ColovisCornillacworksinthefarmlandwithhishostfamily.ONApril12,2016,MeetingatUnknownPlaces:GuizhouwasfirstbroadcastonFrance2andbecamethehighest-ratedofalltheprogramsshownonthatnight.Thedocumen-tarygave5.23millionFrenchviewersaglimpseoftheold,mysterious,rustic,andbeautifulscenesoftheMiaostockadevillageinGuizhou.TheMiaoareoneofthe56ethnicgroupsinChinaandmainlyliveinthesouthwestprovinceofGuizhou.ThestockadevillageiswheretheMiaopeoplehavelivedforthousandsofyears.
MeetingatUnknownPlacespresentslocalcustomsandpracticesofcountriesallovertheworldtoFrancophoneviewers.Theserieswaslaunchedin2006,andthisparticularepisodewasthefirstonefilmedinChina.
LifeisharmoniousintheremoteMiaostockadevillage.PhotoscourtesyofMeetingatUnknownPlacesChinaMandatoryPreparationforthestockadevillageepisodebeganmorethantwoyearsago.Itsheadwriter,FranckDesplanques,said,“Intheglobalizedworldweliveintoday,wecouldn’tmissoutChina.”
Ineachepisodeoftheprogram,theanchor,FrédéricLopez,invitesacelebrityguesttoaccompanyhimtoanunknownplaceandlivewiththelocals.Theytalkaboutthephilosophiesadoptedbythepeoplelivinginremoteanddifficultcircumstances,inspiringmodernviewerstothinkabouttheworldinadifferentway.Thedesignoftheprogramisoriginal:Guestshavenoideaoftheirdestinationbeforeboardingtheplane,sothefeelingstheyrevealinthe“unknownplace”theyarriveatareauthentic.TheproductiongroupofMeetingatUnknownPlaces:GuizhouhadaconnectingflightinShanghai,gotonatransferbusinGuiyang,capitalofGuizhou,andthenwalkedfortwohoursbeforetheyfinallyarrivedattheirdestination,theYangkaiMiaostockadevillageofRongjiangCountyinGuizhou.
TheguestofthisepisodewastheFrenchmoviestarColovisCornillac.ItwashisfirsttimeinChina.WhenhefoundouthewasgoingtotheMiddleKingdom,Cornillac,whoclaimedtobethetypeofpersonwho“didnoteasilyrevealhisemotions”jumpedforjoy!“I’vealwaysdreamedofgoingtoChina!”hesaid.
Afterashortstop-overinShanghai,FrédéricLopezandColovisCornillactookahillyroad“tothemiddleofnowhere”toawaittheirhosts.Threevillagers,LongLaoniuandhiswifeZhuLaopu,andtheirrelativeMengLaohao,appearedwithwarmsmiles.Cornillac’sinitialanxietydisappearedinaninstant.Astheywalkedtotheirdestination,Cornillacandtheviewers’heartswerecapturedbythebeautifulmountainoussceneries.Theproductiongroupsparednoexpense,filmingswoopingaerialscenesandcreatingastrongcontrastbetweenthemagnificentnaturalsightsofGuizhouandthebustlingmetropolisofShanghai,thuspresentingapictureofthepluralisticandrealChina.
Forthenexttwoweeks,LopezandCornillaclivedtogetherwiththisMiaofamily–thehusbandLongLaoniuisshrewdandrealistic,hiswifeZhuLaopuenthusiasticandkind,andthehardworkingandhumorousMengLaohaoisarelativewholodgesattheirhouse.ThedocumentarywasfilmedatthebeginningofSeptember2015,whichisthebusyfarmingseasonforlocals,whoworkfromdawntodusk.Theguestsalsothrewthemselvesintothefarmworkonthemountainswiththehosts.Theycaughtfishintheriver,choppedpigfeedandbrewedricewinetogether.
ThecommunicationbetweenthehostfamilyandtheFrenchguestswasslowtodevelop.Atthebeginning,theyonlyextendedsimplegreetings.Gradually,theyletdowntheirdefensesandopenedtheirheartstoeachother.Bytheendtheyhadgainedanin-depthpictureofeachother’slifestories.
WhenCornillacwasaskedabouthisjob,hesaidthathisjobwasofnousehere,andthathewasonly“tryingtomakepeoplethink.”ThelodgerMengLaohaodidn’tknowCornillacwasanactor,andresponded,“Youcannotsayit’suseless;it’sveryimportanttomakepeoplethink.”
