Chapter 13 My classmate

From January to May 1994, I studied in New York University's advanced film class.The students in the class really come from all corners of the country, including Americans, Swiss, Japanese, Mexicans, Italians, Brazilians, French...and of course me - Chinese.New York is an international metropolis, and it is not unusual to see people from so many countries, but when this group of people gathers in a classroom, speaking with various accents, with eyes big or small, discussing the same topic: movies, That's enough fun. Julio from Puerto Rico is a tall guy with a bright and transparent smile like a tropical island.He loved dancing, and it was not uncommon for him to dance all night long.Even when walking on the street, the faint music from the small cafe on the side of the road can make him dance.As soon as the class announced that there was a party on the weekend, he would immediately ask, "Dancing?" His English was not fluent, and he would speak Spanish in a hurry.Once he realized that this didn't help us understand his intentions in the slightest, he started gesturing.Every gesture is full of rhythm, as if dancing, so that everyone is very interested in these gestures, but still don't understand what he wants to say, so he has to speak English again, with every sentence: "You understand what I mean ?” to make sure we followed his train of thought.Once when he was filming a film, he was the producer, and one of his tasks was to buy lunch.He chose Chinese food, and when I told him that these Chinese fast foods were not authentic at all, he was surprised and said: "This is delicious enough, can you eat it every day in Beijing?" "It's much better than this." ! If you have the opportunity to go to Beijing, I guarantee that you can eat all kinds of delicacies and snacks for a month without repeating the same.” I have never spared no effort when talking about Chinese food.He opened his mouth wide, first yelled excitedly, and then said with some frustration: "Unfortunately, I don't have any money yet, do you understand what I mean?"

There are also rich children in the class.Andre from Italy is a small man less than 1.70 meters tall, only 21 years old, with a childish face, but he often puts his hands in his trouser pockets to pretend to be mature and dignified.But he bit his finger like a child.His father, a well-known surgeon, supported him financially.Sure enough, he was rich and powerful. He rented a high-end apartment near the World Trade Center for more than two thousand dollars a month. He also said: "This is very cheap, and I like the window that can see the sea."——Who doesn't like it? !There are quite a few additional costs associated with filming assignments.Although the school provides equipment for free, the film is limited.Students have to pay for the unskilled filming when they are not skilled enough.Most students have to grit their teeth and be cruel to come up with one or two hundred dollars. Only Andre said indifferently, "This is very cheap. If you have any difficulties, I will cover it." In the United States, friends eat together Everyone pays everyone's bill, only Andre often takes the initiative to pay for others.

If someone thanked him, he would shake his head and sincerely comfort them: "What is this, it's cheap." Everyone was a little uncomfortable with him, but they thought he was young and harmless, so they didn't bother up.But the whole class agreed that if Andre were to be a producer, he would have to overspend, and it would be strange if he didn't pay all his father's money. Who told him that everything was cheap. There is also a student in the class who comes from Switzerland and is also very generous on weekdays.Once I took the subway, but because I didn't buy a 1.25-dollar ticket, I was caught by plainclothes inspectors and fined 60 dollars on the spot.The worst thing is losing face in front of classmates, even the beggars in the subway came over and said sarcastically: "Brother, even I bought a ticket to come in!"

Among the girls in my class, my closest friend was American Christie.She is a recognized beauty: she has a model figure, always has a gentle and sweet smile, and her beautiful eyes are always covered with a layer of shame.In my opinion, she has the appearance of a Westerner, but her temperament is closer to the East, even the classical East.She worked as a stage designer in a theater for several years, and she used all the money she earned to go to school. She said it was the best investment. Besides, she didn’t want to save money when she was young, and it would not be too late to earn money when it ran out. .Her open-minded and confident attitude can be found in many American students.Tim is one of them.He gave up his lucrative job as an accountant on Wall Street, knowing that film is a highly competitive and unstable circle, but he broke into it, not for anything else, just because he "likes movies".One time my classmates were at a bar party and Tim was sitting next to me.After a few drinks, he whispered to me that he was in love with Christy. "Why didn't you tell her?"

I asked curiously. "I'm afraid of being rejected. She's so charming, she must have a boyfriend." I was very surprised: I thought Americans were desperate in love!Now seeing Tim blushing from drinking, but deeply troubled by not being able to express love, I think he is even cuter. In fact, there are also passionate lovers.British boy Jess met such a person.With blond hair and blue eyes, Jess has an outstanding temperament, which has attracted the hearts of the teaching assistants in the class.Every time Jess asked a question, she always answered in detail, and her attitude was gentle and modest, even her eyes changed.It is said that she later expressed to Jess that she wanted to be his girlfriend, but was disappointed.But that doesn't lessen her enthusiasm.Whenever she had the chance, she "coached" Jace, and every time he got very close to him, almost driving him to the point where he wanted to run away when he saw her.

Jess aspires to be a director.Maybe this desire is too urgent, so when he works, he always has an aura of "you have to listen to me!".Once I was in a group with him, Maria from France, Yuli from Mexico, and Henna from Sweden. Jess was the director and I was the cameraman.When discussing the storyboard script, he is very assertive, and other people's opinions are always interrupted by him impolitely.Maria couldn't help it at first, this girl who loves smoking made no secret of her disgust: "Jess, why do we have to listen to you?" Jess did not show any weakness: "Because I am the director, and my opinion is correct."

"Some of your opinions are obviously problematic!" Yuli had a loud voice, and then turned to me: "Lan, isn't that so?" I agreed and said, "Jess, for example, why do you want to shoot New York City near the train station?" What about the scene? It has nothing to do with the story." "Because it helps people know that this story takes place in New York." "But through other shots, the audience already knows that this is New York. And the train appears in the shot, which makes people think whether the protagonist is going out or coming back."

"Lan, these ideas of yours are too logical. Movies are about feelings, you probably only watched Hollywood melodramas. Have you seen European abstract movies in China?" Jess almost used a condescending tone spoke to me. I burst into flames under pressure: "But this shot is easy to misunderstand your feelings. The story itself is realistic. Doing so is a waste of film!" One sentence: "Besides, Lan and we don't need to accept your abstract film education." (Look, none of my classmates are easy to mess with.) Everyone just broke up. In the evening, several of us got a call from Jess.He apologized for his attitude during the day, said that without everyone, he could do nothing, and suggested that they meet the next day to discuss the script.His apology was frank and sincere, and we didn't take it for granted.That homework was unanimously appreciated by the whole class.Later, I did not forget to ask him about abstract films.

These classmates of mine said whatever they wanted, quarreled when they were unhappy, quarreled without leaving room for it, reconciled and became very affectionate, in short, they seldom hid their emotions.Maybe it's because everyone is a student that they are so innocent and unscrupulous.This is also one of the reasons why I have been attached to school life for several years.By the way, on my birthday, I received a bouquet of white roses and a greeting card filled with various words from my classmates.The cheeks on both sides were almost broken.Julio suggested aloud, "Why don't you have a dance tonight? Do you understand me?"