《环球时报》深度专访导演宁敬武

The film Pathfinders commenced shooting a year ago on the anniversary when Qu Qiubai, an early Communist Party of China (CPC) leader and a revolutionary hero, was executed by soldiers of the Kuomintang in Changting, East China's Fujian Province. 

电影《觅渡》开始拍摄于一年前，这正是在中国共产党早期领导人、革命英雄瞿秋白在福建长汀被国民党士兵处决的87周年之际。

“Each day of filming was like a countdown to his death. In the lead-up to when Qu would be executed, my heart felt like it would shatter... I wondered why we weren't able to save him at the time?” Chinese director Ning Jingwu recounted his experience while on set during a promotion tour of the film Pathfinders being screened at Chinese theaters sinceAugust 28.

“拍摄的每一天都像是他死亡的倒计时。在瞿秋白被处决前的那段时间，我的心就像要碎了一样……我在想，为什么当时我们没能救他？”中国导演宁敬武在8月28日起在中国影院上映的电影《觅渡》的巡回宣传活动中讲述了他在拍摄现场的经历。

“Qu said, 'sometimes, death is another way of life.' "

瞿秋白说，“有时候，死是另一种活。”

Pathfinders portrays the lives of three outstanding young revolutionaries - Qu Qiubai, Zhang Tailai and Yun Daiying - who sacrificed themselves for their revolutionary beliefs 100 years ago.

《觅渡》描写了100年前三位杰出青年革命家——瞿秋白、张太雷和恽代英为革命信仰献身的故事。

Ning told the Global Times that Qu is one of his favorite Chinese litterateurs and he hopes to present the intellectual cultivation of that generation through the film.

宁敬武导演告诉《环球时报》，瞿秋白是他最喜欢的中国文学家之一，他希望通过这部电影展现那一代人的思想修养。

Ning said that the three revolutionaries shared commonalities. They were all influential young intellectuals from Changzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province who were proficient in foreign languages. Moreover, they shared a same belief dedicated to saving the country and its people, and were all sacrificed at a young age for their belief. 

宁敬武导演说，三位革命家有共同之处。他们都是来自江苏常州的有影响的青年知识分子，精通外语。此外，他们都有一个共同的信念，那就是救国救民，而且都在年轻时为了自己的信仰牺牲了。

Zhang graduated from the law department of Peiyang University (today's Tianjin University) before becoming a liaison officer for the Communist International, or Comintern, and the CPC, and was later killed for leading the Guangzhou Uprising at the age of 29. 

张太雷毕业于北洋大学（今天津大学）法律系，后成为共产国际（即共产国际）和中国共产党的联络官，后因领导广州起义被杀害，年仅 29 岁。

Qu Qiubai embarked on a revolutionary path after studying Russian and going on a fact-finding mission in the Soviet Union. He was arrested and executed by the KMT party at the age of 36. 

瞿秋白在学习俄语并赴苏联考察后走上了革命道路。他被捕后被国民党处决，时年36 岁。

Yun Daiying, on the other hand, explored the path to communism by establishing mutual aid societies and independent cooperative communities. He was a leader of the Communist Youth League of China and the chief editor of the periodical China Youth from 1925 to 1927. In 1931, he was executed by the KMT party at the age of 36.

恽代英则通过建立互助会和独立合作社，探索共产主义道路。他是中国共产主义青年团的领导人，1925 年至 1927 年担任《中国青年》期刊主编。1931 年，他被国民党处决，年仅 36 岁。

Ning said that while the paths taken by the three revolutionaries varied, their ideological journeys displayed significant similarities - they exhaustively sought a better path for China and independently chose communism as a way to save the nation.

宁敬武导演说，虽然三位革命者的道路各不相同，但他们的思想历程却有很大的相似之处——他们都在殚精竭虑地为中国寻找一条更好的道路，并自主选择了共产主义作为救国救民的途径。

As the historical dramas like The Awakening Age have gained popularity, audiences' expectations for similar works have significantly increased. The actors portraying the three heroes - Song Yang, a veteran in the film industry; Zhang Tong, with extensive experience from numerous TV dramas including his impressive performance in The Awakening Age while portraying Chinese intellectual and revolutionary Li Dazhao; and Gu Jiacheng whose great-grandmother was the cousin to Yun Daiying - were carefully selected.