ChallengingTraditionalImpressions
“ThiswasthefirsttimeIhadbeentoChina.IthinkmorethingsshouldbedonetochallengeFrenchpeople’sstereotypeofChina,”theheadwriterofMeetingatUnknownPlacesFranckDesplanquessaidinaninterview.“Weaddedthesceneofamodernmetropolis,Shanghai,toourprogramforthefirsttimeinordertoembodythepluralismofChinesesociety.”Headdedthatthepreviousepisodesallwentstraighttothedestinationswithharshlivingconditions,butthistimeastheyshotinChina,thescenesofShanghaiwereaddedtopresenttherealandcontemporaryChinatoFrenchviewers.
“TheMiaostockadevillagewasthemost‘modern’placewewenttosincewelaunchedourprogram,”FranckDesplanquessaid.TheMiaostockadevillagewasthesameasotherdestinationsinthattheparticipantsneededtowalkforhourstoreachthe“unknownplace,”butitwastheonlyonethathadaccesstotapwaterandelectricity.Thecloseupshotoftheelectricstoveatdinneronthefirstdaytellsviewersthatthisisavillagewithelectricity.Thentheoneofthewaterfaucetoutdoorstellsviewersthisisavillagewithwater.Theanchor,FrédéricLopez,askedthevillagerstorecalltheirfeelings12yearsagowhenthevillagefirstgainedaccesstoelectricity,demonstratingtheprocessofruralmodernizationinChina.ThedocumentaryalsobrieflyintroducedthehistoryandresidentsoftheMiaostockadevillages,aswellasthetraditionalfarmingmethodoftheco-existenceoffishandrice,hybridricefarming,andthefamilyplanningpolicy,whicharecharacteristicofChina.
Themusic,fullofartisticexpression,burnishesthisepisode.Therearefolkmusic,symphonies,andelectronicmusicinMeetingatUnknownPlaces:Guizhou,whicharesometimesindependentandsometimesintegrated.Themusichighlightsthethemeoftheprogram,conveyingitshumanityinamoreappealingway.
GenuineCommunicationTouchestheHeart
HuangYingxue,interpreteroftheproductiongroup,saidthat,asthevil-lagerscouldn’tspeakMandarinChinese,theyneededanotherinterpretertotranslatetheMiaodialectintoMandarin.Buttherewasathird,unspokenlanguage.Cornillacrecalled,“Ilookedatthemallthetimeandtheylookedstraightbackatme.Wehadrealeyecommunication.IfIwereaskedtoclosemyeyesandrecallthisjourney,whatappearsfirstinmymindisthebeautifulsmilesofmyhosts.”Headded:“ThehumanityoftheMiaostockadevillageisunforgettabletome.Thevillagerslovetheirlifeandattachgreatimportancetoeducation,whichpresentsaharmoniousandvigorousvillagetome.”
Cornillac,atoughguyonthescreen,saidanemotionalfarewelltoChina.ThesolidarityandfriendlinessamongthevillagersoftheMiaostockadevillageleftadeepimpression.“Noonewilleverstarveinthisvillage,”hetoldFrédéricLopez.Whentheywereabouttodepart,hetoldthethreevillagers,“Iwillmissyou.”HealsotoldhishostessZhuLaopu,“Youhavethemostbeautifulsmileintheworld.”
Cornillactoldourreporter,“I’veneverhadthechancetobeinChinaortoworkwithChineseteams.Infact,IwouldlovetomeetChineseviewersandsharemyfilmswiththem.Thishasbeenaddedtomyto-dolist,”hesaid.“Thisjourneywillinfluencemywholelife.Ican’tpinpointexactlyhow,butonethingiscertain,ithasbroughthappinessintomylife.”
“Ifpeoplecomewithkindness,thentheywillfindoutthatChinaisgreat,”ChineseAmbassadortoFranceZhaiJunsaidatthepremiereofMeetingatUnknownPlaces:Guizhou.“Amitybetweenpeopleholdsthekeytosoundrelationsbetweenstates.Ihopethatinthefuture,thecommunicationbetweenChinaandFrancewillbemoremindfulbecauseIbelieveexchangeandcommunicationofthemindarethemostimportantforms.”
ZhaiJunsaidthatChinahadalreadysurpassedtheU.S.tobecomethebiggestoverseasmarketforFrenchmovies.Lastyear,theChineseviewersofFrenchmoviesreached15millionperson-timesanditnowstandsafarbetterchanceoffurthergrowthinthefuture.
ZHANGXINisareporterfromtheEuropeanTimes.