We Collected 50 Questions Audiences Have About *Mr. Six*, and Director Guan Hu Answered Every One

How did you feel after watching it?

Mr. Six (《老炮儿》) has been in theaters for a week and has taken 467 million yuan at the box office. On Douban it scores 8.6, tied with The Coffin in the Mountain as the highest-rated Chinese film of the year. In "Yingxiangbiao," a rating launched and joined by China's leading film critics, it also made the year's top three domestic releases. Put simply, people consider it one of the best Chinese films of the year.

It is also a milestone for director Guan Hu: in both reviews and box office, it has outdone everything he made before. What is interesting is how fierce a debate the film has started. Every topic is on the table: "Sixth Master," the character Feng Xiaogang plays; the jianghu underworld; the idea of being "in the right"; the "old-timer," or laopao'er, himself; even straight-male taste.

We happened to get an interview, so we gathered the 50 questions that came up most often on social media. Here are Guan Hu's answers.

1. Why add a Central Commission for Discipline Inspection plot to the story?

Because they (the audience) don't get it. Beijingers live at the emperor's feet. Even commoners keep the nation in their hearts, and even taxi drivers can tell you who sits on the Politburo.

Sixth Master is the kind of man who keeps things clearly apart, and he stays in the right. Xiaofei told him plainly: as long as you win, you can do whatever you like with that thing.

The rule in Beijing is that death outranks everything. Once one side is dead, everybody puts down their knives and guns, and the other side has won.

So what did Sixth Master do? He handed over his life. He went to his death, and that means he won. He definitely won. And once he has won, he can do what he likes with the thing.

Second, the appointment Sixth Master kept was over "his bird being smashed to death and his son being beaten up." The discipline commission business was about what (Xiaofei's) father had done, and that is for people at that level to deal with. He couldn't watch it happen and do nothing. That is what keeping the nation in your heart means. So he keeps each matter separate, and he is in the right on each one. Nobody forced me to write it this way. Beijing is just like that: every place raises its own kind of people.

And I want to point something out. Some people curse the country and curse the system. I'm no New Leftist either, and I don't think that's cool. What's cool is treating these things normally, even-handedly.

2. What are you trying to say with the scene of the ostrich running down the road?

The film's multiple meanings, the text's multiple meanings, its openness, are for the audience to work out themselves. It depends on their life experience, education and mood: whatever they can reach is what it is. This is as far as we can take them. The rest is up to them.

3. Is the Second Master smoking at the mouth of the hutong based on a real person?

There's no prototype. People like that were everywhere when I was growing up. That old man is my dad.

4. What role does this character (the Second Master smoking at the hutong entrance) play in the film?

(Laughs) A stubborn old man who bows to no one: he's the old-timer of the 1950s. Below him there's a kid of thirteen or fourteen, Marble, just as defiant, a little rascal, a little old-timer. We wrote about Sixth Master. So what do you think their role is?

5. The weapon Sixth Master carries looks like a Japanese army sabre. Why give him that weapon?

Work it out yourself. It's a blade we made ourselves. Plenty of Beijing kids back then had them, and the coolest thing you could do was carry one, because it was war booty from their fathers' generation. They came out of the military compounds. Viewers can read it any way they like. It could have come from the Nationalists, or from the Japanese, or it could be a blade soldiers made themselves during the Civil War. Any of those is possible.

The sabre Sixth Master carries in the film

6. So does Sixth Master die in the end?

I don't know either. I'd like to ask that question too, and then we can find a chance to make another one (laughs).

7. Some viewers love the music for "the ostrich escaping onto the road" and "Sixth Master running across the ice with his sabre raised." How was it chosen?

Chosen... chosen... chosen?! It was written bit by bit. Chosen (laughs), where would you even choose it from? It's all cued to specific beats: on which beat it rises, and what attitude it strikes. When the ostrich collapses, how the trumpet comes in, all of that was composed bit by bit.

8. When Sixth Master goes to the wild lake at the end, there's a close-up of a black stray cat. What does it mean?

Tell them (the audience) that before the film's three-character title appears in the opening, there's also a black cat. Did they see it? You have to watch this film three times or more.

