#batay | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

yoshyushi · 7 months ago

Text

20240517 New Weekly - Yu Shi who became Batay is "irreplaceable"

【Only Altay knows】 exclusive magazine coverage

Batay is the Kazakh youth who would come riding over in the night, together with the singing voice along with the moonlight and night breeze, slowly but surely walking on the path home

In April's early Spring, 【To the Wonder】 was nominated for the Cannes Series 2024, the main cast and production team hence reunited at Cannes. In his 5th year of being an actor, Yu Shi arrived for the first time at one of the closest place on earth to film artistry.

In a certain night in Cannes, Yu Shi was suddenly inspired, took out his guitar and sang the drama's OST 【Moonlight】 at the bay city's roadside. This scene had moved a passerby, and she filmed it down in tears. Later they found out that the lady who had filmed this down was a Brazilian actress, she had posted this clip on her social media and said “you illuminate my night”.

The creator of 【Moonlight】 Yerboli had initially given this song the name 【Sunrise】 "The sunlight shines upon all things, bringing the power to chase away all the fog". He thought later that it was dangerous to walk in the wild at night in Altay, but if the moonlight is able to illuminate the way back home it wouldn't be a scary thing.

Yu Shi plays the character Bakhtibek ("Batay" in short) 【To the Wonder】, who's the Kazakh youth who would ride his horse in the night, accompanied by the moonlight, night breeze and singing voices, be on his way home slowly yet determined.

The wilderness is the existence of silence, but as long as there's a youth on horseback, the sound of wind will always guide people towards the answer - in a corner of Altay.

"Batay is a completely original character'

"Messila is like a king. He's tall and handsome and has a heart that's gentle and clear, and a pair of hands made for the Arts... the way they strum the strings of the instrument, note by note it makes its way to the most hidden gaps of the corners of the earth, entering into the heart of another youth..."

Before the series broadcasted, Li Juan's crush in the original story-- Kazakh youth Messila-- such a description was often used to describe Batay who was played by Yu Shi. Everyone thought of Messila as Batay's original form. To 【To the Wonder】 director Teng Cong Cong, such a guess could have originated from Yu Shi's "sudden fame" after 【Creation of the Gods: Kingdom of Storms】 (【Creation of the Gods】 hereafter) hit the cinemas.

The reason that caused this misunderstanding could also have been Yu Shi's physical compatibility with Batay and Messila. To this, executive producer Qi Kang agrees wholeheartedly. "Yu Shi has an element of sculpture about him, a very classic aesthetic," like a present-day imagination of masculinity.

Batay in the eyes of Yu Shi has a "non-traditional handsomeness, but very charismatic" Kazakh youth. He carries a "self-portrait" of Batay in his heart -- even though he looks rugged on the outside, but he's "soft and tender" on the inside. There's a "core" deeper in, his heart is especially strong."

This boy who had to step up to herd sheep and take care of his family since young had grown up to be rebellious and grew his hair long, he grew up in a traditional shepherding family, filled with child-like curiosity for "city things". He carries both the legacy of tradition and the yearning to step out of this place towards the city.

His skin rough, tanned, his cheeks freckled, a flush from the altitude and exposure to the winds and sun. To be close to the character, Yu Shi didn't wash his hands in the course of filming "this looks like someone who's been hard at work."

In the broadcasted product, there were many scenes of Yu Shi on horse, there's close relation to horses, including the clips shared online of the daily filming conditions. In 【To the Wonder】, there's numerous scenes of him with horses both on and off camera, because he was also the director for horseback archery in the production crew, in charge of training the horses.

Yu Shi's gift for horseback archery had already been revealed during his time with 【Creation of the Gods】. Kris Philips (T/N: lead actor in CotG) had once mentioned in an interview that the couple of horseback archery coaches in 【Creation of the Gods】 felt that Yu Shi had the talent to become a professional horse trainer. 【To the Wonder】 producer Cai Yue Ting told us that Yu Shi was the youngest in the production team, but his personality was unexpectedly old that led to everyone calling him "Big brother Yu". As Yu Shi made it look like he was so used to it, everyone often forgot that horseback archery without holding the reins of the horse is a very difficult thing. Until 【Creation of the Gods】 was screened, and everyone had watched all the clips of his training did they realize how difficult it had been for him back then.

If one has to ask Yu Shi on his experience training horses, he would tell you a basic principle "horse-riding is not for everyone, because it is another living soul. When it runs together with you, it has its own breath and heartbeat." All the abovementioned had also led Teng Cong Cong to conclude "there's no replacement for Yu Shi."

