Chapter 874

Luo Yuzhong actually hadn't thought about directing a film for many years.

Film.

The top of the contempt chain for film and television dramas.

TV dramas are always a grade lower than it.

Consequently, the directors are the same.

Luo Yuzhong, known as one of the "three carriages" of the Chinese TV drama circle, a top-tier big director, with a configuration that is full from top to bottom, from status to reputation, still has to give way in front of film directors.

Because TV dramas have to give way to films.

When the film "The Boat" found him, his first reaction was that his student was taking care of him.

Lu Yan He wanted to use his influence to allow him to cross over into the film industry and become a film director.

At that time, Luo Yuzhong had a few moments where, besides the mixed feelings of relief and being moved, there was actually some anger. Why? Is film really that noble? Even you, Lu Yan He, think that everything I have now is not enough, and there is still room for you to "carry" me further?

Of course, fortunately, Luo Yuzhong is not the kind of person who doesn't know what's good for him, and his true nature is a kind person. Otherwise, how could he have given Lu Yan He a second chance in the first place?

After reading the script of "The Boat" and having a special chat with Lu Yan He, Luo Yuzhong understood how small-minded his anger in those few moments had been.

Lu Yan He actually truly believed that he was the most suitable director to direct "The Boat".

Lu Yan He said that because "The Boat" is a film that is steady in form and structure, but has thunder in the silence. This is precisely the typical style of Luo Yuzhong's direction.

Even so—

Even so—

When Luo Yuzhong stood at the entrance of the red carpet of the Xitu'er International Film Festival in a suit and leather shoes, waiting to enter, looking at the red carpet that was actually not long, he was distracted for a moment, thinking that in the end, he was still basking in the light of his student.

If the lead actor and producer of this film were not Lu Yan He, could it have entered the main competition unit of the Xitu'er International Film Festival so smoothly?

Actually, the answer to this question is self-evident.

People in front had already started shouting Lu Yan He's name.

Someone saw him.

On both sides of the red carpet were photographers and media reporters in suits and leather shoes. But there were also areas reserved for fans and audiences who came to the scene.

The global premiere of "The Boat". Their well-deserved home field.

Luo Yuzhong used to attend many international ceremonies, representing Chinese TV dramas.

However, those ceremonies, probably because they lacked the historical accumulation of the four major international film festivals, did not form this kind of tacitly agreed ritual sense. Standing here, Luo Yuzhong suddenly felt that it was indeed different.

Many people have been talking about the atmosphere.

If you look at the interviews with filmmakers who attend international film festivals, you will actually find that the most frequently appearing content is often their surprise and love for the atmosphere of the film festival.

Here, everyone is discussing films. There is no such boring prying into private lives by gossip entertainment reporters. Everyone sits together and can respect each other and truly explore the meaning of films...

Luo Yuzhong hasn't encountered these things yet, but just standing in this place and looking around, as a knowledgeable top director, he is still moved by such an atmosphere. This is beyond Luo Yuzhong's expectations. Ritual sense, Luo Yuzhong knows what this is about, but knowing is one thing, the feeling in his heart is not controlled by rationality.

The premiere of "The Boat" was watched by more than fifty media and film critics.

These film critics come from all over the world, from various countries and places. They were also officially invited by the Xitu'er International Film Festival. However, which films' premieres they attend is their own choice and is not controlled by the official.

Especially for the media, although they are more professional than the general media and respect film art, they also pursue traffic and heat. In a film festival with such a tight schedule, they must prioritize competition films with big directors, big stars, and higher attention.

Last year, some people said that Lu Yan He frequently appeared in commercial films and big productions, losing his original intention for art films.

As a result, this year Lu Yan He returned to the top international film festival with "The Boat".

Not only that, there is also "The Original Father" in collaboration with Huang Tianlin behind it.

This made the media and film critics who were full of expectations for Lu Yan He feel very comfortable.

They have always believed that Lu Yan He would definitely not covet the small salary of commercial films and big-budget films.

