Chapter 86: Descending on Tokyo

The film industry in Neon is declining, and the film industry has long been surpassed and even crushed by Chinese-language films, but its Tokyo International Film Festival is the best-run in Asia at present.

Here, a concept needs to be distinguished: a film festival and a film award are not the same thing.

Film festivals like the European Big Three were founded for the purpose of screening, for art exhibition activities for film exchange. Almost all the films that participate in film festivals are unreleased films. Of course, it has developed to the point where everyone values the final award results.

And film awards like the Oscars are for selecting excellent films released in the past year and giving awards and glory. The registration condition must be films released in the past year.

Therefore, some people compare the Tokyo International Film Festival with the Golden Horse and Golden Statue, which is actually a bit mismatched.

A film can participate in a film festival before release, and then brush for film awards after release. For example, Jiang Wen's "In the Heat of the Sun" participated in the Venice Film Festival in '94, was released in the country in '95, and then went to Wanwan to participate in the Golden Horse Awards this year in '96.

Saying this is because Wu Yu is currently sitting on a flight to Tokyo. "Together" has successfully been shortlisted for the Tokyo International Film Festival.

This time Wu Yu brought Zhou Xun and Tang Yu with him. Old Lady Jin Yaqin was old, so she didn't come over.

In addition to Zhou Xun, there were two other crew members who were also shortlisted for this Tokyo International Film Festival, "The King of Masks" and "Red Lights Stop, Green Lights Go."

This "The King of Masks" is not the one by Wu Baige, but traditional Chinese culture. The director is Wu Tianming. Maybe some people haven't heard of this person, then say another movie he directed, it should be said to be his last work, "Song of the Phoenix." At that time, the producer knelt down to beg for the box office, which caused public discussion.

Whether it is "Song of the Phoenix" or "The King of Masks," they are all concerned with traditional Chinese culture. To be honest, they are all very conscientious domestic films. Wu Yu still admires Director Wu Tianming very much.

And the other "Red Lights Stop, Green Lights Go" director is Huang Jianxin, a director with quite qualifications, who has won the Golden Rooster and Five-One, and is the leader of their Chinese group going to the Tokyo International Film Festival this time.

Compared with Wu Tianming's silence, Huang Jianxin was quite talkative, chatting with Wu Yu across the aisle:

"Little Wu, the future is limitless! When I was your age, I didn't even know what a movie was. It wasn't until I was in my 30s that I had the opportunity to film my first movie."

"Huang Laoshi is over-praised. The general environment is getting better and better. If it weren't for the funds given by the Movie Channel, I wouldn't be able to film it!" Wu Yu was modest.

"Sigh, you say that the domestic economy is getting better and better, but our film box office is getting worse and worse. Ten years ago, our national total box office could still be over 3 billion. When "Lushan Love" was released, the movie ticket was 25 cents, and the box office exceeded 100 million in half a month.

Look at it now, the ticket price in Beijing can be sold for 15 yuan, but the total box office is less than half of the original. Let alone box office exceeding 100 million, it is difficult to exceed 50 million, and it has to rely on Cheng Long from Hong Kong to support it!

Sigh, you caught up with this time, I don't know if it's good or bad..."

Huang Jianxin shook his head and sighed.

Wu Yu thought to himself that it hadn't reached the bottom yet. By the beginning of the century a few years later, the total box office fell to 800 million, which really made many film practitioners despair. In those two years, many fresh graduates in film-related majors either chose to study and be teachers, or took the civil service exam.

"Huang Laoshi, I believe it will definitely get better and better in the future. The economy is good, the common people have money, and the number of people watching movies will definitely increase!"

"I hope so. When we get to Tokyo, I will go to support you!"

"Then thank you very much, Huang Laoshi!"

Wu Yu saw that this one didn't speak again and breathed a sigh of relief. He always felt that chatting with this one had a feeling of chatting with a leader. Afterwards, he looked at the woman sitting next to Huang Jianxin, who was also his film heroine, Ding Jiali. Er, she is the big sister ex-girlfriend of Sun Honglei in his past life.

It is rumored that Sun Honglei climbed up to this big sister for resources, and the big sister helped him seek many good resources. After he became popular, he kicked the big sister away.

Wu Yu didn't know if this rumor was true or false, but some marketing accounts said that the big sister knelt down to Old Mouzi and Zhang Weiping to seek opportunities for Sun Honglei, which was pure nonsense. "The Road Home" was filmed in '98, and Sun Honglei and the big sister met when they performed the play "Madame Curie" in '99. He was not considered a nameless person before he knew the big sister.

At this time, Zhou Xun, who had been looking outside, shouted: "Director Wu, look outside, it's so beautiful!"

