■Hainan Daily reporter Li Yanmei and correspondent Li Shiyun
editor’s note
When talking about the recent “movie circle”, we have to mention “The Missing Her”. Since its release on June 22, word-of-mouth and box office have been booming. Although the background of the story is set in Southeast Asia, the entire film was filmed in Hainan, and scenes were filmed in Haikou, Sanya, Wanning, Lingshui, Baoting and other places. The beautiful scenery of Qiongdao broke into the audience’s attention again.
Hainan is known as a “natural studio”. Over the past decades, generations of filmmakers have gone to the island to shoot scenes and created many well-known works. In 2018, the Hainan Island International Film Festival met with the audience for the first time. It has been successfully held for 4 sessions so far, and has become an important platform to promote the development of the film industry and promote the prosperity of film creation.
We often yearn for a movie, and want to go to the shooting location and pursue the scene where the story happened. In this issue of “Cultural Tourism Weekly”, let us look for the imprint of Hainan in the light and shadow.
The inclusiveness of seafood film and television
A suspense film, why choose Hainan? Cui Rui, the director of “The Missing She”, summed it up in 4 words: “Sharp contrast”. He said: “The island has a natural sense of loneliness and mystery. When the layers of fog are cleared away, the sunny and colorful aesthetic structure will be in sharp contrast with the darkness excavated from human nature.”
Wanning Shenzhou Peninsula Lighthouse was featured in “The Missing She” which attracted attention.Photo by Li Yongqing
“The Missing She” focuses on a bizarre case of his wife’s disappearance. In the puzzle, everyone fights wits and courage, and the whole process is high-energy and exciting. The contrast between scenery, human nature, and plot, for suspense films, undoubtedly has the effect of adding to the “scenery”, and the audience will be led away to have an immersive experience of solving puzzles and breaking the game.
After watching it, many viewers said: “If you don’t say it, you think “The Missing She” was filmed in Southeast Asia.” Indeed, in terms of natural scenery and climatic conditions, Hainan and Southeast Asia have a lot in common. Ning and other places are the hometowns of overseas Chinese, and there are cultural landscapes with Southeast Asian flavors. Going to Hainan to shoot Southeast Asian scenes has also become a tacit understanding among the directors.
In 1982, “Running into the Raging Sea” directed by Xu Anhua was released. The film told the story of Vietnam, but considering time, cost and other factors, it was finally filmed in Hainan. Some movie fans said: “If you want to know what Hainan Island was like in the past, you should watch “Running into the Wrathful Sea”. It records the appearance of old Hainan.” The bustling scenery of Thailand’s Samut Prakan Province, which is lined with pier, was also shot in Hainan… Counting it down, there are many examples of “occurring in Southeast Asia, and the scene was shot in Hainan”.
Data map: “The Taste of Green Betel Nut” movie poster.
Not only the scenes in Southeast Asia, but the movie “Out of the Amazon” (2002), which won the Outstanding Feature Film Award at the 8th China Film Huabiao Awards and the Best Feature Film Award at the 22nd China Film Golden Rooster Awards, was also filmed in Hainan. The Amazon is an ancient river in South America, surrounded by dense virgin forests, giving the public a strong sense of mystery. However, due to the constraints of real conditions, the film crew of “Out of the Amazon” did not go to the Amazon Basin to shoot. Later, after many site visits and investigations, the location of the film was set in the virgin forest of Jianfengling, Ledong, Hainan.
In addition to “The Missing She”, the suspenseful detective drama “Punishment” starring Huang Jingyu and Yang Youning was also filmed in Hainan. This also allows us to see the infinite possibilities brought about by the collision of suspense and islands. Whether it is the coconut grove intertwined with light and shadow, or the mysterious and unpredictable weather, the dark and humid rainforest will add flavor to suspense-themed works. The dissemination of these film and television works of different themes has shaped the diverse business cards of island movies, highlighting Hainan’s open and inclusive attitude.
The classic degree of seafood film and television
In 1950, a 25-minute black-and-white documentary “Battle on Hainan Island” opened the prelude to the creation of Hainan’s film and television after the founding of New China. Since then, teams carrying cameras have been shuttling through Hainan, leaving unforgettable shots in the long river of time.
As the first batch of anti-Japanese films filmed in Hainan, “Southern Island Wind and Cloud” truly reproduced the historical features of Hainan Island during the Anti-Japanese War and the indomitable revolutionary belief and enthusiasm of Hainan’s soldiers and civilians. Local specialties.
Data map: “The Red Detachment of Women” movie poster.