In the past, Lu Yan He brought out low-cost art films such as "Three Mountains", "Late Spring", and "Tropical Rainy Season", and looking back at his acting career, Lu Yan He's love for art films has never been interrupted.

Therefore, even if he filmed or announced several blockbusters such as "Hurricane 2", "Godless", "Cloud", and "Men in Black" in one breath, they did not think that Lu Yan He had betrayed art films.

Facts have proven that this is the case.

When Lu Yan He wants to return to the art film field, there are always the best projects available at any time.

Invisibly, everyone's expectations for "The Boat" were raised extremely high.

"This film is starring Lu Yan He and Wen Shengming again. I'm really looking forward to their acting against each other."

"Yes, I watched 'Storm Calmer No. 1' three times. Their acting is too wonderful."

"I don't know what this film is really like."

……

In the auditorium, several people were talking in low voices.

They are not professionals, just audiences who were very lucky to grab tickets for the premiere.

Or rather, senior film fans.

This small group, some with blonde hair and blue eyes, some with typical Asian looks, can be seen at a glance that they are not from the same place.

But they seem very close to each other.

In fact, they are indeed very close, and can even be said to be friends who have known each other for a long time.

Of course, they haven't met that many times.

They are a group of friends who met online, who also like Lu Yan He and are connected as film fans. Very luckily, they grabbed tickets for this premiere.

Lu Yan He once directly canceled the fan support club in China, and after that, there was no "support club" with any official nature.

Although that was due to some specific reasons, Lu Yan He's fans also consciously stopped gathering into some kind of "group" because of Lu Yan He's actions.

Especially those fans who truly like Lu Yan He's films.

It is precisely Lu Yan He's attitude that makes them feel that Lu Yan He is a person who truly adheres to the professional ethics of traditional film artists in this era where everything can be idolized and entertained.

Moreover, based on the attitude Lu Yan He usually reveals in interviews, they also firmly believe that if they really claimed so, Lu Yan He would definitely be the first to stand up and deny it, and Lu Yan He would definitely clarify without hesitation that he is not an artist.

They are already used to Lu Yan He's attitude of opposing anyone "deifying" or "artisticizing" him.

But this does not affect them continuing to deify and artisticize him themselves.

When the lights in the screening hall dimmed and the film "The Boat" began to play, their inner excitement was as if their heartbeats were about to burst out. However, as they watched the film scene by scene, they all felt a bit disappointed.

Because after Lu Yan He appeared in the film, there were almost no effective shots in their hearts.

Most of the shots were medium shots.

This is different from the Lu Yan He they were familiar with in films.

Lu Yan He is an actor who can hold up close-ups very well. His performance is very rich and delicate regardless of the subject matter or style. In past films, almost no director would waste his performance. However, in the film "The Boat", Lu Yan He's performance was almost significantly weakened.

Not only his performance, but also Wen Shengming and Yu Mengling were the same.

Even the shot of Yu Mengling crying under the eaves was better. At other times, like Lu Yan He, they seemed like some accessories in the picture, rather than the protagonists in the picture.

If these people had watched a film called "The Assassin" in a parallel universe, they would be surprised to find that this film is too similar to that film. They are all films that "ignore" the actors' performances and completely use the characters only as the composition of shots and pictures.

The effect of the same performance presented in long shots, medium shots, or close-ups reaching the audience's heart is completely different.

Most of the people sitting here watching the film have watched tens of thousands of films. They wouldn't be so sleepy because of such a style, nor would they fail to see where the film is good, but they were all surprised why this film used three such outstanding actors, but weakened their performance parts so much.

In fact, the film itself is good.

Because the plot develops very quickly, this is a film with a strong plot. The changing relationships between three adults and one child, the information points bring many reversals in viewing cognition, and the film's lens language presents a deep aesthetic feeling of still water running deep. Many people—especially film critics who prefer such art films—watched it very happily.

This is not the kind of strong realist art film; this is an art film that truly plays with artistic aesthetic feelings in lens language.