Zhou Xun was taking a plane for the first time. Looking at the blue sky and layers of clouds outside the plane, she was happy and jumping.

Wu Yu looked at Zhou Xun's innocent appearance at this moment and couldn't help but chuckle.

... 【86

Wu Yuchen had already attended the Berlin and Sydney film festivals before, and the procedures were actually much the same, so he had always kept a very steady mindset. However, Zhou Xun was not the same; it was her first time going abroad and her first time attending a film festival, and that excitement had never stopped.

The Tokyo International Film Festival is similar to the big three in Europe and is also divided into various screening sections. This time, "You and Me" was shortlisted for the main competition section, and they were even given a dedicated exhibition hall, along with one translator and two staff members assigned to them. The service in this regard from the locals was indeed more thorough than in Europe.

After arriving here, the routine was naturally to first put up the prepared promotional posters, set up exhibition boards, banners, and the like.

He paid for this bit of promotion out of his own pocket. He had already negotiated with the movie channel back then that the foreign copyright of the film belonged to Wu Yuchen, so this time he called Tang Yu over to help. With the two extra staff members this time, they were much faster and got it all done in one afternoon.

On September 27, this year's film festival officially kicked off. This time, Wu Yuchen was also invited to walk the opening red carpet with Zhou Xun, and the treatment was much higher than before.

The film festival was held in Roppongi, an area filled with shopping malls and office buildings. Wu Yuchen walked the red carpet with Zhou Xun, and after his gaze crossed the crowds on both sides of the carpet, he could see white-collar ladies going to work and shopping just a stone's throw away, which made Wu Yuchen feel a bit strange.

However, there was one advantage to being in such a busy area, which was that it could attract a lot of passersby. When he just returned to the exhibition hall, Tang Yu told him that it was already basically full.

Asuka had originally come to Roppongi to go shopping today, but she accidentally saw the film festival being held, so she and her friend Yukina curiously went inside.

Initially, the two girls were just wandering around. When they walked in front of a poster, they saw a girl with a palm-sized face about the same age as her, hugging a kind-smiling old lady from behind, resting her chin on her shoulder, forming a very warm and harmonious picture, which made Asuka think of her grandmother back in her hometown who had raised her since she was a child, and she couldn't help but stop and stand there.

"Yukina-chan, shall we watch this one?"

"Didn't you say we were just looking around? If we watch a movie, we won't have time to go shopping~"

"We've been shopping for so long anyway, let's just treat it as finding a place to rest, okay~" Asuka acted like a spoiled child while holding her friend's hand.

"Alright, alright, my feet are a bit sore too."

"Yukina-chan is the best!"

After saying that, the two girls held hands and bought tickets to enter the "You and Me" exhibition hall. After they entered, there were already quite a few people sitting in the theater, and not long after they sat down, the lights in the hall went out.

The name of the movie "You and Me" appeared on the big screen, and what surprised the audience was that the movie was thoughtfully equipped with Japanese subtitles. This was also a version that Wu Yuchen paid for out of his own pocket to add; after all, selling the copyright of "You and Me" this time was mainly to earn the locals' money.

At the very beginning of the movie, one could see a little girl riding a bicycle in the snowy weather, looking somewhat helpless and alone. Soon, she arrived at the old lady's courtyard house.

A few sparse lines of conversation let Asuka know that the girl was a student drifting in Beijing, looking to rent a room. This made Asuka feel a bit of empathy, after all, she also came to the big city of Tokyo alone from her hometown after graduating from high school, and she felt deeply about this.

However, during the price negotiation process, the old lady showed a mean face, which gave Asuka a slightly bad impression.

And as the girl moved in, the two constantly had conflicts over daily trifles, such as gas, phone calls, electric heaters, etc. The shrewdness and meanness shown by the old lady made her dislike her very much. Watching Zhou Xun pour out her grievances to an abandoned little stray dog on the side of the road, wanting to take it back to adopt it but unable to even support herself, she could only give up. Asuka couldn't help but feel a sourness in her heart; this was exactly what she had experienced before.

However, when she saw the old lady fall into a long silence after realizing she had misunderstood the girl, and bit by bit hanging up the lantern that had been knocked down, constantly watching the girl's room on the night of the New Year, and preparing a table of food waiting for her to return, a warm current couldn't help but surge in Asuka's heart, and her opinion of the old lady changed greatly.

Watching the girl return and sit at the dining table with the old lady, with brilliant fireworks blooming outside, this scene of the two keeping each other company made Asuka smile unconsciously.

The white snow of winter, the green leaves of spring, the warm sun and heavy rain of summer—with the changing of these scenes, the relationship between the old lady and Xiao Ma became increasingly harmonious. When the girl was heartbroken in the summer, the old lady even sat outside the door alone talking to the puppy, constantly comforting the girl who had locked herself in her room. And with the arrival of the withered yellow leaves of autumn, the girl had to move out.

