On March 11, the crime movie "The End of the Night" directed by Wang Tong and starring Wan Qian and Rao Xiaozhi, with a special appearance by Qu Chuxiao and a friendly appearance by Huang Xiaolei, released a finalized poster and trailer. It was officially announced that it will be released on March 21 through the All-China Federation of Art Federation special line.
It is understood that this film is the first film starring the well-known director Rao Xiaozhi. "The End of the Night" focuses on the aging society. It tells the story of the killer nanny Ye Xiaolin (played by Wan Qian) who pretends to enter the elderly's home to carry out murders. During the encounter, she meets the breeder Ma Deyong (played by Rao Xiaozhi), which breaks the original balance of life. The police officer Zhou Ping (played by Qu Chuxiao) is intertwined with their fate in the process of tracing the case… The film arouses the audience's attention and thinking about life and death issues by exploring issues such as the dignity of the elderly, family relationships, and death education.
The first impression given by Ye Xiaolin in the trailer is: meticulous, patient and professional. She wiped the bedridden old man's body gently and perfectly, and she could keep smiling in the face of the old man's unreasonable troubles. The old man's son Ma Deyong saw this and his affection for her grew day by day. But when the camera turned, it was still the same face, the same hands, but holding the knife, and the look in his eyes was so calm that it sent chills down the back, a full sense of contrast.
Rao Xiaozhi also serves as the producer and star of this film. The director's "personal exit" was due to Wan Qian's help. It is reported that she liked the script very much after reading it and asked Rao Xiaozhi to be the producer. After the latter joined, he gave a lot of modification suggestions during the script polishing stage and smoothed out the character logic of the male protagonist Ma Deyong. Wan Qian thought of the stage play "Hello, Madman!" she collaborated with ten years ago. ", Rao Xiaozhi was very talented in acting when he told the actors, so he proposed to director Wang Tong, "Why don't you let Zhi Ge act it himself?" Rao Xiaozhi refused at first, but finally agreed after many persuasion.
Ma Deyong is a zookeeper and the son of an old man. Rao Xiaozhi uses "bluff" to describe him – a middle-aged man who has accomplished nothing, can't find his place in the family and society, and has low self-esteem, so he uses "bluff" to arm himself. When he met Ye Xiaolin, he thought he met Spring, but it was actually a misunderstanding. This tragic color and state of being out of tune with the world make Rao Xiaozhi very interesting.
Director Wang Tong revealed that he has lived with his grandparents since he was a child. In recent years, watching them age and pass away has made him think a lot about life and death. "The End of the Night" wants to explore not only the living conditions of the elderly, but also "how to grow old with dignity" that everyone will eventually face. Judging from the trailer, there are many unbearable scenes in the movie: the old man's festering bedsores, moaning in pain late at night. But the source of this "discomfort" actually comes from reality. Just like Ye Xiaolin's memories: Most of the family members only want to laugh with the old man and are not willing to listen to the old man cry. At the same time, the narrative structure is also very ingenious. The fate of the lion in his twilight years, the sick old man and the "marginal people" forms an intertextuality. The closed space of the zoo and the unfinished building where the old people live form a mirror image. The lion's perspective illuminates the human heart like a "god".
According to observations from Nandu reporters, "The End of the Night" has won many awards at multiple Chinese and foreign film festivals. At the 27th Shanghai International Film Festival Golden Goblet Award, the film won the Jury Award in the main competition unit, and Wan Qian also won the best actress in the main competition unit. At the 19th FIRST Youth Film Festival, the film was not only shortlisted for the feature film section of the main competition, Rao Xiaozhi also won the Best Actor Award, and Wang Tong, Yao Rui, and Shi Yifan won the Best Screenplay Award. At the 20th Rome International Film Festival, Wang Tong also won the best director honor for this film. In addition, "The End of the Night" was selected as the opening film of the "Golden Rooster Domestic Film Exhibition" of the 2025 Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival.
Interview and writing: Nandu N video reporter Chen Zeran