Luo Yuzhong did not make every scene look like it had been rendered, but the overall style of the film is like letting people walk in an ancient building. Of course, it is not worth stopping and watching everywhere, but every part of it belongs to this whole, and is shrouded in a coordinated, unified atmosphere and beauty.

Until the relationship between the characters became more and more tense, and Wen Shengming's idea and plan to kill his grandson became more and more revealed, his selfish, cold, and even "inhuman" side was outlined unconsciously. Finally, some close-up shots of Yu Mengling and Lu Yan He began to appear in the film.

But such close-up shots are often hidden in corners, behind doors, or in the few moments of turning around.

So fast that it is almost impossible to figure out their micro-expressions.

Fleeting.

The audience can only be left with an almost intuitive feeling.

Lu Yan He's old friend—

Tang Mu Wayne, a columnist film critic for the American "Variety" magazine, sighed in his heart: Very bold.

What is harder than explaining an emotion in three sentences is explaining it in just one sentence.

Similarly, what is harder than presenting a close-up shot in three seconds is one second.

The rhythm of the film is accelerating silently.

This is not driven by the rhythm points of the soundtrack, but entirely by the editing of the film's pictures.

Tang Mu Wayne couldn't help but sigh at this moment.

This is truly a typical case of not being able to have both fish and bear's paw.

Sacrificing the prominence of the actors' performances, but giving this film a natural sense of completeness. Even if the film hasn't reached the end, Tang Mu Wayne can be sure that this will definitely be an extremely complete film from beginning to end. Every shot is impregnated with the true and pure meaning of "returning to simplicity".

And when Lu Yan He discovered that the film finally deleted the scene of "burning the medicine bag" under his suggestion, making the truth of the "father's death" in the film more confusing and without any direct clues to point the murderer to Lu Yan He, Lu Yan He breathed a long sigh of relief in his heart.

Up to this point, no matter what kind of reputation it gets from the outside world, at least, for Lu Yan He, it succeeded.

It is the work that least highlights his acting skills in history, but how to say... what Lu Yan He actually wants to say is that he doesn't care.

The screening ended, and before the lights came on, applause had already sounded.

No matter how many times he experiences such moments, Lu Yan He will never feel tired or bored with such moments.

Impossible.

How could a person feel bored with such a dazzling, glorious moment where he feels from the bottom of his heart that he has created a remarkable work that may withstand the erosion of time?

Lu Yan He saw that Yu Mengling's eyes were full of crystal clear tears.

Luo Yuzhong was also applauding hard—together with the people around him.

Around them, everyone was looking at them with a look of respect.

Lu Yan He smiled contentedly.

The American "Variety" magazine gave the first media review, from their columnist film critic Tang Mu Wayne: "This highly anticipated film is undoubtedly outstanding enough to be worthy of the outstanding achievements Lu Yan He has made in film in recent years. It can be said that even in Lu Yan He's brilliant acting career, it is definitely one of the shining pearls—but it must also be admitted that this is built on the sacrifice of several outstanding actors represented by Lu Yan He. This film completely weakens the medium role of actors' performances in a film. In fact, most people's understanding and cognition of film are basically equivalent to the actors' performances. And this film completely puts the actors into the characters, and only treats the characters as characters, so it has become the most alternative yet unique existence among the competition films in the main competition unit of this Xitu'er Film Festival.

You can even hardly believe that such a film work comes from a big director who has only directed TV dramas. Luo Yuzhong, this big director known as a leader in the Chinese TV drama field, is also the director of Lu Yan He's debut work "Golden Age". Lu Yan He has stated many times that it was Luo Yuzhong who led him onto the path of acting, and his initial understanding of acting all came from Luo Yuzhong. But the first time he directed a film, he "betrayed" several of China's most outstanding actors, Lu Yan He, Wen Shengming, and Yu Mengling. On the one hand, you feel it's a pity because such actors were wasted. On the other hand, you have to admit that it is precisely this waste that formed the current appearance of the film. You will definitely not stay in anyone's perspective and subjectively understand this story.