9. Some viewers ask whether it's too far for Feng Xiaogang to cycle from the Second Ring Road to the Summer Palace. Isn't that practically a triathlon?

Tell them this film may also be shown in Mozambique, and people there probably won't ask that.

10. Do you think Mr. Six is the best Chinese film this year?

Others decide what's best, not me. I think the best... how would I know? I haven't even seen them all. Well, if you insist, whatever most people call the best, I'll certainly call the best too.

11. Why is the mainland version three minutes shorter than the Venice Film Festival version?

If anything, many scenes got longer. The cuts are mainly the swearing; even I couldn't stand it. The really filthy stuff. So-called foul language, swearing, works like a filler word in Beijing speech. But where it was meant as real abuse, we cut it ourselves. There's no rating system here, and lots of kids watch.

12. Sixth Master asks Xiaofei how much it costs to fix the Ferrari, and Xiaofei says 100,000 yuan. Is that a rip-off?

If he wants to get technical with me, I can tell him. On a real Enzo Ferrari, a scratch of nearly 9 centimeters should cost 3 million yuan. Xiaofei was being too kind.

A still from Mr. Six

13. Some people point out that Sixth Master's house in Nanluoguxiang could buy several Enzo Ferraris. Why does he need to borrow money all over town?

He isn't selling the house. They didn't watch closely. He's mortgaging it: give me whatever I urgently need first. He isn't selling the house. (Laughs) That's too funny.

14. If we could see beyond the story's ending, what becomes of Uncle Gong, the one who smashed the bird?

I'll try to shoot a sequel. I'll think it through myself and see what becomes of him. (Laughs)

15. Speaking of which, people ask whether there will be a sequel to Mr. Six. Would it cover their younger days?

If we do one, it would be a TV series. A series has more room, so that's probably the better fit.

16. Midway through, Xiaobo plays Sixth Master a song. What is it?

That's Yao Beina. I've forgotten the title; you can look it up. (Note: Yao Beina's "If There Were No You")

17. How did nicknames like Chatterbox and Lampshade come about? Do they mean anything?

They weren't invented. People like that really live in the hutongs, and I've heard every kind of nickname. Beijingers just have nicknames. Chatterbox is because her name has the character "Xia" in it, the same sound as the "xia" in the word for chatterbox. Lampshade comes from his personality: someone is always covering for him.

18. You said earlier that a three-hour director's cut would go online in January 2016. Can you give us a preview?

That's for the boss to say, not me. Their publicity people will probably put out a dedicated post about the date. Basically, Hanyu, Xu Qing and the little rascal (Marble) are all filled out more. Each has a complete life before and after, and so do Xiaobo and Xiaofei.

A still from Mr. Six

19. Then there are the two showdowns. Some people think Sixth Master broke the rules both times.

("The first time, they agreed to fight at the wild lake, but then his son was sent back, no money was paid, no fight happened, and somehow it all just blew over, if it weren't for that ledger.")

Even without the ledger, something would still have happened. When Sixth Master leaves the hospital and runs off, there's a line they missed. Xiaobo says, why are you running? Sixth Master says, I've got something on next week, don't you worry about it. Yes, you have to watch carefully to catch it.

("The second time, they agreed to play by the rules, and if he lost he'd hand the ledger back to them, but then he reported them. That's very positive and uplifting, but it isn't by the rules either!")

That one really is by the rules, and he really is in the right. I explained it earlier.

20. Were Zhang Hanyu's muscles really stuck on?

That's twisting the truth and deceiving the audience. That makeup effects company should be sued. Hanyu's character couldn't look old enough, so we had to make a layer of skin, wrinkled skin, and above all it was made for the knife scar. That company, to promote itself, mixed this up with the muscles to mislead the audience. Hanyu works out all year round; you can't fake muscles, you know? Then audiences who don't know any better get fooled. That's deeply disrespectful to Hanyu and to the film, because it distorts the facts. So you should know that this (fake thing) is skin and a knife scar, not muscle. That company has to be severely punished.

