学文网While the two lead roles in the re- cently released thriller No Man’s Land are played by comedians Xu Zheng and Huang Bo， the movie is far from funny. The trailer opens with a female clerk sitting in a convenience store watching television， when a car suddenly smashes through the wall of the store， destroying everything inside including the woman and her TV. Beginning with this unexpected intrusion upon the peace and quiet of the western Chinese wilderness， things start to get stranger and stranger.
Originally scheduled for release in 2010， No Man’s Land by director Ning Hao was pulled from theater schedules by China’s State ***istration of Radio， Film and Television（SARFT） before its premiere. Despite frequent rumors in the interim that the ban was soon to be lifted， sources repeatedly told NewsChina that the movie was unlikely ever to be screened.
However， in early October 2013， Ning received an unexpected note from SARFT， informing him that after nearly four years， the movie had been approved by the censorship board， and was to hit screens on December 3.
“I will frame the note and save it as a keepsake it is very meaningful，” said Ning Hao. That day， he opened a bottle of wine to celebrate the news with friends and colleagues who worked on the movie.
Ning Hao， a director in his mid-30s， struck it lucky in 2006 with the unexpected success of his first box office hit， the 2006 comedy Crazy Stone. The resurrection of No Man’s Land is perhaps an even bigger surprise.
Inspiration
In late 2008， Ning began shooting No Man’s Land， largely inspired by his experiences shooting his earlier movie Mongolian Ping Pong（2004）. On location in Inner Mongolia， Ning used local people as actors， and was struck by their behavior and attitude generally unable to communicate well with outsiders and unfamiliar with the concept of a contract， Ning found his local cast would often desert the set before shooting had finished， often to go drinking with their friends. Ning said he took this to mean that the locals believed that drinking with friends was “more important to life than shooting a film.”
Having previously focused on using black humor and absurdity to portray the lives of working class city dwellers， the experience led him to consider the relationship between human nature and society， and he began writing a script treatment depicting both the animal and social attributes displayed by human beings， choosing western China’s vast， remote wilderness to create an environment of “desocialization.”
Ning chose Xu Zheng to play the lead role， a lawyer with a strong social identity. Flexible， worldly and profit-oriented， the character“gradually becomes dominated by the ‘aggressive nature’ of the animal side of the human condition， after his false outer layers are peeled away in the enclosed environment of the wilderness，” Xu told NewsChina. In Xu’s under- standing， the story was dramatic and somewhat fable-like： “To put it simply， this is a story discussing the relationship between human beings and their environment，” Xu added.
Having proved himself as a comedy film- maker with Crazy Stone and its follow-up Crazy Racer in 2009， Ning decided to take a different tack with No Man’s Land， eschewing his comedies’ multiple-perspective narrative style. “[No Man’s Land] is powerful， masculine and supercool，” said Ning.
Furthermore， Ning began to explore more purposefully his personal perspective on the world which demanded a change of camera. While he had previously favored a wide-angle lens for his comedies， on No Man’s Land he chose to use standard camera and telephoto lenses， to ensure that the focus remained on the characters themselves.
“The change took place due to the shift in the focus of my attention. When I began to think about new issues， the best form in which to display this naturally changed as well，” Ning wrote in his book， Randomly Growing Up， published in 2012.
Some critics have called No Man’s Land a change in style for Ning Hao， but Xu Zheng disagrees： “I think this is a movie that shows the real mind of Ning Hao. It is the other side of the director， one that others rarely see.”
Cuts and Bruises
In 2009， Ning Hao led a 200-strong crew to Xinjiang to shoot No Man’s Land. Every day， the entire crew had to travel one to two hours across desert terrain， and the region’s freezing nights proved a particularly harsh working environment.
Xu Zheng lost over 12 kilograms in weight in one month， and Huang Bo spent time in an abattoir to prepare for his role as a murderer.“It was challenging for me as an actor， and I experienced strong psychological pressure， since every character in the film is out of control some are on the verge of collapse， some are pouring gasoline on themselves，” Xu told our reporter. “After the shooting wrapped and I went back to Shanghai， I still felt like I was in the Gobi desert.”
Thanks to the sudden success of the lowbudget Crazy Stone， a movie that cost 3 million yuan （US$493，000） to make but pulled in 23 million yuan （US$3.78m） at the box office on the Chinese mainland， Ning Hao became a hot property overnight. His follow-up Crazy Racer received support from the China Film Group Cooperation （CFGC） and CFGC Chairman Han Sanping was one of the movie’s producers. In 2009， Crazy Racer stormed the box office with takings over 1.3 billion yuan（US$213.65m）.
When the idea for No Man’s Land was still in its initial stages， Ning pitched the movie to Han Sanping， asking the latter for an investment of 20 million yuan （US$3.29m）.
Due to Ning’s previous success and official backing， few would have predicted that the movie， once finished， would feel the wrath of the government’s film review board and fail to receive approval for release. Zhao Baohua， a member of SARFT’s review board， alleged publicly that the film was “trash” and its depiction of “depraved individuals” was not fitting with reality. Zhao also took a shot at Ning Hao directly， saying that the director was “narcissistically obsessed with his own unrealistic vulgar world full of negative characters” and “had forgotten about the social responsibility of being an artist.”
“The authorities or the censorship board worried that the movie might lead to violence，”Ning told NewsChina， “so they asked me to make some adjustments to the movie’s content， and I obliged.”
However， Ning received no further news about the progress of No Man’s Land， making it the first movie produced by CFGC ever to be banned by China’s censors.
Transition
Ning Hao claims not to be entirely satisfied with the final cut of No Man’s Land， and admits that his original idea was not fulfilled. In 2012， before the ban on No Man’s Land was lifted， Ning Hao expressed to the media that the experience of shooting the movie had forced a change in him： “I would like to learn how to think from a more constructive perspective now， although I know this might be very difficult for me.”
Over the past four years， Ning has rarely commented on the process of his adjustments to No Man’s Land and its turbulent journey toward its mainstream release. “It was reasonable to make some adjustments so the story is easier for people to understand， and so they won’t feel there’s too much violence，” Ning told NewsChina. “I just wanted to make a black comedy.”
No Man’s Land made 23 million yuan（US$3.78m） in its first day at the box office on December 3， and as of December 15， the movie’s total takings have reached 204.6 million yuan （US$33.7m）. At present， Ning Hao is concentrating on his new comedy DeathDefying Encounter， once again starring Huang Bo and Xu Zheng. Due perhaps in part to his experience with SARFT， Ning said he was pursuing a different direction with his latest film， and hopes it can have a “healing” effect.
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