Watching the old lady holding the girl's hand, that continuous questioning of "Are you really moving out? Is it really all moved out? Is it really all moved out? Just like that, it's all moved out?", each sentence seemed like a knife cutting through the softness of Asuka's heart, making her burst into tears instantly.

The old lady's wrinkled face, gray and hollow eyes, and her lost and soul-less appearance looked so pitiful at this moment, making Asuka feel extremely uncomfortable!

"No! Don't move out!" Asuka squeezed her friend's hand, murmuring and begging in her mouth.

However, the girl did not hear her call and still left. Her departure also seemed to have sucked away the old lady's soul. Not long after, she fell ill, and the courtyard house was given to her grandson as a wedding room.

By the end of the film, when the next bitter winter arrived, watching the girl and the sick old lady in a small country cottage looking at each other in silence, with only tears flowing, Asuka covered her mouth and sobbed in a low voice.

The old lady eventually passed away, but this affection remained forever in the sad girl's heart, and it also moved all the audience present.

At this moment, Yukina's eyes were also red, but she still hugged Asuka to show comfort.

Asuka wiped away her tears, leaned her head on Yukina's shoulder, and said with a slightly hoarse, tearful voice:

"Yukina, I miss my grandmother back home..."

After the lights in the theater came on, there was no applause in the hall. Many people were sobbing in low voices, some with red eyes, and some constantly wiping with tissues.

Originally, the organizer's translator wanted to pick up the microphone to remind everyone, but was stopped by Wu Yuchen, who wanted to give these audience members some time. After a long while, Wu Yuchen finally brought Zhou Xun and the translator to the center of the front stage.

"This is the director of the movie 'You and Me', Mr. Wu, and the lead actress, Miss Zhou. Please welcome them with applause!"

Hearing this, applause slowly started to rise from the audience, getting louder and louder, and it didn't stop for a long while.

After Wu Yuchen and Zhou Xun greeted everyone, they quickly reached the on-site interaction session.

The first one called was a middle-aged woman of about forty. She wore glasses, and her eyes were a bit red. She stood up and asked:

"Director, may I ask if this is a true story? Although it's a bit presumptuous, it really makes me feel too real, as if it happened around me twenty years ago."

Wu Yuchen took the microphone and explained:

"Regarding the creative source of the movie, it comes from a true story I observed happening around me. The old lady's passing away made me feel many emotions in my heart,"

"Thank you, Director. This movie really brought me a lot of emotion. In today's Tokyo, it is already very difficult to see this kind of affection where strangers warm each other. I still remember when I was young, uncles and aunts in the neighborhood would be very affectionate, but now they might not even say hello when they meet..."

This middle-aged woman seemed to have been inspired by the movie to have many emotions, and she spoke for a long while before stopping.

However, neither Wu Yuchen nor the people present were impatient. The atmosphere of the film festival was just like this, and what she said also made many people feel deeply touched. Especially after the collapse of the Japanese economy in recent years, everyone was even more concerned with their own affairs, making the relationship between people in the whole society become more indifferent.

Subsequently, Wu Yuchen called a few more audience members and answered their questions one by one. When he called a girl around 20 years old, he only heard her stand up and ask:

"Director, why are you so cruel? Does the girl have to move out?"

This question made Wu Yuchen feel a bit funny in his heart. If she didn't move out, how could he film the rest?

However, he also knew that these were assumptions often made by audience members who had already projected their emotions into the movie and resonated with it, so he said:

"The girl cannot accompany the old lady forever; everyone has their own life."

"But I feel so sad. If she hadn't moved out, the old lady wouldn't have fallen ill and wouldn't have passed away. If it were me, I would have a lifetime of regret..." Asuka said, shedding tears again.

Wu Yuchen looked at this emotional Japanese girl, and a thought flashed through his mind. He cleared his throat and said in a slightly deep tone a classic movie line that had not yet been born:

"Life is a train heading to the grave. There will be many stops along the way, and it is difficult for anyone to accompany you from beginning to end. When the person accompanying you wants to get off the train, even if you are reluctant, you should be grateful and then wave goodbye."

After Wu Yuchen finished saying these words, the whole theater went silent. Asuka was even standing there blankly, with these words constantly echoing in her mind.

A moment later, thunderous applause erupted throughout the venue, lasting for a long time!

Wu Yuchen bowed slightly to express his thanks, not surprised in his heart that the audience had this reaction. After all, this was the most classic animated movie in Japan, the most classic line from "Spirited Away," which had occupied the Japanese box office champion for more than twenty years!

It would be strange if these locals weren't moved!