Zhang Hanyu having his makeup effects applied

(Question: From that photo, it looks as if the muscles were stuck on.)

No, that's following the shape of the muscles. If something were stuck on, he couldn't move. It has to move with him, so it's mainly a layer of skin, molded to the body's shape. You have to wait for it to dry, then build the scar on top. Making out that Hanyu isn't really that muscular is especially nasty. Hanyu really is that muscular.

21. So did they make the ostrich too?

Actually, the ostriches in the first two scenes were real. The fake one was never used. It's generous of me not to name them. Not one was used on set. They carried it back and put it away without shooting a frame, so it was made for nothing. Ask anyone on the crew.

The ostrich running at the end is a person, a man in a green suit imitating an ostrich's long strides, finished with visual effects. (The visual effects company and the makeup effects company are different firms.) On set we tried having a person get inside (the fake ostrich) and run, but it didn't work; it couldn't run. You tell me whether that company is decent or not, deceiving the audience. It makes me furious. Everything I'm saying is fact; we have photos from the set.

(Question: "The version I saw said the ostrich cost over 2 million yuan? I don't remember exactly.")

350,000 yuan, and it still wasn't used. The bird never appeared on set. It was thrown onto that truck and never got off.

The ostrich that, Guan Hu says, never got off the truck during the shoot

22. What does "Old Beijing" feel like to you?

Old Beijing, besides the being-in-the-right we've been talking about, also has some bad, annoying things. As new things come in, they're dwindling, one wave after another. It's being fussy, as we say in Beijing. Making a fuss over everything. That's Old Beijing's vice.

23. If you were Sixth Master's son, could you understand him?

If I were his son? Of course. I understand him even though I'm not.

24. Can the old-timers' "rules" survive in real life?

The film uses the word "rules" too much. Let me swap in another phrase: the good qualities Chinese people ought to have. Those who can hold on to them will. Maybe you can't, maybe he can't. There will always be people who can't, because nobody laid these down; they're something a person ought to be born with.

25. Did you expect the film to get this kind of response? Is it better or worse than you expected?

Strictly speaking, I had no expectations. Once a film is finished, it's finished. Its content, like a person, has its own fate. Whether it's good or bad, it knows. If it does well, I'll certainly be happy. But honestly, I had no expectations. I don't really understand the market side, and I can't read audiences either. Everyone told me people born after 1990 would be the core audience, but a couple of days ago I saw white-haired people there too. How do you explain that?

26. Whose opinion do you care about most?

My son's and my daughter's. (Laughs)

27. Whose review made the deepest impression on you?

My habit is not to read them, good or bad. Why not? They affect my later work. They leave a deep mark on my mind, and that spoils the innocence I need afterward. But I do read them a month later, and I have my reasons. By then I'm calmer, and nobody can sway me. I try hard not to let anyone sway me, that's all.

28. When you read the reviews a month later, where do you look?

Somewhere a bit more serious. Douban, meaning the serious film buffs and the experts. I don't read the experts much; mostly the buffs.

29. Some viewers are reminded of In the Heat of the Sun. Feng Xiaogang is also on good terms with Wang Shuo. Has Wang seen this film? What did he say?

Wang Shuo has seen it. As for what he thought, let him say it himself. I can't speak for him. Anyway... damn, I shouldn't speak for him, I shouldn't praise myself.

If I said it, he'd be annoyed. I think he approves of it quite a bit.

I don't think it's convincing if you write it this way; you'd have to find some way to get him to say it himself. But there's one option: you could get Xiaogang to say it. The two of them are buddies, so if he says it, it'll definitely be fine. Besides, when he and Wang Shuo watched the film, I wasn't there. It was just the two of them.

(On people being reminded of In the Heat of the Sun)

Let me tell you, and you tell everyone. That one (In the Heat of the Sun) is a film about aristocrats; this one is a film about commoners. Heaven and earth, two different things. That was Beijing's military compounds, a group of aristocrats completely above everyone else. The kids running around the little hutongs could never get near them.

