The Best Actor in the Vase of Meiyu

Chapter 2110 Infinite Loop
The noise, the commotion, the surging heat—it was all boiling over.

This scene is not uncommon; it has already played out for the 101st time this year alone. The overwhelming headlines and keywords are all orchestrated, and discussions on the streets and in alleys revolve around Anson. The frequency and intensity of these discussions have even reached an annoying level.

"We should change the subject..."

However, faced with the overwhelming and rampant tide, no one was able to reverse the situation, and they were all overwhelmed by Anson's topic.

Those who dislike Anson will still dislike him; their opinion won't change because of a film aiming for an Oscar, and they might even become more resistant.

However, some people are willing to set aside their arrogance and prejudice, give Anson an objective evaluation, acknowledge his attempts and risks, and recognize his charm as an actor.

To be honest, Anson could have easily continued to rely on his good looks, without putting in any effort, and enjoyed life with a $30 million salary per movie. However, he didn't. He has been exploring the possibilities of being an actor. It's not about pandering to the Oscars; the awards season biographical film is already an experiment. Beyond "Walking with the Song," he has embarked on even more different adventures, truly interpreting the job of an actor.

Actually, this is admirable.

Putting aside the subjective matter of acting skills, the sheer willingness to constantly challenge, take risks, and try new things is enough to impress people.

Meanwhile, some people have completely changed their opinion and truly appreciated Anson's talent and charm as an actor. "Walking with Songs" is definitely a perfect introductory work. Perhaps the conventional award season assignment can become an opportunity for the general public to change their opinion.

After all, Daniel Day-Lewis, who is loved by everyone and has been constantly criticizing and complaining about awards season films, has achieved such a status in the industry because of the Oscars, hasn't he?
It may sound outrageous, and no one would want to believe it, but Daniel Day-Lewis has never won any awards at the three major European film festivals.

So, is Daniel Radcliffe, who's always fawning over the Oscars, not good enough? What about Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep?

Awards are just awards; there is only one standard for judging an actor: their work.

Therefore, there's no need to be resistant just because "Singing Along" is an awards season theme. Focusing on Anson's performance and his unparalleled big-screen charisma is what matters, just like Brad Pitt in "Fight Club," Ewan McGregor in "Trainspotting," and Tom Cruise in "Mission: Impossible."

At the end of the article, Niles stated that there was no doubt that Anson's superstar charisma made this ordinary work shine.

Not only The Hollywood Reporter, but The New York Times also raised a similar point—

With his charisma as an actor and his charisma as a superstar, Anson is becoming the most dazzling actor on the big screen in the new century.

The New York Times stated that Anson is undoubtedly intelligent, even shrewd—a compliment, in a positive sense. While everyone else was mocking Anson for overestimating himself, he remained grounded and embarked on explorations and adventures, choosing a music biopic as his "actor transition" project.

Then, he made a name for himself.

Should we be surprised?

The heated discussion continued into the next day, and despite the entire afternoon and night of back-and-forth debate, the topic remained incredibly popular.

When it comes to Anson, things are never that simple.

The official program of the Cannes Film Festival was released, and unsurprisingly, all media outlets watched the film and were once again caught in the storm.

"Cahiers du Cinéma," a leading French film magazine, gave it an "X" rating—not zero, but a refusal to comment. They felt it wasn't a film, that Mangold was virtually invisible as director, and that his use of staging, sound, and editing was utterly lackluster.

This is the attitude of French filmmakers: the director must come first. But interestingly, even the editorial board of "Cahiers du Cinéma" is divided. Some critics believe that the two actors' live performance, using music as a medium to breathe life into the characters and images, is still commendable. Even if it's not a classic, it's at least passable.

The disagreements within the editorial staff of "Cahiers du Cinéma" are a microcosm of the issues that surfaced in the official publication of the Cannes Film Festival.

Three points, two points, one point, zero points—these are all possible scores. Surprisingly, all ten film critics in the official program had differing opinions, leading to a variety of possibilities.

Ultimately, the "Walking with Song" program received a score of 2.6, which is neither high nor low, leaving the score ambiguous.

So when the media saw this program, a new round of discussion began. Some thought the score was too high, some thought the score was unfair, and some thought the film should not have been in the main competition at all. Soon, Cannes was engulfed in a new storm.

Everything seemed familiar.

"Anson-Wood" is always like this; anything with this keyword is put under the spotlight, and every move will attract a torrent of impact, heated discussions, debates, conflicts, and disagreements, an endless cycle, with nothing exception—positive, negative, and all other negative aspects—bursting forth.

So, is this a good thing?
However, this wave of enthusiasm is somewhat special, as French film enthusiasts are particularly averse to, and even hate, the monotonous Oscar-themed essays.

They all stated that they did not mean anything against Anson and Reese; the two actors did give excellent performances, but this was still a love letter to the Oscars, like a traditional opera, and not worthy of praise. Compared to "Walking with the Song," they would rather see a controversial and edgy work like "The Elephant."

Among the biographical films at this year's Cannes Film Festival, "The Last Days" deserves even more recognition.

If Anson and Gus Van Sant collaborate on "The Last Days" and return to Cannes, everything would be perfect, and they would be happy to welcome them back.

Essentially, the focus of "Walking with the Song" is not on the film itself, but on Anson; if they were to discuss the film, they would rather talk about "hidden cameras," "the last days," or even "match point."

In their view, the current craze is nothing to be happy about because it has no value.

So, is this a bad thing?

This has clearly sparked a new wave of heated discussion, with film enthusiasts engaging in fierce debates.

Endless!

The noise that lasted all night was replaced by a new wave of heat as the morning sun shone down, showcasing the fervor of the film festival.

However, it meant nothing to Anson.

Early in the morning, the first thing Anson did after getting up was still to go to the movie theater. He had taken a day off yesterday and was busy all day as an actor. Today, he had to make up for the film critic work he missed yesterday. There was also a series of movies waiting to be watched, and his brain just couldn't stop working.

After the morning screening, Anson was heading to a coffee shop for breakfast before heading to the Palais des Festivals to prepare for today's main competition films.

As I approached, a figure came up to me at the entrance of the movie theater with a fawning smile on his face.

(End of this chapter)