The Nightingale Hopes To Sing at the Oscars

By+Tang+Yuankai

When director Philippe Muyl heard his most recent film， The Nightingale， a Chinese-French joint production， was selected by China as its official foreign-language film entry for the Oscars， he was at his home in France. The movie is also known by its Chinese title Ye Ying and French title Le promeneur doiseau.

“It was incredible！ I was very surprised and naturally very excited too，” he said. That night， he barely slept a wink.

In April， Muyl served as a judge in the Fourth Beijing International Film Festival， but he was still taken aback that China would choose a film not directed by one of its countrymen for its submission to the Oscars.

Some commentators believe this sends out a positive signal that Chinas film industry has sincerely opened its doors wider and wider to the resources and talents that lie outside its borders.

The Nightingale is the second film coproduced by China and France after the two countries signed a film co-production treaty in Beijing in 2010.

Delightful surprise

The news came as a surprise to some Chinese moviegoers. Previously， many predicted that Diao yinans Golden Bear-winning Black Coal， Thin Ice or Zhang yimous Coming Home would be the most likely candidates.

Surprisingly， The Nightingale might win more awards than these films. It has been invited to more than 30 international film festivals， winning numerous positive reviews.

In April， it was rated as the best narrative feature in the 16th RiverRun International Film Festival， a regional event based in North Carolina of the United States， and the top award in the 54th Zlin Film Festival， an international film festival for children and youth held in the Czech Republic.

It received five nominations for awards at this years Shanghai International Film Festival， including one for best film. The films leading actor Li Baotian recently won a “media award” as chosen by journalists for his performance in the film.

So far， Chinas mainland has never won an Oscar in the foreign-language category.

In 1991， Ju Dou， a film directed by Zhang yimou and starring Gong Li received an Oscar nomination in the category， which has been the first time that a Chinese movie has won the honor. In the 12 years since， seven Chinese-language films—all directed by either Zhang yimou， Chen Kaige or Ang Lee—have received nominations， with only Lees Crouching Tiger， Hidden Dragon winning the Oscar in 2000.

In 2003， Zhangs Hero received a nomination. yet in the 11 years since， although Chinese-language films have been submitted by Chinas mainland， Hong Kong and Taiwan， none has been short-listed as finalists.

The choice to put The Nightingale forward has invoked speculations about Chinas selection criteria. Some thought that Chinas preference has shifted from big-budget to small-budget productions.

“In addition to [Chinas] intention to be represented by a co-produced film rather than a purely home-made one on the international film arena， another reason for the choice is that The Nightingale has showcased a sunny， heartwarming， upbeat China that is solving problems and pursuing happiness.” said Muyl.

Even before coming to China to direct the film， he was certain it would be an adventure. yet after arriving in China， Muyl found that “China was really not as same as what was reported in the news！” Hence， he felt he has the responsibility to “present the real China to the world.”

“At present， a huge problem is that China is still not understood by many people， and sometimes， it is even misunderstood，” Muyl told Beijing Review.

“French people talk about China almost daily， but few will actually go to China. They have no idea what China looks like， and only believe in what they have seen about China on the Tv， such as the pollution， and other negative aspects，” he said.

Some people are still viewing China through telescope or colored lens. Muyl suggested that they should visit China for themselves or see The Nightingale. He said “China does not only have smog， but enchanting scenery， pretty people， beautiful hearts， traditional culture and modern vitality.”

In early May， The Nightingale was screened in France， and was very wellreceived. Its box office outshone Hollywood blockbusters shown at the same period such as Sabotage—starring Arnold Schwarzenegger—and several other French films.

“I told a very original Chinese story. All actors and the entire story are Chinese， yet I use a narrative style easily accepted by Westerners， which will boost the films international impact， and make it easier for Western audience to understand，” said Muyl.

Understanding China

Muyl has visited the country repeatedly.

He came to China in 2000 to attend a film exhibition. “I stayed for too short a period to understand China well. China is an interesting and diverse country， and it takes time to get deeper into it，” he said.

To gain a better understanding， Muyl moved to China before The Nightingale was filmed. He spent 18 months learning Chinese， and wrote his diary using Chinese pinyin.

Staying in China for a while， he had mixed findings. He saw the breakneck speed of life in China as in elsewhere in the world. As the pace of social development and peoples lives accelerates， people are under mounting pressure， which has put many families out of balance.

“Many people are so busy that they ‘movetheir homes on automobiles or airplanes， family members become estranged and the ‘familiesexist only in names，” he said.

In The Nightingale， the old man played by Li would want to honor his promise to his late wife by bringing his then 18-year-old pet nightingale back to their home town. But he has to bring his 8-year-old granddaughter with him as his workaholic son and daughterin-law are on a business trip together.

The journey of two travelers from different generations， and with different backgrounds and living habits， was destined to be rough because of difficulty in communication. The film shows that nonetheless， it is not very difficult to eliminate the walls separating peoples hearts. Care between family members can easily clear misunderstandings and defuse conflicts. At the end of the film， the once pampered child is totally transformed and the whole family has undergone a profound change thanks to the journey.

The film focuses on family life in these modern times. In recent years， China has been developing very fast. Muyl said that his film has probed questions such as “How has family， the basic unit of society， adapted to such rapid change？ How have the relations between family members changed？”

“The rapid changes of modern society have caused an imbalance in peoples hearts， so we need to return to our families and hometowns， to find our lost roots and traditions，” said Muyl.

To Muyl， the most serious family problem is a lack of family-based education， which is reflected in the shortcomings of the little heroine of The Nightingale.

Muyl largely endorsed the traditional Chinese concept that holds that a persons moral sense， his or her love and care for others is gradually fostered in family， and parents should teach children to be responsible， filial and grateful.

“Obviously， if lessons from the family are too few， it is very difficult for a child to have a good character，” he said.

He felt that Chinese children have almost everything they want materially， but they are caged like birds.

“What they need the most is not books or skills， but to get out of bird cage， and be close to nature and animals，” Muyl said.

In the film， audience can see that the little girl plays with her iPad all the time during the journey. While Muyl was in China， he found that young Chinese adults and children like to keep their eyes on small screens rather than on the face of their family members and friends.

“For a family to be harmonious， family members should often communicate with each other， but not only through phones，”Muyl said.

Toward the end of their journey， the grandfathers beloved bird died of senility. To comfort him， the girl traded her iPad with a village boy for a similar bird， and gave it to the old man.

After returning to Beijing， the girl has changed completely. She has brought her parents into a different but more balanced life， and let the whole family cherish really valuable things.