smile and eyes

It's been 3 months since I moved to Beijing from San Francisco.  I can't help but to fall in love with this city.  People here really know how to put on a great smile.  And on many occasions, I feel as though I can see right into their souls.  You call it 'simple-minded', 'slower pace', 'developing world', whatever that is (and not entirely the right descrīption for Beijing anyway), all I can say people here seem to be quite happy. 

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The TV set sat in the living room for 2 months and the second time I turned it on,  I saw a chase scene set in the 40s in a big city in China.  2 cars drove swiftly down the crowded street and a body was pushed out of the car door, the man in the car said, 'this man is of no use anymore."

About 20 seconds.

It cuts to inside of a house where  a woman is putting a bandage onto the man who was in the chase.  And this is the scene I want to talk about.

She puts a bandage on his face, cuts to the close-up of his eyes, then the close-up of her eyes.  Then back to the medium shot of her finishing up on his face.  And right before she's done, she gave a hard press on the wound on his cheeks and he gave out a cry.

About 20 seconds.

I knew nothing about the story, but from the last 20 seconds, I learned everything I needed to know about their dynamics. 

In the CU of his eyes, I saw gratitude as well as desire, but ever so subtle.

In the CU of her eyes, I saw compassion and resentment.  She's resented him for having done something risky. Did she like him, yes, but it's obvious that they were not together.  They were close yet independent.

From a director's point of view, I thought the acting here was quite brilliant.  And it inspired me to do an acting and directing exercise based on this scene.

Eyes can convey so much.  But how do you tell your actors to speak with their eyes, and to show multiple emotions?  I'll find out in 2 weeks.

I am going to shoot my first  little video here in Beijing.  The scrīpt is ready, so is the actress, Nozomi, but I am still missing an actor.   If you know of someone who loves acting and would like to join this acting workshop, let me know. 

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If I left SF because I didn't see this kind of smile, perhaps it's because I wasn't smiling myself -