An introduction to the film and director
“Coming from a Chinese literature background, Luying Wang studied directing at Chapman Dodge College. She loves to seek all kinds of different intriguing stories and write authentic characters. The process of bringing a character alive is the most enjoyable thing for her.
Drifting Boat is inspired by Luying’s grandparents. Her grandma from her mother’s side never got a chance to go back to her homeland for to various reasons. The strong desire to go back to the place where people grew up becomes the core of the story.”
Luying Wang, director
Luying Olivia Wang’s short film, Drifting Boat, follows closely the emotional tribulations of Ying Zi, an elderly Chinese woman who moved to America but now longs to return to her place of birth. While Ying has a life and a family in America, tendrils of homesickness take a strong hold on her soul. The nostalgia for China has returned with vehemence in her age as Ying fears she may never get to visit home again due to failing health. It also seems the few things she has to remind herself of home are slowly disappearing. The Chinese food store Ying likes to shop at is closing down, meaning the ingredients for her cooking will be more difficult, if not impossible come by.
Ying tries to keep her culture alive within her family, specifically her granddaughter. She feels that young Ivy, born and raised in America, will never appreciate the importance of her heritage. Urging her son and his wife to speak to Ivy more in Chinese shows a desperation to keep the language alive. Her heritage from China will eventually fade away as her family forget their roots. This is perhaps what Ying is most afraid of. Ivy doesn’t want to participate in the Chinese cuisine, asking for fries instead. Although these things may seem small, when the integrity of the memory of your home is at stake, emotions run high. While visiting China seems out of the questions, Ying feels unable to even recreate a sense of her home through cooking or language.
Drifting Boat captures the complexities of home and our relationship with home. The pain of separation from home is explored by Homer in The Odyssey, with the Greek concept of nostos plaguing the protagonist, Odysseus, throughout the text. Nostos means ‘homecoming’, or ‘return’. It is the word root of nostalgia, combined with the suffix, ‘algia’, meaning ‘pain’. Nostalgia is therefore a pain caused by being unable to return. It is homesickness. Luying Wang captures the longing for another home with ease, creating a narrative that relates somewhat universally to a diverse range of migrant narratives. While some people are forced to leave their homes because of war or persecution, others may choose to leave for other reasons. Regardless, there is often a complex nexus of intersecting reasons why a person may leave their home to find a new one. When this occurs, one home is not simply transplanted for another. We carry with us little pieces of all the homes we found. These little pieces help ease the pain of nostalgia. But for some, a sense of homesickness remains forever. Flashbacks to her childhood make things all the more painful for Ying. Her memories, so vivid and warm, yet unable to replace the reality of home.
Despite Ivy’s initial disinterest in the Chinese culture, a small replica of a traditional instrument called a pipa catches her eye. A relic that has been passed down from generation to generation. After their meal, Ivy’s grandma gifts her the little model. Ivy will be able to tell her children about how her grandma passed it on to her, and thus the culture and Ying’s story will live on.
Drifting Boat contains some beautiful acting, especially from Sarah Gu as Ying Zi. She captures and delivers subtle emotion and has a unique skill of delivering very precise emotions without using words. This makes for a quiet and understated, but very effective, film. The cinematography, by Haobang “Hammer” Geng is beautifully crafted, framing the story with care and attention. With the excellent direction of Luying Olivia Ying, the film comes together masterfully.
A quiet story of homesickness.
Interview with Sarah Gu
Please could you introduced yourself to my readers and tell me a little bit about yourself and what you do?
“Hi, everyone! My name is Shanshan Sarah Gu, a professional actress with more than 50 years of acting experience. My acting career started in 1959 when I was 16 years old. One year later, I acted as the lead actress in play, Youth of Fighting. The play Second Spring with me as the main lead was a big hit and won many awards. Through my career as a member of China Theater Association, I have played people with all different backgrounds and appeared on stage with top Chinese actors like Moran Li and Zaolai Wang for many times.”
How would you describe your role in Drifting Boat?
“I think Ying Zi is a wanderer with a strong Chinese roots. As an immigrant, I resonate with Ying Zi because we share a lot of similar life experience, both going through difficult times and suffering from the culture shock after landing in U.S. For Ying Zi, although she is physically here, her heart belongs to China. I deeply relate to that because when I first came to US as a theater actress, I had to start all over again due to language barriers and culture differences. It was a very painful time for me, as if I was a drop of water disappearing in hot, dry dessert.
“In the story, the loneliness still shadows Ying Zi after all the years she lived in US. Her son is busy with his life, and the older Ying Zi gets, the more she wants to go back to her home town, even with her physical condition. Ying Zi is like a drifting boat lost on the vast ocean, hoping to find the direction to home.”
The film is very rooted in emotion. What helped you create Ying Zi’s emotions?
“The key is to reflect on yourself and find the common between you and the character. Part of myself is deeply related to Ying Zi because we grow up around the same time, share the same lifestyle and inherit the same Chinese culture. Ying Zi’s loneliness is not about living by herself, but is a result of being too far away from what she is familiar with.
“Of course, me and Ying Zi are not identical. A huge part of acting is about figuring out the right relationship between characters. As an actor, you need to understand your character and the motivation behind his/her action. In Drifting Boat, there are many farewells, and each of them could mean forever. Ying Zi knows it well because her physical condition is deteriorating, but instead of telling her son, she chooses to hide her emotion till De Tao’s departure. She doesn’t want him to worry. Almost every Asian can relate to this because it is rooted in Asian culture.
“As an actress, I find it is important to leave something for the audience to reflect on. We bring characters alive on screen so that the audiences can feel, experience, and get the inspirations they will never forget.”
Ying Zi specifically struggles with a sense of home, feeling as though her connection to her true home is disappearing. What does home mean for you?
“It is a hard question to answer. I think different people have different definitions of home. For me, home means a corner in my heart that carries all my memories. After the years I lived in the U.S., I still feel that my root belongs to China because all that I loved and hated; all the joy and pain; all the sweet memories and suffering years were left there.”
Why do you think Drifting Boat is an important film that needed to be made?
“Drifting Boat is not just meant for Chinese audience but for the entire human race because it is about someone who leaves home, wandering and suffering from homesick on a foreign land. It is a story of human emotions lasting a lifetime, which is something everyone can connect to.”
How did you feel working with Luying Wang as your director?
“Working with Luying was such a pleasure! We were supported and inspired by each other a lot while shooting Drifting Boat. I was nervous at first because I was from a theater acting background, which is very different from screen acting. Luying did an excellent job to make me feel relaxed and comfortable throughout the entire production. She would always give actors some extra space so that they could reflect, improvise and act in ways that they are comfortable with, which was such a relief for me. She also pays attention on small details like body languages and way of approaching the lines. For her, building the inner world of a character is equally important as building their physical features.”
What was your favourite part about the filming process?
“I enjoyed every single moment shooting Drifting Boat. When you are playing someone that you really love and feel deeply related, you will enjoy every second with the characters on set, both physically and mentally. The magic happens when camera starts rolling and all of a sudden, it all becomes so quiet. Every crew member stays quiet and watches the magic happen on screen. That is the moment when film set vanishes and life comes in.”
Is there anything new and exciting happening for you this year?
“As an actress, acting is my life. I never stopped looking for interesting roles and stories. Being able to experience a different life and seeing from a fresh perspective is a privilege, and certainly my proud as an actress. Acting makes my life rich because in the art of acting, I get to live more than once I enjoyed.”