Photo: Wang Zi

By Park Gayoung

It was an overwhelming reaction for a first-time moviemaker -– 20 million clicks online within a month and 200 interview requests from the media. Although he wiped away tears many times while editing his movie, he didn't expect so many people would feel the same. After all, he made the movie to satisfy himself.

Xiao Yang, a 30-year-old commercial advertisement director, who before had only made advertisements for a living and several music videos for fun, was an unfamiliar name to Chinese Internet users. But when he released his 43-minute-long film, Old Boys, (Lao Nanhai, 老ç"·å­©) on Youku on October 28, he was propelled into the limelight as a director, singer and actor.

He created the movie as an extension of his real life. Making music videos was his hobby for his band, the Chopsticks Brothers, which features in Old Boys. Originally, he only wanted to make a better music video for the song that finally became the theme song for Old Boys.

The plot is simple: Two teenage boys who want to be Michael Jackson-like stars end up as a wedding host and a barber. Years later, these two middle-aged "old boys" team up as the Chopsticks Brothers to play in a TV talent show and compete with young rivals. But this simple plot moved the post-80s generation in China. A quick scan of reviews for Old Boys on Douban shows pages of comments like "This movie made me cry" and "This reminds me of my lost dream."

Surprised by all the attention, Xiao talks about his inspirations and why he wants to make movies.

What kind of history do you have with art?

My father's a cop, but I feel he's more like an artist. He thinks in ways that are more suitable to an artist's temperament than a police officer. I think a lot of things I know or feel about art came from him. But generally, the desire to perform or express oneself is an innate quality.

So you wanted to be an artist since you were a child?

In my earliest memories I'm not sure it was art so much as a desire to be known. I thought that I came to Earth on a special mission, like I was an alien, or some particularly special person. I think subconsciously I wanted to become someone that was famous. Oh, I wanted to be on TV. It didn't matter if I was a talk show host or an actor, as long as I was on the TV screen, I'd be happy. That drive led me to the High School affiliated with the Central Academy of Fine Arts, where I majored in painting.

Why didn't you become a painter?

As I met more painters I started realizing that it wasn't the life I wanted. You have to be isolated from society -– it's very lonely and in some cases even leads to mental health problems. I'm not super outgoing person that many people expect from actors, but I also don't have the borderline anti-social personality it takes to be a great painter. I decided my last year in high school to shift away from painting and focus on moviemaking because it gives me a chance to perform on stage and have more creative interactions with people involved in the film.

So how do you feel about other filmmakers?

One of my favorite directors is Francis Ford Coppola. I love the Godfather series and Apocalypse Now. One of the incredible things about him is you feel like you're not watching a movie. It's as if the medium of film has been taken out and what you're watching is pure Coppola. He's right there, having a conversation with the viewer. You don't see anything like it in most other film. I think people like Beat Takeshi and Akira Kurosawa have been able to do things like this too. My favorite Chinese director is Jiang Wen and I recommend Jiang's Devils on the Doorstep as the one movie all foreigners should watch to better understand China.

You just mentioned two Japanese directors. Your music videos for Chopstick Brothers feature samurai and geishas - and the theme song from Old Boys is a cover of a Japanese song. What role has Japan played in your artistic development?

Japanese culture is more similar to Chinese culture than the West, so it's easier to access or relate to some of their themes and subjects. When I was growing up, we were awash in Japanese culture - Doraemon (Japanese animation character) and anime - so I guess the affinity kind of stuck. I also really like composer Joe Hisaishi.

Speaking of music, you've shot music videos and both play the guitar and sing in Old Boys. What does music mean to you?

I started playing the guitar for fun in high school. To be honest, I did it to impress girls -– just like in the characters in my movie. Back then I was in a band and we played songs up on a balcony while the girls swooned down below. The more I played though, the more I realized how important music is. The song we picked for Old Boys somehow clicked with me. It was very moving. Music is the art form most closely in tune with human emotions - more so than film.

Did you worship Michael Jackson, like the characters in the movie?

Actually I didn't connect with Michael when I was younger. He was too far away from my experience - too perfect. But last year when he died, these feelings of nostalgia rose up inside me. An epoch had ended with his death. It marked the end of the post-80s generation's youth.

The nostalgia you refer to is one of lost or unrealized dreams. Why do you think this theme resonates so well with the audience?

Our childhood was pure and basically the same for everyone of my generation - this has contributed to the coherence of our collective memory and idealization of our youth. Today, it's a more difficult world. Tuition has gone up 10 times in the past decade. Houses are more expensive here than in the US. There are countless unfulfilled dreams held by people my age and by reflecting that in the movie, I tapped into raw chord of emotion. But even though I was aware of this while writing and shooting Old Boys, I never imagined there would be such an overwhelming reaction and this much attention.

Old Boys (Lao Nanhai) is available on Youku

gayoungpark@globaltimes.com.cn