The literary era since 1979

Wang Jiawei's films have two characteristics, the first one is frame extraction.

Just like "Chungking Express" and "2046", the original 24-frame frame rate was reduced to 12, 8 or even 4 frames per second during shooting, which is called "downgrading". This "slow shutter" shooting creates an atmosphere for the movie, just like "a slow motion of the left and right hands."

Secondly, like silent films, subtitles and dialogues are always inserted between the pictures, used as character monologues or plot narrations.

For example, almost every episode of "Fang Hua" has such subtitle monologues.

"Po and Li Li looked at each other, and Po said, 'Everything will be solved. There is plenty of time.'"

"Not everyone does math like you, Mr. Bao. Most people are like me, saving coins one by one."

These two techniques have never appeared in "As Tears Go By", but they appeared for the first time in "In the Mood for Love".

This situation would not have happened in the previous version. It was Fang Yan who deliberately asked Gong Xing and Wang Jiawei to try to join the filming of the movie.

Unexpectedly, the effect would be so outstanding that it immediately attracted the attention of professionals such as Biraghi, Marco Muller, and Xie Jin.

I can't help but admire him sincerely. Can a movie be shot like this? He is worthy of being the director who won the Oscar for Best Picture!

Inside the door to see the door, the layman to watch the fun.

Although the audience in the audience did not understand these techniques and tricks, they were particularly interested in the unique aesthetics and atmosphere of "In the Mood for Love". The story seemed ordinary, it was nothing more than two men and women who were cheated on and hurt, who got together by chance, huddled together for warmth, comforted each other, and made up for the scars in their hearts, but the result was out of control, and the two sad souls came together.

But it was filmed so wonderfully. If you say it's beautiful, romantic and sentimental, if you say it's low EQ, it's so stuffy and it makes people feel itchy.

The audience was like standing in a God's perspective, watching the relationship between Zhang Guorong, who played "Zhou Moyun", and Zhu Lin, who played "Su Lizhen", develop from nothing to something, and gradually heat up, and gradually there was a feeling and atmosphere of an affair, and they were all "spying" bystanders.

I inexplicably felt like I was peeping into someone else's extramarital affair, and when I watched the movie again, a mysterious and weird beauty came over me.

This is more likely to touch people's hearts than the explicit and unrestrained drama of a spectacular battle lasting three hundred rounds.

“I didn’t expect movies could be shot this way!”

Although Xie Jin didn't like this kind of extramarital affair theme, he had to admit that it was filmed very well.

"Yeah, I've watched Western movies for so many years, but this is the first time I've seen one shot like this!"

Biraghi was amazed and praised Chinese films highly, wondering whether he should allow more Chinese films to participate in the Venice Film Festival in the future.

"There has never been a Chinese film like In the Mood for Love before."

Xie Jin shook his head and laughed. It can be said that Gong Xing, Wang Jiawei and others have created a unique film aesthetic style.

“I wonder how you named this style?”

Marco Muller couldn't help but look back at Fangyan and his group in the back row.

Gong Xing was stunned and didn't know how to start, so he glanced at Wang Jiawei who was wearing sunglasses, and saw that he didn't say a word and pretended to be profound.

Then she turned her gaze to Fang Yan. Sure enough, her man did not disappoint her. After a moment's silence, she said:

"You could call it a 'mood' movie."

"Whether it's the photography techniques or the storyline, they all create a strong atmosphere in the film, triggering the audience's resonance with the 'emotions' and 'feelings' contained in the film, just like war films can inspire people's sense of justice, compassion and patriotism..."

"So what is the emotion that In the Mood for Love wants to express?"

Marco Mueller became more and more curious.

"I've said before in the Q&A that In the Mood for Love is not about wild extramarital affairs, but about restraint."

Dialect: "Like Shakespeare said, 'Desire is like a charcoal fire, it must be cooled, otherwise the fire will burn the heart'."

The fact is indeed as he said. The adulterous man and woman who do not appear in any scenes in the movie are constantly reminding Chow Mo-wan and Su Li-zhen that there can be no substantial progress. This is the passionate scene that the audience wants to see after taking off their pants. However, it is such a dull and depressing extramarital affair that whets the audience's appetite and makes people fall into the carefully designed emotions of "In the Mood for Love".

The entire screen is filled with an unattainable desire, which makes the audience's mood fluctuate.

