make action movies, almost no women’s scenes. In the next ten years, I will improve more in this area. (Looking at Wei Jiahui, motioning for him to say a few words as well.)

　　　　Wei Jiahui: After working with John To for ten years, this time "Detective" is indeed a little different. We are trying to approach this "familiar" story in some new ways. I think we will continue to do so in the next ten years.

　　　　Q: I feel that this idea directed by Wei Jiahui is very similar to the news incident in Hong Kong where police officers lost their guns and were then shot. Was it influenced by that?

　　　　Wei Jiahui: Indeed. When we create, we are easily influenced by what happens in society. However, to highlight the "gun" is to think that this thing can save people and kill people. There are many different angles to express it. But in our film, the gun is a symbol of "sin".

　　　　Wei Jiahui "Ghost" Johnnie is not free

　　　　On the evening of the 5th local time, Du Qifeng’s "Detective" was screened twice as the "surprise film" of this year’s film festival. Du Qifeng, Wei Jiahui, Liu Qingyun, Guo Aiming, An Zhijie and Lin Xilei all attended in full costume. Also attending the film were Xiang Huaqiang and his wife, the owners of the film’s producer, China Star, Marco Muller, the chairperson of the Venice Film Festival, and Jia Zhangke, Du Qifeng’s "admirer" director. The style of "Detective" follows the tradition of the Galaxy film era, but this time Wei Jiahui enlarged the "idea" hidden in the hearts of people into "ghost in the heart". There are many characters and mixed clues. Not to mention that foreign audiences do not understand, Chinese audiences are also unable to find their way.

　　　　Subject: Neurotic "God" Explorer

　　　　Compared with the Chinese title of "Detective", its English title "MadDetective" can better illustrate the "identity" of Liu Qingyun’s character. BUN is a police officer who cannot be defeated in difficult cases, but his way of solving crimes is not to find clues and breakthroughs, but to use "special talents" – in the process of simulating the murderer and victim in the case, he can "see" the truth of the incident. Wei Jiahui designed BUN to see "ghosts" – hidden in people’s hearts, other individuals who look very different from the surface. BUN can hear what they say from the bottom of their hearts, so he can always solve the case smoothly.

　　　　BUN also has a "ghost" around him – his ideal "wife" (Lin Xilei). "Wife" is gentle and skilled, and never leaves BUN. But in fact, the two have long been divorced, and BUN has been seeing a psychiatrist for many years. In the eyes of normal people, he is a crime-solving master, and at the same time, he is also a schizophrenic.

　　　　Tone: Dark and eerie.

　　　　"Detective" doesn’t have very bright tones, and most of the story takes place in gray tones – at night, thick jungle blocks the view, and rooms with poor lighting, etc. The last gunfight takes place in a room full of broken mirrors. In addition to individuals, everyone is surrounded by "ghosts" and images in the mirror. The atmosphere of the whole movie is very strange. Although reporters have long understood the way Du Qifeng and Wei Jiahui played this time, they accidentally led them to think about every "twist" in the movie, and it is inevitable that they will be confused.

　　　　Reaction: Foreign journalists exit, laugh

　　　　Some foreign reporters treated "Detective" directly as a horror film, and within 10 minutes of the opening, foreign reporters frequently left the scene. During some parts of the film, the Chinese reporters were still nervous or bored, but the foreign reporters laughed frequently. In interviews after the screening, most of the audience said they liked Du Qifeng, but they still didn’t understand many "ghosts" in the film.

　　　　But in the eyes of the Chinese-language media, this time, Du Qifeng and Wei Jiahui fully took into account the reality that "Detective" needs to be screened overseas, and obviously increased the number of lines in the film, and some key lines were repeated, which is still a little different from the films of Galaxy Pictures in the past. But it may also be for another reason – as Du Qifeng revealed at the press conference, this film is actually "directed by Wei Jiahui", and many things are in the style of Wei Jiahui. This time, Du Qifeng did not express himself as freely or even foolishly as in "Release".

Editor in charge: Zhao Xuanxuan