Chapter 109

"I'm going to watch a film with Teacher Feng; you come along and listen to Teacher Feng explain how people act."

"Hmm, I know."

Liu Yifei put away her playful expression and replied seriously.

She had been holding her breath, determined to practice her acting skills well and blind Lu Kuan's dog eyes.

She couldn't see the point even if she chewed through a thousand films by herself, but with Lu Kuan and Feng Yuanzheng, who understood film and acting, to clear up her doubts, Liu Yifei could pick up some tricks even if her talent was mediocre.

This is like ordinary fans watching the World Cup or European Cup for fun, only able to cheer when a goal is scored.

But fans who play soccer themselves or know a bit about the game often care more about capturing the formation on the field, the players' technical movements, the coach's adjustments, and so on.

And for practitioners like Lu Kuan and Feng Yuanzheng, a film festival is nothing short of their paradise.

They can watch films at high intensity in a short period, comment on and absorb the nutrients of other filmmakers and actors, and engage in collisions and integration of artistic souls.

Feng Yuanzheng was already flipping through the film festival guide.

"Little Lu, besides the opening film *Frida*, today there's Takeshi Kitano's *Dolls*, South Korea's Lee Chang-dong's *Oasis*, and the American director's *Ken Park*; the others look very average."

Lu Kuan smiled: "It seems the treatment for Asian films this time is quite good; so many were scheduled for the first day."

The Venice Film Festival has always had a pro-Asian origin.

From Japan's Akira Kurosawa, Hiroshi Inagaki, and Takeshi Kitano, to China's Zhang Yimou, Tsai Ming-liang, and Hou Hsiao-hsien.

And then to Iran's Jafar Panahi, many Asian directors' works have won awards at the Venice Film Festival.

"Let's go see *Dolls*; Takeshi Kitano has filmed too much violence and youth films; let's see how his romance film is."

The group walked side by side, passing outside the screening hall for Lee Chang-dong's *Oasis*, where a group of Italian fans were holding banners and cursing.

It seemed they were venting their frustration at being cheated by the 'sticks' (Koreans) in the World Cup that had just ended.

Turning the corner to Hall 4, the area in front of the *Dolls* entrance was already packed.

It was hard to buy tickets to enter, so the three could only stand in the aisle and watch Takeshi Kitano accept an exclusive interview on stage, with bursts of laughter coming from the audience from time to time.

Takeshi Kitano is a strange person; if you want to benchmark him domestically, you might have to combine several people to accurately describe him.

He is, of course, most famous as a director.

In August 1994, he had a car accident while riding a scooter while drunk; his brains were spilling out, and his cheeks were sunken.

After numerous surgeries and cold-material heat treatments, he miraculously survived.

It is said that his first words after waking up were, "I finally understand the mood of oden."

Then he filmed *Hana-bi*, which won the Golden Lion at the 54th Venice Film Festival.

Before Akira Kurosawa passed away, he once wrote him a letter asking him to inherit his mantle; if you had to find a director of equivalent status domestically, it should be benchmarked against Old Mouzi.

His second identity, and the one he first debuted with, is that he is a comedian, a crosstalk actor, and can also perform Japanese stand-up comedy.

The television stations in the 'Little Japan' (Japan) are the world of comedians, and their income is much higher than that of actors.

Takeshi Kitano successfully became one of the three great mountains of the comedy world in 'Little Japan'; the other two are Sanma Akashiya and Tamori.

From this perspective, perhaps he could be benchmarked against Uncle Benshan?

As for the other miscellaneous identities like stripper, baseball player, dancer, AV actor, etc., there are too many...

The three watched with great interest as he bantered with reporters in fluent Japanese slang.

Reporter: Mr. Takeshi Kitano, I heard your wife manages you very strictly after you cheated; how is the situation now?

The audience laughed; those who could come to support him were his fans, and they had long heard of this anecdote.

In April of this year, Takeshi Kitano was exposed by Japanese entertainment reporters for falling in love and living with an actress.

The actress's name was Yuko Igawa; she had previously participated in *Hana-bi* and was also on the cast list for this *Dolls*, but she didn't come along this time.

"Why are you looking at me?"

Boss Lu was enjoying the gossip when he felt a scorching gaze attacking him; it was Liu Yifei with a look of disdain.

The young girl wrinkled her pretty eyebrows proudly: "Nothing, I just feel that none of you directors are good people."

Lu Kuan pretended not to understand her meaning; she knew too much about his affairs!

Except for wronging himself, there was no better way than to develop her into 'one of his own' in a few years.

Takeshi Kitano laughed when he heard this; he is a person who lives in his own spiritual world, and to him, these cannot be called scandals or black material.

He himself is a ruin; does he still care about whether it collapses or not?

"That's a good question; now my wife doesn't give me pocket money, and she refuses to divorce me. What a hateful woman!"

"I'm very poor; this trip was sponsored by Yuko!"