30. Has your father seen the film? What did he think?

He has. He didn't say a word. He just pointed with his finger and said, "That's me." (Laughs)

The oldest old-timer in the film, played by Guan Zongxiang

31. Is Mr. Six your favorite of the films you've made?

I like them all; there's no favorite. I get asked this every time. Take Get On the Bus (《上车走吧》). I actually like it a lot, so how could I say I don't like it, or that it's my favorite? That's hard to answer.

32. There are plenty of good reviews now. Are there any bad ones you'd accept?

All my life, I've hardly ever conceded anything. I don't think I'll start now.

33. Which part of the screenplay did you write? I read two earlier interviews, one with you and one with Dong Runnian, and in both it sounded as if each of you was claiming to be the main screenwriter.

(Laughs) I'm not going to disparage him. The screenplay was mine from start to finish. I wrote every scene myself, in all my films, not just this one.

Anyway, the way I collaborate now is that I talk and the other person writes. Once it's written, I revise it myself. I think that's very scientific. It keeps me calmer, because when I used to write purely on my own, I wasn't calm. This works better.

34. If the story could go on, which character would you most want to keep telling?

It isn't about carrying on with any one character. What I want to say is that this time, working with Xiaogang, the cinematographer, the art department, it was all especially comfortable and great fun. Including Kris Wu and Li Yifeng; none of us could bear to part. It feels empty, a real sense of loss. We were fated to meet these people. If you really did it again, it would be something else, not this story.

35. If you were an audience member, which character would you like best?

Your questions are so strange. I quite like... (laughs) But we focused on creating Sixth Master, and our biggest wish is that Sixth Master as a character will last.

36. While you were developing the script, what changed the most?

The script came out in one draft and was never revised. From the producers to the Film Bureau, I was very lucky; everyone approved of it, so there was basically no adjusting. Very little changed, just the dialogue, I think.

37. Looking back, do you have any regrets about the script?

None about the script. The regret is the cutting; too much was cut. Like the Hanyu part I just mentioned. Oh, too much of that was cut, and I'm determined to put it back.

38. If Aunt Xia were the protagonist, what would the story look like?

A story told from a woman's side would be a different thing entirely.

People keep calling this film "straight-man cancer." If you really understood it, you'd see it isn't. He's a straight man, but not a cancerous one. Sixth Master respects women and loves them from the bottom of his heart; Beijing men just don't (show) it.

As for women, honestly, women are probably what I understand least. I once tried a film with three female leads, and the reviews were decent, and maybe I'll get a chance to try again. But learning about women only from my mother and my wife is probably not enough.

If Aunt Xia were the protagonist, the story would be gentler.

The values wouldn't change. Look at how Chinese people overseas react to this film today, and you'll see how much most people agree with those values.

39. Of writing, shooting, post-production and publicity, which part wears you out the most?

I've only just been through it. (Laughs loudly) The publicity at the end, no lie. I'd never done publicity before. This was the first time, and I had to force myself, but it was all right. Out on the front line I met lots of kids born after 1990 and came to like them a lot. I find that heartening.

40. In the edit, was there anything you badly wanted to keep but cut anyway?

The Hanyu scene and the Chatterbox scene were the biggest losses. In the Hanyu scene, he's working as a designated driver, someone insults him, and he just rams the guy's car. Then he goes straight to the traffic police, says he's been drinking: just lock me up. The officer says, I have no authority to lock you up. He says, so it has to be a criminal case, does it? Then he beats the bastard up (laughs), and so he gets locked up.

In the Chatterbox scene, earlier on, Sixth Master needs money and Chatterbox gives it to him. She says, you don't know the PIN, how will you withdraw it? Sixth Master says, I know it. Isn't it your daughter's birthday? That brought out their whole backstory, and cutting it is a bit of a shame.

(Question: Are these all in the director's cut?)

All of them, all of them.

41. Did you consider other endings for the film?

Never. It was always this. I think it's the most powerful. I absolutely wouldn't let them start fighting. (A fight) could be shot, but if it were, it would be wrong. It would turn into an action movie (laughs).

A still from the ending of Mr. Six

42. An earlier report said Ge You also wanted to play Sixth Master. If Feng Xiaogang hadn't agreed to star in Mr. Six, would you have asked Ge You?