Even so, because of the setting of the play, the father played by Wen Shengming still occupies an undeniable position in the limited presentation. His duality, including the cold blood and cruelty hidden under his kindness, even if not focused on by the lens, still spreads like smoke and gradually seeps into the pores. His skill is far from as simple as shown in "Storm Calmer No. 1". It's a pity that Lu Yan He's role is not prominent enough in this play, and even too lukewarm. I think he took this script, certainly not out of consideration for this role. He needs a role with as much weight as in "Storm Calmer No. 1" to gain everyone's applause again on the height he has already achieved—by the way, this is unfair, but there is no way, this is the expectation he must shoulder."

Tang Mu Wayne gave this film a high score of 4.5 (out of 5).

Shortly thereafter, major media also released reviews one after another.

The review of the Korean media "Film Weekly" directly pointed out that director Luo Yuzhong did not respect Lu Yan He, and in the film "The Boat", Lu Yan He was used as a third-rate actor, without any brilliance, and the few highlights of the performance were given to Yu Mengling and Wen Shengming.

Japan's "Film and Television Ten-Day Report" also criticized the film for being trapped in the director's extreme self-aesthetic, making the film fall into the dilemma of a mediocre "eighty-point work". The film is not bad everywhere, but there is no place that makes people's eyes shine.

At the media meeting, the media scrambled to fire, asking Luo Yuzhong why he weakened the role of actors in the film, asking Lu Yan He why he took this film, and so on.

The overall trend was not particularly polite, but everyone's attitude towards Lu Yan He was mainly "fighting for justice". Because everyone knows that this film was noticed by the Xitu'er International Film Festival because of Lu Yan He, but the presentation of the film makes Lu Yan He seem the least important.

Lu Yan He was very helpless.

Many of his words could not be said too directly, the film itself is hidden. If he explained it all, it would misinterpret the original intention of the film being shot this way.

Lu Yan He could only say: "I don't think my performance in the film has been ignored or diluted. In fact, this is a form of expression of this film, and according to the comments I have heard so far, please allow me to suggest that you go watch this film again. Believe me, it is a film worth watching several times."

About the time Lu Yan He was about to set off for Malaysia, Marion Turchi, the chief film critic of the French "Film" magazine, released her review article.

"Very lucky, I got a ticket for another screening of 'The Boat' through a friend's relationship, so I was able to watch this film again. Lu Yan He's role is definitely not as simple as it looks on the surface. The death of the father played by Wen Shengming is also worth investigating. The mediocrity, silence, and weak presence of Lu Yan He's role, which seems to be just a balanced existence in the three-person relationship, is to some extent a smoke bomb played by the film.

He is the maintainer of the three-person structure of the father, son, and daughter in the early stage, and also the destroyer of the three-person structure in the later stage. The daughter played by Yu Mengling is only a weak resister from beginning to end. Her resistance is superficial kneeling and crying, and also actual cowardice and powerlessness. The son played by Lu Yan He is the resister who has made up his mind. His indifference and swaying silence are the camouflage to unload the father's defenses, and also the protective color to end the father's life with a serious illness without moving a sound.

The scene where the coroner appears at the end is the only button left by the director. The focus of that scene is not on the coroner, but on the reaction of the son and daughter at the moment he appears—it is only in this scene that the film uses a panoramic view, so I think 99% of people didn't notice it. Why must this film weaken the actors' performances? For film, smoke bombs are often completed by constantly switching the perspective of characters and focusing on some close-ups, but many people forget that it can also be completed by hiding water in the sea."

How to say the status of this film critic Marion Turchi in the film criticism circle? It is like Luo Yuzhong's status in the Chinese TV drama circle.

Her reviews will always be noticed for the first time, and will be studied seriously.

Her review also ignited the secondary discussion of the film "The Boat" by major media for the first time. ===== CHAPTER 875 =====