随着《觉醒时代》等历史剧的热播，观众对同类作品的期待值也大大提高。剧中三位主人公的扮演者：老戏骨宋洋；曾在多部电视剧中积累了丰富表演经验，并在《觉醒年代》中饰演中国知识分子、革命家李大钊的演员张桐；以及曾祖母是恽代英表姐的谷嘉诚，都是经过精挑细选的。

Apart from the carefully chosen cast, the production crew of Pathfinders was also star-studded. Experts from the industry, such as audio director Gu Changning from Chinese director Zhang Yimou's Red Sorghum and styling director Xu Guangrui from Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine, were invited to join the production.

除了精挑细选的演员阵容，《觅渡》的制作班底也是星光熠熠。中国导演张艺谋《红高粱》的录音指导顾长宁、陈凯歌《霸王别姬》的造型指导徐光瑞等业内专家应邀加盟。

Moreover, every detail of the film was meticulously crafted while remaining understated and seemingly casual, like the placement of rattan tables and bamboo baskets, all handcrafted by inheritors of intangible cultural heritage.

此外，影片中的每一个细节都是精心制作，同时又显得低调随意，比如藤桌和竹篮的摆放，都是非物质文化遗产传承人的手工作品。

Ning said he hoped these details would help moviegoers to better understand the historical story.

宁敬武导演说，他希望这些细节能帮助观众更好地理解历史故事。

Ning stated that the screenplay underwent a painstaking three-year process of development to eventual fruition, with dozens of drafts capturing historical nuances. The director aimed to convey the complexities of that era's intellectual language, which was influenced by the Republican period and reflected in Qu's poetic verses.

宁敬武导演表示，剧本从创作到最终完成经历了三年的艰苦过程，几十稿的剧本捕捉了历史的细微差别。受民国时期的影响，瞿秋白的诗句反映了那个时代复杂的思想语言。

The film's memorable lines, such as "Sometimes, death is another way of life," have deeply touched young viewers. Part of such an impact is the fact that similar beliefs between friends could save them from any hardship.

影片中令人难忘的台词，如“有时候，死是另一种活”，深深打动了年轻观众。这种影响的一部分在于，朋友之间相似的信念可以使他们免于任何艰难困苦。

The director mentioned that they received significant assistance in the form of authentic historical materials from the relatives of the three heroes during the creative process.

导演提到，在创作过程中，他们得到了三位主人公亲属提供的大量真实史料的帮助。

“More than two-thirds of the plot and details in Pathfinders are making their debut in a film, and the fresh and vibrant storylines and details constitute the originality and vitality of the film," Ning said, adding that this compels the creators of the film to enter the three heroes' passionate inner world with a sympathetic heart, "to understand their pain and hope, their confusion and choices, and their perseverance and sacrifice.”

《觅渡》中三分之二以上的情节和细节都是首次在电影中出现，新鲜鲜活的故事情节和细节构成了影片的原创力和生命力。宁敬武导演说，“这迫使影片创作者以一颗同情的心走进三位主人公热血沸腾的内心世界，去理解他们的痛苦与希望、困惑与选择、坚守与牺牲”。

According to Ning, moments in which the historical figures experienced emotional upheavals have also deeply resonated with Chinese ­moviegoers who also encounter periods of trouble such as business failures, romantic heartbreaks, and layoffs. 

宁敬武导演认为，历史人物经历情感动荡的瞬间，也深深地引起了中国电影观众的共鸣，因为他们也会遇到事业失败、感情破裂、下岗等困难时期。

Chinese actor Song Yang who played the role of Qu mentioned he felt that "Qu was not an infallible hero or an indestructible steel-like figure, but a living, vivid, passionate yet vulnerable real person" when doing research of the historical celebrity.

瞿秋白的扮演者、中国演员宋洋说，他在研究瞿秋白这个历史名人时，觉得 “瞿秋白不是一个无懈可击的英雄，也不是一个坚不可摧的钢铁般的人物，而是一个活生生的、鲜活的、充满激情而又脆弱的真实的人”。

A hundred years ago, three young men left their hometowns and embarked on a journey to find a path to build a better China, becoming outstanding early leaders of the CPC Party. A hundred years later, in this city, the film Pathfinders was made. "More people will see these eternal youths, and this also as a form of spiritual inheritance," Ning said.

宁敬武导演说：“一百年前，三个年轻人背井离乡，踏上了寻找建设美好中国道路的征程，成为中国共产党早期的杰出领导人。百年后，在这座城市，电影《觅渡》问世。让更多人看到这些永恒的青春，这也是一种精神传承。”。

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