Whether in the play or in life, Wang Jingwei, the screenwriter of "Success Cram School", took us to practice tearing off labels and seeing more possibilities.
"Love, like you never got hurt!" Live like today is the end!" The movie "Successful Cram School" is based on a real story and tells the story of three older boys in a successful cram school in 1994 who find themselves.
This time, we invited screenwriter Wang Jingwei to talk about the story of "Successful Cram School" and the life experience sharing of the growth process.
What kind of story is "Successful Tuition School"?
To put it simply, Wang Jingwei describes this work with youth, sincerity, and refusal to categorize. The work is set in 1994, when young people are facing a way out of the future and gender identity is becoming more conservative.
I can't help but wonder, if this story is put in 2023, will the plot and character development be different? Do I need to add anything? Wang Jingwei admits that this topic is so difficult, maybe he will recreate a story.
If the story were moved intact, we might see Cheng Xiang saying, "Hey! Zhang Zhengheng, I find that I seem to like you!" , really fake? Thank you! If one day I find out that I can like boys, be the first to tell you." The movie screen will stop at two people continuing to eat instant noodles, and the story will end like this.
He mentioned that Taiwan's current gender development is not only in Asia, but also in the world. If you look at it from a contemporary perspective, the protagonists in the film will face family or social pressure less, but relief does not mean disappear, there are still many people who cannot be their own people continue to resist and work hard.
As a screenwriter, his expectation is to look a little further and see what 2030, 2040 and beyond will look like, and not keep repeating the same dilemma.
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Photo | Courtesy of the crew of "Successful Tuition School"
The Common Life Experience of Taiwanese: Cram School
When it comes to the reading period, tutoring is almost a common memory of Taiwanese. Wang Jingwei recalled his cram school time, when he was in middle school, he would go to the physical and chemical teacher's house to study, but his grades were actually very good, and making friends was the main reason why he went to tutoring.
In high school, he still went to tutoring with friends, but the cram school he went to at this time was a large cram school with more than 100 people and men and women sitting separately. At that time, he insisted on sitting next to his junior high school girlfriend, and from then on, he wanted to resist being classified and positioned.
Later, he took his tuition back and joined the Gugaku Club after class, becoming one of the few students in school who did not have tutoring. After devoting himself to the Chinese Music Club, his grades plummeted. When Dad questioned him with his report card, he told Dad that he was happy in the community.
Because of this sentence, his mother never asked him about his grades, and even helped him hide his report card, so that he could be more comfortable in clubs and extracurricular activities. This also made him understand that as long as he is happy, it is his mother's greatest love. This love has sustained him to this day, as a driving force for him to pursue a happy life.
These life experiences have accumulated into the nourishment of Wang Jingwei's creation, and an elder once asked him what style of director he wanted to be, "Wait until I die, and let others decide." He replied.
(Extended reading: Never afraid to connect with the past Interview with Rainie Yang: What you have resisted, you will find in the end that it is a process)
Photo | Courtesy of screenwriter Wang Jingwei
Tear off the label, "Successful Cram School" born with warmth and trust
"Successful Tuition School" is Wang Jingwei's first feature film as a screenwriter, and it is also the first work to be written and directed with Lan Zhenglong. He said that he set the tone with the director at the beginning, not to talk about youth and gender from the perspective of sadness and hardship, but the self-exploration in growth is destined to struggle.
Therefore, the most important thing to consider in the process is how to use a popular and relaxed perspective to narrate, avoid consumption issues, and bring in some new perspectives. After the word-of-mouth field, the feedback from the audience was that the film could hardly be classified as a gay film or a BL film.
This feedback made them happy because it was exactly what they wanted: to tear off the label. They wanted to humorously and purely discuss the "indefinable" emotions among boys. When it comes to the feeling of working with Lan Zhenglong, he is deeply impressed by Lan Zhenglong's respect, equality and delicate way of dealing with others.
They created the script and excavated the story together, and because of Lan Zhenglong's delicacy, the script became more considerate and humorous, and the image of the characters was more interesting and three-dimensional. The warmth and trust he felt in the process was the biggest gain Wang Jingwei gained outside of his directorial works.
(Recommended reading: [Delta is different. Heart Journey] Zeng Baoyi: If even you are unwilling, then how can you be willing to put the label on others)
Photo | Courtesy of the crew of "Successful Tuition School"
Be kind to yourself, so that you have the spare time to overcome the difficulties for your dreams
When asked how he felt when he saw his work being made into a movie for the first time, Wang Jingwei confessed that it was a magical moment, where every picture and line was presented on the big screen, making him willingly return to the table to continue creating.
This movie puts in a lot of fragments of the soul of youth, how can it not be good? He is full of sincerity and love for creation, and also shares some advice to fellow creators or dreamers. He said that his creations and dreams are great things, and he considers himself lucky to meet many respectful partners along the way.
However, he also saw that there were many people around him who were obsessed with creation and dreams, and lost too many friends.
"There is nothing better and greater than you who are physically and mentally sound." This is his message to everyone. Be sure to set aside a place for yourself and value yourself more than your creation, so that your path can be more stable and longer.
Finally, we also asked Wang Jingwei to share his life film list for women fans, and he recommended two movies, namely "Love Me If You Dare" and "Jojo Rabbit".
"Dare to Love and Come" tells the story of a pair of childhood sweethearts who dare to bet on everything, the only thing that does not dare to bet is to admit that they love each other more than themselves, while "Rabbit Mocking Boy" tells about Germany in the late World War II, a timid little boy who is as timid as a rabbit, and the way to survive in the face of the turmoil of the times is to spit on the world.
The former's unique love wrestling and extreme character character, and the latter's humorous opening turns into a heartbreaking story ending, all deeply attracted Wang Jingwei.
Photo | Courtesy of the crew of "Successful Tuition School"
Both these movies and "Successful Tuition School" have more or less incorporated elements of courage, whether it is the protagonist facing the inner challenge in "Dare to Love", or the courage of the chaotic world in "Rabbit Mocking Boy", or the self-exploration shown in "Successful Cram School", all present different levels of "courage".
Wang Jingwei shared the story of "Successful Tuition School" and the mental journey of creation, which not only brought us back to the tutoring memories of those years, but also quietly retained a trace of youth for the end of summer.
Invite you to the theater to support "Success School", maybe you will find some courage to become yourself, or you will find your own life notes in "Success Tuition".