After the production crew visited Altay twice to source for filming grounds, the persona of Batay had finally become clearer: a descendant of nomadic shepherds who grew up in modern times, he needs to face the collision between nomadic culture and modern civilization, and to make a choice between what's old and new. Therefore, Batay isn't just a love interest of imagination.

When the audience sees the clarity in his eyes through the screen, they will naturally discover that this youth with an old heart had bounded his life onto the back of his horse, running across the fields of Altay, running towards the flow of the story. This is driven by a natural flow untamed by city life, and so its ruggedness is so captivating.

"When you're being and living in it, the lands so vast you can stretch your limbs out, that's when you truly have the freedom to chase (after your desires)" In the filming period in Altay, Yu Shi had been hanging out and interacting with the local shepherding community, spending large amounts of time to learn Kazakh language. When the sunset pours across the lands like flowing gold, the shepherds bring the sheep home, he would go forth and help out.

There's an old granny in Altay who don't speak a word of mandarin. But when Yu Shi and the production team visited her house, she warmly hosted them, sharing her life experiences openly. As they were bidding farewell, the granny poured panner into Yu Shi's pockets "my child, treat this house as yours, come have a cup of tea when you're tired from filming. Granny shall make lots of delicious food for you."

In this moment, the children of Altay -- Batay and Yu Shi shares an overlapping soul.

An actor who seeks breakthroughs

【To the Wonder】 is Yu Shi's first television series. When he received this project he was still a "zero resume" rookie-- the couple of movies under his belt had yet to be screened. This series had become his point of breakthrough.

In the long time of waiting, Yu Shi had no choice and has never considered "ping tang" (T/N: "ping tang", lit. "lying flat" is a social phenomenon in China among the younger generation who gives up on striving and simply go with the flow) He forced himself to work out "working out a little help to complete everything on hand that day". He continued the habits from 【Creation of the Gods】 production, learning how to train horses and horseback archery. In 2023, he participated in the 3rd Equestrian Festival in Guangdong and won the "Best Style Award".

Beyond his acting work, there's many new interesting things in the world that he hasn't come across, these are all things that make Yu Shi happy, where he can learn from scratch.

After Yu Shi and Teng Cong Cong met for the first time in June 2022, this drive in him was described by the latter as "a complex and enamoring spirit", "he really wanted to be a good actor, to prove himself, he needed a point of breakthrough. Such a thing is so fantastic." As a director, this was one of the traits Teng Cong Cong liked in actors.

Yu Shi would often think of Liu Liang Cheng when he was in Altay. This is one of his father's favorite writers and is also author Li Juan's mentor. When Yu Shi read 【To the Wonder】 he had picked it up from his father's bookshelf. "The village and grass fields that were described were all so beautiful, a feeling of paradise, but in reality, life here feels more like a place for city people's escape from reality. The reason why we yearn for this is because the writer's diction is just too good, this is the power in literary arts."

Where did all the strength from Yu Shi come from?

When he received the interview with 《人物 People》, he publicly shared about his harrowing experience:

One afternoon in the past, he canoed and arrived at a no-man island. As he reached the shores the weather changed, wild winds swirled the waters. A huge wave crashed over, knocking Yu Shi on a rock and he almost passed out.

The skies gradually darkened, and he could only wait for passing boats and the rescue team to arrive. He climbed to the top of a boulder, bare footed. As he stood on the tip of the boulder his feet were already blood stained. Just then, fireworks rose from afar, exploding and lighting up the darkness before him.

At that moment, a stunned Yu Shi was left with just one thought 「I would rather suffer, and I wish to live on」

The very first scene that Yu Shi filmed as an actor was the final scene of 【Creation of the Gods】. After going through tribulations leaning over his white horse, using his last strength to charge towards his hometown Xi Qi. In the ending of 【To the Wonder】, Batay's beloved horse Snowshoe was hurt. The injured hose was left with only two possible ends, a "painful death" or "quick death". Batay chose to send Snowshoe away with his own hands.

"To live or die," is such an eternal problem that seem like a question about time in itself. Humans seem to have to make choices over and over again. Life and soul are differentiated through a moment in time, yet it converges as it moves towards the future.

An actor who shares a life with the character has marked an end in front of the cameras, yet bringing a wisp of its soul into the next journey. At least, actor Yu Shi has somewhat figured out his unique experience:

To focus on continuing down the road, do not ever stop.

#May 2024 #yoshyu #yushi #于适 #于适yosh #我的阿勒泰 #acting #archery #to the wonder #Batay #巴太 #interview

1 note · View note