“Red Detachment of Women”, as a well-known Hainan-themed movie, is one of the most important cultural symbols in Hainan. Directed by Xie Jin and starring Wang Xingang and Zhu Xijuan, this film won the Best Feature Film Award at the 1st Hundred Flowers Awards in 1962, the Bandung Award at the 3rd Asian-African Film Festival in 1964, and was named one of the top ten Chinese films for the 90th anniversary. One of the great films.
At that time, a large number of classic works with red themes emerged, including “South China Sea Tide” (1962), “Sea Clouds” (1975), “Coconut Grove” (1957), “Bi Hai Dan Xin” (1962), “The Wind and Cloud in the South China Sea” (1976), etc., through the tracing of Hainan’s revolutionary history and the pursuit of historical details, have become witness films of Hainan’s history and red culture.
After Hainan Province established a special economic zone in 1988, it became a trend to shoot film and television dramas in Hainan. You can see revolutionary stories that inherit the spirit of Hainan’s historical struggle, “Blue Blood and White Sand”, “Oriental Beauty”, “White Sand Hatred”, “Liberation of Hainan Island”, ” Blood on the End of the World, Overseas Red, which tells the story of overseas Chinese building a prosperous farm after returning to China; Story of Coconut City, Love on Wuzhishan, and I Am a Fish, which tells the emotional story of contemporary life of Hainanese. “The Taste of the Green Betel Nut” and “Li Song” with the customs of the Li and Miao peoples, and other films of Hainan’s original ecological ethnic customs.
The attractiveness of seafood, film and television variety shows
Take a look at the Sanya coastal scenery that appeared in “Megalodon”, go to Changjiang Qizi Bay to experience “Longing for Life”, and experience “Run!” “Sanya Eternal Love” in “Brothers”, in Baoting Yanuoda “Hold Live Love”, go to Shimei Bay to taste the same “Coconut Juice East Goat” in “Twelve Daofengwei”, and then from Jianfengling “Crush Out Amazon”…
Data map: “Out of the Amazon” movie poster.
The Lunar New Year drama “Holiday Warm Ocean”, which will be broadcast in 2021, was filmed in Sanya. The local natural scenery and customs have also become the highlight of the film. Behind this also conveys the leisurely and comfortable vacation experience here, making Hainan popular again. Now, people come here one after another, just to find the “poetry and distance” in the film and television drama.
If the classic lines in TV works leave a deep impression on the audience on the work itself, then the filming location in the movie seems to be like a distant place in the heart of a dream, attracting us to follow it.
A movie makes a place popular, and “traveling with film and television dramas” is favored by more tourists. As more and more film and television dramas and variety shows are filmed in Hainan, many tourists are looking for their favorite tourist destinations, and have visited all the places that have appeared in the dramas and should be punched.
“Hold Live in Love” and “101 Marriage Proposals”, which were filmed in Hainan, are all urban love-themed movies. Their popularity has turned Hainan into a romantic vacation destination, attracting many couples and couples to vacation.
Data map: “Megalodon” movie poster.
Leveraging the wind of “film and television +”, Hainan is also striving to shape a better city brand image and promote the development of the city’s cultural and tourism industry. A number of film and television filming locations and film and television companies have “landed” in Hainan, the investment effect of the film and television industry has continued to gather, and the industrial chain has developed rapidly and vigorously.
The sparks of Hainan’s collision with film and television are far more than that, from “Red Detachment of Women”, “South Island Wind and Cloud”, “Coconut Grove”, “Bi Hai Dan Xin”, etc., which write red stories; “, “Youth Pi 2” and so on; The collision of different themes and different styles makes Haiwei Theater convey the story of Hainan in a prosperous manner no matter in the past, present or future.
Movies and TV dramas filmed in Hainan
“Battle on Hainan Island”
“South Island Wind and Cloud”
“Red Detachment of Women”
《Nankai Tide》
“Haixia”
“Coconut Song”
“Bihai Danxin”
“Running into the Wrathful Sea”
“Liberation of Hainan Island”
“Blood on the End of the World”
《Overseas Baby》
“Coconut City Story”
“Five Fingers Mountain Love”
“I am a fish”
“White Sand Hate”
“The Flavor of Green Betel Nut”
“Li Song”
Straight Out of the Amazon
“Zhou Enlai’s Trip to Bandung”
“hold live love”
“101 Proposals”
“Holiday Warmth”
“Pie 2”
“She Who Disappeared”
“Punishment”
“The Female Psychologist”…
Original title: Looking for the light and shadow of seafood filmed in Hainan
Editor in charge: Lin Jingjun