The audience in the cinema burst into laughter and then applauded him one after another.

The cultural tone of different regions varies greatly; perhaps a prodigal son like Takeshi Kitano is more loved by fans in romantic Western European countries.

Without further ado, the film began.

Liu Yifei was a layman watching the fun, Feng Yuanzheng was savoring the acting skills of the 'Little Japan' actors, and Lu Kuan was developing a strong interest in the directing techniques.

The content of the film is relatively simple, stringing together three love stories with the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter in 'Little Japan', constantly touching on the love philosophy that "loyal feelings are indestructible."

But the lens language and the three-act narrative structure contained within are quite thought-provoking.

Soon the film ended, and Takeshi Kitano, as an old friend of Venice, received a 3-minute round of applause from the audience.

Next was the interactive Q&A session, with reporters and audience members raising their hands one after another.

The questions were nothing more than highlights of the film score and costume design, gossip about Takeshi Kitano himself, etc., making him sleepy and wanting to end the premiere as soon as possible.

"Hmm, thanks to this fan; the score is the work of Mr. Joe Hisaishi, and the costumes are by Yoji Yamada."

He looked around the scene in boredom and saw Lu Kuan standing in the corridor with his hand raised high; his black eyes and black hair were very conspicuous among the Europeans and Americans.

"That friend with the Asian face, thank you."

Boss Lu took the microphone: "Hello, Mr. Takeshi Kitano, I'd like to ask a few questions about the film's lens."

Takeshi Kitano signaled for him to continue.

"I noticed that you really like to use long shots and shooting techniques with a strong sense of depth; the composition is also clear in primary and secondary, with strong and weak highlights, and you also used a lot of zoom techniques in the second act."

"May I ask if this is related to the scene layout of the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter in the film, as well as the structure of the intra-lens montage?"

The 'Little Japan' director's eyes lit up; his design, which he thought was exquisite, was broken in one word, and he was quite happy in his heart.

Otherwise, it would be like a top chef making a dish that no one can taste—how boring that would be!

"May I ask if you are Chinese? Please come to the stage to communicate."

Takeshi Kitano saw that he was interested; he could hear that Lu Kuan's English accent was not like that of a Japanese or Korean, so he should be Chinese.

Takeshi Kitano has had a lot of exchanges with Chinese filmmakers.

The most numerous of these, of course, must be counted as Jia Kezhang.

In 1998, when Jia Kezhang filmed *Xiao Wu*, he only had 200,000 in his hand; after he made a splash with the film at the Berlin Film Festival, it caught the attention of Takeshi Kitano's studio producer.

His second work, *Platform*, successfully received a 5 million investment from Takeshi Kitano, who also promised not to interfere, letting him do whatever he wanted and film to his heart's content.

Later, *Platform* also successfully received a Golden Lion nomination at Venice, and Takeshi Kitano also helped him connect with overseas distribution resources, showing great support.

Since then, Jia Kezhang's *A Touch of Sin*, *Mountains May Depart*, and *Ash Is Purest White* have all had the shadow of Takeshi Kitano's studio.

This 'Little Japan' director, who was highly expected by Akira Kurosawa, also developed a strong interest in Boss Lu at this time.

He invited Lu Kuan to the stage, and after a brief introduction, he couldn't wait to ask.

"Lu Kuan, you are the first person to see this lens language after my director's cut was completed; may I ask if you are also a director?"

Just as he was sleepy, someone handed him a pillow; Boss Lu introduced himself calmly: "Yes, I am a director from China. My film is called *Whiplash*, and it will be screened on the morning of the 4th."

That's right, he spoke up just to rub off the heat.

Life is not easy; young directors like him don't have too many connections and qualifications for self-marketing, so if he wants to gain something at this Venice, he has to find another way.

For example, asking Tian Zhuangzhuang to contact the jury president Gong Li, for example, uninvitedly rubbing off the heat of Akira Kurosawa...

Zhang Jizhong: I'm familiar with this!

Reporters and audience members listened to the conversation between the two very cooperatively, and no one had left early yet; this is respect for a famous director.

"Amazing, you remind me of another talented film director from your country!"

Lu Kuan, of course, knew who he was talking about, but the topic couldn't be diverted at this time; the 'pretending to be cool' hadn't been fully completed yet.

"Mr. Takeshi Kitano, the film is great, but I have some small suggestions; I don't know if I should say them or not?"

As everyone knows, when a person says "I don't know if I should say it or not," the following words are probably not very pleasant.

Lu Kuan's purpose is, of course, very clear; he came to rub off the heat, he came to attract attention.

It's just that he is communicating from a professional perspective, with substance, and will not grandstand, otherwise, it would be the face of Chinese filmmakers that would be lost.

"There are mostly long shots and panoramic views in the film, but there are also a small part of telephoto shooting, and the signs of handheld shooting are very heavy, such as the scene where the first pair of lovers are playing in the snow."

