Chinese director takes anti-war stance

The West Coast premiere of “Red Cliff,” the most expensive film ever made in China, will take place exclusively tonight at a local cinema, as part of the Ancient Paths, Modern Voices Chinese cultural festival.

Director John Woo, 63, known to American audiences for Hollywood films like “Face/Off,” returned to his roots in Chinese action films to create “Red Cliff,” a war epic based on one of China’s most famous historical chronicles. He splits his time between California and Hong Kong.

Woo spoke to the Daily Pilot from China about his film. He will make an appearance tonight at a question-and-answer session following the 8 p.m. screening at the South Coast Village theater, 1561 W. Sunflower Ave., Santa Ana. The screening is being presented by the Orange County Film Society.

DP: What made you return to filming in China, after spending so long in America?

Woo: This is the movie I’ve always wanted to make. I’ve been working in Hollywood for more than 16 years, and I’ve learned so much. I thought this is about time to bring these new experiences into Asia, to let the young people learn something about it. I also tried to fulfill my dream. I grew up with this story, and I think that it has so many amazing and challenging scenes to do.

DP: Were there any American techniques or methods that you brought back to use in “Red Cliff?”

Woo: We brought teams from Hollywood to help make the movie. The Chinese crew learned so much from them. Everyone worked like a family. I think that’s my wish; I really wanted everyone learning from each other.

DP: Was it difficult to take a story that is so well-known, and change some of it around?

Woo: No, I didn’t feel any difficulty because I just did what I felt like. I didn’t have very much of a problem changing the history. I wanted to make this movie more international. For the Asian audience, it’s still the story they’re familiar with. For the rest of the audience that doesn’t know the historical facts, what they watch is a movie. It’s an independent story.

DP: Did the strong female characters in the film come from history?

Woo: They weren’t from the book. There’s not much of a female role in the book, so for the movie I wanted to show the classic woman. They have graceful beauty, but underneath they also have a great personality. They also have an iron will. It also made the movie more romantic. I love my family; I love my wife and my daughters. And so, when I see the two female roles, I am looking at my daughters.

DP: How many people were involved in making this film?

Woo: We had 700 to 1,500 soldiers on the set almost every day. We also had hundreds of stunt men from all over the country. We had over 1,500 crew members. Almost 2,000 people worked on the set every day.

DP: The standoff in the film was classic John Woo style. Was it based on history?

Woo: It wasn’t from history; it was me and my stunt coordinator’s idea. He loved “The Killers” (a previous Woo film) so much that he said, “Let’s do a ‘Killers’ moment.” We had a lot of fun making that scene. It’s one of the memorable parts in the film.

DP: Can you talk about the symbolism of depicting the arts throughout the movie, like music and the tea ceremony?

Woo: I got the music idea from jazz music. We wanted to show in the movie how the two heroes first get to know each other. That was my idea. It wasn’t from the book. I’ve never liked to use dialogue to tell my stories. I like visuals, especially the visuals with the music. The tea was an idea of our leading lady, Wei Zhao. Offering tea to an enemy really has a very peaceful message; tea is so elegant and graceful. We also used football (soccer). They really used football to train soldiers. I always feel the audience is only familiar with our kung fu movies. I really wanted to show some other part of our culture.

DP: What kind of message did you want people to take away from the film?

Woo: It’s part of Chinese history, and it also shows how a smaller army can defeat a much larger and more powerful enemy through a combination of teamwork and courage. Also, there are so many great battle sequences, which have never been done in Chinese film history. I tried to stress that in war, there are no winners, and give an anti-war message. All we need is friendship. That remains the same theme in all of my movies.

Tickets to the West Coast premiere of “Red Cliff” and subsequent question and answer session with Woo are $10, and are available online and at the box office.

For more information, call (714) 557-5701 or visit orangecountyfilmsociety.com.