Cage is the story of Yan, a MMA middle weight fighter. During one UFC match, Yan struck a blow that resulted in serious brain damage to his opponent. He decides to retire from fighting and end his career. Instead, Yan helps his adopted father Joseph at his liquor store business and pursues an acting career in his spare time. Due to his extraordinary fighting background, he is continually typecast as a stunt actor or action hero in movies but refuses these opportunities as a rejection of his former life. When a gangster named Karl destroys Joseph’s liquor store and threatens Joseph’s life, Yan begins to rethink his decision; realizing that he can’t run away from his destiny. Yan’s fight is not only about the one with his opponents in the ring but also the fight between himself and his fate. Eventually, he breaks out of the mental cage which has trapped him for so long and begins to do what he does best.
The film’s director (Pantheras Freedman) and producer (Xiaoxiao Zhang) were specific about the tone which they wanted the sets to convey. The overall structures needed to be dark and narrow, communicating a feel of restriction and confinement. The cold and desperate atmospheres of Dong’s design would illustrate the state of Yan’s psyche. Because the story focused so intently on the mental state of the main character, the production designer emphasized simplicity and minimalism, preferring to let the actor’s performance drive the action rather than superfluous props and design elements. Dong consulted the lighting designer and DP with his ideas. The plan for the gym set was cold black metal and sparse equipment. It’s intentional that the gym looks similar to a cage. Lei confirms that once he had the set in place, he went through again and removed every item he possibly could and still retain the authenticity of this physical space for Yan. Describing the different sets of the film, he states, “It was extremely important that the cage look like a professional UFC octagonal cage. I did a lot of studying UFC fight matches and the cage to get a better understanding. It probably goes without saying but we had the added risk element of possible injury for this film and I wanted to take every precaution to prevent it. I had to maintain a spotless clean and dry cage floor for the fight scenes. I gave an almost insane amount of attention to the wood rack. If it wasn’t perfectly sanded and polished, something as small as a nail or thorn could continually delay filming. Details are so essential. For the cage, I was simultaneously removing all traces of brand names on equipment but making everything look very clean and in perfect operating condition. The grocery store was the opposite of this. We set it perfectly but because it is destroyed by the gangster in the story, we had to literally demolish it as well. My crew wasn’t so excited about putting all of that work into making a store look perfect and then destroying it for the scene but I announced that I’d be taking everyone out for a great dinner afterward which motivated them.”
While the director and producer of Cage are well versed in the action film genre, it was a new experience for Dong who has dealt with suspense, comedy, and horror but never action prior to this production. The angles and lighting are integral in the action genre, differing vastly from others. Dong made the sets dark and utilized practical lighting to a much greater degree for this film. This point is well illustrated by the use of neon boards as practical lights in the grocery store scenes. The lighting is a symbol for the internal feelings of the main character. Dong’s designs incorporated this idea, applying it to the very structures in which the action took place. These designs subliminally create the exact mood congruent to that of Yan.
Cage is the story of a man who struggles deeply with his self-view and his past. It’s a film about the attachment and importance we place on a single occurrence and how this can impede us in our lives. Dong refers to the destruction of the grocery set in the film as his own Rubicon for this film. The destruction in mere minutes of something that required so much to produce is overwhelming and is a glimpse into the fragility of all things. Once this is accepted, one’s life or work can progress. As recipient of “Best Action Film” at the Five Continents International Film Festival, the European Cinematography Awards, the Los Angeles Film Awards, and numerous others, this lesson is one that the vast majority of audiences relate to and appreciate.