Takeshi Kitano was a little shocked; being able to see the film's lens language can at most be considered an insider.

But being able to see the shooting tools and even the lens trajectory of certain small details is truly amazing.

It's not difficult to roughly comment on where a dish is delicious after eating it.

But being able to analyze which seasonings were put in, and even being able to see whether the vinegar was poured directly on the dish or put on the side before the pot was taken out, is a bit sensational.

He couldn't help but raise the microphone: "I'm looking forward to your suggestions."

"It's like this."

"Handheld shooting certainly has the advantage of highlighting details and magnifying character emotions, but the disadvantage of instability is also very obvious."

"For example, in that flashback scene where the male and female protagonists are playing in the snow, I think you can use conventional photography, a large rocker arm from top to bottom, combined with the translation of the track."

"This way, the depth of the overall picture and the dynamic experience will be stronger, and you can also cooperate with the push and pull of the lens to do some fading and transitions."

Once the words were spoken, the whole hall was silent, with only the *click-click* sound of reporters taking pictures.

The ordinary audience was quiet, of course, because they didn't understand.

Occasionally, some industry insiders understand the shooting techniques, but they have only watched the film once; how can they recall so many details?

Only Takeshi Kitano, who was lost in thought, had the ability to communicate with Lu Kuan.

He was frantically brainstorming at this moment, doing previews and dismantling the details according to Lu Kuan's description.

In other words, these two are playing blind chess!

Takeshi Kitano frowned for a while, and then his eyes shone for a while; he actually felt that the effect would be better this way!

This uninhibited film madman eagerly held Lu Kuan's hand: "Your idea is too great; I can't wait to try it!"

Takeshi Kitano's interest remained unabated, catching Boss Lu to continue asking.

"Lu Kuan, may I ask where these photography and lens inspirations of yours come from?"

"You know, I often go to perform Japanese stand-up comedy when I lack inspiration, and even go dancing and boxing matches."

The audience booed in a friendly way; the fans knew that the Japanese stand-up comedy he performed were all dirty jokes, and the dances he performed were all stripteases.

I don't know if this boxing match is serious; maybe it's a meat-fighting battle with a bikini female player.

Lu Kuan smiled: "Actually, I'm also picking up people's teeth; last month I met Quentin at the Beijing Film Studio and visited the filming of his new film *Kill Bill*."

"You two are directors known for violent aesthetics; I think when you have no inspiration, you might as well learn from each other!"

"Of course, it's best to invite me when you communicate; after all, being able to copy the creativity of two masters at the same time is also excellent."

A master of dirty jokes, a senior foot-fetishist, plus a gunner Lu Kuan—I think they can still collide with some colored sparks.

Takeshi Kitano clapped and laughed, and guided the audience at the scene to applaud Lu Kuan's humor and self-deprecation.

The world's articles are a big copy; film belongs to literary and artistic work, and everyone learns from each other.

Not to mention the distance, next year in Venice, Takeshi Kitano will bring his new film *Zatoichi* to participate in the exhibition; this film just draws on the style of *Kill Bill*, integrating modern dance and violent aesthetics.

In an interview with reporters, he also did not shy away from saying that this was the inspiration he drew from Quentin and Yuen Woo-ping.

He defined this style as an entertainment violent film.

It can only be said that Boss Lu is a human spirit; every move he made to rub off Takeshi Kitano's heat today scratched his itch, making this uninhibited 'Little Japan' director treat him as a confidant.

"I'm looking forward to seeing your film; I'll come uninvited then, haha!"

This is the sentence Lu Kuan wanted; this is his ultimate goal.

The two shook hands heavily, with a sense of mutual appreciation; the audience at the scene couldn't understand anything else, but they couldn't understand this kind of family-friendly ending?

It was another round of applause, both for Lu Kuan, who boldly put forward artistic creativity, and for the broad-minded Golden Lion Award-winning director.

Boss Lu's marketing strategy really depends on the person; Takeshi Kitano is a madman, a wonderful person, and a pure artist.

Try it with Chen Kaige?

It is estimated that before Boss Lu said "I don't know if I should say it or not," a sentence of "people can't be so shameless" had already come to his face.

Feng Yuanzheng and Liu Yifei both applauded with everyone with a sense of honor; being able to sit and talk with such a famous director is indeed a face for Chinese directors on the stage of the international film festival.

After the screening, Lu Kuan accepted some more interviews with reporters, trying his best to rub off some heat and win some favor from passersby.

The group went up the stairs and turned to the exhibition hall of *Ken Park*.

"Ah! This!"

Liu Yifei was sharp-eyed, staring dumbfoundedly at the poster in front of the screening hall; it was a pair of naked men and women, copulating with a lot of artistic sense.

Boss Lu clenched his fist and coughed twice by his mouth: "Well, Little Liu, you go back first; this *Ken Park* seems to be a bit unsuitable for children."

"Let me and Teacher Feng go together to criticize the decadence of capitalism!"

(End of chapter)