This (laughs), well, it's like this: the spirit in this man, this drive, is very hard to act. It has to be the man himself.

Xiaogang could pull off this role because he isn't performing. It has nothing to do with acting; he simply is this person. In other words, this is something you can stumble on but can't go looking for. Getting an actor to do it through acting and characterization is something I wouldn't dare imagine.

I think I was lucky to meet Xiaogang. If I hadn't, I'd rather have found a real one in the hutongs.

43. I see you've been setting a lot of things straight. Is it true that Feng Xiaogang agreed to do it over drinks with you?

We did drink. I drink with him all the time, and we're drinking again tonight (December 31). Beijing men don't make things complicated; one big drinking session settles it. But the key was that the script drew him in.

44. If Xu Qing hadn't played Aunt Xia, who would you have wanted?

Is this from netizens? I never thought about it. I know Xu Qing especially well; we were classmates. She has this side in her, but she could never bring it out, and it frustrated her. I never thought of anyone else. There really was no second choice; we had agreed on it all along.

45. When you went to the Golden Horse Awards to accept the prize for Feng Xiaogang, what went through your mind the moment you heard his name?

Nothing. How am I supposed to answer that? If you'd been there you would know: Xiaogang wasn't the favorite. If you'd gone you'd know. That was the atmosphere, so we had no hope at all. We thought the nomination itself was a lot of fun.

The ones with the most buzz were Aaron Kwok, Li Hongqi, Deng Chao, a whole group. We didn't think much of it, so Xiaogang didn't even go. Nothing can go through your head in an instant like that.

46. Why were you standing with your legs spread so wide when you went up?

That Taiwanese microphone of theirs didn't adjust; it wouldn't go up or down. Can you believe it? Think about it: I'm over 1.9 meters tall, and they gave me one set for someone around 1.6 meters. What was I supposed to do, kneel there?! Ask them to come up with a solution for me.

Guan Hu accepting the award for Feng Xiaogang at the Golden Horse Awards

47. After you accepted the award, what did you say to Feng Xiaogang?

Nothing much. He was shooting in Jiangxi, and I was in Beijing, so we didn't see each other. By the time I delivered the trophy to him, the excitement had passed, so we just had a quiet drink or two.

48. Since the film came out, have you dreamed about Mr. Six? What did you dream?

I really haven't had those dreams. A lot of my dreams are about the stories I'll shoot next. That's the truth.

(Question: Do you really dream about stories you're going to shoot?)

We have lots of ideas, all hazy, and I blurt them out first thing in the morning. My conclusion is that what you think about by day, you dream about by night.

(Was it like that when you were making Mr. Six?)

That one didn't come suddenly; it was a long time coming. What I mean is the many ideas, before and since, that come when I'm half asleep, half awake: oh, this is pretty good.

49. You said you wanted the film to leave something behind. What exactly?

Whatever you see is what it is. A director sitting here saying what he wants to leave behind would be a really stupid thing. Strictly speaking, I don't want to leave anything behind.

(I read in an earlier interview that you especially wanted the character of Sixth Master to endure. Doesn't that count as something you want to leave behind?)

No, that's about the craft of film. For a long time, for several years now, Chinese films haven't left behind any characters. The most recent one I can remember is still Xiao Wu, and those. The tradition of Chinese cinema is gone; it's all become stories sitting there to make money. I think leaving characters behind is the job of people who've been trained, who are close to the essence of cinema and take it seriously. So I want Sixth Master to stay in cinema, in the craft. That's something we can discuss in the future.

You may not know The Lin Family Shop, or Xianglin's Wife, but at least you'll know Fugui, from Zhang Yimou's To Live. Jia Zhangke's Xiao Wu, right? And you know Quanzi, from Xie Fei's Black Snow. What else? You can't name any. That's the problem with Chinese cinema.

50. Some people say many of the commentaries on this film are reading too much into it.

Then let them read too much into it. Isn't that a good thing? If people want to interpret it and talk about it, from whatever angle, then there's room for discussion and room for argument. I don't think either is bad for me.