It's not every day that one meets a person as apparently untouched by life's ability to jade as Wu La La.

Arguably China's leading sound engineer, Wu came to my attention when he took the lead in Xin Lee's incredible Shanghai movie Dazzling. It was only later that it emerged he was responsible for another all-time favorite recording, Zhang Yimou's The Road Home.

From a musical family, both parents were teachers at the Central Academy of Music in Beijing. He himself started off on the piano, but decided as a career there were more interesting options out there, and moved towards the more technical side of sound.

Wu definitely sees himself as a sound engineer rather than an actor.  "Xin Lee is a good friend," says Wu. "He really wanted me to play in his movie... and lots of people said, 'You can act! You're funny!' But above all, I'm a soundman."

His credentials are certainly impressive, and every movie he's been involved with - starting with the Zhang Yuan and Cui Jian movie Beijing Bastards in 1992. An easy-going attitude and refreshingly earnest outlook on life have also helped to establish Wu's reputation as a premiere professional on the scene.

"Sound is my life," he explains. "It's an art of balancing. I think sound is of course part of a movie, but shouldn't drown out the content. Overly big sound comes at the cost of good filmmaking.

Currently, Wu is working on Zhang Yuan's latest movie, I Love You, but says Zhang Yimou's Not One Less was his favorite project. The difference between his technical and dramatic work are very clear to him: "With sound, I know how to control everything; but with acting it's different - there are so many other elements to consider."

For his acting role in Dazzling, he assumed the persona of a shy, introspective individual who stands in stark contrast with Wu's true self. "He wasn't me," Wu asserts. "I wasn't playing myself."

Although he doesn't rule out future acting roles ("If they ask me" is his response to that question), sound engineering is very much his focus, although he complains that at present in China, sound recording is too much a one-man show, with a single person responsible for everything.

For the minor frustrations, however, Wu's heart is very much in China: "This place has so many exciting changes ahead, and lots of future." Recent movie successes have seen him travel to film festivals around the world, and Dazzling won a coveted spot at the Berlin Film Festival. "Paris, where I spend a lot of time as well, feels like the past. Here we can see change, good or bad."

Future projects for Wu include finishing up work on the movie based on Dai Sijie's novel Balzac and the Chinese Seamstress, and another collaboration with Zhang Yuan, on Jiang Jie, an innovative classical Beijing opera. Wherever his work ends up taking him, however, his feet have remained firmly on the ground: "Dreams? No time for dreaming - there's too much work in the present."

Sound recording:

Rainbow (2003)
My Father and I (2003)
Green Tea (2003)
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002)
Dazzling (2002)
I Love You (2002)
Not One Less (1999)
Road Home (1999)
Seventeen Years (1998)
East Palace West Palace (1996)
Beijing Bastards (1993)

As actor:

Dazzling (2002)
Beijing Bastards (1993)

(sources: cityweekend.com.cn and dianying.com January 29, 2004)

(video source: sina.com.cn)