[Reporter Xu Shiying/Comprehensive Report] Anson Kong (AK), a member of Hong Kong's most popular boy band MIRROR, boldly put aside his idol baggage to star in the new film "What We Are Not" directed by Qiu Litao. He took the lead in filming an intimate scene with Chen Yishen three days before the filming started. The two were not even familiar with each other at the time, but they had to break through their psychological defenses directly in front of the camera. The director deliberately arranged for the two to face the scene early, hoping to establish an emotional connection between the characters first and allow the actors to quickly get into the mood.
AK (left) and Chen Yishen became important presences in each other's lives due to their fateful intersection in "What We Are Not". (Provided by Huaying)
Another highlight of the movie is the fierce fight between the two in the tunnel. The filming period was in the hot summer, but the plot was set in the cold winter. The two had to wear heavy clothes and shoot for a long time in a tunnel with poor air circulation. The sweltering heat and heavy sweat were almost suffocating.
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In order to show the long-standing anger of the characters, the two did not just show off, but actually punched each other with their fists. They punched each other 13 times, leaving bruises on both sides after the filming. AK's fingers had been swollen and painful for several days, and he called Chen Yishen to ask about the injury. Unexpectedly, the other person was applying ice to the finger marks on his face, so he laughed and said, "If I hit my hand, the injury is not much different from your face!"
AK puts aside the baggage of idols in "What We Are Not". (Provided by Huaying)
AK, who has been active as an idol in the past, taking on this larger-scale work can be said to be a big gamble. The company initially objected due to the scale issue, but after reading the script, he liked the role very much and even asked his agent to convince the company no matter what: "I am very determined and insist on successfully taking over the filming!" Director Qiu Litao revealed that he fell in love with AK at first sight during the casting process and thought he had a unique temperament. He frankly hoped that through this cooperation, he could show possibilities beyond his idol image.
Chen Yishen also made extensive preparations for the role of street painter Ike. He lost 13 kilograms in less than a month. He almost stopped eating two or three weeks before filming, and could only drink water for five consecutive days. At the same time, he learned sketching from scratch so that his hands could really get used to holding a pen. In order to clarify the causes and consequences of the character, he constantly sent long messages asking Qiu Litao before filming, and the director responded in detail, making him feel that the other party valued the character.
As a street painter in "What We Are Not", Chen Yishen lost 13 kilograms in a short period of time. (Provided by Huaying)
Qiu Litao said that "What We Are Not" is not a gay or BL movie, but a story about two young people drifting at the bottom of the city, describing how they felt warmth in each other for the first time. He said: "Hui Tsai is not gay, he just never really understood what 'love' is. It wasn't until he met Ike that he felt warmth for the first time. This emotion transcends gender and definition. It is two souls drifting in the deepest part of the city." The film also uses this to touch on the stereotypes and discrimination against gays that still exist in Hong Kong society.
The film is based on a real incident. It describes a bus explosion in a downtown area on Valentine's Day. The police re-hired Leung Ho-lung (played by Tam Yiu-man), a former forensic expert who had been out for many years, to assist in the investigation. They accidentally discovered that the two unclaimed dead were unemployed young man Fai Tsai and street painter Ike. As the investigation deepened, he discovered that the two were not only good friends, but also "fellow travelers" who were driven to a dead end by society step by step. "What We Are Not" will be released in Taiwan on October 2.