Just like smoking, when you smoke it seems to be able to suppress all the things in your heart, but when you remove the cigarette from the mouthpiece, the worries immediately come up again.

The emotions of "In the Mood for Love" are like wisps of green smoke, lingering in everyone's mind, vague and yet unable to dissipate.

Until the end of the movie, when the cigarette is almost finished, a stronger sense of sorrow and depression completely breaks out.

Especially when the line of "subtitle monologue" popped up on the screen, "If I have an extra ticket, will you go with me?"

In this kind of emotion and atmosphere, almost no one among the audience, media and judges present was spared and was unable to extricate themselves for a long time.

Seeing that there was total silence all around, Zhu Lin's heart skipped a beat. He subconsciously grabbed the hand of the person next to him and squeezed it nervously.

But soon, there was a response from his hand, a burning sensation that seemed to dispel the uneasiness in his heart.

When she looked up, her eyes met Fangyan's. Her heart was pounding. She shyly turned her head away and pulled her hand away.

Just when I was feeling extremely confused, I suddenly heard crisp applause from my ears.

"Snapped."

"Clap clap."

Applause rang out in the silent theater, and then the sound became louder and louder, like a surging wave.

Some audience members even stood up suddenly and used applause and cheers to vent the pent-up emotions in their hearts caused by "In the Mood for Love".

Gong Xing breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Fang Yan. The couple held hands and stood up to express their gratitude with a smile under the gaze of everyone.

The applause was continuous and lasting, which made Zhu Lin, Zhang Guorong and others immediately realize how successful the movie was!
………………

"In the Mood for Love" was the opening film and gave the Venice Film Festival a good start.

Whether they have seen it or not, they all asked the organizers to add more screenings, and the organizing committee naturally would not miss this opportunity.

At the same time, the program directors who have always given scores to the films competing at the Venice Film Festival also rushed to give their own reviews.

Needless to say, the scores are all above 3.5 points. It can be said to be the highest-scoring work in recent years, without a doubt.

Needless to say, the positive reviews, for example, Cahiers du Cinema directly said that In the Mood for Love would become a classic at the Venice Film Festival.

"It almost uses a ritualistic oriental aesthetic performance to carry an impossible romance with a touch of sadness. Before this, no Chinese-language film has ever used such a symbolic style to present the oriental love that is close yet distant and unforgettable..."

The Chinese Film Guide, which specializes in scoring Chinese films, not only gave it the highest score of "4.2" in the guide, but also gave it the highest evaluation. "In the Mood for Love creates a sense of loneliness and expectation through film language. The film tells a love story. Thanks to the unique aesthetics of Gong Wei and Wang Jiawei, it has become a visual legacy. The whole story of In the Mood for Love is a display of human emotions, piecing together the complexity of emotions like tiny mosaics. In fact, the director cleverly uses the lens to capture various emotions on the screen, making them almost tangible. He depicts an era that is gone forever."

“Yet he also paid emotional tribute to the universality of love that transcends space and time.”

Zhu Lin flipped through the program brochure and read the contents to Gong Xing.

"What do you think?" Gong Xing gave him a playful look.

"Happy!"

Zhu Lin hasn't felt so happy for a long time. Ever since the rumors about her and Monk Tang were spread because of her role as "Queen of the Kingdom of Women" in "Journey to the West", she has never felt so happy again. Especially after reading the flattery and praise of her "Su Lizhen" in the brochure, the grievance and depression of being temporarily shelved in the Emei Film Studio were gradually replaced by joy and pride when her acting skills were recognized.

"I'm telling you in advance that Yanzi and I discussed this together when we were filming In the Mood for Love."

Gong Xing gave a mysterious smile.

"What to discuss?"

Zhu Lin was both confused and nervous.

"If In the Mood for Love wins a Golden Lion, or you or Guo Rong win a Silver Lion, the Film Bureau will definitely hold a celebration banquet. At that time, you can take this opportunity to return home in glory to clarify the rumors that slander you and restore your reputation."

A trace of heartache flashed across Gong Xing's eyes.

"Is it really possible?"

There was a hint of anticipation in Zhu Lin's tone.

"Of course, think of Yimou and Gong Li."

Gong Xing encouraged again and again.

Zhu Lin felt a fire burning in his heart, but he was still a little unconfident.

Compared to winning the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival, In the Mood for Love has a higher chance of winning the Golden Lion Award.

"Don't think so."

