For Chinese legends, Nobody's perfect

With its faithful portrayal of iconic characters, such as Wang Ye, a Tsinghua University-educated Taoist monk with the ability to manipulate time, the fantasy drama has achieved a high score of 8.1 out of 10 on the popular review aggregator Douban.

Speaking about the tale's attraction, Hui says that, despite the fact that superpowers or supernatural abilities are a common subject featured in Chinese fantasy dramas, these tales are mostly set in ancient China or a fictional world.

"However, I Am Nobody is set in contemporary China, with most of the plots and settings familiar to modern urban Chinese viewers. It builds a foundation for the audience to relate to the characters, making it a fresh addition to the Chinese fantasy genre," he explains.

For instance, in contrast to the portrayal of highly skilled Taoist practitioners as reclusive hermits living in distant mountains, as depicted in most Chinese martial arts novels, the drama presents these characters as individuals who engage with modern society. They are seen playing mobile games during their leisure time and taking photos with tourists at scenic spots, demonstrating a positive connection with the everyday world.

More examples like this include a confidential organization that recruits yiren from different clans, disguising itself as an express delivery company. On days when there are no missions to save the day, or villains to fight, its "employees" perform the routine delivery of packages.

For the director, who has worked in the film industry for nearly 20 years, the drama has also fulfilled his yearning to tell a superhero story rooted in Chinese history and traditional culture.

"China has a rich literary tradition of mythological stories that depict heroes with extraordinary skills, such as the Journey to the West and Investiture of the Gods (both classic novels, written between the 16th and 17th centuries). The influence of this legacy can be seen in many martial arts stories, and I have always thought that we could absorb inspiration from that legacy, but create a tale set in a modern environment," he says.

"Moreover, it should have distinct Chinese characteristics and not be as science fiction-oriented as movies adapted from Western comic books. Instead, it should be based on China's unique understanding of the origins of the world," the director explains.

To realize this goal, Hui and his fellow creators have faced a lot of challenges, especially how to vividly recreate the super abilities depicted in the comic books.

After the script was revised many times, the shoot took place between January and July last year. The most visually stunning plot, which revolves around a grand competition of all young yiren, was filmed at Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi province, while the urban scenes were shot in Chongqing.

Hui recalls that postproduction took more than a year to complete, resulting in over 10,000 special-effects scenes. One of the standout moments involves the protagonist practicing his trademark skill of delivering a powerful blow which is done by generating a dazzling golden light.

An art graduate from City University of Hong Kong, Hui started his filmmaking career as the editor of award-winning director Peter Chan's 2007 martial arts movie The Warlords.

After gaining a reputation as a consummate editor by working on blockbusters like The Founding of a Republic (2009) and Soulmate (2016), Hui shifted to the director's chair for his debut feature This Is Not What I Expected, starring Takeshi Kaneshiro and Zhou Dongyu.

Despite most of his previous work having realistic themes, Hui says I Am Nobody has given him a strong impetus, and he wishes to develop the tale into a franchise. In order to do so, he has established a production company called Passionate Animal Alliance, with the hope of gathering fellow creators who are imaginative and have a strong interest in telling Chinese superhero stories. Together, they can create more stories like I Am Nobody.

"Movies actually help me to get a deeper understanding of life, to better know the world we live in, and to reconsider the origin of the universe," says the 41-year-old director, adding that he believes modern-day fantasy stories set in China will better help Chinese culture reach an overseas audience.

Contact the writer at xufan@chinadaily.com.cn