Gong Xing took a quick look at the list of candidates entering the competition and found that there were many obstacles in his bid for the Golden Lion Award.

Not to mention such Italian masterpieces as "So There Was the Light" and "After Passion", Hou Hsiao-hsien's "A City of Sadness" alone should not be underestimated. It is set against the backdrop of the February 28 Incident in Taiwan and tells the story of the ups and downs and tragedies of four brothers in a family in the turbulent history.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a little strange, Zhu Lin quickly changed the subject and asked about the whereabouts of Fang Yan and others.

Gong Xing replied that the trading market scale of the Venice Film Festival is no smaller than that of Cannes. Fang Yan is negotiating the distribution rights of "In the Mood for Love" with film distributors around the world, and will use this platform to find ways to promote and conduct public relations for "In the Mood for Love".

"These include Guorong's 'Best Actor', and your 'Best Actress' and 'Best New Actor'."

"Thank you."

Zhu Lin thought of a lot of words to express his gratitude, but when he really wanted to speak, he couldn't open his mouth.

"Here we go again!"

As soon as Gong Xing finished speaking, the sound of hurried footsteps reached their ears.

Fangyan pushed the door open and said with a smile, "You are all here."

Gong Xing poured him a glass of water and handed it to him considerately, "How was your conversation?"

"Very smooth."

Fangyan smiled. The shadow of a tree is like a person's reputation. "Farewell My Concubine" won the Cannes Palme d'Or and the Oscar for Best Picture, which has already made Gong Xing's status and reputation soar. In addition, "In the Mood for Love" was a big hit at the opening ceremony, so naturally, film producers scrambled for the film distribution rights.

Gong Xing asked: "Do you need me and Zhu Lin to accompany you next?"

"No, tomorrow we are going to go support Hou Hsiao-hsien, Liang Chaowei and others, and take the opportunity to get to know the background of "A City of Sadness"."

Fangyan drank the water in one gulp and then burped with satisfaction.

"Pfft!"

Zhu Lin and Gong Xing looked at each other and smiled sweetly.

………………

The next afternoon, everyone arrived at the theater where "A City of Sadness" was showing five minutes early.

As soon as he appeared, he was surrounded by the media who had been waiting for him, asking him all kinds of questions and bombarding him with questions.

It was the first time that Zhu Lin had seen such a crazy scene. He was shocked, terrified and at a loss.

Fangyan smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, I will be your interpreter."

Meeting his gaze, Zhu Lin's uneasy mood immediately eased for some reason.

"Someone has counted that you changed into 23 cheongsams in the movie. Is this to show the aesthetics of oriental clothing, or does it have other meanings?"

"The cheongsam is not just a piece of clothing, it also represents time. Each different cheongsam represents a different season and time."

Zhu Lin took a deep breath and said, "Of course I feel that the cheongsam is more like an invisible cage."

The reporter asked: "Why do you feel this way?"

When Zhu Lin slowly finished the filming that year, she was asked to wear a tight cheongsam and walk up and down the stairs repeatedly in high heels.

One scene took 27 takes, and her toes bled from the pain, but she could only keep silent. So she said, "That feeling of restraint made me truly understand Su Lizhen - no matter how deeply you love someone, you have to be reserved. This was the fate of women in the old times."

"Fang, do you agree with this statement?"

A nosy reporter handed the microphone to Fangyan who was standing nearby.

"Very accurate. In fact, it was my idea to have her wear so many cheongsams in the movie."

Fangyan praised Zhu Lin highly, saying that Zhu Lin not only recognized and understood the connotation and profound meaning behind the cheongsam, but also wore it to show the beauty of the oriental cheongsam.

Noticing that he seemed to be looking at her cheongsam, Zhu Lin pursed her lips but subconsciously straightened her waist.

"In the Mood for Love is like a mirror, reflecting me at my best as an actress. I am honored that he chose me as the leading actress."

"The last question is, how do you understand Su Lizhen's feelings for Zhou Muyun?"

“Some feelings don’t need to be spoken out, just like the tree hole in the movie that is never opened.”

“Sometimes, loving someone doesn’t necessarily mean expressing it openly or showing it. Instead, you need to learn to restrain yourself in your deep affection in order to protect and complete the other person.”

Although he was answering the reporter's questions, Zhu Lin's eyes were looking at Fang Yan, with a hint of relief in his gratitude. (End of this chapter)